Council approves commercial rezoning for four parcels along Highway 67

The Keene City Council approved a request from Provident Land Investors LLC to rezone four parcels along Highway 67 from single-family residential (SF-2) to commercial district C-2.

Staff and Planning & Zoning recommended approval, and the applicants said the request conforms to the city's comprehensive plan designating the corridor for higher-intensity, highway-oriented uses. The property owner’s representative told council the proposal was intended to provide Highway 67 frontage for retail or office uses and to generate sales and property tax revenues.

Council members noted that some adjacent property owners had raised concerns previously; applicants told council they had met with neighbors and reached compromises that left portions of the area as residential buffers.

The motion to approve the rezoning carried on the council floor. Staff will follow normal permitting and site-plan reviews if and when developers propose specific improvements.

Next steps: Rezoned tracts may be marketed for commercial development; any new roads, utilities or site plans will be evaluated through standard city permitting.