Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The LaFayette city council held a public hearing for two zoning requests to rezone lots as commercial rather than residential on Monday night. City Attorney Mac Tucker said that approving the first request could lead to legal issues as both lots are located in residential neighborhoods. 

The first rezoning request, by Maurika Landers, was for the property at 320 Alabama Avenue West, LaFayette, Alabama 36862. The request is to rezone half of the Lot 100 x 288 from R-1 (Rural Residential District) to B-1 (Neighborhood Business Zoning District).

The purpose of the request, according to the meeting agenda, is to place a 12×24 foot building  on the property as a Takeout Only Fast-Food Restaurant.

The second request came from Willean Heard to rezone the property at 106 7th Place SE, LaFayette, Alabama 36862. The property would be rezoned from R-2 (Single Family Residential District) to B-1 (Neighborhood Business Zoning District). 

For this property, the goal is to place a 12×32 foot building on it to serve as a beauty salon for Heard’s daughter, Karen Hardnett.

Tucker advised the council that the first request should not be approved as the lot is located in a primarily residential zoned neighborhood. Rezoning it as commercial could be viewed as what he called “spot zoning,” which may be ruled as illegal in a court of law.

According to Tucker, the more residential zoning is in the neighborhood, the more the courts will support zoning for residential purposes. 

“When you start putting commercial in the middle of residential, then what you have is what’s called spot zoning,” Tucker said. 

When a small lot is zoned for commercial use within a large area of residential zoning, he said, “Then no longer are you planning the entire community. You’re just sticking things here and there as people request it.”

During the meeting, Tucker mentioned a property on MLK Road in LaFayette across from Mount Calvary Church. He said that due to the “character of the neighborhood” and other nearby commercial zones, the request is more reasonable.

“But again, once something’s rezoned whether that business makes it or fails, it’s always going to be zoned commercial. So the next thing [that] could come in, could be anything or anybody,” Tucker said. “So this one is very similar to the other one, but the character of the neighborhood is different than Alabama [Avenue].”

A couple of individuals spoke during the public hearing, requesting that the council deny the requests because of the issue of spot zoning, which could weaken the city’s zoning ordinance.

The council voted to deny the rezoning request for the property located at 106 7th Place. They voted not to suspend the rules to consider the request for the property on Alabama Avenue, so they will vote on it at the next scheduled council meeting. 

 

CONGRATS GRAD — At the LaFayette city council meeting, LaFayette High School student Da’Mauriel Tyshawn Davis received the 2025 Alabama Municipal Electric Authority Scholarship Award. Each year, the AMEA presents scholarships to the top four high school seniors in each AMEA member city.