Jamestown tables Fulton Street zoning change after residents raise safety concerns

Jamestown City Council members on Monday paused consideration of a proposed zoning change for parts of the Fulton Street area after residents and council members raised public-safety and neighborhood-character concerns.

Council members and staff described repeated calls for police service and a pattern of property-conditions complaints within the area bounded in discussion as Fulton Street and nearby side streets. A city official told the council that the police department provided data covering Jan. 1 through June 9, 2025 showing 126 calls to the Fulton Street area during that period.

Residents and council members told the work session that the area has problems with trespassing, drug paraphernalia, and condemned or dilapidated properties that affect sidewalks and adjacent schools. Council discussion focused on whether to move the proposed neighborhood-commercial (C1) zoning line back from some side streets so that small-scale commercial uses could not further encroach on residential blocks.

Jason, identified by staff as the city planner, walked council members through a proposal map included in the agenda packet showing existing businesses, vacant commercial spaces and the portions of the neighborhood that would shift to C1 under the plan. Staff said the C1 designation would forbid large-scale uses — such as scrap yards or car dealerships — and would instead allow small, neighborhood-oriented businesses such as enclosed retail, small cafes or single-chair barber shops intended to support the adjacent park and riverfront.

Council members raised a separate maintenance and safety concern: an overgrown lot at Palmer and Highland whose collapsed roof and vegetation obstruct the sidewalk. Staff said the land bank had been notified and that historic-preservation constraints meant the city could not immediately demolish the structure without additional review by the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO).

After discussion, a council member moved to table the zoning-line proposal; the council voted to table the matter until the next work session in two weeks so staff could consider adjustments to the proposed boundary and provide an updated map.

Votes at a glance (motions recorded during the work session): - Table zoning-line proposal for Fulton Street area: motion to table approved; outcome: tabled until next work session (two weeks). Note: mover/second not specified in the transcript. - Copeland Avenue block party (Aug. 9, 2025): approved with amendment that Third Street not be closed; outcome: approved pending updated language. - Fourteenth Street block party (Aug. 16, 2025): approved (standard paperwork in order). - West Wall Street block party (Aug. 16, 2025): approved. - Hunter Street block party (Aug. 24, 2025; rain date Aug. 30): approved. - Pine Street / wedding at business (Oct. 11, 2025): tabled for clarification about alcohol on the street. - Jamestown Labor Day Festival (Aug. 31, 2025): approved; event includes setup, teardown and fireworks. - Fairfield Avenue block party (Aug. 16, 2025; rain date Aug. 17): approved.

Council members and staff said they will return an updated zoning map and additional information on enforcement, property remediation and lighting/landscaping options intended to reduce hiding places and improve nighttime visibility in problem blocks. Council members also discussed enforcement limits tied to state bail-reform statutes raised by one councilor as a factor in recurring noncustodial incidents; no local change to criminal procedure was proposed at the meeting.

The council also directed staff to follow up on the Palmer and Highland property and on a formal parking request from a downtown business owner that had been mentioned during committee reports; those matters were left for administrative follow-up and future agenda items.