Those types of offers are complicated and probably honestly not even worth their time to write up. 

At houses we even have tenants pay those utilities. 

That said, I am curious about the following:1) are there any glaring reasons one can think of to attempt to keep a property zoned commercially, even with residential use?

So, even a 10% jump in prices can be a 50% return on the investment.

Even the mayor thanked us for saving and renovating this house!

They don't tell you stuff like that and they probably don't even know that.   

I might even suggest stopping by a fire station in the immediate area you are looking in and asking (once you move here).

@Vincent L Sanchez our original lease was 6 pages at 14-point font. 20+ years later it's 26 pages at 10-point font.You live & you learn.Recommend you keep researching the leases of others, even in other states, and copy & paste what you like - after running by an experienced landlord-tenant attorney.Be careful what attorneys you use as many will charge you while they learn!

I was nice enough to do so even though I say I use air fresheners and she never said anything before arriving.  

I dont believe the city should even have the authority to require a license, and nothing says “it ain’t your house if you have a license” and something fishy is going on here