The Ada City Council denied a request Monday to rezone certain properties where a family has been growing and selling vegetables and other items for the past 26 years.
The family — known by their customers as “The folks on 14th Street” — sell vegetables, flowers, bird baths, planters, etc. from their home, which is located in an “R-1” district (residential).
The family applied to have some of their properties rezoned from residential to commercial.
The council voted unanimously to deny the application, with council member Karen Hudson being absent.
Family member Hunter Newell said they received a letter in August 2021 from the city stating the family needed to cease and desist all operations. She said the family spoke with city officials saying many items had already been planted, ordered, etc., so the city extended their sale date to Oct. 31, 2021, allowing the family to sell pumpkins which are very popular, Newell said.
The family applied for a rezoning of their properties — 829, 831 and 901 W. 14th St., located across the street from their home — from R-1, one-family district, to C-2, general commercial District, planned unit development, for a garden center.
According to city code, “R-1 one-family district is the most restrictive residential district. The principal use of land in the R-1 one-family district is for single-family dwellings and related recreational, religious and educational facilities normally required to provide the basic elements of a balanced and attractive residential area. The R-1 one-family district is intended to be defined and protected from the encroachment of uses not performing a function appropriate to the residential environment.”
The C-2 general commercial district is intended for the conduct of personal and business services and the general retail business of the community.
At Monday’s meeting, City Manager Cody Holcomb indicated changing the properties from R-1 to C-2 (also known as spot zoning) would go against the city’s “Long Range Plan,” and the city would not be able to support it.
However, Holcomb indicated the family could apply for an “R-1, use permitted on review.”
According to city code, the following uses may be permitted in the R-1 one-family district on review:
(1) Church, temple or other place of worship;
(2) County use, city use, public building, public utility and library;
(3) Plant nursery in which no building or structure is maintained in connection therewith;
(4) Golf course and club house;
(5) Home beauty shop located in a dwelling provided such shop is conducted within the main dwelling and is operated only by the inhabitants thereof and does not exceed one operator. The use shall be conducted in such a way that it is clearly incidental to the dwelling use and shall not change the character thereof. No sign shall be permitted except one nonilluminated nameplate not exceeding two square feet in area attached to the main building; and
(6) Wedding chapel; and
(7) All of the following uses: Adult daycare home; Developmental or physically disabled group home; and Family daycare home.
Council members indicated that they want the family to continue the business, just not at the present location. All council members agreed that spot zoning is problematic.
Monday’s application denial is not the end of the family’s business, but it is a large obstacle.
City officials indicated they have tried to find solutions for the family, and Newell said the city has been helpful.
“The city has been great,” Newell said, “the staff has been great about helping us (by) being informative and not really leading us in the wrong direction. They’re not leading us in a wrong way. Roger Abbott (city of Ada planning and zoning coordinator) has been great to us, and so has everyone else that’s helped us out with this.”
Newell said for now, the family has some allowances.
“We haven’t really been updated since the application was denied,” Newell said. “Through this process, because our stuff is on a time frame because of vegetation needs to be planted at certain times of the season, so we were instructed that we could go ahead and order up our mums, we can go ahead and sell our tulips because the tulips were already planted before all this started. So, we’re just trying to see how long that allowance is going to last. Whenever we get an update on that, that will kind of tell us what we can do from then on. If they don’t give us a further allowance, then we won’t be able to sell at our place anymore.”
The future of the business will be in question if the family isn’t allowed to sell from their property anymore.
“We have one more option, to go before the city and see if they will approve this (R-1, use permitted on review),” Newell said. “If they will, it does kind of cut off some of our items that we can sell. We have a big pumpkin patch in the fall, and we want to make sure we can keep that going. Our watermelons are also very popular, so we would need to ask permission from planning and zoning as well as city council to be able to sell these items if the zoning that we’re asking for does not already allow us that.”
Newell said the family is grateful to the community for continued support.
