A rezoning request for a property on North Willow Avenue is moving forward in the City of Cookeville’s approval process, following a recommendation from the Planning Commission.
Community Development Director Jon Ward said the request involves roughly 3,000 square feet of property located just north of 12th Street and south of West Jere Whitson Road. Ward said the property owner requested to rezone a portion of what was previously an abandoned right-of-way from Multi-Family Residential (RM-8) to Commercial (CL).
“The petitioner had acquired that right-of-way through the surplus right-of-way acquisition process through the city, and he submitted a request to rezone the portion where it is now a split-zone parcel,” Ward said.
Ward said the property currently has commercial zoning along its frontage on North Willow Avenue, but nearly 50 feet of the property in the rear remains zoned residential due to how the land was originally divided. Ward said the planning commission has approved the request, and the city council will hold a public hearing in May, where a final decision will be made.
“What’s important to understand is the frontage of that property is all zoned CL,” Ward said. “It’s just the rear 50 feet or so of the parcel that remained as RM-8, and that happened through a right-of-way acquisition process.”
Ward said he is not aware of Deweese’s intentions with the rezoned portion of the property, as no formal development plans have been filed.
“The CL zone allows for local commercial uses and also allows for residential uses,” Ward said.
Ward said there was not any concerns regarding when the Planning Commission reviewed the request.