Downtown Zoning Fiasco

In late June, the Elizabethtown Planning and Development Department notified over fifty property owners in the downtown area that it had begun the process to change the zoning of their properties to C-5 (Downtown Mixed Use).  Many of the targeted properties were residential and the C-5 zoning would have allowed the intrusion of commercial uses.  One of the established neighborhoods the department thought was suitable for commercial zoning was Terry Court, which is shown in the photo.

Residents in the downtown area wisely began protesting before the public hearing and their pressure resulted in withdrawal of the zoning application.  I applaud the residents for fighting this overreach by our city government. 

Withdrawal of the application was accompanied by the scheduling of two open house meetings.  In an email, the Planning Director stated the public meetings would be held “… to gather even more information and determine a path forward that works best for the city and the residents in the area.”  What works best for the residents should have been taken into account at the beginning of the process.  A public uproar should not have been necessary for their opinions to be considered.

Do the staff and others in the administration not realize the implications of rezoning established residential areas to commercial?  They should have.  Are there other factors at work that make them not care about the residents?  I don’t know.  As an experienced planner, I am very troubled by this.

I am even more troubled by the fact that there is no legal justification for the zoning change.  The notice mailed to the residents states “…the purpose of the proposed change is to comply with the newly adopted Downtown Master Plan’s recommended downtown boundaries”.  The plan includes a long list of recommended actions and none of them include the rezoning of any property.  None of the basic tenets of planning dictate that zoning boundaries must coincide with the arbitrary boundary in a study or plan.

This isn’t the first time the staff has recommended commercial zoning in a residential area that was not supported by the comprehensive plan.  The staff has repeatedly misinterpreted parts of the plan to justify commercial zoning.  The Planning Commission and City Council depend on a professional staff to provide professional guidance.  They aren’t getting it.  We need people on City Council who really understand zoning and who understand what the staff is doing.  I am the only candidate who does.

Follow my Facebook page (@JimShawEtown) for updates throughout the campaign.