Council approves contract rezoning at 6100 S. Fifth Avenue, limits heavy-industrial uses

Pocatello City Council on June 4 approved a contract rezoning for about 4.92 acres at 6100 South Fifth Avenue (the Stan’s Way area) to a light-industrial zoning designation with contract-specific conditions limiting permitted uses.

Senior planner Matthew G. Lewis told the council the property originally began under county mixed-use zoning, was annexed and carried the residential-commercial-professional (RCP) designation; the contract rezoning would allow a specific shop-office-storage building layout rather than a broad set of light-industrial uses. As part of the contract, staff and the applicant agreed to reduce the landscape buffer from 20 feet to 10 feet with a six-foot privacy fence along abutting residential commercial parcels.

Council members pressed staff on what uses would be allowed under the contract; Lewis said the contract excludes typical heavy or broader light-industrial activities and would permit shop-office type buildings with indoor storage and limited office areas. He said the contract is recorded with conditions limiting uses to those shown on the submitted site layout.

The planning and zoning commission recommended approval with conditions after a May 13 hearing; staff reported no written comments were received. Councilman Mangum moved to approve the contract rezoning; the motion was seconded and approved by roll call.

Staff and council noted that future tenant selection and development details will be controlled through the contract conditions and the city’s standard site-review processes, and that the contract approach was chosen because the subdivision process began in the county then completed in the city, creating a narrow set of allowable uses to ensure neighborhood compatibility.

No specific tenants were identified at the hearing.