Inappropriateness of C-1 zoning at 1246 Haskell Ave., regardless of ownership
City Commission 13 December 2005
by Michael Almon
Sec. 20-1809, Criteria for Evaluating Zoning
a) Zoning and use of property nearby - Surrounded by RS-2. The non-conforming grocery on the S.E. corner of 13th & Haskell was removed years ago and is now part of the corner RS-2 residential lot. The four blocks to the immediate south of 13th Street were downzoned from RM-1 to RS-2 by City Commission initiative at the urging of the neighborhood. The C-4 zoning on the S.E corner of 13th & Maple Lane was downzoned to RS-2 by City Commission initiative at the urging of the neighborhood. On the N.E. corner of 13th & Maple Lane, the non-conforming old service station was replaced by a residence moved there from 12th & Haskell. On the N.E. corner of 13th & Almira, the non-conforming auto repair shop was discontinued (building still there for use by owner as private shop).
b) Character of the neighborhood - Overwhelming single family residential, becoming more so with each land use transition, and younger families and new construction and remodels are raising the quality and value of residential properties.
c) Suitability of the subject property for the uses to which it has been restricted - Residences are on the other three corner lots of the intersection, and this lot can be residentially developed with a lot size variance for a small house, as are common in the neighborhood.
d) Length of time the subject property has remained vacant as zoned - The commercial "use" was inoperative for at least six years, and fully vacant for 2 1/2 years with a dead business owner. The property owner, Park Hetzel, seriously neglected the property for two decades, probably because it was not paying it's way.
e) Extent to which removal of the restrictions will detrimentally affect nearby properties - The neighborhood is struggling to hold commercial intrusions and traffic from spreading further from places like the Bargain Center at 12th & Haskell, the City Maintenance Facility and other commercial businesses at 11th & Haskell (including the Polk Crane Company), the Dean Penny facilities at 13th & Oregon and the now uncertain future of the Huxtable facility at 12th & Oregon, and the many industrially zoned but commercially used facilities surrounding the Salvation Army site. We do not want a new commercial toe-hold in the middle of all this.
f) Relative gain to the public . . . by (lessening the property owners value) as compared to the hardship imposed upon the individual (nearby) landowners - Mike & Greg Polk Rentals, Inc. could easily make a residential property pay it's way here, as they have done many other places. Legally and technically, this property reverted to RS-2 six months after 8 October 1999 when all utilities were cut off and business activity stopped. At this point, it should be rezoned to RS-2, either through the courts or by City Commission initiative. If it continues as the currently zoned RO-2, at least that is something the neighborhood grudgingly agreed to after being misled and unsupported on the non-conforming issue.
g) Conformance with the Comprehensive Plan - Brook Creek Neighborhood Plan says: ". . . non-conforming uses and . . . more intensive(ly) zoned uses share an element of uncertainty about their future." "Low density residential land uses are recommended for most of the neighborhood." "Fairfax & Belmont Additions (east of Haskell and north of 15th) . . . is 94% single family dwellings, and the plan's proposal is for low density residential. It may, therefore, be desirable for the Planning of City Commission to initiate rezoning for those parts of the neighborhood . . ." "Two areas are designated for commercial and/or industrial uses. . . the industrial area in the N.W. corner of the neighborhood, primarily the City Maintenance Facility and an auto repair/salvage yard directly to the south (now the Bargain Center); and in the S.W. corner of the neighborhood, a mix of commercial and light industrial uses . . ."
h) Professional staff recommendation - I have made abundantly clear in prior documentation that staff recommendations are seriously tarnished by their advocacy of the Polk's plans and methods.