A long-vacant commercial building in College Hill could become the neighborhood’s only convenience store after the Texarkana, Arkansas, Planning Commission approved a rezoning request Tuesday night.
The commission voted 6-0 to rezone 1617 Dudley, at the corner of Ferguson Street, from low-density residential to general commercial so property owners David and Dorothy Green can open a walk-up convenience store in a building that city records suggest has been commercial for more than a century.
The Greens, who live directly behind the property, told commissioners the store would serve a neighborhood that has watched its food options disappear.
“We had like what, one, two, three, four stores closed down,” David Green said, ticking off the IGA, the Save-A-Lot, the drug store and a dollar store he described as “hanging on by a thread.”
Donnell King, who lives at 1708 Dudley and helped present the request, said the store would cater to foot traffic in a neighborhood where many residents don’t have cars.
“We’re not the wealthiest or prettiest area, but we want to try to beautify our area,” King said. “It’s over 20 kids on my block, and after 8 o’clock, if they don’t eat — I just want to do something for my community.”
The request put the commission in an unusual spot, City Planner Jamie Finley said. The building appears to have always been commercial — it was annexed into the city in the early 1900s and once housed a pawn shop — but at about 2,200 square feet, the lot falls far short of the 14,000 square feet the city’s commercial zoning requires, and it meets almost none of the required setbacks. Any grandfathered commercial status expired after the building sat unused for six months, she said.
At the same time, the city’s comprehensive plan designates College Hill a “walkable neighborhood,” a category that allows for small-scale businesses serving the surrounding community.
“If you look at the comprehensive plan, it fits. If you look at the lot requirements, it doesn’t fit. But it’s always been commercial,” Finley told commissioners.
Commissioners pressed the applicants on parking, noting the lot has no room for spaces and that street parking cannot be counted toward city requirements. King said the store would operate as a walk-up service window rather than a browsable shop — a design he said also helps with loss prevention — with hours of roughly 7 a.m. to as late as 10 p.m., potentially seven days a week.
A petition of support signed by neighbors was submitted with the application, and no one spoke in opposition.
One commissioner, who said she grew up in the neighborhood, recalled when the pawn shop anchored a busier block.
“I remember when that was a vibrant community,” she said. “To see it as it is now is just heartbreaking. I would welcome a place for people who have nothing else to be able to walk up to and get essential supplies.”
The Greens must still pass electrical, plumbing and other inspections and obtain a certificate of occupancy before opening, Finley said.
40-home subdivision gets final approval
The commission also gave final plat approval to The Highlands, a 40-lot single-family subdivision planned on 20 acres in the 600 to 700 block of North Rondo Road.
Developer Colin Kuhn’s final plat dropped one lot from the preliminary version to make room for a second entrance to the subdivision. Homes will be a minimum of 2,000 square feet, streets will be city-owned, and there will be no homeowners association, commissioners were told. Kuhn said he plans to build as many of the homes as he can and sell the remaining lots.
The subdivision will use cluster mailboxes at each entrance — a U.S. Postal Service requirement for developments of more than eight lots. “We fought it, we lost,” Finley said.
Second residence approved on Old Ore Road acreage
In the meeting’s third action item, the commission approved a request by Michael and Marcia Yoder to rezone nearly 40 acres on Old Ore Road, near Hastings Crossing, from rural residential to limited mixed use so the couple can place a second manufactured home on the property.
The Yoders, who were out of the country, were represented by Finley. The property has water service but no sewer; the second home will use a septic system. The zoning category requires 2.5 acres per residence — well within the property’s 39.71 acres, Finley said.
All three votes were unanimous. Commissioner Chris Owens was absent.
The Planning Commission next meets at 6 p.m. July 14 at City Hall, 216 Walnut St.