Commission gives nod of approval to downtown rezoning

John Kline, Goshen News, Ind.
·2 min read

Jan. 19—GOSHEN — Goshen Plan Commission members Tuesday gave their nod of approval to a request by the Goshen Department of Redevelopment to rezone the site of a former Main Street auto repair shop currently owned by the city.

The vacant property, located at the northwest corner of Main Street and Jefferson Street, was most recently occupied by D&T Muffler and Brake from 2001 through 2019. The property is currently zoned Commercial B-3.

According to Rhonda Yoder, planning and zoning administrator for the city, the property is completely surrounded by Commercial B-2 zoning, and should be zoned B-2 as well, as a single property zoned B-3 within the Central Business District can meet few, if any, of the developmental requirements of the B-3 District, which will constrain future changes to the building and/or site.

As an example, Yoder noted that in the B-3 District, a 35-foot building setback is required along the Main Street property line, compared to 0-foot in the B-2, a maximum 50% building coverage is allowed, compared to 90% allowed in the B-2, and parking is required for each use, compared to no commercial parking requirements in the B-2.

"The subject property was rezoned from B-2 to B-3 in February 1984, and although there were at least two subsequent neighborhood rezonings to B-2 District in the Central Business District — in 1989 and 2000 — the subject property was not included," Yoder said of the property. "Based on the file record, it appears the subject property may at some point have been mistakenly classified as B-2, as there is at least one approval from 1991 that includes a reference to the subject property being zoned B-2."

Yoder noted that the zoning map discrepancy was discovered in 2012.

"While the city owns the subject property, it is an appropriate time to rezone to B-2 District so the spot zoning is removed and the issues related to the B-3 zoning are resolved," she added of the request.

The commission's members agreed, and a motion was put forward and approved unanimously to forward the rezoning request on to the Goshen City Council with a favorable recommendation.

John Kline can be reached at john.kline@goshennews.com or 574-533-2151, ext. 240315. Follow John on Twitter @jkline_TGN.