GENTRY -- Gentry City Council, at its regular meeting on April 5, approved a new type of residential zone for the city and then rezoned a large section of the city to the newly created zone.
With rules suspended and on three readings with a single vote, the council unanimously created a new residential neighborhood zone for the city which shares the restrictions of R-1 residential zoning but allows for narrower lots and for smaller setbacks.
Following the creation of the RN-residential neighborhood zone, the council (again with rules suspended and on three readings with a single vote) unanimously approved the rezoning of parcels between N. Collins and N. Railroad avenues and between McKee Drive and E. Arkansas Street to the new RN zoning.
The action will keep the area a single-family home residential neighborhood and prevent investors from buying up multiple lots and building multi-family housing units in the area which is made up largely of older homes, some of which have historic significance.
The city's planning and zoning commission voted in March to recommend to the council the creation of the new proposed RN zone that allows for smaller lots and has smaller setbacks but has the other restrictions of the current R1 zone.
The new zone was recommended, in large part, because of residential properties located between N. Railroad and N. Collins avenues and north of Arkansas Street and south of McKee Drive that were zoned R-3 (residential but allowing for multi-family housing) and RO (residential/office). When construction of a multi-family unit began in the area, residents voiced concerns that the area, with many historic Gentry homes, not become filled with multi-family rental units.
The city council in Gentry, at its Nov. 2, 2020, meeting, held off on a proposed rezoning ordinance to change the zoning of the above properties to R-1 (allowing only single-family residential homes) but passed a 180-day moratorium on new building permits within the area (effective on Dec. 2) for anything but R-1 construction to allow time for the planning and zoning commission and the council to come up with a zoning plan to reserve the area for single-family homes.
The reason for the moratorium instead of the rezoning ordinance originally proposed by the planning commission is that numerous properties within the area are on lots narrower than R-1 zoning allows and passage of the first proposed ordinance would have restricted property owners from making major improvements or from building single-family housing units on those properties. The 180 days was to allow time for the city to come up with a zoning ordinance that will preserve the area for single-family housing but not restrict lot owners from building homes on vacant lots or prevent major remodeling or renovation projects to existing homes.
The matter of rezoning the area from R-3 (which allows multifamily units) and RO (which allows for residential and office use) was brought before the planning commission and council by a petition signed by 65 residents of the affected area following the start of a fourplex housing unit in the area. The group initially asked that the area be changed to R-2 but agreed that R-1 would be better (except for the lot-size restrictions).
James Furgason and Barry Jarnagan, property owners in the affected area, addressed the council in November 2020 saying they were OK with the moratorium as long as a zoning change followed in a timely manner to preserve the historic district for single-family housing and prevent it from becoming an area where historic homes were torn down and replaced with multi-family rental units.
The commission, in February, discussed setbacks for the new RN zoning designation because many of the lots are too narrow for the R-1 single-family residential zoning setbacks. Instead, the commission recommended setbacks from the property lines of 15 feet in front of a home and 10 feet on each side and in the back of homes. Uses allowed will be the same as in R-1 zoning.
In other business, the council approved a resolution to allow the purchase of a 2001 KME rescue-pumper truck for the fire department for $50,000.
At its February meeting, the council had authorized Fire Chief Vester Cripps to bid on a rescue truck with 13,000 miles on it which would hold all the equipment needed for the department on calls. The council authorized the fire chief to spend up to $40,000 from the fire department's sinking fund, designated for trucks and equipment, but the department was unsuccessful in its bidding for the truck and continued its search until it found the truck that was approved by the council on April 5.
The money for the purchase comes from the fire department sinking fund. The money to be used from the fund is leftover money from a large corporate donation made to the fire department to purchase a ladder truck last year, according to Cripps. Because of the price the department obtained on a used ladder truck, it had money remaining to purchase the rescue truck.
The truck being purchased comes with close to $50,000 in equipment, Gentry Mayor Kevin Johnston said, making the truck purchase a really good deal for the department.
Also approved was a resolution authorizing the purchase of 3.5 acres adjacent to its public works facility for a purchase price not to exceed $35,000 plus related closing costs. The additional land will provide more space for the storage of materials used by the city. Related to the purchase is the granting of an easement for access to land retained by the seller.
The council approved the final plat for Phase 2 of Grand Estates, located south of Arkansas Highway 12 and east of Crowder Ave.
Also discussed by the council was the progress made on two properties in Gentry with code violations.
Mayor Johnston told the council that progress was still being made on property located at 119 N. Nelson Avenue, which had previously been condemned by the council. Johnston said the owner is taking down the property piece-by-piece.
A second property located at 117 N. Smith Avenue was discussed. According to Johnston, the owner had submitted a remediation plan to demolish the structures on the land within a year's time. Councilmember Cindy Philpott voiced concerns about allowing up to a year since the city's baseball and softball fields are across the street from the property and the park will be heavily used, with lots of children and adults there in the next few months. Councilmembers Kristi Reams and Janice Arnold also voiced concerns about allowing the code violation remediation to take that long. Councilmember Jason Barrett suggested the city move forward and hold a hearing and prepare documents for condemnation and take up the matter again at the May meeting. A public hearing on the property was to be set at the opening of the May 3 meeting.
