Planners Told To Revise Business Zoning Section

The City Planning Commission was direeK ed by City Council Monday night to review the C-l local business zoning district and make recommendations to make its regulations more compatible with its in tent. The C-l classification was originally intended to permit construction of businesses that would service the surrounding neighborhood area. However, changes in the regulations for the district have virtually allowed any size buildings to be built. The most recent example, and the one on council's mind Monday was last week's action in approving the Packard Platt Plaza Shopping Center at Packard and Platt Roads. Even though that area is zoned C-l, the center will contain a Chatham grocery store that is reportedly the largest such store in the city. Mayor James E. Stephenson supported the commission study, saying the city spends hundreds of thousands of dollars yearly working on construction plans "to have council people vote 'no' just because they don t hke 1 the end result." He said an example coming up béfore council probably next week will be the ald's restaurant site plan for Maynard Street next to the Nickel's Arcade. Stephenson said it is called the McDonald's Hamburger Palace, but "the site plan that will be before us shows a structure that resembles a high class French restaurant more than a hamburger place." He said the review of the C-l zone would give members of the opposition political parties a chance to amend the regulations to allow disapproval of any site plan; (1) if the management is Republic; (2) if a restaurant uses nonunion picked lettuce; (3) if restaurants serve food in paper wrappers; (4) if a petition of opposition is presented; and (5) if the minority parties don't like the plan. This was obviously a takeoff on the reasons given by opponents of the McDonald's site plan.