Public debate certainly isn’t a bad idea but an ongoing debate over a zoning ordinance in the city of Ironton likely won’t be resolved until a host of questions are answered and clear legal interpretations are in place.

The controversy centers on a piece of property located on Liberty Avenue, adjacent to the University Mart gas station.

The lot is zoned partly residential and partly commercial. When a house on the lot was torn down this past summer, some residents in that neighborhood became concerned the owner, Doug Philabaun, would attempt to use it for business purposes.

The arguments on both side range from the fact that there are deed restrictions that negate the zoning completely to the fact it was rezoned in error to the point that a lot cannot have split zoning designations to the fact that the commercial designation is what made the lot marketable in the first place.

Before making a decision to rezone it as residential or leave it as is, the city council must answer some key questions.

How has the city handled similar situations in the past?

Are there other cases where zoning is followed rather than deed restrictions?

Do the same deed restrictions apply to University Mart?

Whose responsibility is it to address deed restrictions within the city?

What exactly occurred when the lot was rezoned the first time and why?

What is the local or state law or precedent when a lot is split in its zoning?

The council may have some of these answers but it must make a concerted effort to explain these to the property owner and the public before any decision is made.

Changing zoning rules is not something that should ever be taken lightly, especially when it is geared toward an individual dispute that could likely be resolved with communication and negotiation.

Council has a lot of questions that need answered and all the public forums in the world won’t be able to answer them.