The City of Hays Commission voted 3‑0 on June 26 to adopt Ordinance No. 4074 approving a rezoning from Commercial General District (C‑2) to Residential Multifamily District (RM) for a roughly 0.6‑acre parcel at 2707 Canal Boulevard.

The rezoning matters because it converts an unused commercial parcel into zoning that allows residential multifamily development, matching the comprehensive plan’s mixed‑use future land‑use designation for the area.

Jesse Rohrer, Director of Public Works, briefed the commission that the parcel is part of a larger property owned by 83 LLC and has remained undeveloped since the adjacent Dillon’s was built. “The property is actually located just to the west of the Good Samaritan Center and other apartments,” Rohrer said, and he noted water and sewer are readily available with only minor extensions required.

Rohrer showed the commission that the comprehensive plan’s future land‑use map designates the area as mixed use, and the City’s compatibility matrix lists RM as compatible in that designation. Uses allowed by right in RM, limited uses, and those requiring board of zoning appeals review were presented; Rohrer said the Planning Commission held the required public hearing and recommended approval.

A motion to adopt Ordinance No. 4074 carried 3‑0. The commission’s options had included approving the rezoning, remanding it to the Planning Commission with stated reasons, or overturning the Planning Commission’s recommendation (which would require a two‑thirds vote).