Council rejects first-reading rezoning request for 3.1 acres near Lizzie Lane

Council members voted down on first reading a request from property owner Mike Arledge (Michael Arledge, speaker 11) to rezone 3.1 acres from Single‑Family 6 to Office along South Persimmon and Lizzie Lane.

Planning staff presented the application and said the requested office district is the most restrictive nonresidential category but is nonetheless inconsistent with the city’s recently adopted future land‑use map, which designates the parcel low‑density residential. Staff noted prior denials of more intense commercial rezoning requests for the site in 2024 and 2025.

Residents who spoke during the public hearing said the corridor has been increasingly commercialized on one side of the street but asked the council to respect the newly adopted land‑use plan and protect the residential transition on the north side. “We live here,” one resident said, urging council to preserve existing neighborhood character.

The property owner explained he has received commercial inquiries and argued the parcel is surrounded by commercial uses; he said correcting the zoning would make the property economically viable. Council members debated the balance between individual property expectations and the recently updated future land‑use guidance. One council member said it would take a “pretty substantial reason” to go against the plan adopted weeks earlier.

After discussion, the motion to adopt on first reading failed. No substantive change to the future land‑use map was approved.