A rezoning ordinance drew discussion at a Sterling City Council meeting Tuesday.
The first reading of the ordinance to rezone a parcel of land now being developed as a Starbucks coffee outlet from Central Business District to Community Business was approved unanimously at the council's Feb. 14 meeting. At that time, Public Works Director George Good said it appeared a zoning map was drawn erroneously to show a parcel of land that now fronts the S-curve portion of Chestnut Street as zoned CBD when it should have been CB. He said the original plans from Sterling Uno, LLC, would have allowed the café in a CBD-zone area, but when Sterling Uno decided to include an adjacent parcel for a parking lot – a parcel zoned CB – the error on the original map was discovered.
At their previous meeting, Albert Delgado joined the rest of the council in voting to rezone the CBD lot as a Community Business so the two lots can be developed together, however, he abstained from the vote during a second reading Tuesday. Prior to the vote, Delgado raised concern about the protocol that was used in allowing the rezoning to take place and asked City Attorney Matthew Richardson and the council to review compliance permit rules in the city code regarding zoning lots and combined lot usage to ensure they're not setting a precedent.
"I see that we have an established protocol in city code, and I am pro-business, I am not against this business coming into fruition and operating, I think this is great for the city. But, I look at this request for rezoning and the protocols as they are presented in the city code, I just want to make sure that legally the city is not getting into a position to where down the road some other entity may want to say you created an exemption in the zoning rules, and so there may be opportunities for others to take advantage of it. That may be a good thing and it may not be a good thing," Delgado said.
Richardson asked Delgado what aspect of the process he believes what not followed. Delgado noted the zoning permit was presented to the planning commission on Feb. 1 and questioned if they had access to the city code he referenced and if so, why they made the recommendation to approve it if there is a contradiction in the permit. Asked what the contradiction was Delgado said it was the manner in which it was done, noting the code states the zoning request has to be made before or at the time of the building permit and now a rezoning request is being made after that fact.
Mayor Brenda Desormeaux clarified the business could be built on either CB or CBD, so if the lot were zoned completely one way it wouldn't really matter which one. Good explained the desire of the business down the road is to consolidate the two lots into one lot and to do that they would need to be in the same zone district.
Delgado questioned why the rezoning request wasn't made and the discrepancy addressed when the original permit was issued. Desormeaux pointed out there are certain guidelines that the planning commission has to follow and if it doesn't meet their guidelines for being able to be rezoned then they don't have to approve it. Richardson advised there is legal counsel that meets with the commission and Good pointed out that the business could come in two years from now and ask to rezone the lot and it would be appropriate then as it is now. Richardson agreed and noted that properties are rezoned all the time without a building permit being issued at the same time.
Later, the council agreed to a request presented by Kim Sellers of the Citizens Advisory Board asking the city to put out a request for proposals for a landscaping person or company to maintain the new landscaping the CAB has put into place on Front Street and in the bump outs on West Main Street.
"When we first put these things into place our goal was that they would enhance the revenue of the city with additional economic development. Obviously, with COVID there was a little bit of a hiccup and some things happened, our goal with doing these projects was not to put an extra burden on the city Parks and Recreation Department by having to maintain extra plantings and plants, so we would like to put out a request for a proposal," Sellers explained.
While the board isn't sure what the cost will be, she said after bids come in the city council would have the opportunity to say no to paying for it if they feel it's too costly.
"With the Front Street landscaping that we put in, the bump outs that we put in, the West Main bump outs that we put in, they're not being maintained, that is no fault of anybody, we haven't put together a system just yet. We would like them to look uniform and beautiful, so that when people drive down Main Street everything looks beautiful and wonderful," Sellers said.
Desormeaux asked if there is a watering system in the bump outs, Parks, Library and Recreation Director Wade Gandee said the current bump outs don't have them, but some of the buildings nearby have outside spigots that can be used there.
"The plan going forward with the next stage is to have water in those," Gandee told the council.
Sellers commended the businesses that have done "an amazing job" making their bump outs look beautiful, but noted other areas have had businesses move in and out and change hands so those areas aren't getting as much attention.
Additionally, during his update, City Manager Kevin Blankenship reported sales taxes collected in January were up 6.16% compared to the previous year, an increase of $54,988.52 and lodging taxes were up 179.62%, an increase of $11,998.60.
He also mentioned the Logan County Chamber of Commerce's "State of the Community" event that spoke at last week and the discussion around resources for the increased homeless population that Sterling is seeing. Council gave him permission to organize a collaborative meeting with various groups and individuals who are providing assistance to the homeless to better understand who is doing what and perhaps find someone to coordinate all efforts.
The council also:
• Approved a special event permit for the Sterling Elks Lodge for the Merino School Mouse Races fundraiser on March 25, from 4 p.m. to midnight. Funds will go towards upgrading the press box.
• Approved an agreement with RE-1 Valley School District and Sterling Baseball Organization. Under the agreement, the city will pay for electricity costs up to a maximum amount of $500.
• Approved a resolution designating Blankenship as the official representative to all County Health Pool member's meetings and Debra Forbes, Robert Brown, Kaitlin Mentzel and Jessica Smillie as correspondents.
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