Clover Street Rezoning Project deferred by City Council

The Clover Street Rezoning Project, an ongoing effort to redesignate an R-2 multi-family zone to an R-1 single-family zone within the Clover Court/West 6th Street area, was deferred by City Councilmembers due to legal considerations regarding private property rights. A new wrinkle, neglected in previous debate, arose relating to the legality of community members dictating the use of private property through zoning actions.

Councilmember Vince Barthels noted the parallel between the Clover Street Rezoning Project and a “taking,” in which the government seizes private land for public use. “Even...