The property is generally located at 4800 S. Garner Lake Road.  The property is currently vacant - no structures exist.  All utilities are available to this site and it has frontage from both South Garner Lake Road and South Butler Spaeth Road. To the east of this lot is South Garner Lake Road, to the west is South Butler Spaeth Road, to the south is  C-3, Business/Services District and to the north is M-H, Mobile Home District and a vacant lot (owned by the same property owner) that is zoned I-1, Light Industrial District. Once rezoned, the applicant intends to combine this lot with the vacant lot to the north that is already zoned I-1.

The City of Gillette Comprehensive Plan has designated the future land use classification of this parcel as General Commercial. As such, rezoning this parcel to I-1, Light Industrial District is not entirely in line with the goals and objectives of the current Comprehensive Plan. However, many of the parcels along South Garner Lake Road to  the north of this parcel are already developed and zoned I-1, Light Industrial District. Rezoning this parcel to I-1, Light Industrial District is congruent with the land use patterns which are already in place and will not change the general character of the surrounding area.  It should be noted that the property located immediately east of this parcel - on the East side of South Garner Lake Road - is the existing Stroup Mobile Home Park.  The Stroup Mobile Home Park is not currently located in the corporate limits of the City of Gillette.  However, the Stroup MHP executed a Pre-Annexation Agreement with the City of Gillette in 2003 in exchange for receiving City sewer service.  When annexed, the Stroup Mobile Home Park will likely be zoned M-H, Mobile Home District.  Additionally, within the last year, City Staff received a request (that was never finalized) to annex a large tract of land South of the Stroup MHP as an "Industrial Park."  Likewise, the County's Zoning designation for the tract of land South of Garner Lake Road and North of the Stroup MHP is I-1.  As such, landowners and the local market are driving the development of this area towards light industrial uses.

Development on this lot will require the appropriate approval from the City's Engineering, Building  and Planning Divisions. Aerial photos from the City's GIS Department indicate that the adjacent parcel which is zoned M-H, Mobile Home District is already sufficiently buffered from the surrounding I-1 zoning. However, any development on this lot will require an additional landscape buffer. This will help to ensure that any adjacent residential development is shielded from future industrial developments.  The applicant also owns the C-3 property located immediately west of this parcel.

An Amendment to the Zoning Map shall not take place unless at least one (1) of two (2) criteria exists as set forth in Section 12 of the City of Gillette Zoning Ordinance.

(1) The zoning map may be amended when there is a need to correct an obvious error. In this case, there was no error.

(2) The zoning map may be amended to recognize changing conditions within the City. This request does recognize changing conditions within the City by acknowledging the expansion of I-1 zoning which has occurred to the north of this parcel, existing County zoning South of Garner Lake Road and North of the Stroup MHP, and a recent request to annex and develop a separate tract of land south of the Stroup MHP as an "industrial park."

Section 12 of the City of Gillette Zoning Ordinance requires that an area being rezoned I-1, Light Industrial District be a minimum of five acres. When combined with the adjacent I-1 zoned parcels located north of this parcel, this request meets the minimum size requirements.