P&Z tables re-zoning request

The El Dorado Planning and Zoning Commission tabled a request to re-zone this property at 1024 N. Euclid earlier this month after the petitioner, Susan Turbeville, was unable to attend their meeting. Turbeville said the residence will be used as office space for The CALL of Union County if their request is approved at next month’s meeting on Nov. 12.
The El Dorado Planning and Zoning Commission tabled a request to re-zone this property at 1024 N. Euclid earlier this month after the petitioner, Susan Turbeville, was unable to attend their meeting. Turbeville said the residence will be used as office space for The CALL of Union County if their request is approved at next month’s meeting on Nov. 12.

A request to re-zone a one-family home on Euclid Street was tabled by the El Dorado Planning and Zoning Commission earlier this month when the petitioners were not in attendance to answer commissioner’s question about the change.

On Oct. 8, the commission reviewed a request to re-zone the home at 1024 N. Euclid St. from the ‘R1’ classification, the most restrictive residential zone, to the ‘C2’ classification, one of the least restrictive commercial zones.

The residence sits on the boundary between commercial and residential zones; on one side is a neighborhood and on the other, a shopping center with several retail and service businesses.

According to the request, submitted by Susan Turbeville, the residence has acted as an office without issue or objection for three years. Other commercially zoned properties in the area are classified as C2 and C1, the central business district zone.

According to El Dorado’s zoning code, zoning regulations are designed to keep streets free of congestion for emergency services, ensure adequate light and air reach residents, prevent over-crowding of land and avoid unnecessary concentrations of the population. The code is also meant to ensure utilities are able to reach all residents and that all residents may access public services, like schools.

Residential use zones must be quiet, have low traffic volumes traveling at slow speeds and have access to all utilities and services while commercial zones are intended for retail and wholesale trade and some entertainment activities. The zoning code says commercial zones are meant to “enhance” business endeavors.

Turbeville said the residence is meant to act as office space for The CALL of Union County, a local nonprofit that matches Christian families with foster children and helps to provide for the needs of local foster children.

“There’s no danger in the long run of a gas station or a convenience store being put there,” Turbeville said. “I’m all in for it. I like a nice little neighborhood, we don’t want to upset that at all.”

In addition to office space, the residence will also be the new home of the CALL Mall, where supplies for local foster families, like clothes, hygiene products and toys, are stored.

The Department of Human Services will also use the residence as a safe location for children to meet with their biological families. Karen Hicks, director of The CALL, said having a living room and kitchen for the families’ use would make reunifications less stressful.

“Plus, it will be nice to have a ‘home’ where our foster families can meet and spend time with me and each other as needed,” Hicks said.

The Planning and Zoning Commission will meet again on Nov. 12, at which time Turbeville said she expects the request to be considered again. The Planning and Zoning Commission meets the second Tuesday of each month at noon in City Hall.

The El Dorado zoning code is available to read at groweldorado.com.

Caitlan Butler can be reached at 870-862-6611 or [email protected].

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