The subject property is located at the northeast corner of Trouble Creek Road and Voorhees Road. The western half of the property consists of an office building and open space. The eastern half is wetlands. The existing use is an office for a pressure washing business. Conditions for a zoning clearance of the business prohibited outdoor storage of vehicles and equipment.
Proposal:
The applicant is requesting to rezone from C-2 and MF-30 to Light Industrial which will allow outdoor storage of vehicles and equipment as a conditional use.
Allowed Uses in Light Industrial
If rezoning is approved any permitted use in the Light Industrial zoning district can locate on that property. Several of the permitted uses in Light Industrial would create a nuisance to the surrounding residential neighborhoods. The following uses are permitted in the Light Industrial zoning district:
1. Manufacturing;
2. Research and development;
3. Wholesaling/distributing;
4. Indoor storage and/or warehousing;
5. Indoor retail sales;
6. Restaurants to serve businesses located in and around the light industrial zoning district;
7. Accessory uses
8. Adult use establishments.
9. Telecommunications towers.
10. Urban agriculture.
11. Medical marijuana treatment center dispensing facility.
12. Beer gardens, tap rooms, brewpubs, nano-breweries, microbreweries and breweries.
13.All other uses as determined by the development review committee which further the intent of the adopted comprehensive plan.
Compatibility with Comprehensive Plan
The proposal is inconsistent with the following policies of the City’s Comprehensive Plan.
FLU 1.2.4 Existing residential areas shall be protected from the encroachment of incompatible activities; likewise, other land use areas shall be protected from the encroachment of incompatible residential activities.
FLU 1.7.2 Industrial land uses shall be encouraged and protected where they will be compatible with surrounding land uses.
FLU 1.7.3 Supporting and complementary industries and ancillary commercial services should be located in proximity to each other to accomplish a linkage between industries and services.
Planning Review
Industrial uses are considered incompatible with residential areas. The use can be noisy, smelly and unattractive. Industrial areas are normally located at the fringe of a city away from residential and neighborhood commercial areas. Additionally, large trucks and heavy equipment are hauled to and from the site which would create additional nuisance.
If approved, the property will be the only one with a Light Industrial zoning in the immediate area, basically creating a spot zoning issue. The proposed use would create a nuisance of heavy vehicle traffic and noise to the surrounding neighborhoods. Additionally, any permitted use in the Light Industrial zoning district would be allowed if the property changed ownership.