A map shows the areas that changes to Lima’s zoning code could affect.
Jacob Espinosa | The Lima News
LIMA — The Lima planning commission met Wednesday to discuss changes to rezoning code that could have a big impact on neighborhood improvements.
The commission recommended council to vote on changes to the code that could remove red tape for residential or office districts, theaters, retail stores, restaurants or breweries and rec facilities to set up at corridors along Allentown Road, North Main Street and Bellefontaine Avenue.
“I will say this is a comprehensive look of where commercial corridors could exist,” Lima Mayor Sharetta Smith said. “We have a desire to protect the integrity and character of neighborhoods. A healthy neighborhood is where you can get everything you need within walking distance, and we want to create those pockets around town.”
Smith said the city requested the planning commission to review the changes to encourage more commercial activity within the neighborhoods.
“Being able to change the zoning of these facilities, which could even include medical establishments, is beneficial to the residents, but also to developers because it cuts red tape,” she said. “They wouldn’t have to come in for variances. They already know when they’re ready to build, for something like this development, that the use is already allowed.”
Smith listed several things that could improve if the city made it easier to develop for commercial purposes within individual neighborhoods.
“Not only does it provide access to the things that people need in their everyday lives, it also provides opportunities for jobs and social interactions,” she said. “And ultimately it will make neighborhoods more vibrant.”
Smith added that the changes made sense, due to a decrease in residential housing in these areas from population shrinkage.
“We have a generation of individuals, as well as professional planners that are encouraging cities to think about neighborhoods in terms of making them more walkable and more complete,” she said. “So we are allowing for that with the changes in this request.”
Now that the changes have been reviewed by the commission, they will be subject to a public hearing before council for community input.
Reach Jacob Espinosa at 567-242-0399.
