Thank you to everyone who attended Saturday’s interactive zoning workshop to discuss the proposed Old Cutler Neighborhood Commercial District for the area around Old Cutler Road and SW 168th Street. Mayor Karyn Cunningham, Vice Mayor Leanne Tellam, and Council Members Marsha Matson and Steve Cody joined dozens of residents for a community brainstorming session hosted by our Planning and Zoning Division.

The meeting began with an interactive exercise with residents sharing their visions for new businesses and other area improvements. The overwhelming consensus was to preserve the quiet, safe, small-town atmosphere of the location while adding new amenities to enhance the neighborhood. Some additions residents wanted to see were cafés, family-run restaurants, and other small businesses along with more trees and native landscaping. They also expressed interest in biking, birdwatching, a mini-park, and more walking paths.
In a presentation to the attendees, Community & Economic Development Director Heidi Siegel provided an overview of the current zoning code and the proposed changes, which are currently a work in progress.  The recommended updates are in line with the desires of the community to maintain the neighborhood’s beauty and charm.

Under current regulations, examples of permitted uses include liquor stores, gun shops, auto dealerships, major department stores,
and parking garages. In contrast, the initial recommendations for zoning changes would drastically reduce the minimum lot area from 30,000 SF to 5,000 SF, prohibit businesses that would detract from the neighborhood’s ambience (such as self-storage facilities), and encourage the addition of bakeries, bookstores, antique shops, museums, and other establishments more closely aligned with the vision for the new commercial district. Below is a list of possible examples under current and proposed permitted uses mentioned during the workshop:
EXAMPLES OF USES ALLOWED IN CURRENT ZONING DISTRICT (B-2)

  • All uses permitted in B-1 (colleges, universities, automotive sales and service, group residential homes)
  • automobile parking garages
  • used watercraft sales in conjunction with new watercraft dealer
  • liquor package stores
  • conservatories & music and dance schools
  • hospitals (other than animal hospitals)
  • hotels
  • used auto & truck sales and rentals in conjunction with new auto and truck dealer
  • major department stores
  • nigh clubs (located no closer than 500 ft. of any residential, if approved at a public hearing.)
  • office parks
  • pubs and bars
  • regional shopping centers
  • self-service storage facility
  • gun shops
EXAMPLES OF PERMITTED USES BASED ON INITIAL RECOMMENDED CHANGES

  • antique shops
  • apparel stores
  • art galleries
  • banks (walk-up)
  • bait and tackle shops
  • bakeries (retail only, baking permitted on premises)
  • bicycle shops
  • bookstores (adult bookstores not included)
  • community garden
  • food & beverage establishments
  • florists
  • gift shops
  • government offices
  • hardware stores
  • hobby shops
  • medical offices
  • museum & cultural center
  • personal services (inc. beauty and barber shop, health spa, tailoring, shoe repair and other similar professions)
  • professional offices
  • park and open spaces
The next step in the zoning code update process is to formally present the recommendations for the area’s redesign to the Village Council in their capacity as Local Planning Agency during the Hybrid Local Planning Agency Meeting scheduled for September 19, 2022 at Village Hall, starting at 7 pm.

If you were unable to attend, click below to watch the video of the workshop.
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