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Zoning change denied for car storage and facility on West Broadway

June 06, 2012|By Rachel Parsons Gilliam | The Winchester Sun

The Winchester-Clark County Planning Commission denied a zone change request for a quarter-acre plot on West Broadway Tuesday.

Paul King, owner of Paul & Son Auto Recyclers & Sales, requested the plot at 239 W. Broadway be re-zoned I-1 for light industrial use. Currently, the property is zoned R-4 for multi-family residential use.
King said he wanted to use the property as an overflow lot for used cars. King operates a salvage yard on West Broadway, which is considered an industrial use. He said the lot would function as commercial property, and would not have any industrial use.

Robert Blanton represented King at the public hearing and said King did not request B-3 zoning, highway business, because light industrial was more congruent with zoning in the area, and all B-3 uses are allowed within the light industrial zoning classification.

“The original zoning is inappropriate because the property is completely surrounded on three sides by industrial,” Blanton said.

Director of Planning and Development Rhonda Cromer recommended denying the zone change request because the 2012 Comprehensive Plan calls for a reduction in industrial use in the West Broadway area specifically. Cromer said the existing industrial areas developed because of proximity to a now-defunct railroad and the area is no longer appropriate for industrial use, or the heavy traffic it could produce.
Blanton said if King operated a business on the property, it would employ no more than three people and produce less than the state’s estimated 10 trips produced by a single-family household.

“This industrial area is probably one of the most viable industrial areas in Winchester,” Blanton said, pointing to nearby industrial sites like Leggett and Platt.

For a zone change to be approved, the current zoning classification must be deemed inappropriate and the new zoning classification deemed appropriate. A request may also be approved if significant changes have occurred in the area, changing the character of the neighborhood.

The commission did not believe the zone change criteria was met, with all but one commissioner, Paul Deaton, voting in favor of denying the request.

“To me, the intent (of the Comprehensive Plan) was, you have an area that’s grandfathered in, don’t expand it,”¿commission member Mark Poole said of the industrial use in the area.

The industrial uses in the West Broadway area are not in agreement with the Comprehensive Plan, but are considered legally non-conforming because the businesses were in existence before current zoning rules were adopted.

Contact Rachel Parsons Gilliam at rparsons@winchestersun, or follow her on Twitter, @ParsonsRachel.

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