By Mark Webber
New restrictions for small, neighborhood-based commercial areas have prompted questions on whether now is a good time to further limit businesses.
Examples of these types of areas cited during Monday’s Bartholomew County Commissioners meeting include QuickSigns at the corner of 16th and Union streets, as well as ZwanzigZ Pizza and Brewery at 11th and Lafayette.
There are usually no more than one or two businesses mostly surrounded by residences, city/county planner Jeff Bergman said.
However, the ordinance that received first-reading approval Monday from the commissioners pertain only to small, neighborhood-based commercial areas outside the Columbus city limits. It would include all rural areas, as well as small, unincorporated towns like Newbern, Grammer and Waymansville.
The proposed ordinance states that certain retailers or services like business centers, nightclubs, bars, athletic complexes and liquor stores are inconsistent with residential areas, Bergman said.
If the submitted county ordinance receives final approval next week, it would make the placement of one of these establishments in a residential area outside of incorporated communities either conditional or prohibited, Bergman said.
If the ordinance is passed, Bergman implied the county isn’t likely to go out looking for problems where none currently exist.
“I think everybody understands you can apply as much or as little to this as you see fit,” Bergman said. “We’ll manage how that works in the shared zoning ordinance from that point forward.”
In addition, business owners can always request an exemption from the Bartholomew County Board of Zoning Appeals, he said.
For more on this story, see Thursday’s Republic
