Friday, June 18, 2010
Cities In the Zone?
Posted by Mary Cashiola on Fri, Jun 18, 2010 at 9:34 AM
About 50 people turned up for last night's public meeting at Peabody Elementary on the proposed Midtown zoning overlay.
After the proposed Overton Square grocery store development fell through earlier this year, the Memphis Regional Design Center got together with the Midtown Development Corporation, the Cooper-Young Development Corporation, and the Cooper-Young Business Association to draft a plan that would dictate development standards for renovations and new construction.
"The community says, 'this is what we want our neighborhood to look like,'" said Memphis city councilman Shea Flinn, who was instrumental in beginning the overlay process. "We're not going to prostitute ourselves for any developer who comes along."
In the overlay area, which is in a sort of upside down L/arrow shape because of the historic neighborhoods already designated in Midtown, current commercial zoning would change to mixed-use commercial and there would be a review process for all commercial development.
"Outside of downtown, it's illegal right now to have buildings with commercial on the ground floor and residential above," said Charles "Chooch" Pickard, executive director of the regional design center.
The standards would dictate how commercial buildings are placed on the site.
Because of the urban nature of Midtown, the overlay looks to see buildings that are pulled up to the street with parking in the back and windows on the front.
Pickard also suggested taller buildings.
"To have a Trader Joe's or a Whole Foods, we need to create more density," he said. "The only way to do that is to increase the heights."
Much of Cooper is currently zoned "commercial - highway, which allows motor vehicle sales and service.
"We've found a pattern of zoning that is too intensive for the land use," said Mary Baker with the Division of Planning and Development. "This zoning is appropriate for out on the highway."
The overlay would change much of that zoning to the least intensive commercial use.
"It's just historical. Much of Midtown is like that," Baker said of the highway zoning on Cooper. "In the late '70s, city corridors were zoned that way. Much of the residential areas were zoned 'multi-family.' They thought things would develop with a higher intensity that way."
The city later came back and rezoned the residential network but didn't change the commercial areas.
"Now we have an opportunity to get rid of some of it," Baker said, "and that's a good thing."
Comments (10)
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What's the relationship of this "overlay" to the new "Unified Development Code" that's about to be adopted by the city and county http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2010/…, and what's the status of that continuing pestilence among us, billboards, under either of them?
The overlay and the UDC can be overlapped. If the UDC is passed, it would change zoning in Memphis and unincorporated Shelby County, including Midtown. The Midtown overlay just affects zoning in Midtown and is more specific to that area.
WOW.............. I about crapped my pants when I read that a whole, WHOPPING 50 people showed up at this zoning meeting. Call the Wall Street Journal............. NOW! NOW! NOW! ........... when the real estate world learns that 50 people are interested in this bullshit the investment will FLOW LIKE WINE..................... Does Trump know that Chooch attracted 50 goofy bastards? HOLY SHIT!!!!!
Here is a tip............. businesses typically invest in areas that ALREADY attract big, proven numbers of customers. They DON'T invest because they want to return to the 1850's'
Overton Square couldn't attract flies if it featured a 100 ton manure pile.
However, Chooch, June, and the rest of you goofy liberals, keep up the Green Acres re-enactments; they greatly amuse me.
"We're not going to prostitute ourselves for any developer who comes along." If that's the case, how in the world are we going to elect our politicos in this town?
"Here is a tip............. businesses typically invest in areas that ALREADY attract big, proven numbers of customers. "
So sayeth the world's largest Bass Pro/Pyramid fan.
Maybe there's a clause in the contract between the city and BP to have Tommy re-instated as president of the DNA.
Other than providing comic relief, is there another reason for continuing to allow Mr. Volinchak to post his inane, profanity-laced remarks on the pages of this paper?
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