Sunday, February 23, 2014

Old Louisville ZALU meeting: Feb. 6, 2014

The first 45 mins. of the February 2014 ZALU meeting took up the project
on 1031 S. 6th St. from Old Louisville resident Nancy Cogan 
with Q&A following on the subject of her redevelopment
of Vault 1031 property. She is being advised by her lawyer and 
Metro PDS staff on the intricacies of the zoning issues and what is the 
most effective way to have zoning/mapping of property adapt to her vision for 
the Vault 1031.

ZALU had little to offer her at this time besides a listening ear and 
sounding board. Some members of ZALU  expressed
a) reservations about the precedent created by a remapping of a particular 
property to fit a developer's plan rather than the other way around
b) suggestions for alternative procedures that would have less long lasting 
impact on the area around her property
c) a request that Ms. Cogan inform the nearby residents of the 
impact of her plans, seek their support and come back to ZALU a.s.a.p.

ZALU will consult with Metro PDS about our suggestions for an alternative 
process having to do with changing the nonconforming uses of the property, 
especially if we can show neighborhood support for this alternative.

The next 30 minutes were taken up with a presentation by resident 
Wade Mattingly on his hopes to open a craft beer "brew pub" in a 600 sq ft 
space at 1207 S 6th St. His notion for a brew pub, commendably fueled by 
passion for both brewing and his newly adopted OL neighborhood, appears 
to have hit a wall and needs to be reformulated if it is going to work in 
Old Louisville. Mr. Mattingly disputed that his intended business fits the
definition of a"tavern". However, there is no definition for "brew pub" in 
the Metro Land Development Code.

Problems:
A) zoning codes pose a legal barrier to Mattingly's idea in its current form;
B) a tavern cannot operate at 1207 S 6th, a property zoned corner commercial;
C) a brewery, defined as a manufacturing enterprise, is allowed only in an area 
zoned for industry, if brewery is the primary enterprise of the business.

The business model that Mattingly might consider is the Beer Engine and its
successful effort to get the zoning changed for site of its Germantown location.

Other subjects: the regular monthly meeting day of ZALU may need to change.
The likely new meeting day will be the second Wednesday of each month.
Time will remain the same.

Notes submitted by CTWhite