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Council opens public hearing on zoning changes for standalone surface parking lots
Summary
City staff told council the current zoning rule requiring access from an arterial or collector street is overly restrictive for standalone parking lots; staff proposed instead a set of factors for the planning commission to weigh. No members of the public spoke and the hearing was closed; council will consider the ordinance at a future meeting.
Kettering City Council opened and closed a public hearing on proposed zoning-code amendments for standalone surface parking lots during its Dec. 2 meeting.
Tom Robelard, speaking for city staff, said the current code treats standalone parking lots as conditionally permitted and contains a strict requirement that access be from an arterial or collector street. That rule, staff contended, has created problems for some property owners. Robelard told council staff is proposing a change that would remove the rigid access requirement and instead give the planning commission a set of factors — including number of parking spaces, non-residential street frontage, proximity to intersections, adjacent uses, anticipated customer visit length and potential to create cut-through traffic — to evaluate each site on its merits.
"From time to time, we find that certain sections of the zoning code just don't quite fit every situation that we run across," Robelard said. "...we figured that this will negatively affect other cases as we work in the future. We thought a better idea would be let's just bring it to the planning commission. Let them consider what is good and what is bad as far as access goes."
Council invited public comment, limited by city rules to five minutes per speaker and requiring speakers to state name and address. No one spoke in favor or opposition. The mayor closed the hearing and said legislation amending the zoning code will be considered at a future council meeting.
Staff noted the planning commission recommended approval and that the proposed urban setting designation discussion elsewhere on the agenda could be related to redevelopment of the former Cheerheart Cleaners site at 2659 Patterson Road; the zoning amendment itself will come back to council for formal consideration.
