Anniston, AL – In a significant development for the city of Anniston, the Planning Commission is gearing up for a crucial meeting on February 19th at 3:30 pm at the Anniston City Meeting Center. The focus of the meeting will be to deliberate on proposed changes to the city’s zoning ordinances, specifically in the Core District between 9th and 13th Streets.
The proposed changes include allowing more commercial uses for tattoo studios, check cashing/payday loan businesses, vape shops, a medical marijuana dispensary, and bars within the Core District. Adult entertainment establishments, alternative financial institutions, tattoo parlors and studios, tobacco shops, and medical cannabis dispensaries are all subject to specific regulations outlined in the draft.
Mindy Poe, a member of the Planning Commission, spoke to the Calhoun Journal regarding the upcoming meeting. She emphasized the importance of community involvement, urging residents to attend the Planning Commission meeting to listen to discussions. While attendees won’t be able to speak at this meeting, a second public meeting, public hearings and a subsequent vote before the City Council will provide opportunities for community input.
Poe expressed her concerns about the extensive nature of the proposed changes, with a 118-page draft that may be daunting for residents to read thoroughly. However, she stressed the importance of attending Monday’s meeting in order to gain a better understanding of these changes and to effectively voice concerns during public hearings.
Poe’s hope is that the Planning Commission meeting will address potential discrepancies between the Comprehensive Plan and the draft of the new Zoning Ordinance. Poe highlighted that the Comprehensive Plan reflects the voice of the citizens of Anniston, emphasizing the need for a zoning plan that aligns with the community’s collective needs.
“The Comprehensive Plan is the voice of the citizens of Anniston recorded. It was created through surveys, community work sessions, and public input meetings with many residents, and it is the Planning Commission’s duty to make sure we create a zoning plan that meets the needs of the whole community and aligns with the Comprehensive Plan,” Poe stated.
According to the Comprehensive Plan, the primary desires identified by the community for downtown were the need for more dining and shopping opportunities, with a focus on public safety being second.
The proposed changes in the Core District are of particular interest, and Poe expressed her desire to avoid a situation where the community is unaware of these changes after a vote has taken place. She encouraged residents to attend the meeting to stay informed.
Following Monday’s Planning Commission work session, a follow up meeting is scheduled for March 14th. Once the Planning Commission votes on this proposed ordinance, it will go to the City Council for approval.
Poe emphasized that the Planning Commission must be committed to representing the desires of the community.
Residents are encouraged to participate actively in the upcoming discussions to ensure a well-informed and inclusive decision-making process for the city’s future.
For a more detailed understanding of the proposed draft the full version is available at:https://www.annistonal.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Zoning-Draft-240209wm.pdf
Specific language on topics mentioned above see below:
For Adult Entertainment the draft states: Adult Entertainment businesses are recognized, particularly when several are concentrated in a given area, to have deleterious effects upon adjacent areas, detract from property values and can have adverse effects on the general welfare. Therefore, not more than two such uses are hereafter permitted within 1,000 ft of each other, as measured between the nearest property lines. Nor may an adult entertainment use be located closer than 500 ft to the nearest boundary of any residential district or the nearest property lines of the following uses: child day care center or learning center; place of assembly or worship; or any public or private school offering pre-kindergarten through high school education programs. The expansion of a residential district or location of a protected use in conflict with these separation requirements will not cause an existing, permitted adult entertainment use to become nonconforming. No alcohol of any kind may be offered for sale, sold or served on the premises of an adult entertainment establishment.
For Alternative Financial Institutions the draft states: No two Alternative Financial Institutions may be located within 600 ft of each other. No Alternative Financial Institutions is permitted within 500 ft of a dwelling, place of worship, school or public park. No new Alternative Financial Institution may be permitted if there is a ratio of more than one existing Financial Institution for every 2,500 residents of the City.
For Tattoo Parlors and Studios the draft states: Tattoo Parlors. No tattoo parlor may be located closer than 500 ft to another tattoo parlor or tattoo studio, as measured between the nearest property lines. No more than three tattoo studios are permitted in the C District. Tattoo studios are not permitted on properties with frontage on Noble Street. Tattoo studios may not be co-located with food service businesses, hair or nail salons, dwellings, lodging establishments or other establishments not directly associated with the provision of body art services. Retail sales are limited to those customarily incidental to body art services. All body art services must be by appointment only. Walk-in service is not permitted.
For Tobacco Shops the draft states: Tobacco shops must be separated from places of worship, schools including pre-kindergarten through 12th grades, and child day care uses by at least 1,000 ft as measured between the nearest property lines.
For Medical Cannabis Dispensaries state they are subject to City Ordnance 22-O-15 and permitted districts C (Urban Core), UC1 (Urban Center 1), UC2 (Urban Center 2), SC (Suburban Corridor), and SNC (Suburban Neighborhood Center)
