About 15 years ago, Great Panes Glass Company Owner Judi Wire went door-to-door on Wells Street to collect signatures, with the hopes of changing the zoning to an Urban Corridor (UC) District. The idea was to allow mixed-use development while preserving pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods. Think: restaurants, boutiques, and other small, mom-and-pop retailers that can accommodate a broad range of mobility options.
As the Wells Street area became more commercialized, business owners and residents were concerned about maintaining its signature sense of place. For example, certain enterprises would have met the previous Commercial 2 (C2) zoning classification, but they might not have gelled with the area’s existing identity, historic character, urban development patterns, or relationship to the surrounding neighborhood.
Facing this reality, Wire and other concerned community members with ties to the area sought to shape the corridor’s future.
“In C2 zoning, at that point in time, gas stations were allowed,” she says. “Well, putting a gas station on Wells Street would not be a nice thing to happen.”…