The Digiva Planning and Zoning Commission voted Sept. 25 to amend the Geneva zoning ordinance to allow dwelling units on the ground floor as a special use in the DCM (Downtown Commercial/Mixed Use) district, and approved two related special‑use permits for properties at 828 West State Street and 122 Hamilton Street.

The change was requested by property owners seeking flexibility to convert underused commercial space to residential uses. Community development director David de Groot told the commission the ordinance amendment and the two special‑use applications meet required standards; the commission approved the ordinance amendment and both permits in roll‑call votes with all members present voting aye.

Why it matters: downtown commercial blocks often contain older small buildings whose owners say office and retail demand has fallen; allowing ground‑floor residential use could reduce long vacancies and change parking demand, property tax treatment and street activity in the DCM district.

Staff and applicants described the immediate cases that prompted the change. Applicant Sudeep Palamati said his property had been marketed for months with no leasing interest. "My property was on the market from 6 to 7 months, but there is literally 0 interest for leasing it as a commercial office space," Palamati told the commission, and added that authorizing a ground‑floor dwelling would "give us a lot of flexibility, to add a dwelling unit on the ground floor and make it residential." Marcus Olson, a nearby resident, spoke in support of Palamati’s renovation plans and said he had no concerns about the work.

Dawn Muir, the applicant for 122 Hamilton Street, told the commission she prefers the conversion remain contingent on a city‑initiated text amendment that would waive additional off‑street parking for certain downtown residential conversions. Muir said she wants to "maintain the integrity of the historic appearance" of her small Cape Cod house and directed potential short‑term rental customers to nearby public lots if the unit is used as an Airbnb.

Staff clarified parking impacts. For the 828 West State Street conversion, staff said the site would become two two‑bedroom dwelling units and that the conversion would require 3 parking spaces under residential conversion rules (two 2‑bedroom units at 1.5 spaces each), and that those spaces are already provided and marked. For 122 Hamilton, the staff report noted on‑site parking is constrained, that a driveway would remove existing spaces and could conflict with an electric pole, and that the property’s approval was contingent on the pending city text amendment affecting off‑street parking requirements for properties inside the downtown residential vehicle parking permit area.

Formal actions: the commission (a) approved the zoning ordinance text amendment to add ground‑floor dwelling units as a special use in the DCM district and (b) approved special‑use permits for 828 West State Street and 122 Hamilton Street. Commissioners gave unanimous aye votes on both the amendment and the permits. The applicants were told the items will go to the City Council on Oct. 6 for final consideration or notification as required.

Next steps and context: staff will forward records to the Oct. 6 City Council meeting; the commission noted that the city‑initiated parking amendment is a trigger for how conversions in certain downtown areas would be treated. Commissioners and applicants also discussed how conversions could affect daytime parking demand compared with prior commercial uses.

No litigation, financing or detailed construction timelines were presented at the meeting; commission discussion focused on standards, parking impact and maintaining historic character for small downtown houses.