At the Alexander City Council’s March meeting, an ordinance was adopted in a five to three vote eliminating the planning commission and assigning all the duties of a planning commission to the city council. Before the council’s April 21 regular meeting, the new and improved Alexander Council/Planning Commission will hold its first public hearing. The hearing is in response to an application to rezone the large, undeveloped area next to and behind the Dollar General and Post Office.
However, this isn’t your ordinary rezoning request. First, the rezoning comes before selling the property to a developer. So, there are no development plans to coincide with the requested zoning. Second, one portion of the rezoning is to correct an error made by Pulaski County some time in the past.
What are known as Tract-A and Tract-B (See graphic) are owned by Robert and Jessica Burnett. If their names sound familiar it’s because they recently served on the Alexander Police Department until they were fired by Mayor Crystal Herrmann. (Article)
There was some doubt as to the accuracy of the boundary lines of Tract-B shown by the Pulaski County online plats map. The Burnett’s hired a surveyor who researched both Tract-A and Tract-B. It was discovered that Tract-B had some how shrunk from what should have been 5.5-acres to its current 0.75-acre.
That caused an inaccuracy in the city’s new zoning map when it was adopted in 2019. Based on the Pulaski County map, the Alexander Zoning Map shows only the 0.75-acre lot and is zoned Highway Commercial. The 0.75-acre lot is next to Dollar General.
According to the survey the remainder of the 5.5-acres wraps around and goes behind both Dollar General and the Post Office. There is speculation that sometime between selling two lots for the Post Office and another lot for the Dollar General, that corner was reduced back to the 1982 layout creating the 0.75-acre lot.
The problem now is there is no tangible proof the remainder of the 5.5-acre lot was also zoned commercial, even though Pulaski County has the 0.75-acre piece marked as Commercial Vacant. To resolve this problem the Burnetts have filed to rezone the over 38-acre Tract-A and the remaining portion of Tract-B from Agriculture-1 to Highway Commercial.
The public hearing is scheduled for Monday, April 21, 5:30 PM in the courtroom at the Alexander Municipal Complex (City Hall). Anyone wishing to comment on the rezoning, or just watch the spectacle, may attend the hearing.
The regular April 21 meeting of the Alexander City Council will be held at 6:00 PM following the rezoning hearing. At that time the council will be able to vote on the rezoning request.
