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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Jonesboro Metropolitan Planning Commission Meeting December 9, 2025

Meeting Portal — Tuesday, December 9, 2025

BodyJonesboro, Arkansas

SessionMeeting Portal

DateTuesday, December 9, 2025

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 14:10

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:00

Good evening, everyone.

0:01

We're ready to open up now.

0:02

Welcome to the City of Jonesboro Metropolitan Area Planning Commission meeting for Tuesday, December 9th, 2025.

0:09

You're here, please check in with your I button.

0:15

I'm okay.

0:18

Second.

0:20

Ready?

0:21

All right.

0:35

Yeah.

0:45

Work.

0:46

Christmas.

0:47

All right.

0:53

All right.

0:54

Next thing we'll do.

0:54

We'll open up for the discussion of the minutes from the November 12th meeting.

0:58

Are there is there anything changes to be made or I'll entertain a motion for approval?

1:05

Forward.

1:06

Move to approve.

1:07

A motion to approve the minutes.

1:08

Start here a second.

1:10

Styling second.

1:11

All those in favor, pressure I button.

1:13

Anyone oppose, pressure an A button?

1:34

Doper.

1:45

All right.

1:46

Minutes are approved.

1:47

I give a little more warning on that.

1:52

Okay.

1:54

First item we have on the agenda tonight is a this is a rezoning request.

1:58

Applicant Marquis Mealing is requesting rezoning for the property from R0 to Plan Development.

2:05

R L U O Plan Development Residential.

2:08

This is an unlimited use overlay east of Warren Street and south of Jonathan Drive.

2:13

We had the proponent for this item tonight.

2:32

Did it in started in 2013?

2:36

And Dr.

2:36

Abraham did uh Oak Tree Manor up off of North Culver House.

2:42

But this is a proposed gated community for primarily senior living.

2:50

That's uh the the targeted market for this.

2:53

And they're gonna um we've had had a product product that we wanted to be able to present, and we've worked with the the city, the various departments in the city, engineering planning, fire department, uh, and we've talked to City Water Light as well about this, and we've made some some adjustments to it uh to hopefully make it make it fit for uh for a good fit in this area.

3:18

Uh the streets are uh traditionally uh a street in a development like this would be probably 24 feet wide, but we've enlarged those to 30.

3:29

Uh and part of this to accommodate uh fire code just to make sure we have plenty of room for uh fire trucks to maneuver.

3:37

We also enlarged the the culbus egg at the end.

3:41

Uh one thing we are asking planning commission approval uh traditionally 400 feet is the maximum street length.

3:48

This one will be 830 feet long, uh but we do have uh good fire coverage and all of the buildings will be sprinklered, and so we've we've uh made those adjustments to to accommodate what we wanted to do here.

4:03

Uh we are proposing this as a private street, and we will be uh making sure that city council knows that there is a waiver involved in that uh to have a private street.

4:14

Those are no longer approved in uh traditional subdivisions, but in planned development uh with a waiver from city council, we can still do that.

4:24

Uh but we've uh the the things that we're we've got plenty of of green space to meet the requirements.

4:33

Uh again, the each building will be sprinklered.

4:36

There will be a gated community, there'll be a common building.

4:40

There's 30 buildings proposed, 29 will be occupied by residents.

4:45

One building will remain as the community building that residents can use or borrow if they have a family gathering or something like that to be able to use for that.

4:56

Each each building will have one enclosed garage and a parking space out front.

5:02

We're putting including site lighting in here and plan to uh install five different pavilions scattered through the development for the residents to be able to use for just sitting out in the shade or uh you know, grilling out or whatever kind of activities they'd like to do.

5:23

But we appreciate your letting us uh present this tonight, and I would certainly be glad to entertain any questions that anybody might have.

5:33

Anyone have any questions at this point?

5:35

I do.

5:36

The question that I have is the I thought I heard you say single family residence, and I thought that's what I read in the materials.

5:45

It's single family attached, is what this is uh classified as each each building would have except for the community building, each building would have two separate units.

5:59

Okay, so maybe I'm just dense, but I I thought that was a I would refer to those as a duplex, not a single family residence, but uh it it's single family because it's owned individually almost as they they will be set up that they could be individually owned, yes.

6:17

So okay.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Zoning Regulations█████████████████████████████████████████████57%

Procedural███████████████19%

Engineering And Infrastructure█████████11%

Affordable Housing██████8%

Public Engagement████5%

Summary of Proceedings

Jonesboro Metropolitan Planning Commission Meeting December 9, 2025

The City of Jonesboro Metropolitan Planning Commission convened on December 9, 2025, to review a rezoning request for the Oak Tree Manor property located east of Warren Street and south of Jonathan Drive. The applicant, Marquis Mealing, sought to rezone the property from R0 to Planned Development (Residential) to facilitate a gated, single-family attached senior living community comprising 30 buildings. After reviewing staff recommendations and addressing public concerns regarding senior housing restrictions and fencing, the Commission approved the rezoning with specific stipulations, noting that one commissioner recused herself due to prior professional relationships with the applicant.

Consent Calendar

Minutes from the November 12th meeting were approved without changes following a motion, second, and unanimous vote.

