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Show Approval given to rezone request in Farmington : FARMINGTON - Afttf spending spen-ding air hour listening to concerns of residents from West Farmington over what would happen if the southwest corner lot of U.S. 89 and Shepard Lane were allowed to develop de-velop commercially, the Farmington Farm-ington City council voted unanimously to allow for a zoning change for the 2.87 acre comer lot parcel The action was taken at the Aug. 16. meeting of the Farmington City Council. During the public hearing portion of the meeting, citizens expressed many concerns. One woman said she felt large neon signs such as the "golden arches" would destroy the aesthetic qualities of Farmington that make it so attractive to most of the residents and to others passing through. Some talked about safety concerns with no sidewalks in the area and the potential of heavy traffic on Shepard Lane. Raymond Fuller said, 'I am con- cemed ibout a convenience store on the property that will be open all hours;! have no objection to offices or businesses that close early in the evening." Lew Swain, representative of Foxglove Shopping Center that houses the new Smith's store, cautioned cau-tioned the council to plan well, considering con-sidering the whole potential retailcommercial area rather than a small retail strip with no anchor. "I am concerned about the negative ambiance that can be created at intersections," in-tersections," he said. "A retail area without an anchor store tends to have vacant spaces. They aire difficult to lease. I hope Farmington will use their planner and other experts ex-perts to develop a master plan that accommodates a rural setting with compatible businesses that can support sup-port one another." Mrs. Paul DeJong reminded the citizens and the council members, "Keeping the zoning Residential Suburban 20,000 (R-S-20) would be an after-the-fact decision. If you didn't want something on all four corners of this intersection, you shouldn't have allowed Smith's to go in. That corner is no place for a home." At the conclusion of the public hearing. Councilman Don Redd made the motion to approve the zoning change. He commented, "The only way to maintain a farm environment is to buy a farm. " Council member Patricia Achter said the council would be careful to oversee any development planned for the corner. Councilman Don White said controlling con-trolling the development of a small parcel like the one being rezoned is more difficult than developing a major area. "Our ordinance gives us careful controls over the types of buildings that go into a commercial development. The individuals have to get conditional use permits before anything can be built. This means going through the planning . commission and the council agairi he explained. Mayor Robert Arbucklc told the residents, "The master plan reflects that the area from Cherry Hills to Shepard Lane will not become totally commercial. It will not be an ' unsightly strip without a plan. We can handle issues with the conditional condi-tional use permit." Developers of the property, Manor House Realty , are planning a development that will consist of a fast foods store, a bank and some retail space. There will be no access onto U.S. 89. The 2.87 acre parcel measures 319 feet to the west of the intersection and 330 feet to the south. |