Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Zoning Ballpark topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council leans toward MU‑8 when discussing Ballpark Next rezone; straw poll favors lower height
Summary
Council and planning staff debated rezoning about 14.8 acres around the former ballpark to implement the Ballpark Next plan. Planning staff recommended MU‑11 (allowing up to 150 ft on parts of 1300 South); council held a straw poll favoring MU‑8 citing transitions to adjacent single‑family neighborhoods.
Planning staff and CRA representatives briefed the council on a rezone of city‑owned property that includes the former stadium and adjacent parking, a roughly 14.8‑acre site covered by the Ballpark Next community design plan. Staff described proposed map and text amendments to implement the plan: rezoning public lands and RMF areas to mixed‑use zones including MU‑11 (which can allow heights up to 150 feet on the south side of 1300 South) and MU‑5 in transition areas.
Hayden Calloway of the CRA said the Ballpark Next plan contemplated taller buildings in station‑oriented blocks and that the plan’s adopted guidance allowed heights higher than existing code: "the plan was adopted to allow heights of 250 feet… some buildings may be up from 120 to 150 feet, and MU‑11 was the only zone that allowed that height." Several council members said they were concerned about the proximity of taller buildings to single‑family neighborhoods and suggested MU‑8 as a compromise to achieve density while easing transitions.
Council member discussion culminated in a straw poll proposed to rezone the parcels proposed for MU‑11 to MU‑8. Council members present signaled their support (thumbs up) for the MU‑8 option in the straw poll. The straw poll is nonbinding direction for staff and does not substitute for formal ordinance consideration; staff said the rezone and any text amendments would return for future formal action.
