COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – A rezoning request for a proposed small grocery and specialty goods store at 93 East Park Avenue that would serve the nearby Arabic speaking neighborhood which has sparked a local debate is scheduled to come before the Coldwater City Council for final action next Thursday night.
Petitioner Talal Al-Abssi wants to rezone the property from a residential zoning district to a C-1 Community Business District.
But it barely got a positive recommendation from the Planning Commission last week on a 4-3 vote after concerns were brought up about parking, spot zoning and the stores location.
Planning Commission Chair Aloha Miller, who cast one of the three no votes, said she would like to see the store in a more commercial area and some feel the store should be in one of the vacant downtown buildings
Mayor Tom Kramer, who serves on the Planning Commission, feels otherwise. Kramer said several people on the Commission felt the neighborhood population was not going to walk downtown and carry back two bags of groceries.
A petition with the signatures of 31 neighborhood residents in favor of the store being on East Park has been presented to the city.
After an ordinance for the rezoning was passed on first reading by the City Council on Monday night, Fourth Ward resident Dan Corwin blasted city officials for playing favorites after Corwin claimed they ignored nearly 400 signatures on petitions that were against a proposed housing development at the former Franklin Educational Facility.
Due to the Memorial Day holiday, the next City Council meeting has been rescheduled for next Thursday, May 24, 2018.
