Longmont may soon make it a lot tougher to put in a new car wash, drive-through, auto part store, gas station and garage adjacent to Main Street.
The city council Tuesday night agreed with city staff recommendations to either ban those uses outright or make them subject to a conditional review process. They are currently permitted by right, according to a city staff report.
Erin Fosdick, the city’s principal planner, said the changes are to make development along the entire Main Street corridor more uniform and more inviting for people on foot. Those auto-oriented businesses are not allowed in the mixed-use downtown area, Fosdick said.
“This is all aimed at producing a more mixed use pedestrian friendly corridor,” Fosdick told council during a work session.
The city’s Main Street Corridor Plan includes several recommendations at enhancing the entire corridor, which stretches from State Highway 66 on the north to Plateau Road on the south, according to a city staff report.
The amendments to the land development do not include existing businesses along Main Street, city planner Zach Blazek said.
“If you have a gas station on north Main you will be able to run that gas station and you can come in and do modifications,” Blazek said.
Councilor Marcia Martin said she liked the proposed changes because it would help traffic flow on Main Street. “When you have cars crossing onto the sidewalk, they tend to back up traffic and slow down the flow of traffic”
Councilors did not vote on making the amendments official. The amendments will come back to the council for a formal vote later this year, Fosdick said.
