Davenport officers rewrote the town’s zoning legal guidelines in 2019, aimed partially at lowering the prevalence of bars and retail alcohol gross sales alongside sure business corridors “to reinforce neighborhood compatibility.”
Nonetheless, Aldermen Marion Meginnis, Ward 3, and Rick Dunn, Ward 1, have argued special-use permits have created a loophole that renders the brand new zoning code ineffective.
The permits, granted by the town’s five-member, quasi-judicial Zoning Board of Adjustment, present exceptions for specified makes use of in any other case prohibited by the town’s zoning code.
Meginnis has argued the particular exceptions have led to problematic companies working in shut proximity to houses, making a nuisance.
Scott Tunnicliff, govt director of the Hilltop Campus Village, helps the zoning adjustments.
“It has been made evident that the potential to … rezone (residential areas) for the sale of liquor has grow to be prevalent,” Tunnicliff stated. “And that there is lots of people who suppose that that is not a good suggestion — that it usually results in a deterioration of neighborhoods. That is why this idea of (particular carve outs for) a neighborhood bar is a worthwhile reward, as a result of neighborhood bars are social facilities. They’re gathering factors.”
Tunnicliff stated the Hilltop has a cluster of 5 properties alongside Harrison Avenue that had been previously saloons, “however we would wish to have the choice to have one or two of them to have the ability to apply once more” for a liquor license.
