The Carbondale City Council will vote Tuesday night whether to rezone several downtown properties.

The area under consideration is between East Main and East Walnut Streets. That area currently includes two vacant properties – Holt’s Tire and Auto Repair and MAB Paint.

The rezoning would change that part of downtown from a secondary to a primary business area.

According to city code, buildings in a primary business area must be at least two stories tall, cannot have large amounts of parking or open space, and they must sit directly adjacent to the street. Secondary business buildings must sit 20 feet back from the street.

City leaders say the proposed change is part of an effort to make Carbondale a more urban and pedestrian friendly city.

They add that if the proposed amendment is approved, current business owners in the affected area would be grandfathered in and allowed to operate as a non-conforming structure.