Council to Hold Public Hearing on Spinnaker Property

Public invited to give input on this recently demolished property.

Tonight, Troy City Council will begin their meeting with a public hearing on the rezoning of the recently demolished Spinnaker Property. Currently, the property is zoned M-2, which is an industrial designation. That designation fit nicely, as the former business there made paper and gummed products. However, given the strategic location of the property, a new zoning designation will be needed to support more residential and commercial development. The owners of the property are seeking to have the OR-1, Office/Residential District zoning applied to the property.

This publication talked in depth about the Planning Commission recommendation on this property in a previous edition of this newsletter:

What to Expect at the Public Hearing

The best way to describe these public hearings is that they are, at best, perfunctory events. The city’s Zoning Code requires that the public hearings are held in order for Council to hear those concerns, mostly of neighboring property owners; those who own property within 250 feet of the parcel have received written invitations and other information about the public hearing.

It should be noted that these Public Hearings are not designed for public dialogue, it is simply designed to give the public an opportunity to speak on the re-zoning request. City Staff traditionally do not provide any presentations on the matter at hand, and council members tend not to have discussions about the rezoning. Again, this is just an opportunity for residents to speak.

That is not to say that public hearings can not be fruitful. Last year, this publication went in depth about a public hearing taking place on a rezoning request for residential housing on the city’s southwest side.

Where The Real Discussion Will Happen

A more robust discussion on this rezoning will happen at the next meeting of the Community and Economic Development Committee, which will more than likely take place next Monday, August 12th. At this meeting, City Staff will provide a brief background of the request and the Council Committee will engage in discussion about the rezoning request.

If residents could make both the public hearing and the committee meeting, both would be very helpful. However, if a resident had to choose between either attending the public hearing or the committee meeting, residents would be better served attending the committee meeting next week.

What do you think?

What are your thoughts on the Spinnaker Property? Are East Side residents excited about the potential to see new development on Water Street? Our paid subscribers are more than welcome to leave their thoughts and ideas in the comment thread.

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