TOPEKA — The new owner of the former Starcraft building, 618 S. Main St., wants to turn the property into a grocery store, mosque and car garage.
During Monday evening’s Topeka Town Council meeting, members discussed the request made by Rasha Muhammad.
Originally zoned as industrial, U-1, the property was rezoned as a Business-2 property after it was sold by Starcraft.
Muhammad said the car garage would handle auto repairs and body work.
In October, the town members heard from several residents who were concerned about the hours and possibility of junk sitting outside the building.
Town Clerk-Treasurer Dwayne Bontrager said the B-2 zoning means there is to be no delivery prior to 7 a.m. or after 10 p.m., but there is no restrictions on outdoor storage.
Topeka council member Dallas Martin said, “The reason we re-zoned it like this is it was supposed to be a grocery store.”
Town attorney Bill Eberhard said that since the property is zone B-2, it can’t be denied outdoor storage.
Muhammad originally requested a B-3, which would allow for painting and bodywork among other things, but he decided to stick with the B-2.
Eberhard wrote an ordinance that reconfirms how a B-2 is zoned and defines outdoor storage: any item left outside for more than 24 hours is considered outdoor storage. He said, “There’s nothing the town can do because what he asked for he already has.”
Some residents, including Tom Jones and Vernon Yoder, expressed concern that the laws concerning outdoor storage would go unnoticed.
Code Enforcer Jason Boggs said, “He knows what I’ll expect.”
Fire department
Topeka Fire Chief Stewart Bender said Topeka recently participated in a Public Protection Classification Survey and the Insurance Services Office changed Topeka’s classification to a class four. It was a class six, so the change could lower residents’ homeowner’s insurance.
Residents are encouraged to contact their insurance providers to see if it will change. For residents who don’t live in the city limits, but are within 1,000 feet of a fire hydrant, the classification is now a class eight, down from a class nine. Bender said, “It may or may not help. It should.”
The board members also decided that after Jan. 1, 2010, the community room in the fire department will no longer be available for residents to rent. The new library was created with a very large community room for that purpose. Eberhard said more than $100,000 was invested to make sure a community room was included.
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