The Hastings Planning Commission met Monday, May 13 and recommended rezoning of a parcel of land at the southwest corner of South Frontage Road and Pleasant Drive that is the proposed location of a national retailer. The Hastings City Council accepted that recommendation Monday night and approved a first reading the rezoning. A second and final reading and a comprehensive plan amendment will be on the city council agenda for June 3.
The name of the business will become public when site plans are presented for the development on the 3.9-acre property that the City of Hastings transferred ownership of earlier this year to its development wing, the Hastings Economic Development and Redevelopment Authority.
Mint Development of Hastings has an approved purchase agreement on the parcel with HEDRA. Community Development Director John Hinzman told the planning commissioners that the action changes the future land use from medium density residential to C-4 Regional Shopping Center.
The property is directly across from Westview Mall, and HEDRA has targeted helping boost business at that mall was one of their strategic initiatives.
Mint Development plans for final closing on the property with HEDRA by the end of the year. Hinzman said the planning commission will see a final site plan on the property later this year.
“At that time, we would have more detail pertaining to how the site would be developed,” he said.
The property has a drainage pond on it that will have to be retained. Hinzman said that with commercial properties on the east and north, changing the zoning of the site to commercial is justified.
“It’s not too far from Hwy. 55, which is a major road through town. We do believe that this is consistent with our planning policies here and do support the change to commercial with the rezoning the property right now,” said Hinzman.
Neighboring property owners had been notified but none showed for a public hearing on the zoning and comprehensive plan changes.
Commissioners expressed opinion that trees should remain as a buffer between rental townhomes to the west.
Commissioners said they will be interested in seeing how the site plan addresses traffic on and off of Pleasant Avenue and trees on the site. Hinzman said those concerns have already been discussed with Mint Development by city staff.
“We’ve shared the concerns about the tree preservation and also the siting to provide as much protection as possible to the existing residential. The developer has those comments and they move forward toward site design,” said Hinzman.
Commissioner Chris Teiken expressed concern that the multifamily development to the west of the site becomes a residential island, surrounded by commercial on three sides and a school to the south.
“It would be its own island. I wish we could have kept a strip of land or something that would protect the residential from the commercial. We might get a site plan. We might get one thing, but five years from now, they’re building something else that we can’t really control ourselves,” he said.