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Show Sampson rezone up for comment A proposed downzoning for a section of Old Town is the focus of a public hearing before City Council next Thursday. Residents of the Sampson Avenue area, at the southwest south-west edge of Old Town, petitioned last fall for a zone change from HR-1 to HRL. City Planning Director Bill Ligety, who has recommended recommen-ded the change, said the proposed zone change area begins with the lot areas just behind (west of) the homes fronting on Daly Avenue. From there it extends west up the mountain slope to the present Estate Zone. It also includes the upper portion of Norfolk, between King Road on the south and Second Street on the north. The HRL zone has been granted once before, in 1983, to residents on Rossi Hill Drive. The zone restricts construction to single-family residences at a lot size of 3,750 feet and prohibits nightly rentals and timeshares. Advocates have said the downzone is necessary to preserve the character of the neighborhood. They also argue that road access in the area is steep and narrow, and cannot support intense HR-1 development. Opposition comes from some property owners who say their opportunities to develop would be virtually quashed by the downzone. In discussion, some planning plan-ning commissioners have said they don't want to zone Old Town in piecemeal fashion, and want to treat all the areas like Sampson in a comprehensive way. . Ligety has identifieoTthree other Old Town areas with similar problems, but he said action on Sampson should not wait for them. The areas are not contiguous, con-tiguous, and the Sampson petition has already advanced advan-ced far along the review process, he said. One commissioner said the real problem may be road access, which persists regardless of the zoning. To that, Ligety said even if roads improved, the issue still remains . that some residents value their neighborhood neigh-borhood character. The hearing is scheduled for 5 p.m. on Thursday, May 31, at the Marsac building. |