COLUMBIANA Vote favors rezoning area south of S.R. 14

Council will take a final vote on the change Sept. 16.
By NANCY TULLIS
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
COLUMBIANA -- The Columbiana Church of Christ congregation and three adjacent residential property owners have two weeks to hold their collective breaths.
At the Sept. 16 city council meeting, a final vote will be taken on rezoning the properties on the south side of state Route 14 from residential to commercial.
After a public hearing during which only one resident spoke against the zoning change, council approved the change 5-1, with Councilman Don Leonard casting the dissenting vote.
The properties at 191, 213, 225 and 235 E. State Route 14 are on the south side of Route 14, east of the McDonald's restaurant.
The residents seeking the change argued that they have been trying to sell their homes for several years but have had no luck because their properties are zoned residential in an area that is increasingly commercial.
One woman said various councils on at least two occasions in the past 10 years have voted against the change.
Leonard argued that properties to the east are zoned residential, and questioned why other property owners to the east have not petitioned for a zone change as well.
Residents said some of those property owners are considering making just such a request to the city planning commission.
What's behind this
Council members said they recognized the difficulty the three families were having in selling their properties.
The residents said no one wanted to buy the land for residential use. The busy Route 14 traffic makes it difficult to pull out of the driveways, and the view from their front porches is of a hotel, a carwash and a strip mall.
They said it is not safe to cross Route 14 to retrieve mail from rural mailboxes, and some of the residents are elderly.
Residents of Seventh Street, parallel to Route 14 to the south, attended the meeting, but only one spoke up in opposition to the zone change.
One of the property owners on Route 14 said his family bought a property on Seventh Street because it is a quiet neighborhood and they are convinced that development on Route 14 won't impact that.
Council voted down a request from the same property owners two years ago because there was so much opposition from the Seventh Street residents who didn't want more noise, bright lights and commotion from commercial ventures in their back yards.
tullis@vindy.com