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Regular City Council Meeting <br />July 10,2003 <br />Page 9 <br /> <br />Mr. Montgomery requested City Council to go with the Planning and Zoning <br />recommendation. <br /> <br />Toni Garmon, 1040 20th N.E., came forward stating that she lives directly <br />across from the property that Mr. Gant is talking about. Ms. Garmon said she <br />has owned their house since 1978 and they knew Mr. and Mrs. Townsend and <br />Mrs. Townsend refused to sell the property for years. Dr. Townsend did the <br />same thing, he refused because he did not want anything put there other than <br />a home. Ms. Garmon said this is a home and a neighborhood where there are <br />children running up and down on their bikes. She said the traffic on 20th Street <br />is bad enough without creating more and it is hard enough to get on the street <br />without having right across the street four duplexes with eight to sixteen <br />potential vehicles. Ms. Garmon asked City Council to deny the request. <br /> <br />Councilman Bell advised that in his experience, in a neighborhood like this, <br />you either have a neighborhood do as people do, we grow older and we die, and <br />neighborhoods can do the same things if they are not redeveloped. <br />Redevelopment can take place where people are buying the homes and <br />refurbishing them or they gradually change in use and this is not a dramatic <br />change for this property if it is rezoned for duplexes. Councilman Bell said he <br />was against Mr. Gant having Multi-Family zoning with the possibility of <br />apartments. He would be more in favor of the duplexes if he would consider <br />Planned Development, which he has indicated that he would. Councilman Bell <br />said there is very little chance that he could see that those lots are going to <br />attract someone to come, at cost of construction today and build a house. There <br />is a possibility of ending up with something that is still vacant, not being <br />mowed, not producing taxes for the city, and there really needs to be some sort <br />of renewal for that neighborhood. <br /> <br />Ms. Garmon said what Councilman Bell is proposing is the same thing they did <br />down the road between Lamar and Pine Bluff. They put that as commercial <br />zoning and now they have a bunch of little rat shops. They did not fix up the <br />house or build anything nice. They just fixed little houses and put businesses <br /> <br /> <br />