The rehabilitation of the moribund Southgate Plaza shopping center took a big step toward reality this week thanks to the Lewiston Planning and Zoning Commission.

The six members of the commission present at Wednesday's meeting agreed to recommend that the city council rezone a portion of the property on Bryden Avenue for commercial use. City Planner Joel Plaskon said he didn't know how or why a piece of the complex ended up in a residential zone about 10 years ago.

"It made the north half of the property - which was historically commercial and still is commercial - nonconforming," Plaskon said. "As a general rule of thumb, if a property isn't zoned for what its use is, then that's a disincentive for people to invest in it."

Still, Plaskon said he couldn't say for sure if that led to the plaza's current state of general vacancy and disrepair. Developer Mark Alexander bought the property earlier this year and requested the zone change.

The entire complex is part of a unique zone called the Bryden Avenue Special Planning Area. That area has two separate districts, A and B. The north half of the property is contained in the B district, which dictates mainly residential uses.

If the city council approves the zone change, the potential for residential development won't be lost, however, because the A district is a mixed-use zone that allows for multiple types of developments.

"So, it's kind of the best of both worlds," Plaskon said. "Plus, it has higher development standards, so it's going to result in a higher-quality development."

For instance, the special planning area has more stringent landscaping requirements, which should trigger an aesthetically pleasing rebuild of the shopping center's parking lot. It also has more restrictive parking, building height and rear setback requirements, which should help any future development fit into the neighborhood.

And there are architectural design requirements that don't exist in any other city zone, Plaskon said.

"It should just be better all around," he said of his hopes for the quality of future construction. "I think it's going to turn into a real nice asset to the community."

The proposal was met with no public opposition, and Plaskon said he actually got letters of support from people who live near the plaza.

"When you get residential zoning converting to commercial zoning, the people who live there usually oppose it," he said. "In this case, it wasn't true at all. So they see the benefit to it as well."

The city council will consider the zone change as soon as it can be placed on the agenda for one of its upcoming meetings.

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Mills may be contacted at jmills@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2266.