LONGMONT - Preparing for transit-oriented development it hopes will come eventually, the Longmont City Council voted 5-2 Tuesday evening to rezone the area around the intersection of First Avenue and Main Street from light industrial to mixed use.

The Regional Transportation District sees the area as an ending point for bus rapid transit and commuter rail service as part of its FasTracks plan, which was approved by voters in 2004 but delayed by soaring costs and an economic downturn. With FasTracks' arrival still a possibility and the closure of the Butterball turkey processing plant at that location, council members sought to open the door for commercial development in the lower downtown area.

The mixed-use designation allows a combination of commercial and noncommercial uses, including commercial and residential as well as industrial. The zoning would allow existing businesses to stay, but that exception would expire if an industrial business leaves and isn't replaced by another business of the same type within a year.