Marco’s Tacos, a popular local Mexican food truck, is one step closer to opening a permanent stand in Imperial after a recent approval from the Jefferson County Planning and Zoning Commission.
The commission voted 4-0 on April 23 to allow the property owners to rezone a parking lot and patch of grass between 1006 and 1014 Main St. from a single-family residential district to a non-planned community commercial district.
Eventually, property owner Misty Whetstone said she and her husband, Bill, will expand the parking lot behind their commercial building at 1006 Main St., allowing Marco’s Tacos to build a permanent building.
The Whetstones’ home at 1014 Main St. is used as an Airbnb rental and does not have a permanent resident, Misty said. The only way to access the home is through the 1006 Main St. parking lot.
“What we’re proposing is more organized in a safer layout to support the existing use of the properties,” Misty told the commission. “Our plan includes adding at least six to nine parking spots and relocating the driveway on the left side of the (1014 Main St.) property, where the front porch and backyard access originally was, creating a better flow of traffic for both spaces.”
Commissioners Jessie Scherrer, Chris Moenster and Jeffrey Spraul were absent from the meeting, and two seats are vacant, since both Danny Tuggle and Mike Huskey failed to file renewal applications before their terms expired on April 10. Both commissioners are expected to be reappointed to the board at the April 27 County Council meeting, after the Leader’s deadline.
The County Council, which has the sole authority over rezoning in unincorporated areas, will likely consider a resolution to approve the Whetstones’ rezoning request at a meeting next month. The Whetstones will need to submit another petition to the county with the development plans for the Marco’s Tacos building and parking lot once the rezoning request is approved by the council.
Nikki Ramirez of Arnold, who owns Marco’s Tacos with her husband, Marco, said they’ve operated the food truck on weekends in the parking lot behind 1006 Main St. for about three years.
“We’ve been fortunate enough to build a strong customer base on the weekends,” she said. “Over time, we have seen increased customer traffic, and it has led to heavier congestion on Main Street. The reason for our proposal is to improve the overall safety on the lot, enhance parking flow and create a more comfortable environment for both our customers and our staff.”
Nikki said she collected 200 signatures from neighbors and businesses supporting the project in the two days leading up to the meeting. She said she was grateful to the commissioners for approving the petition.
“I owe them all a plate of tacos,” she joked. “I couldn’t be more happy with the support everyone has given us.”
Concerns
The petition to rezone the property did come with some concerns from County Services staff and a few commissioners. Staff recommended denial of the petition, with Planner Rachel Hall saying the request for a community commercial district was not the right fit for the area.
“The character of the neighborhood is both commercial and residential in nature because of the harsh difference in zoning and uses,” she said. “Staff believes a transitional zoning would be more appropriate for this property. There could be negative effects on the character of the property and the neighboring properties to the south and west with the proposed zone district. Properties to the south and west are zoned and developed for single-family residential uses.”
Hall said a more reasonable zoning district would be non-planned neighborhood commercial, NC(1), which would allow for businesses with less traffic flow, like offices.
Commissioner Johnathan Sparks was initially on the fence about approving the petition but ultimately voted for it. He said the NC(1) zoning district would probably be a better fit for the property.
Misty said she applied for the community commercial district, CC(2), because her current business at 1006 Main St. is zoned that way, so she’s essentially expanding the current zoning district into the Airbnb’s yard. Maintaining the CC(2) district would be more cohesive, she said.
Commissioner Drew Ishmael said the Whetstones have demonstrated “quality upgrades” to the 1006 and 1014 Main St. properties and approving the request would allow them to make further improvements to the area. He noted that the meeting was filled with Marco’s Tacos supporters.
“With the demonstrated improvements, with potential improvements here, a known quantity of a restaurant and more support than I’ve seen for most (petitions) in a year here tonight, I would think there might be an exception to the policy, which is kind of why we exist,” Ishmael said.
Emily Guzman of De Soto works for Marco’s Tacos. She said she’s concerned with safety in the small lot they currently use to serve food.
“We are always busy, and at the risk of sounding conceited, it’s because we’re that good,” Guzman said. “We have a line forever long, and whenever we expand this and add more parking, we can get through people a whole lot faster. We can get them in and out, and that’s safer for everyone involved.”