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Council approves second reading to rezone 409 Highway 29 Bypass North to single‑family residential
Summary
On second reading the Anderson City Council unanimously approved Ordinance 26‑01 to rezone 409 Highway 29 Bypass North from Light Industrial (LI) to R‑20 single‑family residential to bring an existing house into zoning compliance; councilors expressed reservations about long‑term land‑use trends.
Anderson City Council on a unanimous vote approved Ordinance 26‑01, rezoning 409 Highway 29 Bypass North from Light Industrial (LI) to R‑20 single‑family residential and removing the property’s legal nonconforming status.
Planning and development director Maurice McKenzie told the council the parcel currently contains a single‑family house that predates the LI zoning and that the owner has difficulty selling because lenders regard the dwelling as a nonconforming use. McKenzie said the rezoning would be a downzoning that limits more intensive industrial activity and would bring the property into conformance with the city’s zoning regulations.
Several council members said they supported resolving the owner’s immediate difficulty but expressed concern about changing the long‑term pattern of land uses along the bypass. One councilor said the area appears to be trending toward light industrial and warned the council may revisit similar requests in the future; another noted the house had been owned for decades and that the owner’s ability to sell is an equity concern.
Staff reminded the council that the property would remain a legal nonconforming residential use under LI but that residential status could revert if the house sits vacant more than four months or suffers damage exceeding 50 percent (for example, by fire), in which case it would no longer qualify as residential without a future rezoning.
The council made and seconded a motion to approve the second reading; the ordinance passed unanimously.
The rezoning will be reflected in forthcoming work on the city’s unified development ordinance and updated zoning map, which staff said is expected to be considered later in the summer.
