Paducah planning commission recommends R3 text amendment to allow corner stores and smaller lots

The Paducah Planning Commission voted unanimously April 6 to recommend the Board of Commissioners adopt TXT-2026-0002, a text amendment to Section 126-104 that would add principal uses to the R3 medium-density residential zone, permit smaller principal lot sizes and explicitly allow neighborhood corner stores.

Mr. Summers, planning staff, told commissioners the amendment is intended to “bridge” the gap between R3 and R4 uses and to support South Side and North Side historic-district revitalization. He cited examples from Louisville, Covington, Raleigh and Spokane as precedents for reviving corner stores described in the South Side Revitalization Plan, which the staff report quotes as urging “a balance of commercial uses that serve nearby residents and the entire community, such as corner stores.”

The amendment would reclassify some conditional uses in R3 as principal uses and adjust lot-size and frontage requirements to better reflect existing historic lot patterns. Summers said the original 1967 ordinance used a one-size-fits-all standard (50-foot lots, 8,000 square feet minimum) that left many South Side lots nonconforming; staff cited more typical historic lots of about 6,000 square feet and 40-foot widths as the on-the-ground reality the text seeks to permit.

Commissioners discussed related issues before voting. Commissioner Rhodes raised concerns about short-term rentals and whether the changes could echo problems seen in Lower Town; Summers said staff already has a separate draft text amendment ready to limit short-term rentals but is waiting on the state legislature, which is considering a bill that could preempt local regulation. On parking, Summers said parking requirements would generally be waived for corner-store uses to emulate historic on-street and pedestrian patterns rather than imposing modern off-street parking minimums. On signage, Summers said language was adapted from downtown sign code (B2/H2) to limit clutter while allowing appropriate commercial signs.

With no public comment during the hearing, the commission moved to recommend adoption. Mr. Summers called the roll; votes recorded in support were Commissioner Rhodes, Commissioner Benberry, Commissioner Chapman, Commissioner Heath, Commissioner Keeler and Chairman Wade. The commission’s recommendation now goes to the Board of Commissioners for final action; under the local alternative-zoning procedure explained at the meeting, a recommendation would take effect 21 days after the commission’s action unless the Board of Commissioners requests the case.

The commission’s staff report and the motion cited alignment with three adopted documents: the City of Paducah–McCracken County Comprehensive Plan, the Board of Commissioners’ priorities (Municipal Order 30-28) and the South Side Revitalization Plan as the primary policy bases for the recommendation.

Next steps: the Board of Commissioners will consider the commission’s recommendation. No date for Board action was announced at the meeting.