Here we go with yet another post regarding the zoning ordinance. The prior to we explored residential housing, and all of the requirements that would be imposed on properties that were redeveloped. But, this idea is supposedly going to make it easier to repurpose existing structures into places that better suit our citizens needs. Part of which would entail converting residential spaces, into business spaces. Is this allowed? What are the parameters? Do we need special permit to do so? Hopefully by the end of this post, we'll have answered all of those questions.
Quick revisit, here is the proposed zoning map.
A significant portion of the city would be considered mixed use. You would also see the Diamond Park area having it's own regulations, and General Business-Manufacturing having it's own regulations as well.
Let's look at the requirements, if you wanted to bring a business into each of these districts. This is where it gets quite complex. But, try to stick with us.
The following letters correspond with the tables that will follow.
First up, MU-1, all of the yellow areas. What is and is not permitted here? (Notice the map in the corner highlights the areas in question.)
Now, MU-2
Mu-3
DPH
GB-M
There's also the bits and pieces that weren't included in the very first map we showed. These areas are Residential, Special Institutions, Campus Institution, and Economic Development Corridor.
Quick look at those;
These permitted, versus conditional or special exception uses, is in addition to the building requirements for each of these areas. But, we're not going to get back into that. If we did, this post would take an hour to read.
Let's look now at what would happen if you wanted to get approval under conditional use. What does that look like?
Ultimately, conditional approval is determined by City Council. There are also many many pages of conditional use regulations. We're going to include just a few that stuck out to us.
Alright, now what about for special exceptions? What's the process there?
Some of the specific regulations for special exemptions are as follows.
Oh, and in case you wanted to open a home business in a residential neighborhood. You would need to get approval, as well as follow these additional rules.
What about a restaurant by special exception?
So, if you wanted to open a restaurant at Diamond Park, you would have to get prior approval to do so. The building would need to conform to the building requirements for that district, and finally, you would have to follow the rules above. Sounds like a lot of work just to open a business.
There are way more regulations than we have listed here. Which is a bit overwhelming, considering how long this post is already. You can imagine just how much is actually included within this zoning ordinance.
Oh, and let's not forget this little bit.
Your signs can only be so big, there's maximum amount of signs allowed in each district, as well as height restrictions and measuring the luminance of your electronic signs to make sure they are within the parameters set forth.
And, just in case you thought that maybe it wasn't that big of a deal to write and request to get approval. There is obviously a cost associated with these things.
And what if you're not in compliance with this ordinance?
Is anyone else feeling overwhelmed with all of this information? You're not alone. A change that is supposedly to encourage redevelopment and reuse of properties, is quite discouraging when you read all of the requirements to do so. It doesn't matter if you're looking from a residential standpoint, or from a business owner standpoint, the city will be heavily involved in whatever you choose to do. Is this really what we want for Meadville? Why is city council going to spend so much time on this? Don't we have greater priorities than dictating what our citizens and tax payers do with their properties?
What can we do? Show up to the meetings and ask questions. Make sure your concerns are heard. Here's the tentative timeline.
By fall, this could be in place. Be sure to show up and get involved, otherwise you might not like what gets implemented.
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