LaGRANGE – As Calumet Village leaders continue to work on and refine its plans to revitalize its section of the community, new business opportunities are already being considered for the neighborhood bordering LaFayette Parkway.

LaGrange City Council reviewed a recommendation from the zoning board to rezone 613, 615 and 617 Hines Street inside Calumet Village from residential to commercial on Tuesday at the request of the property owner.

“The planning board considered a rezoning request for four parcels totaling about .8 of an acre, located at the intersection of LaFayette Parkway and Horace King Street and Hines Street,” said City Planner Leigh Threadgill during a work session. “… The existing property is currently subdivided and developed as residential. There are three houses on those four lots.”

The application requests for the property to be zoned general commercial and required more discussion than usual due to the property’s location in Calumet Village, which is currently making efforts to improve overall appearance and safety within the neighborhood.

“The character of that traditional mill village and what would be an appropriate zoning district for that location (was considered),” said Threadgill. “They went back and forth between… neighborhood commercial designation and… general commercial designation, and ultimately decided to go with the C-3 (general commercial), but they had some conditions that they wanted to apply to the zoning approval.”

Those conditions included requiring access to the commercial property be from Hines Street to avoid traffic build up at the intersection, a requirement that dumpsters and rear exits face the west side of the property line and a requirement that the street facing walls all have some sort of architectural treatment – like a facade or windows – that contributes the character of the neighborhood, and its revitalization efforts.

The city council is not required to follow the planning board’s recommendations, but the council usually takes those recommendations very seriously in its final decision, which in this case will be made following a public hearing on March 14.

Currently, the property owner has not announced any specific plans for the property beyond the request to be able to use it for commercial use in the future.

The public hearing for the rezoning is scheduled for March 14 at 5:30 p.m. at 208 Ridley Ave.

Reach Alicia B. Hill at alicia.hill@lagrangenews.com or at 706-884-7311, Ext. 2154.