Planning panel tables rezoning request after neighbors warn permanent commercial zoning could open door to other uses

The Jones County Planning and Zoning Commission on June 15 tabled a rezoning request for a roughly 2.99-acre property at 125 Hungerford Road so staff can draft a text amendment that would allow limited commercial reuse of previously commercial structures without permanently rezoning surrounding land.

The applicant, Bridal McNeil (applicant), asked the commission to change the property’s zoning from rural residential to C2 (general commercial) with a conditional use to allow an electrical contracting business to store materials and park service trucks. "I'm not putting a storefront...just to use it at first storage," McNeil said, adding he plans no new structures and would clean up the site.

Neighbors who live on Hungerford Road said they support small business but worry permanent C2 zoning would permit other commercial operations in the future if the current owner leaves. "Our concern is that once it is rezoned C2, what happens when he's gone or he folds?" resident Brad Serfus said, noting a house directly across the street.

Staff member Tim clarified how rezoning and conditional uses would function under county rules: "The rezoning would be permanent, and the conditional use would remain in effect for an electrical contracting business to operate from this building. If they vacated the property, then there would be 60 days for another operation to locate in that building before the conditional use would expire," Tim said, adding that the underlying commercial zoning would remain even if the conditional use lapsed.

Commission discussion centered on whether the county could instead adopt a text amendment to let an existing, previously commercial structure be reused under restricted conditions so the land need not be permanently rezoned. One commissioner described a roughly 90-day timeline for a text amendment if the county commissioners initiate the process. The panel ultimately voted to table the application with the direction that staff draft text allowing reuse of previously commercial structures subject to conditions such as limits on outside storage, lighting, and duration of conditional use.

The applicant, McNeil, said he did not have the time to wait for a long process and was pursuing due diligence, including a nonrefundable retainer on the purchase. Commissioners encouraged McNeil to consult a closing attorney and a county commissioner to explore options while staff works on the proposed amendment.

Outcome and next steps: the commission tabled the rezoning request and directed staff to prepare a proposed text amendment to present to the county commissioners; if the commissioners initiate the text amendment, staff estimated a roughly 90-day process to complete it. The commission did not forward a formal recommendation on the rezoning to the county commissioners at the June 15 meeting.