Sheldon, Iowa — Sidewalks have again brought about a lengthy discussion by a Sheldon government entity.
When the Planning and Zoning Commission met last week, they were asked to rezone the new McCabe Addition from Agriculture to Suburban Residential. The addition consists of eleven parcels located south of 16th Street, on the east side of Country Club Road and North of Highway 60. This parcel of land is outside the City limits, but the City of Sheldon has a two-mile zoning jurisdiction and a one-mile subdivision jurisdiction around the portion of the city in O’Brien County.
During the discussion, City Manager Sam Kooiker suggested that sidewalks be included in the plan. He said it would be easier to do now than later. However, representatives of the new addition said this would be so expensive that it would not be practical to go ahead with the plans for development. Most of the lots are two acres or more and sidewalks would have no connection to existing sidewalks. After more than half an hour of discussion on the sidewalk issue, the commission voted to approve the plan and rezoning, with sidewalks to be required only if the Addition was ever annexed into the City. That decision will now go to the Sheldon City Council.
In other business the Planning and Zoning Commission also approved the request for the Bolkema property at 1202 South 3rd Avenue to be rezoned from Residential to Arterial Commercial, which is consistent with the recent rezoning of other nearby property. That decision will also go to the City Council for their approval.
And, the commission also held a discussion concerning residential units in the downtown area. The present zoning states that this area can only have dwelling units in upper floors and/or above commercial uses. Occasionally this has caused a problem with buildings such as the old Eagles Club. That building has not worked out well for commercial uses, but it is in very good condition and would be excellent for apartments. Furthermore, it would have plenty of its own parking spaces. The matter will be brought up for discussion later after options are explored.
