Tract D was created as part of the Ash Meadows Subdivision Phase I. Ash Meadows Subdivision Phase I and Phase II were preceded by the approval of a Preliminary Plat. The Preliminary Plat proposed mobile home lots on the entire area including Tract D; Tract D is currently vacant. Northern Drive was shown bordering the land on the north on all plats. The portion of Tract D that is being proposed to be rezoned is 9.79 acres of the existing 23.4 acre lot. The minimum zoning district size for an I-1, Light Industrial District is 5 acres. In 2015, a similar rezoning request was proposed for this location. At that time the agent proposed that a 15.40 acre portion of Tract D be rezoned from M-H, Mobile Home District to I-1, Light Industrial District. That request was not approved.

According to the owner, the sales of the mobile home lots are very slow and the potential traffic on Northern Drive has prompted this request to change the zoning on a portion of Tract D from M-H, Mobile Home District to I-1, Light Industrial District. The portion of Tract D that is being proposed for rezoning is in the northeast portion of the tract and leaves some undeveloped areas of M-H zoning to the west and south. The area adjacent to this proposed rezone that is within the City of Gillette’s corporate boundary is zoned entirely as M-H, Mobile Home District. The City of Gillette's adopted Land Use Plan designates this area as residential with Manufactured and Mobile Homes. Outside of City limits, in Campbell County, to the north and to the east all land is zoned as A-L, Agricultural. The City-County Joint Land Use Plan designates the areas in the County to the north as Mining and to the east as Residential. This proposed rezone is not compatible with the adopted Land Use Plan as the area south of Northern Drive in both the City of Gillette and Campbell County is all envisioned to be residential.

Directly east of this proposed rezone, outside of City limits, the County has issued a Conditional Use Permit. The Conditional Use Permit was issued in November of 2016 for an outdoor recreational vehicle storage facility. The County did not change the zoning to accommodate the outdoor recreational vehicle storage facility, but instead issued a Conditional Use Permit. The City of Gillette’s Zoning Ordinance does not allow for storage facilities within the M-H, Mobile Home District. The nearest industrial zoning is in the County located one-half (½) mile southwest along Kluver Road and one-half (½) mile east on Garner Lake Road.

Development in the I-1, Light Industrial District would require a Site Plan to be submitted and approved by the City of Gillette before any development could occur. As part of any Site Plan submittal, a 40-foot wide landscape buffer between the surrounding residential uses would be required. This is intended to mitigate the otherwise stark transition between residential and industrial development; however, the impact to the current homes in that area may not be adequately mitigated by the 40 foot wide landscape buffer. The existing home owners in the subdivision did not anticipate I-1, Light Industrial zoning nearby. Although the future owners of the remaining M-H, Mobile Home District zoned property will be aware of the I-1, Light Industrial zoning, this does not improve the transition between the zones. The impact of the I-1 zoning is not just its proximity to the residential area, but its size. The larger the area and the more it extends south of Northern Drive, the greater the impact.

Access to the proposed I-1, Light Industrial zoning will impact the homes in Ash Meadows unless it is restricted to Northern Drive and not allowed to use the internal street network of the mobile home development. This may not be preventable if Ash Meadows Drive is extended to Northern Drive as planned.

Pursuant to Section 12 of the City’s Zoning Ordinance a Zoning Map Amendment shall not be approved except to:

1. Correct an obvious error or oversight in the regulations; or
2. Recognize changing conditions in the City, which require that amendments be adopted for the promotion of public health, safety, and general welfare.

In this case the agent has stated that market forces reducing the demand for mobile home lots and increasing demand for industrial land are the changing conditions. 

Staff recommends denial of this proposed Zoning Map Amendment for a portion of Tract D, Ash Meadows Subdivision Phase I from M-H to I-1 because it conflicts with the future Land Use Plan for this area. However, Staff recommends the agent consider three other options for this area to accommodate the intended use of providing parking to support the adjacent residential uses.  These three options include:

1. A Zoning Text Amendment to allow for "parking of vehicles" as a permitted use in the M-H, Mobile Home District; provided the proposed "off-street parking" complies with the surfacing, desing, use and maintenance within Section 9 of the City's Zoning Ordinance.         
2. Rezone the area from M-H, Mobile Home District to R-2, Single & Two Family Residential District. This would allow the area to retain the residential zoning, but also allows for "parking of vehicles" as a permitted use in the R-2 district.
3. Rezone the area from M-H, Mobile Home District to R-4, Multi Family Residential District. This would allow the area to retain the residential zoning, but also allows for "parking of vehicles" as a permitted use in the R-4 district.

Staff will support any one of the three aforementioned options.