Civic Issues
Topics getting the most attention in Jackson public meetings, ranked by how frequently they are discussed.
5 issues in zoning with high priority
Vacant property blight-reduction ordinance
Councilman Foote slammed the Jackson Redevelopment Authority for sitting on roughly 90 tax-exempt downtown properties instead of selling them to investors. The city pays JRA $600,000 a year, and council wants answers — JRA will appear at the second April meeting.
Ward 3 bar/lounge use permit at 975 W. Northside Drive
Kenny Ellis wants to open a bar/lounge in a vacant commercial center near residential areas. Neighbors opposed it and the Planning Board recommended denial, but the decision is now postponed to July.
Ward 3 mixed-use rezoning at 350 N. Mart Plaza
A repeat request to allow housing above commercial space at 350 N. Mart Plaza in Ward 3, tabled from December after the Planning Board recommended denial 2-9.
Mixed-use rezoning above Taste Bar & Grill
Neighbors near North Mart Plaza say the club brings weekend drag racing, noise until 2 a.m. and parking chaos on their residential streets. The rezoning would add dwellings above the club, and the council ultimately approved it 3-2 after debate over whether opposition was about legitimate concerns or the owners' race.
Adaptive reuse of former school building in Ward 6 (Case 4335)
One Voice is turning the former school at 2909 Oak Forest Dr. into a community resilience hub with a rentable event space, workforce training kitchen, food hall, clinic, and up to 200 emergency shelter beds. It's a $10 million, three-phase project on ten acres, funded partly by a $1 million Hewlett Packard Foundation grant.