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Record of Proceedings

Jonesboro Metro Planning Commission Meeting Summary - March 10, 2026

Meeting Portal — Tuesday, March 10, 2026
BodyJonesboro, Arkansas
SessionMeeting Portal
DateTuesday, March 10, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
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Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

Good evening, everyone.

0:01

Welcome to the City of Jonesboro Metropolitan Area Planning Commission meeting for Tuesday, March 10th, 2026.

0:08

You're here.

0:09

I'm gonna open up for the roll call.

0:10

Press your button, please.

0:12

Check in.

0:14

You ready?

0:47

Pause for a little technical difficulty here.

0:53

You are you let up down there?

1:05

Try again.

1:13

Some call and roll?

1:14

Yeah, do it for roll.

1:15

You got something you can call a roll with.

1:34

One, two, three, four.

2:23

Yeah, I'll do it.

2:24

Uh Zopher?

2:25

Yes.

2:26

Little.

2:27

Here.

2:28

Cooper.

2:29

Here.

2:29

Porter.

2:30

Here.

2:30

Bailey.

2:31

Here.

2:31

Nelson.

2:32

Here.

2:32

Styling.

2:34

Ford.

2:36

Roberts.

2:37

Here.

2:38

So we have a quarrel.

2:39

Okay.

2:41

So the first item we have it to look at is the minutes from the previous meeting.

2:45

Are there any changes to be made?

2:47

Or I entertain a motion for approval.

2:50

For my commotion approved my submitted.

2:52

No second.

2:54

All those in all those in favor say aye.

2:58

Anyone opposed?

2:59

Okay.

3:00

Minutes are approved from the previous meeting.

3:02

Moving on tonight, we have the first item.

3:04

This is RZ 26-04.

3:06

The applic the applicant, Christy Lands is requesting for a rezoning for the property from C2 to C3 at 2005 East Highland Drive.

3:16

Had the proponent for this item?

3:18

John Ailey with Associate Engineering on behalf of East Arkansas Planning.

3:22

The current side we have what was the old Malco Movie Theater site and parking lot.

3:28

It's currently zone C2.

3:30

And we're asking for it to be changed to C three to fit in with the adjacent property and the overall neighborhood.

3:39

Okay.

3:39

And then I think you said yesterday this will all be at least temporarily zoned into one plat once we're finished.

3:45

Yeah.

3:47

Okay.

3:47

City planner, you have staff comments on this one?

3:50

Uh yes, sir.

3:50

We do.

3:51

We reviewed it and it meets all six of the rezoning criteria.

3:54

So we would um recommend approval with the following requirements.

3:58

The proposed site shall satisfy all requirements of the city engineer, all requirements of the current stormwater drainage design manual and floodplain regulations regarding any new construction.

4:08

A final site plan subject to all ordinance requirements shall be submitted, reviewed and approved by the planning department prior to any redevelopment of the property.

4:15

Any change of view shall be subject to planning department approval in the future.

4:19

Okay, and with this being a rezoning request, is there anyone here to give public comments regarding the rezoning or with questions?

4:26

If not, I'm gonna open up for commissioners' questions and comments of city staff or the proponent.

4:39

I hear a second.

4:41

Second.

4:44

Zopher.

4:46

Oh yes.

4:47

Little?

4:48

Yes.

4:49

Cooper.

4:49

Yes.

4:51

Porter.

4:51

Yes.

4:52

Bailey?

4:53

Yes.

4:54

Nelson.

4:55

Yes.

5:00

You have received a favorable recommendation from the planning commission, but you need to get on the city council agenda before Thursday, 10 o'clock.

5:04

Thank you.

5:05

All right.

5:07

City planner, you have any other staff comments or questions.

5:16

For it was published to be meeting today, but we did not get all the notifications out, so we've had to reschedule.

5:24

So we will make that we will make those notifications to let everybody know that it's gonna be rescheduled.

5:30

We need to find out if we're gonna have a quorum for the March 24th meeting since that is um the week of spring break, and we know that several members are already gonna be out.

5:40

So let me know how many of you are planning on being here on March the 24th.

5:45

One, two, three, four.

5:47

So if you can just reach out to Ford and styling.

5:50

Yeah.

5:51

So right now, if everybody all five showed up, we would have a quarrel.

5:57

Um I'll reach out to the other two and we'll let you know if we actually are able to have the meeting or not.

6:02

Well, hopefully we'll give you a we'll we should know by the end of this week.

6:06

Uh the other thing is um design week starts for the comprehensive plan and the master street plan from March 30th through April the 4th at the old YMCA building.

6:22

Um so please come out and give your input.

6:25

There will be all day sessions.

6:27

If you're on the steering committee, there will be a session just for that, and there will also be up sessions for the public to come in.

