Coming off a two-month hiatus, the El Dorado Planning and Zoning Commission will have plenty of business to tend to today when the group convenes for a regular meeting at noon in the Council Chamber of City Hall.
Commissioners are expected to consider and hold public hearings for two rezoning and two variance requests, including one from a P&Z commissioner.
One rezoning request involves five properties in the 2500 and 2600 blocks of Calion Road.
Applicants are asking that the area be reclassified from C-2 (general commercial) to R-1 (single-family residential).
According to the petition, properties at 2523, 2519 and 2603 Calion Road are being used for residential purposes.
The other two properties, one at 2511 Calion Road and the other, no address of record, are vacant.
The 2511 Calion Road property is on the northeast corner of the intersection with 19th Street and the latter site sits on undeveloped land that is on the east side of Calion Road, approximately 210 feet west of the Eastridge Drive right of way.
If the request is approved by the P&Z commission, the zoning classification would match the area between the 3300 block of and 3920 Calion Road -- an area that was rezoned from R-2 (general residential) to R-1 in 20 years ago.
Another rezoning request has been submitted by Donald Brock, who is asking that a vacant property at 301 S. Madison be reclassified from R-2 to C-2.
Brock proposes to use the property for office space and a car lot/automobile dealership, according to the rezoning petition.
P&Z Commissioner Greg Williams, owner of Prime Liquors, LLC, 1033 E. Hillsboro, and other properties, has requested a variance.
The petition pertains to plans by the Arkansas Department of Transportation to widen and improve Hillsboro/U.S. 82 B through El Dorado.
Williams explained that ArDOT has purchased a portion of the Prime Liquors's store frontage to make way for the highway project.
The new property line calls for the removal of 290 square feet of space from the store, which totals 800 square feet.
Williams is asking for approval to keep the front of the store on the new property line "to avoid almost total demolition."
He said 300 square feet of space will be added to the east side of the business to maintain the drive-through service and comply with ArDOT requirements.
Williams noted that Arkansas Beverage Control regulations prevents him from pushing the store farther southward because of the proximity to a church in the area.
The second variance request on the P&Z's agenda was submitted by Lars Wolfe and calls for the addition of a 2,400 square-foot storage building at his residence, 901 Bodenhamer.
The property is zoned R-1 and allows 800 square feet for such additions, per the city's zoning ordinance.