Jonesboro, AR – Jonesboro Right Now – The Jonesboro Metropolitan Area Planning Commission (MAPC) voted against a rezoning request Tuesday night that would have allowed commercial development on property adjacent to the Jonesboro Math and Science Magnet School.

In a 5-1 vote, the commission denied a favorable recommendation for KPT Investments LLC’s request to rezone the size. Commissioner Jim Little was the only one who voted in favor of the plan.

The application, presented by civil engineer George Hamman, sought to change the 1.45-acre property’s zone at 2732 N. Church St. from a single-family medium density district (R-1) to a general commercial district (C-3). Hamman noted that the developers were considering using the site for a butcher shop or an unmanned ATM.

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The proposal faced opposition from the surrounding Philadelphia community, with residents voicing their concerns over introducing the zoning right next to an elementary school.

Resident Ethan Broadway, who lives near the proposed site, asked those in the audience opposed to the rezoning to raise their hands, prompting a wave of raised hands across the room.

“So, there are a lot of members of our community that are opposed to this,” Broadway told the commission. “No commercial industry has survived in this area. You had the flea market on Patrick and Magnolia, that’s out of business.”

Another resident, Sarah Cook, emphasized the residential nature of the area and the vagueness of the developer’s plans.

“While it is not a traditional neighborhood like you would find in the middle of town… it very much is a community there, the Philadelphia community,” Cook said. “I think everybody has a lot of concern that we’re talking about rezoning something to a very general commercial zoning.”

Cook pointed out that the community is underserved for family-oriented necessities, but a blanket C-3 rezoning—which permits a wide variety of businesses—was inappropriate.

“I am failing to understand how what they’re proposing to put in here, as vague as it is, really serves this underserved community,” Cook said. “We don’t have really a grocery store out there, we don’t have a family restaurant… It’s hard to put all those things back in a box once you have opened that up.”

Other residents echoed concerns about the school’s proximity. Sherri Arender noted that there are plenty of vacant commercial buildings elsewhere in Jonesboro better suited for new businesses or restaurants, and that placing them in a community with children right next door was unnecessary.

Lisa Long, whose property sits adjacent to the proposed rezoning site, spoke about preserving the residential legacy of her family’s land.

“This is residential area,” Long said, adding that her family intends to keep it that way. “Our property, if it continues being residential, will go down through our family… because that’s what it has done so far.”

According to the city planning staff report, the proposed rezoning was deemed “not consistent with the Jonesboro Comprehensive Plan and the Future Land Use Plan”. However, the developers argued in their application that the land’s current zoning is too restrictive, stating that residential development is “highly unlikely with a large school campus to the east and a busy four-lane road to the west.”

Ultimately, the commission sided with the neighborhood, halting the commercial rezoning effort for the site.

The full meeting can be viewed here. The commission’s next meeting will be Tuesday, Oct. 27.

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