MV Board of Aldermen create mixed-use zoning district for 600 N. Main

Potential buyer requests flexibility in options if former MRC campus is purchased; board complies with rezone
The Mt. Vernon Board of Aldermen passed three ordinances during their meeting on Tuesday, May 12, related to rezoning the former Missouri Rehabilitation Center at 600 N. Main into a MU-1 mixed-use district.
The first ordinance created the new zoning district.
According to a table of permitted uses attached to the ordinance, property zoned as MU-1 is permitted to be used for 86 of the 114 regulated property uses in Mt. Vernon. These include all residential uses, most commercial and public, quasi-public and recreational uses and some manufacturing uses. The property can also be used for accessory, cottage business, cottage industry, home occupation and temporary uses. It cannot be used for agriculture, or adult entertainment, as well as some manufacturing uses such as salvage, mining and hazardous waste. There are no conditional uses for land zoned MU-1. There are also no regulations regarding intensity of use, height of structures, yard depth, parking, loading and unloading or signage on land zoned MU-1.
The second ordinance rezoned the land where the MRC is located, about 120 acres, into a MU-1 mixed-use district. The third ordinance authorized the execution of a temporary construction easement, right of way conveyance, and waivers of just compensation and appraisal rights regarding sidewalk construction at 600 N. Main. The property affected by the waivers of just compensation and appraisal rights is owned by the city.
Request made by potential buyer…
The board created the MU-1 Zoning District and rezoned the land at 600 N. Main to MU-1 on the recommendation of the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission. According to minutes from the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting that took place on Tuesday, April 28, the commissioners “were informed the potential buyer of 600 North Main has requested flexibility in developing the property.” The minutes also stated that a MU-1 district would “would allow multiple uses of the property including, but not limited to, residential, commercial, and light industrial applications.”
City Attorney Bill Petrus, in a memo to the Planning and Zoning Commission, said the MRC property’s large size made the new zoning appropriate for that particular property. “I think providing this kind of flexibility to the owner will allow the property to be developed,” he said. “I also think the owner will be doing so with an eye toward what uses fit alongside the other uses. For instance, I don’t think the owner would allow a 50-foot, lighted sign on the property for reasons that it would detract from the setting and residential uses intended for the property. I think any signage would be of a size and of a placement not to detract from the aesthetics of the rest of the property. The same with lot sizes, setbacks and parking regulations.”
Petrus also suggested that the then proposed MU-1 district would not be appropriate for smaller land parcels, but another mixed-use zoning district which would better fit smaller parcels of land might be created in the future.
“The characteristics of the 600 N. Main property – large size, large number of commercial and residential buildings, large open spaces – are the reasons this zoning designation fits that property” he said, “and they are also the reasons that this zoning district will not fit smaller, undeveloped, or minimally-developed parcels. There may be other mixed-use zoning districts that would be created for smaller properties that would address things like lot size, setbacks, signage, building height, etc.”
In other action…
The board also passed a fourth ordinance, which establishes a procedure for certain city officials to disclose potential conflicts of interest and substantial interests. The ordinance is one the board passes every two years.