City looks at potential rezoning of Eton building
By Grace Lovins
Birmingham Planning Board members took a brief look at early plans to propose the rezoning of a property at 220 S. Eton during the Wednesday, September 9, board meeting as property owners are looking to rezone the property from its current B1 neighborhood business status to potential TZ3 transition zone to pursue a multi-family development.
Owners Paul and Peter DePorre explained to the board that part of what brought them before the board was an issue with flooding. DePorre said the building experiences flooding during any heavy rain, and a zoning change would allow for a new building to accommodate the situation.
On top of the issue of the building being obsolete, according to DePorre, he said the request to rezone the property to TZ3 fits within the city’s 2040 master plan and best reconciles the uses already present on the east and west sides of Eton.
Board member Daniel Share noted that, when it comes to rezoning a property, the board may only take into account certain considerations for why a property should be rezoned. He explained that when the DePorres review their proposal they form explanations for why the rezoning is necessary and, if the building is obsolete, why it can’t be replaced with another B1 building and instead has to be a TZ3 zoned building.
Other board members offered feedback on the request, specifically the option to choose the TZ3 zone. Chair Scott Clein stated that the property in question is surrounded by properties zoned R6 and R7 single-family residential uses and brought forward the question if TZ3 was really the most compatible with the surrounding area.
The item was a pre-application discussion, so the board took no formal action. Board members encouraged the property owners to work with city staff to hammer out their proposal and dive into whether they believe TZ3 is the zoning they want to pursue for the parcel.
