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Commission denies rezoning for proposed salon after neighbor objections
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Summary
The commission voted against a request by 17 Services LLC to rezone an office parcel to Neighborhood Commercial for a salon (zone case 2911-E) after neighbors cited concerns about hours, fencing and precedent; the motion to approve failed 6–0.
The Planning and Zoning Commission on April 23 declined to approve zone case 2911-E, a request by 17 Services LLC to rezone a property east of Slide Road and north of 110th Street from Office (OF) to Neighborhood Commercial (NC) to allow a high-end salon.
Planning staff Sam Breckin told the commission the request was "moderately conforming" with comprehensive plan principles; the staff report noted 59 mailed notices with three in favor and two in opposition. Applicant Ethan Morrison said the salon would be a standalone, garden-office-style building that would comply with Unified Development Code landscape and masonry-wall requirements and that final engineering drawings were pending.
Two nearby residents, Brenda Whitten and Tom Tenner, spoke in opposition. Whitten said she bought her home last year after receiving assurances from her realtor that the area was zoned for garden-office use; she asked that required fencing and hours be enforced if the commission approved the rezoning and said she worried an NC designation could open the door to other commercial uses in the future. Tenner, a long-time resident, said he feared the rezoning could be "a wedge" that allows further commercial encroachment into nearby housing.
Commissioners asked staff about rear buffer-yard and fence options under NC zoning (a type B buffer yard with a minimum 7-foot solid wood fence or a 7-foot masonry fence and planting requirements) and noted that automobile-related uses would not be permitted in NC without higher zoning. After discussion, the motion to approve the rezoning failed on a voice vote; the record shows, "Motion fails 6 to 0." Staff noted the item will be forwarded to City Council for first reading on May 12 as part of the city's process.
The transcript records neighbors' concerns about hours and precedent for further commercial rezoning; commissioners cited buffering standards and the potential for creating precedent when considering the request.
