At its Oct. 20 meeting, the Midway City Council adopted changes to building and zoning rules for new commercial buildings on Main Street and in the town’s core.
The changes amend requirements including setbacks, landscaping, building size, design and more.
Midway Community Development Director Michael Henke said the town wants to keep its charm and small-town feel.
“By requiring side setbacks, that makes it so we don't have such a wall of buildings up and down Main Street,” he said. “It's going to create more of a boutique, more of a rural type Main Street.”
The new rules will also help the town better develop Main Street as it is envisioned in the general plan.
Henke said as towns grow, they typically end up with buildings at the edges of property lines, leaving little side yard or setbacks. The amendments require 20 to 30-foot setbacks for buildings on Main Street. Residential buildings must have a 50-foot setback.
“There's going to be a lot more open area, much like you'd see in the South Hill development, where you have a lot of green area in front of the buildings, for instance,” he said. “And that's really what we're looking for with this.”
The council plans to look at other design changes including building coloring as the town grows.
