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Minutes for the Land Use Committee meeting August 21, 2014
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Members present: Bill Hall (chair), Darren May, Rusty Trevathan, Dr. Jim Sanders, Mark Enos, Pamela Alexander, Councilman Todd Burton, Carroll Caldwell (left at 3:30 p.m.), Kevan Inboden (arrived at 3:59 p.m.), Terry Bare (left at 4:20 p.m.) and Parks Director Wixson Huffstetler
Members absent: Steve Smith, Eric Scarbrough, Jerry Halsey, Jr., Nadine Straitt and Shawnie Carrier
Dr. Sanders motioned, seconded by Mr. Enos, to approve the minutes from the August 7, 2014, meeting. All voted aye.
Mr. Enos presented the committee with maps that he’s been working on. He explained the maps divide the community around transportation hubs and as you move away from the hubs, the areas get less dense. He further explained he drew up the maps based on how he travels around the city so some modification may need to be done. City Planner Otis Spriggs asked how the maps mesh with the current approach. Mr. Enos stated they are similar to the current approach. He noted they may not coordinate with JETS routes, but that can be adjusted. Mr. Spriggs then asked if this approach requires redevelopment of certain components of the city. Mr. Enos answered yes, in that he was trying to integrate mobility.
Mr. Spriggs then asked if environmental constraints were taken into consideration. Mr. Enos stated he integrated some constraints such as railroads.
Chairman Hall noted the first map seems very similar to their current working map. He suggested finding a way to combine the two approaches. Mr. Enos agreed, adding he hoped they could combine the maps together. He stated the JETS routes could also be integrated into the map with JETS Director Steve Ewart’s help.
Mr. Spriggs asked if they could overlay the maps. Mr. Enos answered yes, that in the overlay they may see something they didn’t see before.
Discussion was held about trying to find unique identifiers for the city. City Engineer Craig Light asked if Planning has the information from the marketing ads where people from outside of the city were asked what they thought of when they thought of Jonesboro. Mr. Spriggs stated they still have that information and can send it out to everyone. He added the elevator speech refers to several good points within the city. Sometimes outsiders see more value in a city than what the residents do.
Chairman Hall explained they have an opportunity to set the framework for the city and preserve green space for the future. They can find ways to help set Jonesboro apart from other cities in order to attract residents and businesses to the area. He suggested finding some way to work in incentives for developers that allow them to do extra developing if they include a certain percentage of green space within the property they develop. Discussion was then held concerning retaining green space around the city, including in the floodplain. Mr. Light noted if they want to make it so people can’t develop in the floodplain that would be about 17% of the city’s land.
Discussion was then held concerning future parks and whether to build several smaller parks or bigger parks. Ms. Alexander explained they have looked at the financials for smaller parks versus bigger parks and found that it’s more feasible to build bigger parks.
Mr. Enos noted the city isn’t utilizing green space, such as tree lined streets that could also provide benefits such as shading. Mr. Bare explained they typically encourage their customers to plant new trees as opposed to maintaining current trees because the lifespan of trees in this area is shorter compared to other areas, such as southern Arkansas.
Mr. Spriggs asked if the Master Street Committee has considered merging the two committees to discuss some of these issues. Mr. Light, who attends the Master Street Committee meetings, stated the committee has indicate they are not in favor of merging the two committees again because they want to focus solely on street issues. He noted the Master Street Committee meets on the second and fourth Thursday of each month and the members of the Land Use Committee are welcome to attend any of the meetings.
Discussion was held concerning the special districts that were added to the Land Use Plan documentation. No changes were suggested. Mr. Light asked if the Hyett Palma study could also be looked at for consideration. Mr. Spriggs answered yes, that he would send that information out to the committee members for review.
Mr. Spriggs questioned whether they need to mark on the map where the government facilities are. Ms. Alexander answered yes because people need to know where they are in order to figure out how they can get there to plan for connectivity.
Discussion was held concerning changes to the Land Use map. Mr. Light noted they are looking at a possible dry reservoir around the Peachtree area, south of Magnolia. The area is all agricultural now, but it could cost the city $1.5 million to purchase the property so they are unsure if they will move forward with that plan.
With no further business, the meeting was adjourned.