The City Council did not pass a resolution to rezone parts of South College Street, meaning the vote will be delayed until the next meeting, July 7.
Forest Cotten, planning director for the City of Auburn, said the South College Corridor District (SCCD) was similar to the Renew Opelika Road project.
Cotten said SCCD encompasses a small portion of the intersection of South College Street and South Donahue Drive, where Kinnucans and Blooming Colors is located, but most of the zone is between the East University Drive and Veterans Boulevard.
SCCD would have more permissible uses. However, residential uses would not be permitted in that area. Cotten said there are only "a couple older homes" in that area. He said the area is already mostly commerical or has not yet been developed.
"We targeted the South College corridor, specifically, because it's a strip commercial corridor, much like Opelika Road, it's just a new generation of it," Cotten said.
Currently, the area is a Comprehensive Development District (CDD), and it is the most permissive district in terms of use, according to Cotten. However he said it requires conditional use for many uses.
According to Cotten's presentation, the areas that will be rezoned either have high visibility from South College Street or are right on it.
"What the staff is recommending is that all those properties be rezoned to South College Corridor District, with an emphasis on increasing permitted uses in the commercial entertainment category and also the road service category," Cotten said.
Cotten said the conditional use process is designed to make sure new establishments are compatible with what is already there. However, most of the establishments currently on the corridor are already commercial, so Cotten said there aren't compatibility issues.
"We didn't see any reason to keep it as a conditional use," Cotten said. "As a result, we've recommended that all those uses be permitted."
Cotten said the rezoning would not drastically change the way the area looks, but allow for more redevelopment.
Cotten said one property owner expressed a desire to not be included in the rezoning, along with another property owner during the public hearing portion of the meeting.
Bobby Phillips owns 135 acres of land near the interstate and has CDD zoning. He asked the Council for permission to opt out of the rezoning so the land could be more marketable to potential buyers.
"We've done our best to keep the property natural-looking," Phillips said.
After discussion, Mayor Bill Ham suggested denying unanimous consent to give Phillips and his family time to discuss the best course of action with officials such as Cotten as well as their real estate advisers.
"Maybe we should deny unanimous consent if you've got any questions about what we're trying to do, and maybe sit down and look at it," Ham said.
In other City Council news:
- A no parking zone was established at 210 Marion Circle.
- Several easements were granted for the North Donahue Drive Widening Project.
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