The owner is requesting approval of a Zoning Map Amendment for a portion of Tract 2C, Energy Park Third Addition, from M-H, Mobile Home District, to C-1, General Commercial District.

Tract 2C is 39.98 acres and is located north of Warlow Drive on both sides of Spruce Avenue. The parcel to be rezoned is on the west side of Spruce Avenue. It is 1,241 feet long and 191 feet wide and a total of 5.42 acres. To the north is R-S, Suburban Residential District, to the east is M-H, Mobile Home District, to the west is R-1, Single Family Residential District, and to the south is I-2, Heavy Industrial District.

The proposed parcel which the applicant wants to rezone is currently vacant. Any future commercial development on this parcel will require approval of a Commercial Site Plan, which typically provides a landscape buffer where adjacent to residential zones.

The Comprehensive Plan designates the Future Land Use Classification of this area as a mix of  Neighborhood Commercial and Mobile Homes.  As such, rezoning the site C-1, General Commercial District, is congruent with the goals and objectives of the Comprehensive Plan.

Spruce Avenue is designated as a Major Collector road which did not exist prior to 2008.  The creation of this road separated Tract 2C into two parcels.  Because of its shape, rezoning this parcel to C-1 would reduce the possibility of numerous access points along Spruce Avenue, which would be required for mobile home lots. For this reason,  the proposed C-1 Zoning is a better fit for the area than the current M-H Zoning.

An amendment to the Zoning Map shall not take place unless at least one of the two criteria exists as set forth in Section 12 of the City of Gillette Zoning Ordinance:

a. The Zoning Map may be amended when there is a need to correct an obvious error. In this case there was no obvious error.

b. The Zoning Map may be amended to recognize changing conditions within the City. This request does recognize changing conditions in the community because Spruce Avenue, which separated Tract 2C into two parcels, created a parcel not conducive to Mobile Home development.

Section 12 of the City of Gillette Zoning Ordinance requires a minimum size land area of four acres for a C-1, General Commercial District. This request exceeds the minimum size requirements.