Planning commission recommends rezoning for property at 20 Confederate Avenue

The Jasper City Planning Commission on June 23 recommended that the City Council approve rezoning of a parcel at 20 Confederate Avenue from C1 (neighborhood commercial) to C2 (general commercial).

Ronald Whitehead, the property owner and applicant, told the commission he has operated a custom cabinetry business at the site for almost 12 years and is seeking the rezoning so a new occupant can legally use the building. “I’ve been operating a cabinet business in that location for almost 12 years,” Whitehead said, adding he paid the application fee after meeting with staff.

Mary Elizabeth, addressing the commission on behalf of city planning staff, said the 0.67-acre corner parcel is on public water and sewer, has frontage on Old Road and Confederate Way, and sits in the Jasper Arterial Commercial Corridor behind the Walmart area. “The staff analysis— the rezoning request meets the criteria for section 94-246 to rezone from neighborhood commercial to general commercial,” Mary Elizabeth said, describing C2 as allowing contractor yards, mechanical storage and other light-industrial or contractor-related uses that better match neighboring properties.

A prospective occupant described the intended business as a commercial industrial controls firm that installs energy management controls for HVAC and lighting and that needs on-site storage for tools, job boxes and materials. Commissioners also asked whether the change in ownership would affect water or sewer connections; staff said the property is currently hooked up and a straightforward ownership update will be processed when the property transfers.

A commissioner moved to recommend approval of the rezoning to the City Council; after a second and a verbal roll-call the commission approved the recommendation. The decision at the planning commission is advisory; the final vote will be before the Jasper City Council at its July 6 meeting.

Details from the record: the parcel was described in the application as being further identified as parcel 030D 096123 and currently used for custom cabinetry; staff noted adjacent properties to the north and east are zoned C2. The commission’s action was a recommendation to City Council, not a final zoning change at the city level.

The City Council will consider the rezoning request at its July 6 meeting, where it will make the final decision.