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TO:

Honorable Mayor and Members of the Common Council

FROM:

Kelly Nieforth, Director of Community Development

DATE:

October 8, 2024

SUBJECT:

Ord 24-545 Approve Zone Change from Neighborhood Mixed Use District (NMU) to Neighborhood Mixed Use District with a Planned Development Overlay (NMU-PD) at 1700 Oregon Street (Plan Commission Recommends Approval)

BACKGROUND

The subject site is a .64-acre property with frontage on Oregon Street and West 17th Avenue. The site contains a parking lot, one 30’x60’ garage, and a roughly 7,000 square foot mixed use building that was previously used as a tavern (with kitchen) and banquet hall; formally known as Witzke’s Bar Food & Banquet Hall. The second floor (above the tavern) contains one (1) apartment. In 2005, the banquet hall, kitchen, storage, and ADA bathroom were added to the existing building. In recent years, parts of the building experienced weather-related damages and has since been closed. The current owners have begun making necessary repairs to make the building safe and useable again. The surrounding area consists primarily of residential uses along with a few mixed-use buildings within the immediate intersection of Oregon Street and West 17th Avenue. The 2040 Comprehensive Land Use Plan recommends Neighborhood Commercial land use for the subject site.

ANALYSIS

The applicant is requesting a zone change from the existing Neighborhood Mixed Use District (NMU) designation to a Neighborhood Mixed Use District with a Planned Development Overlay (NMU-PD). The requested Planned Development Overlay designation is intended to allow for flexibility in the zoning ordinance; in this scenario, to allow for the property to contain a first-floor residential unit in a mixed-use building that is more than 30% of the total ground floor area. The applicant has submitted plans to convert the existing banquet hall into a single apartment and to repair the existing tavern and second floor apartment. Staff is supportive of the proposed zone change as it will be consistent with NMU-PD zoning of neighboring property to the east. The 2040 Comprehensive Land Use Plan has the property slated for Neighborhood Commercial Use. The Planned Development Overlay will allow for changes and improvements to the site which otherwise may not occur. A neighborhood meeting was held on Thursday, September 5th, 2024 and three neighbors attended the meeting and voiced no concerns with the proposed project.

RECOMMENDATION

The Plan Commission recommended approval of the requested zone change at 1700 Oregon Street Avenue with findings on September 17, 2024. Please see the attached staff report and meeting minutes for more information.

Attachments

Ord 24-545

Rezone - 1700 Oregon St