Rockport, LLC has submitted an application for a Comprehensive Plan Amendment (CPA) to revise Figure 4.2 and the associated Conceptual Land Use Diagram Table, remove language associated and/or supporting Figure 4.2 for areas denoted as A and F, add Industrial Uses to areas denoted as C, and modify language contained in the Mixed Business Campus (MBC).
The adopted 2040 Comprehensive Plan guides the City's development patterns and land uses through the Planning Period which is defined as 2020-2040. The 2040 Plan identified the subject CPA area as a Priority Planning Area due to the potential commencement of the current mining activities, and the Figure 4.2 Orchard Place Concept was developed to establish the mix of anticipated land use development within the MBC land use designation shown on Figure 4.6 2040 Land Use Plan. Both Figures 4.2 and 4.6 were used as the foundation to develop the Water Supply and Sanitary Sewer chapter components of the 2040 Plan. Specifically, the proposed CPA has the potential to affect roadway design, water treatment and the size of underground utilities, which are all based on the demands of the proposed land use types.
The MBC was a focus of the 2040 Comprehensive Plan. An excerpt of the purpose of the district is below:
"The Mixed-Business Campus District provides flexibility for a variety of business/industry clusters. As of 2017, the Orchard Place site plan illustrates the location of each cluster, and identifies a specific set of land use envisioned for each cluster."
"Mixed Business Campus (MBC) areas are intended to be high-quality settings for office campus, office with light industrial, office with biomedical manufacturing, health care facilities, health care training, general office, corporate office, and other higher-intensity employment uses. Mixed retail and commercial service uses that serve the campus and adjacent neighborhoods will be limited in area and to activities that support the employment objectives of the MBC."
Figure 4.2, which is attached to this report, provides guidance on the land uses permitted in each "cluster" or “blob” as described in the Applicant’s narrative. Figure 4.2 was created by a potential developer on behalf of Rockport, LLC during the 2040 Comprehensive Plan process. The concept plan further broke down the potential mix of uses within the MBC and included specific percentages. The following excerpt from the 2040 Plan is provided below:
"The mix of uses in the MBC district includes the following:
- 55 - 65% office
- 10 - 20% light industry/manufacturing
- 10% office warehouse/showroom
- 5% commercial and retail uses"
The applicant's full narrative is attached, but there are essentially three requests supported by background included in the narrative. These requests are:
- “Revise the guidance stating that commercial retail uses are 'preferred to be located along County Road 42.'”
- “Remove references from the Comprehensive Guide Plan to Figure 4.2 for the Mixed-Use Business Campus on Rockport’s property west of the future Johnny Cake Ridge Road” ... in areas denoted as A and F.
- “Add the land use 'Industrial,' to Area 'C' in the Conceptual Land Use Diagram Figure 4.2 on Rockport’s property east of future Johnny Cake Ridge Road.”
The Planning Commission held the public hearing on this item on January 15, 2025. The Commission had a number of questions, and a resident provided public testimony. A summary of these comments and staff responses is contained within the background section of this report.
Comprehensive Guiding
Figure 4.6 - 2040 Land Use Plan predominantly guides the subject CPA area as "MBC" Mixed Business Campus, with areas abutting the westerly property line guided "C" Commercial, "HD" High Density Residential, and "LD" Low Density Residential.
Zoning
The site is predominately zoned "SG" Sand and Gravel and is an active mining area. On the west side of the site an approximately 15-acre site is zoned "RB" Retail Business from a prior application from Menards, which did not materialize.
Since the adoption of the 2040 Comprehensive Plan, staff have been working on a Mixed Use Business Campus (MUBC) zoning ordinance. The MUBC ordinance must be consistent with the adopted 2040 Comprehensive Plan. The ordinance is complete (adopted 02/27/2025) and is consistent with current guidance.
The applicant and staff have met to discuss the proposed MUBC ordinance and the applicant's proposed amendments. Their proposed changes were based on a market study they commissioned after 2020, which highlighted the post-pandemic change to the office market. The percentages of uses outlined within the Comprehensive plan called for up to 65% of the land to be office.
If the Planning Commission recommends, and the Council adopts the proposed Comprehensive Plan amendments, the recently adopted MUBC ordinance will need to be amended and brought forward for approval.
Applicant's Requested Amendments
As noted, the applicant has three primary requests. Each request is outlined with additional context and discussion of how the proposed changes effects the 2040 Comprehensive Plan is provided.
1. Applicant Request: “Revise the guidance stating that commercial retail uses are 'preferred to be located along County Road 42.'”
The Comprehensive Plan states that supportive uses should be adjacent to County Road 42, the direct quote from the Comprehensive Plan is below.
"Some examples of supportive uses include lodging, restaurants, daycare, banking, and other retail uses 2040 Comprehensive Plan update that may support the campus directly as well as adjacent neighborhoods. Such uses should generally be located along County Road 42."
Staff does not have a concern about the proposed language amendment as both are guidance rather than prescriptive. The applicant's narrative refers to the draft MUBC ordinance. The MUBC ordinance has been adopted, and any proposed changes to the ordinance will require an amendment.
The subject application is for a Comprehensive Plan Amendment, and the Applicant’s requested language modifications is consistent with the intent of the policy language.
