Jonesboro City Council Meeting – July 21, 2026 – Variance Decisions
Jonesboro City Council Meeting – July 21, 2026 – Variance Decisions
The Jonesboro City Council met on July 21, 2026, to consider several variance requests related to development and property compliance. The meeting included approvals for a tractor supply store expansion (except cross-access variance), a utility company's gravel storage lot, a residential storage building, and multiple setback variances for a duplex development and a commercial property sale. One fence variance was denied.
Consent Calendar
- Minutes from the June 16, 2026 meeting were approved by unanimous vote.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Philip Barr, an owner of adjoining property, spoke against the required cross-access for the Tractor Supply site, noting that the private drive already carries heavy traffic and that other recent developments were not required to provide cross-access. He supported Tractor Supply's concerns about maintenance and liability.
Discussion Items
- Tractor Supply Variances (Applicant: Jake Butler, Corolla Capital): The applicant presented three variance requests: (1) a 12-foot fence height for an outdoor display area (FOD) to prevent theft; (2) a side setback variance on the south side to bring an existing building into compliance; (3) a cross-access variance to avoid joining a heavily-used private drive without shared maintenance and insurance agreements. The city staff noted that the fence variance was unusual but similar to existing large retailers. The board approved the fence and setback variances but denied the cross-access variance, suggesting the applicant explore a larger entrance on Caraway as an alternative.
- Summit Utilities (Applicant: Avery Feltz, Trailing Engineering): Requested a variance to leave an equipment storage lot as gravel instead of paving it, arguing that heavy construction equipment would damage asphalt. The board granted the variance with the condition that the fence be screened to obscure the view from the street.
- Chris Moore – Residential Storage Building: Requested a variance to build a 40x60 foot storage building (2,400 sq ft) on a 6-acre lot on Strawfloor Road, exceeding the house size. The applicant stated the building would eventually become a backyard structure after the existing resident passes away and a new home is built. The board granted the variance, noting the secluded topography and lack of opposition.
- Miss Farley – Fence Variance: Sought a variance for a fence already built in the front yard, where the portion nearest the street was 6 feet tall and solid, rather than the required 4-foot height with 50% openness. The board denied the variance, citing the lack of permit and non-compliance. The applicant was instructed to modify the fence to meet code.
- Reginald Prunty – Duplex Variances: Requested multiple setback and lot width variances (four in total) for two duplexes on LaBomb and Word streets. The applicant argued that the lots were originally 50-foot wide and that alley parking would be used. The board unanimously approved the variances, noting similar developments in the area and no opposition.
- Civil Logic (Southwest Drive Property): A request to vary side and rear setbacks for a 20-year-old building that was found to be slightly over the property line during a survey for sale. The board approved the variance.
Key Outcomes
- Approved: Tractor Supply fence variance (unanimous vote), Tractor Supply side setback variance (unanimous), Summit Utilities gravel variance with screening condition (unanimous), Chris Moore storage building variance (unanimous), Reginald Prunty duplex variances (unanimous), Civil Logic setback variance (unanimous).
- Denied: Tractor Supply cross-access variance (denied based on discussion; no formal vote recorded), Miss Farley fence variance (vote: 2 no votes – denied).
- Next Steps: The Tractor Supply applicant was encouraged to present a revised plan with a larger Caraway entrance; Miss Farley was directed to modify her fence to meet the 4-foot, 50% open requirement; other applicants to proceed with permits.
Meeting Transcript
All right, let's call this meeting to order. Have a roll call. Here. Veload? Really? Here. Here. Right. I need a motion to approve the minutes from the meeting of June the 16th, please. So moved. Second. Thank you. All in favor. Aye. Aye. Thank you very much. Okay, number one. William Walker. Tractor supply understand. Well, we start this. I need to refuse myself on this one. Yes, sir. Thank you. Tractor supply. Come on. Name and all the above. Jake Butler, uh, with Corolla Capital, the developers for tractor supply. Tell us what you want to do. So I think we have applied for three variances. I'll just start with the first one, I believe, is the fence variance for the height of the fence, and I've got some graphics here for you guys to look at. It's all right if I have any. No, well, you please do. Okay. So tractor supply has what they call a fenced outdoor display area, which at this site's gonna be the area behind the subway, the wooded lot behind the subway. And uh tractor supply stores a lot of their larger uh items out there. Um and so tractor uh at their current location has a very small FOD. This one's gonna be larger, and their concern is is their racks in the FOD go up to 12 feet tall. Uh and so what they're worried about is that the hotel next door uh when they they run what they call a crime index score on all their properties, which just gauges what level of crime they expect to have, and uh and theirs is the average is about 60 to 65, and uh this one came in right at 600, um, and they think it's just from the call outs from the hotel next door, but they're very concerned about crime and people being able to reach over onto the racks being taller than the fence and just pull stuff off. Um, so it's a problem at their at their current location, um, and so they're just trying to kind of remit remediate that and uh and make sure that doesn't happen here. So, and what what I gave you is just showing the kind of that fence, that area is tucked behind the subway, um, so it's hidden, it's it's not super visible. Um just think that that would that that's their request. That request number one, yes, sir. You want to go me to go through all of that? Go ahead and go do the other. And then the second one is for the side setback that you can see on the south side of the property on that. That's the property adjoining uh the now Gina's. Um so building's been there obviously for a very long time, but it's not in compliance anymore. Um the buildings built, uh, Darrell may know, but it's it's very close to the property line. So I believe that's just uh get that in compliance. Uh if there's not any questions on that one, the last one is the uh cross access.
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