Rezoning to promote uniform downtown district
Cherish West
Issue date: 8/26/08 Section: News
Southeast Missouri State University's River Campus has initiated many improvements to the downtown area.
One year after its grand opening, Cape Girardeau's Planning and Zoning Commission has decided to rezone an area near the campus from its light manufacturing designation, to a downtown commercial district designation.
Last Monday the commission came to a unanimous decision to rezone the five-square-block area from North Merriweather Street to Highway 74 South, and Frederick Street to the Mississippi River.
The area will change from a M-1 to a C-3 zoning designation and it will affect about one-third of the property in that area.
City manager Doug Leslie said the zoning change was part of the comprehensive city plan. "We had concerns about the preservation of that area," Leslie said. "Industrial zoning could allow uses there that are not compatible with the development plans for that area."
The current M-1 zoning designation doesn't allow the construction of new residences, but it does let industrial plants such as meat packing and boat manufacturing to operate in the area.
The new zoning designation will not allow such businesses, but it will accommodate property owners by permitting construction of residences and retail shops without obtaining any specific permits.
"C-3 zoning will allow commercial and residential, and both will be compatible with the Old Town Cape area between the River Campus and downtown," Leslie said.
The city hopes the zoning alteration will give the downtown district a uniformity that will attract investment, while also giving a set of rules for the new business ventures that want to establish themselves in that area.
He said the city plans to get bids on the Fountain Street extension from Morgan Oak Street to Independence Street in the fall or winter months and construction should start in the coming spring.
One year after its grand opening, Cape Girardeau's Planning and Zoning Commission has decided to rezone an area near the campus from its light manufacturing designation, to a downtown commercial district designation.
Last Monday the commission came to a unanimous decision to rezone the five-square-block area from North Merriweather Street to Highway 74 South, and Frederick Street to the Mississippi River.
The area will change from a M-1 to a C-3 zoning designation and it will affect about one-third of the property in that area.
City manager Doug Leslie said the zoning change was part of the comprehensive city plan. "We had concerns about the preservation of that area," Leslie said. "Industrial zoning could allow uses there that are not compatible with the development plans for that area."
The current M-1 zoning designation doesn't allow the construction of new residences, but it does let industrial plants such as meat packing and boat manufacturing to operate in the area.
The new zoning designation will not allow such businesses, but it will accommodate property owners by permitting construction of residences and retail shops without obtaining any specific permits.
"C-3 zoning will allow commercial and residential, and both will be compatible with the Old Town Cape area between the River Campus and downtown," Leslie said.
The city hopes the zoning alteration will give the downtown district a uniformity that will attract investment, while also giving a set of rules for the new business ventures that want to establish themselves in that area.
He said the city plans to get bids on the Fountain Street extension from Morgan Oak Street to Independence Street in the fall or winter months and construction should start in the coming spring.
Be the first to comment on this story