2. Applicant Request: “Remove references from the Comprehensive Guide Plan to Figure 4.2 for the Mixed-Use Business Campus on Rockport’s property west of the future Johnny Cake Ridge Road”…excluding Area D and Area E in Figure 4.2.
This request seeks to remove Figure 4.2 references for all MBC land west of Johnny Cake excluding Area D and E. The effect of this change would be that all land use types within the MBC would be permitted in the areas shown as A and F on Figure 4.2, and would permit the uses in any location. This action essentially results in reverting to the adopted generalized Figure 4.6 – 2040 Land Use Plan. A list of all uses in the MBC is below:
- Office with biomedical manufacturing
- Warehouse
- Light industrial
- Health care facilities
- General office
- Hotel
- Commercial retail
The primary difficulty with reverting to the range of uses is planning for infrastructure needs. Because area A and F comprise a large land area there is a significant difference between if the site is developed with 100% retail uses vs. 100% office uses vs. 100% light industrial uses. The current infrastructure planning was completed based on the mix of uses shown in Figure 4.2, and therefore the more generalized land use shown in 4.6 was not modeled as part of the 2040 Comprehensive Planning process. While any development is unlikely to be 100% of any single use, the City Engineer has been working to model what infrastructure impacts may result if the most intensive uses, such as industrial, come to fruition. Given the known development plans, the City must ensure that the City infrastructure can meet the demands, and if necessary implement and require appropriate mitigation to comply with the water and wastewater projections contained in the adopted 2040 Comprehensive Plan. The City Engineer’s updated memo attached to this report.
3. Applicant Request: “Add the land use 'Industrial,' to Area 'C' in the Conceptual Land Use Diagram Figure 4.2 on Rockport’s property east of future Johnny Cake Ridge Road.”
Area "C" on Figure 4.2 is designated for office, hotel, and medical uses. Area "C" is at the intersection of County Road 42 and Pilot Knob Road and runs adjacent to both. The applicant is seeking to add "industrial" as a land use category to this area. Area "G," which is immediately adjacent to area "C" but is more interior to the site, allows for industrial uses and is less visible from the primary roadways.
Staff Recommendation and Comments
Requests two and three from the applicant are similar in nature and result in additional land uses being added to most of the MBC. The changes would effectively change Figure 4.2 areas denoted as A, F, and C and add Industrial Uses to area C, while leaving the remaining “blobs” as depicted.
At the public hearing, the applicant's representative expressed support for the removal of Figure 4.2 from the Comprehensive Plan as a way to achieve their stated application intent. However, as previously noted, several areas depicted on Figure 4.2 are not proposed to change and therefore staff’s recommendation is to modify and update Figure 4.2 and the associated table on page 4-6 of the 2040 Comprehensive Plan.
The City designed utilities consistent with Figure 4.2, and any changes as discussed or any planned future uses will be required to either meet the maximum planned allocations, or must mitigate the exceedance through appropriate design and/or infrastructure improvements. Such required mitigation will be addressed during the plat and land use permit process for the specific project..
Public and Commission Comments and Staff Responses
Resident Comment: Resident expressed the desire to consider environmental best practices when developing the site.
Staff Response: The Comprehensive Plan is a high-level guide for how the City plans to develop. Within the 2040 Comprehensive Plan are over 200 "Leaf Notes" that highlight environmental best practices sought by the City. The City encourages developers to develop with these best practices in mind and when State Statute or law allows, City Ordinance includes them as a requirement. The City places a high priority on environmental and sustainable features when developing our own buildings, but the City's authority to require some of these items is limited. The City's past practice has been to incentivize development by allowing things such as greater density, or high building coverage on a site if environmental features are installed with the building. The City has also encouraged developments to include these features by allowing the required landscape budget to be used toward environmental items. This has been received well by the development community and staff will continue to seek best practices and features with future development projects.
Commissioner Comment: Could staff and the applicant work together to change the percentages of uses and bring this back to the next meeting.
Staff Response: The City Attorney responded at the meeting that the City must act on the application as presented.
Further, staff would add that the percentages of uses are not a common feature within a Comprehensive Plan. Typically, the desired uses are not allocated to that level of detail in the Comprehensive Plan. For example, when land is guided "C" Commercial, the type of commercial is not listed. This level of detail is typically done with how a property is zoned. Continuing the "C" Commercial example, the City has over seven zoning districts for different uses that are commercial in nature. The two most prominent are "RB" Retail Business, the most general commercial zone, and "NCC" Neighborhood Convenience Center, which limits the commercial uses to those neighborhood-oriented and excludes big box stores and fast food restaurants.
Additionally, listing a percentage on uses is likely to cause difficulty with enforcement in the future. For example, a property may develop with more office use and then over time transition into a warehouse or other generally permitted use within the zone. When building permit is submitted, City staff would be required to evaluate the entirety of the Mixed Use Business Campus to ensure the same percentage allocations. This can be done in smaller planned developments, but becomes prohibitively difficult on a 290-acre site. Staff's recommendation is that the Commission carefully review the proposed zoning ordinance as that is the more appropriate mechanism for citing specific uses than the Comprehensive Plan.