Moratorium on Rezoning Considered
A resolution to place a moratorium on application and consideration of R-2A and R-3 rezoning proposals will be on the agenda for the Jonesboro City Council Monday night.
The council will meet at 6:30 p.m. in the Huntington Building, 900 West Monroe Ave.
Recent R-3 rezoning proposals have attracted strident opposition from residents of single family homes who complain that apartment complexes ruin neighborhoods and attract crime.
An appeal hearing for Anita Arnold regarding the Metropolitan Area Planning Commission's denial for rezoning some of her property from R-1 to R-3 is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday. The proposal faces heavy opposition.
In response, real estate broker Kent Arnold told The Sun Saturday morning that he is pulling the proposal, largely because of vocal concerns from residents living near a proposed senior citizens housing complex.
The property is located a quarter-mile north of Johnson Avenue and a quarter-mile west of Bridger Road.
"We want to be good neighbors," Arnold said. "We've talked with the folks out there and they are unhappy with the proposal. I talked with Anita and decided to pull it."
Arnold, representing Anita Arnold, told neighboring residents last week that the proposal would be changed to R-2A with a limited use overlay stipulation. However, the first reading of an ordinance to rezone the property from R-1 to R-3 is on the council's agenda.
Also on the agenda is the first reading of an ordinance proposed by Francis T. Sowle and Sara Goodman to rezone property on the southeast corner of the intersection West Washington and West Matthews avenues from R-1 to Commercial C-3.
The council is also expected to take final action on a proposed ordinance that limits conditions for open burning within the city limits. The council has read the ordinance at two previous meetings.
Resolutions on the agenda include the following:
• Authorizing the mayor and city clerk to enter into a contract with Gateway Engineering for the decommissioning of 16 monitoring wells at Jonesboro's Class 4 landfill (The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality has already approved of the plan);
• Authorizing a contract with the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department for a grant to pay for work to improve the Craighead Forest ATV trail; and
• Authorizing a contract with the Arkansas Forestry Commission for an urban and community forestry grant.
Representatives of Vector Disease Control Inc., also will provide an update of mosquito control work being done in Jonesboro.
Prior to the council meeting, a public hearing will be held at 5:30 p.m. on a proposal to create a redevelopment district to assist in construction of The Mall at Turtle Creek.
The Public Safety Committee is scheduled to meet at 5:15 p.m.
