P&Z BACKS HOPPER ZONING

Anticipating increased commercial activity near Kingshighway and Hopper Road, the city Planning and Zoning Commission voted Wednesday night to rezone property on Hopper to make way for a proposed insurance agency.

The recommendation will go before the City Council for final approval.

Rezoned properties include 2621, 2625 and 2629 Hopper Road. One of the properties may be sold to a local insurance agent for his business.

Neighbor Kara Cracraft, whose back yard adjoins the back yards of the property in question, opposed to the rezoning for fear the property would be resold, and undesirable business could move in.

"I just worry about what happens in our neighborhood on East Rodney," she said. "I think it's important that neighborhoods are kept intact when there are commercial areas available all over the city."

Commission member R.J. McKinney said he appreciated Cracraft's concerns but thinks the area lends itself to commercial use.

"That whole area is commercial," he said.

"I think with new Hopper Road, traffic will increase eventually, and that whole area out to Mount Auburn Road will be commercial. I appreciate her comments, but I think it's going to happen."

Major Street Plan

The commission also approved updates to the city's Future Land Use Plan and Major Street Plan.

The Major Street Plan outlines the city's street system according to functional use.

For example, Kingshighway, Route K and Williams Street are coded as arterial streets designed to move traffic through the city. Lexington Avenue, Mount Auburn Road and West End Boulevard are coded as collector streets designed to funnel traffic to the arterial streets.

The Future Land Use Plan allows the city to anticipate future land uses and code them as such. For instance, a person wanting to build a house in a piece of property can look at the Future Land Use Plan to determine if there is a chance, based on the city's best educated guess, that commercial development may happen nearby.

Both plans are used for a variety of development projects, including subdivision regulations, transportation funding, zoning changes, commercial development, long-term planning and construction of city facilities.

The last update to both plans was in 1999 when officials determined the site of new Route 74.

In other business, the commission approved rezoning of land at Interstate 55 and Shawnee Parkway from residential to commercial.

A representative of D & D Cape Investments indicated no development is scheduled for the properties at this time.

The commission also approved a special-use permit for Marilyn Landewee and Mary Cotner to renovate a building at the rear of 147 S. Minnesota Ave. into residential rental property.