A request to rezone a city block went from a reluctant compromise to complete rejection during Tuesday night’s Board of Mayor and Aldermen meeting.
Reece Moore and Todd Hutchins originally requested the rezoning of an entire city block with six parcels of land in McMinnville from Residential-2 to Commercial-2. The property, located across the street from the Farmers Market, is bordered by East Colville Street to the north, East Main Street to the northeast, Edgefield Street to the southeast, and East End Street to the west and southwest.
McMinnville Regional Planning Commission members went for a reluctant compromise, opting to recommend city officials to consider rezoning the front two lots to C-2 and the back four lots to R-3. The measure passed 3-2.
McMinnville officials were split as well. However, their split ended in rejection of the request with a vote of 4-2 on both measures.
Mayor Jimmy Haley and Aldermen Mike Neal, Steve Harvey and Everett Brock voted against the rezoning of the back four properties, while Vice Mayor Ben Newman and Kate Alsbrook voted in favor. Alderman Ryle Chastain abstained.
Moore and Hutchins expressed a desire to build duplexes. However, concern was given for the owners of the property, or its future owners, constructing an apartment complex.
Haley, Newman, Alsbrook and Harvey voted against rezoning the front two properties, while Brock and Neal voted in favor. Chastain abstained.
Newman expressed a desire to not allow commercial within that residential block.
“On this one, it seems to be a neighborhood. The commercial does go just north of it where the towers are but it seems to me this really comes in and encroaches on that neighborhood. There is a neighbor directly across the street from it who has been there for a long time. If this goes commercial, the folks who own it now might not have any plans to put something there but someone in the future could put something there and we end up with a situation like we had with Hardee’s. That commercial business staring right into the face of neighbors.”
With both measures failing first read, the zoning of all six properties will remain R-2.