Clinton OKs commercial rezone
There are no comments for this page [ Add Comment ]Tuesday, April 15, 2008
By LAURALEE STEPHENSON
Standard-Examiner correspondent
CLINTON -- The city council has approved a rezone at the request of a developer proposing a shopping center near the Roy border.
Gordon Kegg addressed the city council and asked to rezone property at 2600 N. 1750 West from R-1-5 residential to performance commercial. Kegg is an Arizona-based commercial developer.
If approved, the development would be approximately 300,000 square feet. Forty percent of the development will be in Roy, with the remaining 60 percent in Clinton. Community Development Director Lynn Vinzant said there are more Roy residents surrounding the development than Clinton residents.
Kegg held a town meeting with Roy residents who live near the proposed development. He said those residents were in favor of the development, and he has listened to their feedback.
"We have made significant adjustments to minimize the impact on the residents," Kegg said.
The development already has commitment from WinCo to open a grocery store in the Roy section. WinCo is a Boise-based grocery store that Kegg said has prices competitive with Wal-Mart. Kegg said he is not ready to disclose the companies he is working with for the Clinton portion of the development.
Councilman David Pearson said the zone change needs to include a development agreement.
"My big concern is that we are taking a piece of property that we have already sat down and argued (about) and changed it to R-1-5 with a development agreement. ... The only reason that I felt good about doing that (granting a rezone previously) is because we had to have a development agreement. Now, in my mind, I see an area that that doesn't really fit anymore.
"This is a real huge advantage to the developer. I think the product ought to be a little better now. I think they should have to have 1,500-square-foot lots because they should have been half-acre," Pearson said.
He said the commercial development would make the remaining property inappropriate for a residential zone. He wants the development to have a consistent look in both cities. Kegg told council members that the Clinton standards were more restrictive and he would be willing to use them on both sides of the development.
Councilman Dale King said he is in favor of the rezone.
'This is one of the few big chunks of land that we can get a good tax base on," said King.
Councilwoman Barbara Patterson said developments like this help keep money in the city, enabling residents to save gas money by shopping closer to home.
Resident Pauline Larsen said she is in favor of the rezone. She lives on 2000 West and because her home is near the performance zone, it currently has no value, she said.
"It (the property) needs to be zoned to prevent building of homes. It needs to be commercial," said Larsen.
The council approved the rezone with the understanding that before presenting the plan to the planning commission, the developer will present the site plan to the council for review. Kegg was required to notify all residents of the city surrounding the development.
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