Nicholson mulls residential use of commercial buildings

Hoping to stop a trend from ever starting, the Nicholson Planning and Zoning Committee (NPZC) will look into any situations in which people are dwelling in buildings zoned commercial.

The planning committee said Thursday, Jan. 6, that citizens living in business-only facilities aren’t good situations, especially if children are involved. The committee only mentioned one such instance — a family reportedly living in a garage in town. The NPZC noted that the facility has no bathroom, only a port-a-potty.

The NPZC doesn’t want to make the family move, but chairman Mike Stowers said any subsequent situations like this need to be dealt with.

“We need to be sure with our zoning, with our planning, that people are not using their commercial buildings (to live in) … We need to prevent this from happening for health reasons in the future and liability reasons,” Stowers said.

Stowers pointed to a similar situation in the past where the county stopped a business owner from living in a shed connected to his antique store.