เส้นตายกำหนดให้แก้ไขการละเมิดรหัส

While agreeing to make some concessions, the Metropolitan Area Planning Commission on Tuesday voted to impose a 60-day deadline for Phillips Investments Inc., developers of Bill's Fresh Market at 3605 East Johnson Ave., to follow through with stipulations previously agreed upon two years ago.

 

After 60 days, if the commission isn't satisfied, Jonesboro City Attorney Phillip Crego will ask the City Council to authorize a civil lawsuit.

 

The store opened in October 2001 without a certificate of occupancy, one year after the commission granted approval to the site plan based upon stipulations to reduce opposition from residential neighbors.

 

"I guess the thing that bothers me is they agreed to do something -- that's a contract," said Commissioner Gene Vance, who made the motion to enforce measures to mitigate opposition from neighbors. "They should do what they agreed to do."

 

Crego began negotiating a possible settlement with Phillips' attorney, Jim Lyons, after a special district judge dismissed citations for code violations. The case was dismissed because the city had failed to issue the citations within five days of the violations, according to Crego.

 

The commission approved the site development plan on Oct. 16, 2000, with nine stipulations designed to reduce opposition from neighboring residents.

 

Commissioners agreed to drop a requirement that Phillips construct landscaping islands in the parking lot and won't require installation of an irrigation system. However, commissioners voted to insist on compliance with the following stipulations, which they said Hermon Phillips agreed to in 2000:

• Extend a 6-foot high screening fence along the eastern property line another 125 feet;

• Plant pine trees along the eastern property line;

• Install a 6-foot high screening fence along the south property line leaving an opening in the fence to allow open access to Sharon Street;

• Plant a double row of pine trees along the east property line; and

• Install greenery of some type to cascade over the stone riprap along the east side of the property.

 

In exchange for dropping the irrigation system requirement, the commission said the developers will have to hand-water the new trees and replace any trees that die over the next two years. An existing fence on the east side, which City Planner Glen Batten said has already begun to fail, must also be repaired.

 

Stacey Schratz, who lives on Maplewood Terrace, said the Phillips counter-proposal and a subsequent compromise offered to commissioner George Krennerich weren't adequate.

 

Krennerich said Barry Phillips had agreed to redirect flood lights attached to the building that had filled the neighborhood with light.

 

"It's not just the light coming in, it's the value of the property," Schratz said.

 

Crego said he didn't believe that Phillips was refusing to plant the trees; only suggesting an alternative to pine trees.

 

"We can litigate this for the next two years," Crego responded. "You've already been two years. I don't think you want to go another two years."

 

In other business, the commission voted to table preliminary approval of plans for a new subdivision off of Kellers Chapel Road, near the planned location of a new shopping mall.

 

Kent Arnold submitted plans for Chapel Hill subdivision Phase I, which contained 34 lots for single-family homes on 10.44 acres. Batten questioned whether single-family homes was the appropriate use for the land, considering its location near the planned Southern Hills Mall. He also asked how the site relates to surrounding existing and potential developments in terms of land use.

 

City Engineer Claude Martin said he wants to view an overall drainage plan for all of Arnold's property in the area, not just Phase I.

 

The commission rejected a proposal last month from Arnold to rezone the property from R-1 Residential, Single Family Medium Density to R-3 Multi Family High Density.

 

Another group of property owners withdrew a request to rezone from R-1 to C-3 another block of property south of Kellers Chapel Road prior to Tuesday's meeting.

 

The following proposals were endorsed by the commission:

• Geron Vail to rezone from Industrial I-1, Limited Industrial District, to Commercial C-3, General Commercial District, for property in the Stuck & Stuck Subdivision on the southwest corner of Johnson Avenue and Howard Street;

• Replat of that property;

• Skip Macon and Max Dacus Sr. to rezone from Residential R-3 and R-1 to Commercial C-3 6.532 acres located on the north side of West Washington Avenue, west of Stratford Drive;

• Preliminary approval of subdivision plans for the same property approved on stipulation that access to the property from West Washington be limited and that developers make minor changes in drainage plan;

• Tipton Ross to rezone from Commercial C-5, Neighborhood Office District and C-3 to R-3 approximately 6.5 acres of Harrisburg Road Addition at Lakewood Drive;

• Calvary Chapel Church for rezoning from AG-1, Agricultural District to C-3 for 3400 Stadium Boulevard, south of Rook Road;

• Replat of that property;

• Conditional use permit for Southridge General Baptist Church to construct a church building in R-1 on the south side of Colony Drive; and

• Mitchell Caldwell for final approval of subdivision plans for Caldwell Acres Fourth Addition containing 39 lots on 9.9 acres, Fifth Addition containing 19 lots on 4.3 acres and Sixth Addition containing 19 lots on 4.44 acres.