Council approves rezoning requests

Councilman Lewis C. Metzner voted against the rezoning, which has been opposed by several neighbors of the pub. Metzner said he hasn't seen a substantial change in the neighborhood and called the justification for the rezoning "Machiavellian."

Arguments for the rezoning included the increase in traffic around the property, the increase in multi-family dwellings in the neighborhood and the expansion of the hospital.

The rezoning will allow the owner of the Corner Pub to expand and open a separate dining area.

Also, the council voted 5-0 to approve a request from the Bowman Group to rezone 11 acres off of South Potomac Street. Don Bowman said recently he has no specific plans for the property, but expects a retail business will go there.

Since 1990 the council has voted on 38 rezoning requests. It has gone against the recommendation of the Planning Commission four times.

The most recent case was in 1994 when the Bowman Group requested approximately 5.5 acres at the corner of South Potomac Street and East Oak Ridge Avenue be rezoned from residential to commercial. The property is next to the Bowman land that was the subject of a council rezoning vote Tuesday.

In 1994, the Planning Commission recommended against approving the zoning change, but the council approved the request.

A Sheetz gas station has been built on the property.