We Must Examine Our City's Needs Before We Attack Zoning Issues

EDITORIAL - Thursday, November 27, 2008 - I believe that before we rezone ANY property in the City we first examine what we need. Only after determining a need should we look at what properties best serve that need. This might involve rezoning open land, but could also involve other classifications (for example, currently zoned residential property with few or dilapidated houses on it).

The City of Ironwood currently has 9 zoning classifications:

• R1 - Single-Family Residential: currently we have over 500 empty or for sale homes in Ironwood. Additionally we have many empty lots.
• R2 - Multi-Family Residential: we have many empty apartments in town, thus the opposition to Hovey
• R3 - Rural Residential: probably not a lot of vacant R3 but not a lot of people interested in this within the city limits either
• C1 - Neighborhood Commercial: primarily intended for family, food, household, and automotive services in close proximity to residential areas.
• C2 - Downtown Commercial: we have many empty storefronts in our downtown
• C3 - Highway Commercial: we have many empty storefronts and lots on the highway
• I - Industrial: 9 empty lots and one empty building in our Industrial Park
• O - Open Area: agriculture, forestry, recreation, and public land use or similar use and only building incidental thereto
• PUD - Planned Unit Development: My understanding is that this is a way to allow development that doesn't technically meet zoning regulations. Green space at the center of a neighborhood instead of minimum lot sizes, etc. This is NOT a way to circumvent current zoning.

So, what do we need? JOBS is generally the first thing people say. What's stopping new businesses? Certainly not a lack of land. What could have happened if all the time that has been spent on Ayer Street had been spent on researching grants and loans for new businesses? The City Commission has already discussed paying for part of the demolition costs of blighted buildings. Let's formalize that and specifically target certain areas. Areas that are part of a plan on what we want Ironwood to be 10 years from now.

On a side note it's been said that we can't afford more parks. I agree. But calling these new developments parks is misleading. To me a park is something like Norrie Park, a place where the grass must be mowed, bathrooms maintained, playground equipment installed, etc. These new "parks", in contrast, are low maintenance, and even that will be done by volunteers.

Steve Frank

NOTE: This article was orginally posted on the About_Ironwood website where the issue of Ayer Street rezoning and development is being aggressively debated. To read comments of others or to express your opinion on the matter click the link at the bottom of this page.