Several rezoning ordinances went before Fort Wayne City Council at its Jan. 10 meeting.

Following is a recap:

Z-22-11-14: To rezone approximately 2.29 acres from C3/General Commercial and 1/Limited Industrial to R2/Two Family Residential. The parcels are within the 300 to 1800 blocks of East Pontiac Street.

Z-22-11-15: To rezone approximately 3.61 acres from C2/Limited Commercial and C3/General Commercial to R3/Multiple Family Residential. The parcels are within the 300 to 1800 blocks of East Pontiac Street.

Z-22-11-16: To rezone approximately 15.7 acres from R1/Single Family, R2/Two Family and R3/Multiple Family Residential and C2/Limited Commercial, C3/General Commercial, and I1/Limited Industrial to UC/Urban Corridor. The parcels are within the 300 to 1800 blocks of East Pontiac Street.

Michelle Wood of the Department of Planning Services said the reason for these rezonings to be read into the record together is that they are necessary for the Pontiac Corner Proactive Rezoning Initiative, which is something new.

It’s a collaboration with Community Development staff and Department of Planning Services staff to rezone corridors and areas of the city that have already been identified as part of a neighborhood or community-based plan, Wood said.

One of those plans is the Southeast Strategy update, which includes the east Pontiac corridor.

The proposed zoning change is either to better align a zoning district with what is already on the corridor or to promote changes in zoning based on community input.

Wood said currently the east Pontiac corridor has a variety of zoning districts from Industrial to Commercial to Single-Family Residential. The zoning proposal rezones much of the C3 zoning to UC, or Urban Corridor. That zoning promotes neighborhood focused, more pedestrian-scaled development patterns.

All three rezoning requests passed unanimously.

Three other rezoning requests all dealt with the same project. They are:

Z-22-11-18: To rezone approximately 27.32 acres from NC/Neighborhood Center, C1/Professional Offices and Personal Services, and RP/Planned Residential to BTI/Business, Technology, and Industrial Park to develop a new corporate campus and development parcels at the west side of the 8900 block of North Clinton Street. The applicant is Tippmann Realty Partners LLC.

Z-22-11-19: To rezone approximately 10.2 acres from NC/Neighborhood Center, C1/Professional Offices and Personal Services, and RP/Planned Residential to C2/Limited Commercial to develop a new corporate campus and development parcels at the west side of the 8900 block of North Clinton Street.

Z-22-11-20: To rezone approximately 5 acres from R1/Single-Family Residential to NC/Neighborhood Center to allow for a mixture of commercial and residential uses at the east side of the 8900 block of North Clinton Street.

Wood said the plan will include headquarters for Tippmann as well as commercial lots and mixed-use development. It will be across from the Arneo development of local restaurateur James Khan.

Both developers and the city are aware that Clinton Street is very congested in that area, and will only get worse with new development, Wood said. So a new traffic signal will be installed at some point on Clinton. It will be located roughly halfway between the Wallen Road intersection and the overpass. Further improvements are planned for North Clinton over the next 3-4 years, Wood said.

That project currently is in the design stage.

Tom Didier, R-3rd, lives in that area. “It’s a dangerous intersection,” he said of the Wallen/Clinton intersection. “It definitely needs improved.”

Councilman Paul Ensley, R-1st, said with all the public works improvements and millions of dollars in investment, “This would be a prime candidate for a TIF district. TIF, or “tax increment financing” would make property taxes generated by the new developments available for improvements to the project and in the surrounding neighborhoods, including streets, sewer and water lines.

Russ Jehl, R-2nd, abstained from voting on these three bills. “North Clinton is on the fast track to be widened,” he said. “It needs to be. ‘Fast track’ means five years,” he chuckled. “Maybe even longer.”

Then you add in a new stoplight and a realignment that is not yet designed, Jehl said. The neighbors’ biggest concern, even before the developments were announced, was when Clinton would be widened, Jehl said.

As the councilman representing this area, Jehl plans to be involved in all aspects of the project. But before he throws his support behind this project he wants to see more detailed plans.

The three bills passed 8-0-1, with Jehl abstaining.