JACKSON ZONING ORDINANCE CHANGES CONSIDERED BY BOARD

JACKSON -- Mayor Paul Sander said Wednesday it will be at least two months before the Jackson Board of Aldermen is ready to vote on a final draft of a revised zoning ordinance proposal.

The mayor also said the new ordinance will not change any existing zoning classifications.

"The revised ordinance is aimed at future development," said Sander. "There will be no changes in zoning classifications of property when the revised ordinance is approved. I've had a lot of inquiries about this. If you live in a R-1 or R-2 zone, your property will remain in that zone.

"The revised zoning ordinance will provide a much clearer understanding of our zoning code, eliminate a lot of gray areas that now exist in our present zoning ordinance, and accommodate an orderly growth of the city of Jackson."

The proposed revised zoning ordinance would expand the zoning classifications from eight to 10, including three residential (R-1, -2, -3) classifications, four commercial and business district (C-1, -2, -3, -4) designations, and three industrial classifications. The fourth, I-4, would be designated as a planned commercial district for retail shopping facilities to serve residential neighborhoods.

A major change in the proposed ordinance is lot sizes in the residential zones. Under current regulations, the minimum lot size in an R-1 area is 8,000 square feet with 75 feet of frontage. The new ordinance would require a lot size of at least 12,000 square feet and a minimum front footage of 100 feet in all new subdivision developments.

The new ordinance also would change the lot size for R-3 areas zoned for multifamily dwellings.

State law now requires all property annexed into the city must automatically be designated R-1. That would continue under the proposed revised ordinance, but most new residential development would have to immediately be rezoned to R-2 to meet the new minimum lot and frontage sizes.

However, Sander said existing residential property with a smaller lot and frontage size than specified in the new R-2 section of the ordinance would likely be grandfathered in if it is annexed because it would be difficult to enlarge those lots to meet the new R-2 classification.

The proposed ordinance also calls for a three-fourths majority vote of the city Planning and Zoning Commission and the Board of Aldermen on any request for a R-3 or commercial zoning adjacent to a R-1 zoned area, and sets height restrictions on all future commercial buildings.

At a public hearing held by the board May 31, several people voiced concerns about some of the provisions.

John Lichtenegger, who is developing a subdivision along Oak Hill Drive, questioned the need for the three-fourths majority vote when a simple majority is now required.

Said Lichtenegger: "That is an unfair anti-growth stance. It is already difficult to change from one zone to another. There is just no rhyme or reason for the change. It doesn't lead to orderly growth, and Jackson is already short on commercial property.

"I feel there are already adequate safeguards in the system now. To get a tract rezoned right now, the developer must go through two boards -- the Planning and Zoning Commission and the Board of Aldermen. By that time any bugs in the zoning application should have been worked out."

Lichtenegger said he is also concerned that the developer must bear the entire burden for so-called green zones and on the height restrictions that would restrict all new commercial buildings to no more than three stories.

"The ordinance should gear itself to promoting commercial development," he said. "We need to make it more conducive along the interstate and other potential areas. The growth of Jackson's residential areas has been nothing short of phenomenal, but we are way behind in terms of fully developing our potential for retail commercial growth, which would serve these new residential areas and at the same time keep more sales tax revenue in Jackson."

On Thursday, Lichtenegger emphasized his comments at the hearing were not meant to criticize the city or its public works department. He said: "I have had an excellent working relationship with the public works department as our development company continues to prepare for our Green Meadows subdivision. Jackson is very fortunate that it has its own municipal utilities; it makes it much easier for a developer like myself to get things done."

During the hearing, developer Jim Drury said he was surprised and dismayed by the proposed rezoning ordinance. Drury said, "There is a terrible imbalance of what can be done in Jackson and what is being done."

Drury said small technicalities in the zoning ordinance can be enough to inhibit a potential development. "There is an opportunity for an explosion of growth in the area that the community needs most -- commercial," Drury said. He reminded the board of the risk and problems that developers incur when developing commercial locations.

Another developer, Don Sappington, questioned the change in lot sizes for multifamily (apartment) buildings, which would nearly double the cost of a lot in a R-3 zoned area.

Since the public hearing, Sander said he and other members of the Board of Aldermen have received additional comments from other citizens, developers, and contractors who are also concerned about those provisions in the proposed ordinance.

"There is no disagreement that we need to revise our zoning ordinance," the mayor said. "The new ordinance will spell out and define things more clearly than the existing ordinance, which has a lot of gray areas and leaves a lot of unanswered questions. But some concerns have been raised about certain provisions in the new ordinance that we need to consider very carefully."

For example, Sander said both he and the board have questions about the new requirements for lot sizes in the various residential zoning classifications as well as the height restriction on commercial buildings.

He said, "We are also concerned about the three-fourths majority vote that's required in the new ordinance to rezone a tract located next to a R-1 zone.

"I personally feel that a simple majority is all that is needed, unless there is a protest over the zoning request. The existing zoning ordinance already requires a two-thirds majority vote by the P&Z and the board if the zoning request is protested. You can see that a sufficient safeguard is already in place."

Sander said the height restriction on commercial buildings will most likely be determined by the Jackson Fire Department. He said, "They will have to tell us how high a building can be in Jackson for them to reach the top floor with their firefighting equipment."

The mayor said he and the board are also concerned about a provision in the new ordinance that would permit duplexes and less than four-unit apartment buildings to be constructed in the new R-2 zones, with issuance of a special use permit.

Sander said: "I am totally opposed to any special use permits that would allow this in a R-2 area. I feel, along with the board, that the duplexes and small apartment buildings belong in a R-3 zoned area and not a single family residential area. If we approve this we'll have people coming to our meetings every week asking for a special use permit to build a duplex or small apartment building in an existing single-family zoned area."

Although the public hearing was held on the proposed ordinance last month, Sander said the city continues to seek input from citizens on the proposed revised zoning ordinance.

Sander said: "This is not something that we're going to vote on at our next meeting. The P&Z put a year's worth of study into coming up with the proposed ordinance, and I'm sure the Board of Aldermen will want to fully discuss and debate all aspects of the provisions in the zoning ordinance over a period of several months before they're ready to vote on the final package.

"The ordinance is a major step for us as a city, and we want to make sure it's done correctly. We definitely want to be fair with the property owners, but do not want to put the contractors at a disadvantage."