“Over time, over a couple of years, as we implement the zoning code we find areas that just need to be updated,” Robillard said. “They’re out of date. They don’t reflect modern standards and occasionally we…..update those.”
City staff is proposing to expand permitted uses in industrial areas and change the designations from “industrial” to “business park” districts, Robillard told Kettering City Council recently.
The current status “gives the impression of the smoke stacks, the waste cans, the junk yard,” atmospheres that are now misleading, he said.
“They are more business park, they act like business parks, they feel like business parks,” Robillard said.
The city bought about 300 undeveloped acres at the research park in 2018 and is seeking to attract more jobs there.
Revisions to the code would also allow residents of main roads where on-street parking is prohibited to expand their driveways.
“One of the things that we found is that homes on busy thoroughfares that don’t have any street parking – particularly some of the older homes that have just a one-car garage and one space in front,” Robillard said.
Those properties “just don’t have enough spaces for modern families. So will allow those homes to expand their driveway,” he added.
Other proposed changes council is expected to consider in the near future include classifying vaping and related-product businesses in the same way Kettering does tobacco-oriented retailers and updating solar power requirements to make it easier for residents to install systems.
“The technology for solar power has changed over time and has gotten much more technological advanced and low impact on residences,” Robillard said.
Additional zoning code changes would provide “greater flexibility” for wine tasting and financial institutions, as well lessening some landscaping restrictions.
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