Following a recent recommendation from the Cadiz-Trigg County Planning Commission, the Cadiz City Council voted 5-1 Tuesday night in favor of moving R-2 residential zoning near the Jefferson Street/Cerulean Road intersection to I-1 light industrial.
The move all but assures that a 1.822 acre parcel of land, owned by Craig Fowler, will be the new home of a Dollar General on that side of town — just as one leaves or enters the city limits along US 139.
Prior to votes cast, a number of local, interested residents spoke in favor of the measure.
Kerry Fowler, retired Cadiz Public Works director, said he didn’t speak for city residents, but for northern county residents — whom he noted applaud the decision to bring in another extension of the popular convenient store.
Fowler also noted, however, the City of Cadiz and its officials own a fiscal responsibility to generate and accept new businesses wishing to locate in town.
A long-time resident who has shared this part of town “most of her life,” Honey Tyler called the zoning change “a good idea” — especially for those within walking distance, who miss things like Wilson’s Grocery and the McUpton School.
Melissa Sowell, who spoke at the original hearing for this rezoning, brought those same concerns with her to the council. Her elderly mother leaves nearby the prospective project, and she iterated there’s a “deep worry” for increased speedy traffic, the negatives that come with increased/decreased property values, the consistent I-24 detour US 139 has become, and the potential for increased crime.
The cresting roads coming from Princeton, Sowell believes, leave little time for a driver to correct or slow if, say, a large shipment would be pulling into the parking lot.
Councilwoman Susan Bryant was the lone “nay,” and she had her strong, torn reasons. She said she grappled with the notion of people who had been “living there for years” that didn’t want it there, as well as the people who argued to make it so for better living.
She also said she didn’t want to be a hypocrite, because years ago, she fought the notion of a building being constructed at the end of Hospital Street because it “changed their community.”
What’s already known is the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet has in its plan the widening and reconstruction of the “Y” intersection nearby for Jefferson/Cerulean, and it’s plausible that a capital commitment to development in the area could spurn further growth — perhaps in the fashion of sidewalks and even a caution light as motorists roll into town.
But one thing is certain; another Dollar General is on the way for Trigg County and the City of Cadiz.
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