City's land use plan affects zoning changes

Nevada Daily Mail

Of all the issues the Nevada City Council deals with zoning is one of the most complex and sensitive, since it deals with property rights. These issues arise whenever someone wishes to change the zoning on a piece of property to use it for a different purpose.

Examples would be taking a lot that is zoned for single family residential and putting a business (commercial zoning) there, or, when the council considered during its Sept. 15 meeting a request to build apartments (multi-family zoning) on seven acres of property at 424 E. Highland that is currently zoned for single families.

In each of these cases, before the city council decides what to do, the question of changing the zoning goes to the Nevada Planning Commission, which looks at several issues before making a recommendation to the city council.

Nevada City Manager JD Kehrman said the first thing the planning commission considered is the "presumption of validity," or the assumption that the current zoning is reasonable.

It is up to the person wanting the zoning changed to show that the current zoning is not reasonable.

Kehrman said to determine if the current zoning is not reasonable, the planning commission looks at the goals set out in the city's comprehensive plan, which talks about the desire for additional residential development of all types in the city.

"The plan specifically targets that entire area of town for R-2 and R-3 development," he said.

Both R-2 and R-3 zoning are multi-family housing, with R-2 being two family or duplex housing, and R-3, apartment development.

The planning commission next looks at the surrounding zoning.

"This area is a great example of mixed use zoning," Kehrman said.

On the north side of Highland is the First Baptist Church. To the west are several single-family residences. On the south side of the property is the Fairground Estates, which is multi-family, to the east is On My Own, which is a center for independent living for special needs adults and Nevada Nursing and Rehabilitation.

"The neighborhood has already absorbed the impact of mixed use development," he said.

John Flynn, who is a long-time member of the planning commission, said the commission handled this request for a change in zoning the same as they always do.

The commission convened the meeting and opened the hearing to hear from the public.

He said there was one person there who did not live in one of the residences where the city sent notices of the meeting. During the public hearing he said several of the commissioners discussed the issue with her.

"We listened to the lady and gave her ample opportunity to talk," he said.

Flynn said neither he, nor any of the members of the planning commission, discussed the issue with the developer proposing the zoning change.

He said that the developer has come before the planning commission several times and sometimes the commission agrees with his request and sometimes they do not.

"I was surprised the vote was unanimous," Flynn said.

"This was no different than the way we consider any other request," he said.

Flynn said that sometimes the request is approved and sometimes it is not.

"We turned down a request from another developer to change the zoning on Meadow Lane to allow multi-family housing," he said.

That entire neighborhood is single-family residences and everyone there signed a petition opposing the change, he said.

"We always try to consider what the neighbors want," he said.