MITCHELL, SD (Mitchell Now) — The Mitchell Planning Commission rejected a pair of proposals from local businesses at Monday’s meeting.

First on the docket was a rezoning request from Harris Properties, LLC. They were asking for the vacant lot on the southwest corner of W. Elm Avenue and S. Iowa Street to be changed from high-density residential to highway-oriented business district. Harris already owns the property to the south, which sits along Havens Avenue. It is a series of 10 business suites. The plan is to put up a second building with six more suites and a garage that would face east onto Iowa Street.

A majority of the neighbors that sent in a comment on the issue were against the rezoning. Some had said they were already seeing extra traffic from the county jail just on the other side of Havens. Others were concerned about turning the vacant lot into office suites due to the fact that homes were already built on three sides of the property.

The planning commission voted 3-1 against the measure, with only Sam Helleloid approving.

Later on in the agenda, the commission said no to a variance request from Mueller Lumber. A new home is being built in the 600 block of W. Pine Avenue. The owners have requested a setback of four feet along the sides of the property rather than the eight-foot minimum that was established by the Planned Unit Development agreement for the neighborhood. The owners say the change would allow them to complete their house as envisioned, rather than settling.

Neighbors were against the proposal, with several saying that they had to build to satisfy the eight-foot setback requirement and it would be unfair to allow someone else to avoid it when they couldn’t demonstrate there is a legitimate hardship being imposed on them. City Planner Mark Jenniges told the commission that the standard setback in Mitchell is three feet, meaning the new proposal would be acceptable legally across much of the city.

The commission voted unanimously against the variance. Neither defeat at the planning commission level is final. The Mitchell City Council will weigh the commission’s recommendations before it puts the issues up for a vote on Monday, June 15th.