HAYDEN — City Council members voted 3-1 to amend the central business district zoning code Tuesday. Sandy Young of Verdis proposed the text amendment.

The CBD currently allows residential uses on upper floors, but Young asked that the code be amended to allow ground-floor residential uses, limited to the rear of any CBD building, and comprising no more than 25 percent of the building. Older residents would like a ground-floor living space for convenience, she said. The parts of the city zoned for commercial use already allow ground-floor residential uses.

“I’m not asking the city to do something out of the ordinary,” Young said.

The CBD is intended to promote pedestrian uses and a mix of commercial uses “with residential uses intermixed,” said Young as she read from the city’s code. The restrictions on the residential uses in the CBD are “a cumbersome leftover from a time way before we saw the influx of commercial and residential mixes that we see now.”

Quite simply, “People want to live where they shop and work,” Young said.

“This is nothing new. All over the world they’ve been doing it for years. I fail to see what the downside of it would be,” said council member Richard Panabaker.

Young said the restriction on how much the ground floor could be used for residential purposes would preclude apartment buildings going up along Government Way. Other cities nearby have regulations that support this type of development, she said.

Senior planner Donna Phillips said the current zone text is very difficult to apply because the CBD is mainly one lot deep. The only ground-floor residential use allowed had to be on secondary lots, which were lacking. The planning and zoning commission had recommended that the city adopt Young’s proposed language, and add a requirement for a special-use permit if a multifamily residential use exceeded three units.

Council member Jeri DeLange said the initial CBD language was best. “By having residential on the first floor, my belief is that it could cause potential conflicts between residential and businesses.” She said she was hesitant to change the code for that reason. “I would prefer that we kept the language the way it is.”

Council member Matt Roetter said the CBD was to be intermixed with some residential uses on upper floors. He asked DeLange for reasons behind her concern. She cited theoretical problems such as unwanted noise and traffic, and possibly safety issues.

Council member Roger Saterfiel said the intent was to promote a business alley without tons of housing in the CBD. “How much do we want to allow for more residences in the commercial core of our city?” asked Roetter.

Saterfiel replied, “Hopefully by allowing residential in this business district, it would help the businesses survive because of the people living there using the business, as opposed to having to drive there.”

Panabaker said the original language was a good idea at the time. However, the zone text amendment would allow people to utilize the CBD more, he said.

Panabaker motioned to approve the amendment, which Saterfiel seconded. DeLange voted against it, with Roetter, Panabaker, and Saterfiel voting in favor. Mayor Steve Griffitts was out of town.