Public Comments & Testimony

Randy Willett (Property Owner):
- Expressed curiosity regarding whether the development would be fully fenced. The applicant confirmed a perimeter fence would encircle the entire property, in addition to a gated entrance.
- Addressed the potential for rental units, confirming the units are constructed to be capable of being sold or rented, though individually owned.

Discussion Items

Applicant Presentation (Marquis Mealing):
- Described the project as a proposed gated community for senior living, featuring 30 buildings (29 residential, 1 common building). The applicant noted voluntary design adjustments, including widening streets from 24 to 30 feet, enlarging a cul-de-sac, installing sprinklers in all buildings, and incorporating five pavilions for resident use.
- Clarified that while the units are classified as "single family residence" for zoning purposes due to individual ownership structures, each building contains two separate units (effectively duplexes), not single-family detached homes.
- Explained that the 830-foot private street exceeds the traditional 400-foot maximum but includes a City Council waiver request, supported by the presence of fire coverage and sprinklered buildings.
Commissioner Questions regarding Senior Living Status:
- A Commissioner expressed concern that labeling the project "senior living" might imply an age restriction that cannot be legally enforced by the Planning Commission once rezoning is approved. The applicant and staff confirmed that the city cannot impose age limits, and the "senior living" designation is solely for marketing purposes. The Commissioner suggested striking the phrase from the rezoning text as it is not a legal requirement.
- The Commissioner noted the inability to accept a "bill of assurances" for age restrictions, as enforcement would fall to a Property Owners Association (POA), of which none exists yet. The Commission agreed the marketing intent does not equate to a zoning mandate.
Commissioner Questions regarding Sprinklers and Egress:
- Commissioner Jim Little inquired about the necessity of sprinklers since they are not a standard code requirement for duplexes. The applicant explained that the design is based on the property's configuration, which lacks a second exit; therefore, sprinklers were installed voluntarily to compensate for the single-point entry/exit and to facilitate the street length waiver.
Staff Comments:
- A City Planner confirmed the project meets all six zoning criteria and recommended approval subject to stipulations regarding city engineer requirements, stormwater drainage, floodplain regulations, and final site plan approval.

Key Outcomes

Motion to Approve: Commissioner Zolper moved to approve the rezoning request with stipulations; Commissioner Little seconded.
Vote Result: Approval passed with a roll call vote (one commissioner, Miss Nelson, recused herself prior to vote). The vote tally was unanimous among voting members.
Stipulations: The proposed site must satisfy city engineering, stormwater drainage, and floodplain regulations; the final site plan is subject to review and approval by the Planning Department prior to redevelopment; and any future change of use requires Planning Department approval.
Next Steps: The resolution must be placed on the City Council agenda before 10:00 AM on Thursday, December 11, for final consideration.
Administrative Note: The Commission noted the December 9 meeting was the final meeting for December and was adjourned.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening, everyone. We're ready to open up now. Welcome to the City of Jonesboro Metropolitan Area Planning Commission meeting for Tuesday, December 9th, 2025. You're here, please check in with your I button. I'm okay. Second. Ready? All right. Yeah. Work. Christmas. All right. All right. Next thing we'll do. We'll open up for the discussion of the minutes from the November 12th meeting. Are there is there anything changes to be made or I'll entertain a motion for approval? Forward. Move to approve. A motion to approve the minutes. Start here a second. Styling second. All those in favor, pressure I button. Anyone oppose, pressure an A button? Doper. All right. Minutes are approved. I give a little more warning on that. Okay. First item we have on the agenda tonight is a this is a rezoning request. Applicant Marquis Mealing is requesting rezoning for the property from R0 to Plan Development. R L U O Plan Development Residential. This is an unlimited use overlay east of Warren Street and south of Jonathan Drive. We had the proponent for this item tonight. Did it in started in 2013? And Dr. Abraham did uh Oak Tree Manor up off of North Culver House. But this is a proposed gated community for primarily senior living. That's uh the the targeted market for this. And they're gonna um we've had had a product product that we wanted to be able to present, and we've worked with the the city, the various departments in the city, engineering planning, fire department, uh, and we've talked to City Water Light as well about this, and we've made some some adjustments to it uh to hopefully make it make it fit for uh for a good fit in this area. Uh the streets are uh traditionally uh a street in a development like this would be probably 24 feet wide, but we've enlarged those to 30. Uh and part of this to accommodate uh fire code just to make sure we have plenty of room for uh fire trucks to maneuver. We also enlarged the the culbus egg at the end. Uh one thing we are asking planning commission approval uh traditionally 400 feet is the maximum street length. This one will be 830 feet long, uh but we do have uh good fire coverage and all of the buildings will be sprinklered, and so we've we've uh made those adjustments to to accommodate what we wanted to do here. Uh we are proposing this as a private street, and we will be uh making sure that city council knows that there is a waiver involved in that uh to have a private street. Those are no longer approved in uh traditional subdivisions, but in planned development uh with a waiver from city council, we can still do that. Uh but we've uh the the things that we're we've got plenty of of green space to meet the requirements. Uh again, the each building will be sprinklered. There will be a gated community, there'll be a common building. There's 30 buildings proposed, 29 will be occupied by residents.

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