On the morning of Sept. 17th the Clay Center Planning Commission and Board of Zoning Appeals met to discuss three matters: one re-zoning request and two property variances. All three passed.
All three issues were discussed as a hearing and then voted upon at the 7:30 am meeting.
The property at 501 W Crawford was rezoned from residential to commercial by the Clay Center Planning Commission. The board said surrounding properties are currently zoned as commercial or industrial, with the nearby Tolin Terrace zoned as residential. Due to access of the highway, members said it made sense to rezone as commercial. In addition, it said the property met the three criteria to be zoned as C-2, or general commercial, which must follow three regulations. The regulations apply to a future business at the location and include intent and purpose, building regulations, and use regulations.
There was one dissenting vote.
In addition, a local business owner spoke against the change, citing potential competition for their business.
The Board of Zoning Appeals approved two property variances. A homeowner filed to build a garage eight feet closer to the street, which was approved with one dissenting vote.
A variance was also approved for 539 Clarke St., which will allow a car wash to be built within six-and-a-half feet of the sidewalk on the north side of Clarke Street.
Members serve on both boards and held the meetings back-to-back. The attached image shows the proposed car wash.
