Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter.
A shopper on Commerce Avenue crosses the street in September 2021.
The Longview Planning Commission is beginning to work through possible changes to downtown zoning that would address the city’s current moratorium.
The commission held a workshop during its meeting Wednesday night to discuss the six-month moratorium enacted by the Longview City Council that prevents the majority of new businesses from opening in the Downtown Commerce District. The district covers the majority of storefronts on 12th, Commerce and 14th avenues between Florida Street and Vandercook Way.
The moratorium was put in place in January to address the growing number of nonprofits and health care-related businesses that were opening on Commerce Avenue. City planning manager Adam Trimble told the planning commission the timing was “strange” in relation to a possible soup kitchen opening on Commerce, but that there was a larger trend that had spurred the action.
CORE Health recently opened a youth activity center on one corner of Commerce Avenue. Awakenings is working to open a mental health treatment center in another corner building.
“The more of those spaces you get specifically on the Commerce-Broadway corridor, they’re going to push out the opportunity for the businesses that draw people in to shop and that give that feel that we all appreciate,” said “Trey” Weller Davis, a planning commission member and downtown property owner.
The initial discussions Wednesday focused on possible requirements that would limit health-care providers. Potential options included limiting them to spaces above the ground floor, establishing a maximum square footage, or narrowing the list of what counted as a health-care provider.
Those zoning changes could use an existing rule in the downtown corridor, which requires certain properties to have an ongoing business use on the first floor. The rule was put in place in 2014 to require churches and meeting halls, which would use the space infrequently, to add a retail, business or entertainment use that would regularly draw in visitors.
Commission members used the workshop to float other ideas to expand or modify the current downtown zones. One proposed idea was to increase the mixed-use and residential zoning options. Trimble said those changes might depend on what the city plans to do about downtown parking, which is an issue he and other city officials are preparing for an upcoming City Council workshop.
Members also suggested allowing full permitting for restaurants that only provide walk-up food options, which would cover storefronts that mostly operated as pick-up windows and food trucks.
“That’s a viable way to get restaurants to move into the downtown because it’s kind of a pathway,” commission member Joanna Lee said.
The Planning Commission will continue workshopping ideas during the next planning meeting in March. Committee members asked to get more data about the current uses in downtown and the trends of interest among different applicants.
Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter.
Reporter
{{description}}
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
The Kelso City Council appointed LaDonna Page, an ambitious political novice, to a vacant council seat Tuesday night.
The Cowlitz County commissioners Tuesday approved contracts for emergency repairs on Rose Valley and Headquarters roads damaged by winter weat…
Capitol Dispatch is a weekly politics feature focusing on the actions of our local representatives during the 2022 legislative session. It wil…
KALAMA — The Kalama City Council on Thursday approved an amendment to the water system plan, allowing an ongoing development off South Cloverd…
Capitol Dispatch is a weekly politics feature focusing on the actions of our local representatives during the 2022 legislative session. It wil…
After nearly two hours of discussion, the Cowlitz County commissioners approved a $9.4 million contract with the state to administer a rent an…
Local governments and federal agencies are signing off on an agreement to collaboratively work on the future of Spirit Lake, the Cowlitz River…
Kalama businesses and community members struggling because of the pandemic can apply for relief funds through the end of February.
The Longview City Council approved the city’s role in a regional effort to address Mount St. Helens’ continued impacts on waterways during a r…
A shopper on Commerce Avenue crosses the street in September 2021.
Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device.