6:34

Um so it'll be a basically a four-day event, and uh we'll be out there hoping to get everybody's comments to so we can provide a comprehensive growth plan that reflects the city.

6:46

Okay, what time does that start?

6:49

Um they're gonna be all day events.

6:51

Uh we're gonna we're gonna start in the mornings with some.

6:54

Um there will be meetings and charred and different things, but I'll send out um the just the ones open to everybody.

7:03

I'll send you the dates and times on those.

7:05

Okay, thank you.

7:07

Commissioners have anything else to add?

7:11

Okay, we're adjourned.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural██████████████████████████████████████████42%
Engineering And Infrastructure█████████████████████████████████████████41%
Community Engagement█████████████████17%
Summary of Proceedings

Jonesboro Metropolitan Area Planning Commission Meeting - March 10, 2026

The planning commission convened on March 10, 2026, to review previous minutes, consider a rezoning request, and address logistical challenges regarding upcoming meetings and public engagement events. The meeting proceeded with a partial roll call due to technical difficulties, resulting in a quorum of nine commissioners.

Consent Calendar

  • Minutes from the previous meeting were approved unanimously via motion and second.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • City Planner: Stated that while the rezoning application was published for today's meeting, notifications were not fully distributed, necessitating a rescheduling of the public hearing.
  • City Planner: Requested verification of commissioner attendance for the March 24th meeting, noting the conflict with the week of spring break. Initially, five members confirmed attendance, but the commissioner noted that attendance from two specific members (Ford and Styling) was required to reach a quorum, pending further confirmation.
  • City Planner: Invited members and the public to attend "Design Week" events for the comprehensive plan and master street plan, scheduled from March 30th through April 4th at the old YMCA building. The planner emphasized there would be all-day sessions, including specific sessions for steering committee members and open sessions for the public, aiming to gather input for a growth plan reflecting the city's vision.

Discussion Items

  • RZ 26-04 (Rezoning Request):
    • Applicant: Christy Lands, via proponent John Ailey (Associate Engineering on behalf of East Arkansas Planning).
    • Proposal: Rezoning of the former Malco Movie Theater site and parking lot (currently C2-zoned) to C3-zoned at 2005 East Highland Drive. The proponent argued the change is necessary to align with adjacent properties and the overall neighborhood.
    • Staff Position: The city planner confirmed the request meets all six rezoning criteria and recommended approval subject to specific requirements: satisfaction of the city engineer's requirements, compliance with the stormwater drainage design manual and floodplain regulations for new construction, and submission/approval of a final site plan by the planning department prior to redevelopment. Any future view changes require planning department approval.
    • Proponent Statement: The proponent noted that the site will be temporarily zoned into a single plat once finished.
    • Commissioner Action: Commissioners Little, Cooper, Porter, Bailey, and Nelson indicated support for the process. It was noted that the item has received a favorable recommendation from the planning commission, contingent upon the applicant's ability to place the item on the city council agenda before Thursday at 10:00 AM.

Key Outcomes

  • Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned after discussing logistical concerns.
  • Pending Determination: The commission must determine if a quorum will be achieved for the March 24th meeting, pending confirmation from missing members Ford and Styling.
  • Next Steps: The rezoning item (RZ 26-04) is referred to the city council with an approval recommendation, subject to the rescheduled public notification and deadline of Thursday at 10:00 AM.
  • Upcoming Engagement: The commission is preparing to engage in "Design Week" (March 30 - April 4) to solicit public input for the comprehensive plan and master street plan.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening, everyone. Welcome to the City of Jonesboro Metropolitan Area Planning Commission meeting for Tuesday, March 10th, 2026. You're here. I'm gonna open up for the roll call. Press your button, please. Check in. You ready? Pause for a little technical difficulty here. You are you let up down there? Try again. Some call and roll? Yeah, do it for roll. You got something you can call a roll with. One, two, three, four. Yeah, I'll do it. Uh Zopher? Yes. Little. Here. Cooper. Here. Porter. Here. Bailey. Here. Nelson. Here. Styling. Ford. Roberts. Here. So we have a quarrel. Okay. So the first item we have it to look at is the minutes from the previous meeting. Are there any changes to be made? Or I entertain a motion for approval. For my commotion approved my submitted. No second. All those in all those in favor say aye. Anyone opposed? Okay. Minutes are approved from the previous meeting. Moving on tonight, we have the first item. This is RZ 26-04. The applic the applicant, Christy Lands is requesting for a rezoning for the property from C2 to C3 at 2005 East Highland Drive. Had the proponent for this item? John Ailey with Associate Engineering on behalf of East Arkansas Planning. The current side we have what was the old Malco Movie Theater site and parking lot. It's currently zone C2. And we're asking for it to be changed to C three to fit in with the adjacent property and the overall neighborhood.

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