Merced council OKs zoning change on West 23rd parcels

Though a zoning change in central Merced did not receive a recommendation from the city’s Planning Commission, the Merced City Council approved it Monday.

The council approved changing four parcels on West 23rd Street from residential to commercial office lots with a 5-1 vote. Councilman Michael Belluomini voted no and Councilman Tony Dossetti was absent.

The four lots on West 23rd are 815, 820, 825 and 830. The parcels have houses standing on them.

There are nine homes on the block, according to city staff. After the zoning change, four will be offices and the rest will remain homes.

The parcels to be rezoned are owned by attorneys. Some of the attorneys plan to turn the homes into their offices, because the lots are within walking distance of the Merced County Courthouse.

Jeffrey Tenenbaum, one of the attorneys, said the offices will not create an extra burden on traffic in the neighborhood. He said attorneys’ offices do not draw many visitors.

“We’re in court pretty much all day long,” he said.

The Planning Commission did not recommend the zoning change because it failed to get a majority vote.

The council disagreed on whether allowing for a sort of patchy zoning was a good idea.

Belluomini said he could not support what he saw as a lack of planning. “It’s piecemeal, spot zoning without demonstrating a plan for the neighborhood,” he said.

He recommended that the City Council hold off on the voting until the city could approach the owners of all the homes on the block, and perhaps change zoning on the entire block.

Allowing the parcel owners to change zones in a “polka dot” fashion might set a bad precedent, Belluomini said.

Mayor Stan Thurston disagreed, saying that 18th Street has several homes that have been changed into businesses “little by little” over the years. Placing the courthouse on West 23rd will have an effect on the surrounding neighborhood, he said.

Councilman Josh Pedrozo also voiced his support of the zoning change. “As the community grows, we have to accommodate the uses,” he said.

The City Council was scheduled to discuss how public comments were handled. By press time Monday, however, the members still had not discussed that issue. A follow-up about that agenda item will appear in Wednesday’s Merced Sun-Star.

This story was originally published December 1, 2014 at 10:13 PM with the headline "Merced council OKs zoning change on West 23rd parcels."