Council considers ordinance on small enterprises

Council considers ordinance on small enterprises

Mar. 29, 2001

SMALL COMMERCIAL developments such as the fuel center at City Market would be reviewed by the city under an ordinance set for a public hearing April 10.

By Janelle Holden
Journal Staff Writer

The Cortez City Council on Tuesday night set public hearings April 10 for several planning ordinances, including one that would allow for more review of small commercial developments such as supermarket gas stations.

Under the ordinance, commercial developments under half an acre could be reviewed by both the council and the planning and zoning commission.

Small developments such as the new City Market gas station are currently classified as "uses by right" and require only a building permit.

If the ordinance is passed, the city zoning and building inspector would have the discretion to pass the review of any commercial development to the city council with a public hearing after it has been reviewed by the planning and zoning commission.

The ordinance will regulate buildings in the central business district, industrial district, commercial highway district, and neighborhood business district.

In a memo to the council, City Manager Hal Shepherd said the ordinance would regulate the "infill" development that often has a "significant impact on neighboring properties or aesthetics to the community."

"I think the public has the opportunity to be heard on something that might be vacant for years and then developed under ‘use by right’," said Shepherd.

"I think it gives residents in the immediate area an opportunity to comment on development," explained Jeff Reinhart, city zoning and building inspector.

Reinhart said if the council had passed the ordinance earlier it would have had more input on the way City Market developed the gas station.

Under the ordinance, Wal-Mart’s proposed fuel station would be scrutinized by the council.

The council also passed, on first reading, an ordinance standardizing what Reinhart called "30 years of unwritten policy" for encroachment permits. Encroachment permits often apply to awnings or structures extending over rights-of-way.

Under the ordinance, an owner files a letter of application with a $50 fee and certified plat. A survey is required, and the planning commission and council review the application without a public hearing. Reinhart said the process is streamlined so that a permit is normally granted or denied within 10 days.

The council also set a public hearing to review the annexation of 10 undeveloped acres west of North Mildred Road and north of Southwest Memorial Hospital. The property is owned by Dr. Robert Heyl, who plans to submit an application for a two-lot subdivision after the annexation is approved. The lots would consist of a one-acre lot and a nine-acre lot.

In other business, the council:

Considered a draft ordinance amending the current skateboarding and biking regulations on Main Street. The ordinance would still prevent skateboarding, roller-blading, and scooting on a seven-block area on Main Street. If convicted of a second offense, the offender would have his bicycle, roller skates, roller blades or scooter impounded and turned over to the Cortez Police Department for disposal.
Unanimously approved a proclamation establishing May 25-27 as Gold Wing Road Riders Association Days. Over 1,000 people are expected to attend the rally.
Swore in newly appointed council member Harold Foster Sr.