Council vote changes property zoning

DECATUR — During the July 11 Decatur City Council meeting held at city hall, an item was placed on the agenda to address a request by the Decatur Planning and Zoning Commission to approve the rezoning of property near Old City Park.

Randy Boone, the Decatur Planning and Zoning Commission council representative, presented a request by Clayton Bradford, owner of property adjacent to the four-unit quadplex on Pool Street, to rezone the property from R-3 Multi Family to I-1 Light industrial.

Bradford requested the change in order to build an 80-unit storage facility on his property.

Five years ago, the area across from Old City Park on Pool Street was changed to R-3 Multifamily to build a 16-unit quadplex to address a serious housing storage in Decatur at the time.

The planning and zoning commission took up the matter during a public hearing on July 6. After reviewing the legal description and plans for the property, the commissioners voted to send the matter to the city council for approval.

One issue brought forward during the council discussion was the traffic on Pool Street. The narrow street was two-way when the quadplex project was in the planning stages in 2015. At times it was difficult to travel on the street because it is only wide enough for one lane of traffic. The council voted to make it a one-way street, with traffic only going south.

Council members expressed concern that the new facility would bring in more traffic, especially during the summer when children play in the park or go to the pool. But Bradford, in a conversation with Mayor Bob Tharp, is planning to take steps to keep traffic to a minimum.

The council first voted and accepted the recommendation from Planning and Zoning to change the tract from R-3 to I-1.

Then Boone presented Ordinance number 202214 that would “rezoning certain lands from R-3 Multi-family to I-1 Light Industrial use.” The council voted to change the designation of this property to I-1.