Union Aldermen will hold a public hearing to get resident’s input on rezoning Union Florist, through when remains to be decided.
In a Board of Aldermen meeting Oct. 2, Union Florist owner Rusty Walton asked the board to work with him on rezoning the property to increase his chances of selling it.
“My wife and I, we have decided to sell the florist’s,” he told the board. “Currently, it is zoned R2, single family residency. You grandfathered it in at some point.”
Under the zoning laws, Walton said, the florist can be either a florist or a single-family home. While that has met his needs, he said he was concerned potential buyers might be put off by the limited possibilities.
“As you know, it’s hard enough to sell anything in this town without limitations,” he said.
After doing some research, Walton said he believed the property would be easier to sell if it was rezoned to a C4, general commercial, property.
City Clerk Cheryl Chaney said a C4 zoning would allow “most anything” to go in the Union Florist building. She said it was an umbrella classification, with very few limitations on the type of business that could be established.
The board agreed to work with Walton as he moved toward selling the business. However, under state law, the building could not be rezoned immediately.
“We’ll have to have a public hearing on it,” said Alderman Stanley Walker. “Everybody around it will have to express their opinion on it.”
State law requires the Board to advertise a public hearing for at least 15 days prior to the meeting date, Chaney said. With a weekly paper, she said it could take several weeks to call a meeting, advertise and weigh public response. While the board was willing to work with Walton, rezoning couldn’t happen overnight.
Plus, Board Attorney Doug Smith said, it might be better to hold off on rezoning until Walker had a better idea of what business might replace the florist.
“I think your neighbors might be more likely not to protest if they know what comes in there,” he said.
The sale of Union Florist, Walton said, was entrusted to Carelton Realty. He said he was unsure what level of interest there was in buying the property.
Although anxious to move forward, Walton said he understood the board’s position and would wait until more information about what business would go in to request a public hearing. However, he said, with the required advertising time, and the board meeting only once a month, he was concerned a potential buyer might lose interest by the time the rezoning was approved.
Mayor Wayne Welch said Walton raised a valid point about the time it may take for the board to meet, call a public hearing and finalize the rezoning. He said he would be willing to call a special board meeting to schedule a public hearing once Walton knew what business wanted to buy the florist.
In other business, the Board of Aldermen:
Approved hiring Kenny Chipley as a full-time police officer;
Approved hiring Mark Gourd as a part-time police officer; and
Approved hiring from N.L. Carson Construction to build a bridge on Vicki Valentine’s property to allow access to Union’s water treatment facility.
