Jackson couple wants home to be zoned commercial

Joyce Baker came to Monday night's Jackson Board of Aldermen meeting armed with a large rolled map, an envelope filled with paper, several documents and photos; even a slew of friends to testify on her behalf.

Her aim?

To prove that her house resides in commercial zone hell.

Baker and her husband, Mike, are asking the board to change the zoning of their home at the corner of Donna and East Jackson Boulevard from residential to commercial.

The board, in its customary fashion when there is opposition to a motion, tabled the request and will decide at the Sept. 20 meeting.

The Bakers' home is surrounded by commercial property, including a neighboring bank. The busiest highway in Jackson stretches along their front lawn so they won't let their grandchildren play because of the traffic. They can't have much company because there is no parking allowed in front of their house on Donna. Twenty-seven thousand vehicles rumble by each day. And they have trouble getting out of their driveway, especially in the mornings.

The Bakers want out. But apparently nobody else wants to live there, either.

Since 1996, Mike Baker said they have listed their residential property with about six real estate agencies but not one person has looked at their house.

However, several neighbors protested the request, citing a negative impact on the Kimbeland subdivision. In all, proponents and opponents pleaded their cases for an hour Monday night.

Daryl Leine would be the most affected by a change to C-2, general commercial. He lives down the hill.

"I don't think it's fair to pass the buck down the hill," he said. "My worst fear is that a fast-food joint would move in there."

Leine said he believed the request wasn't about safety for grandchildren or Joyce Baker's case that the city would earn more tax revenue from a C-2 zone. He said he thought "it's all about the money."

Leine, likewise, cited financial reasons for opposing the request. He said he talked with several appraisers who said his property value would decrease if it abutted commercial property.

Rick Brown, another neighbor, claimed the Bakers are asking too much for the property.

"It's not that they can't sell the house; it's that they can't sell it for what they want," he said.

Joyce Baker has owned the property since 1974, when Jackson Boulevard was still a two-lane highway in the country, just outside the city limits. However, when the highway was expanded to five lanes, her quality of life decreased as the town grew.

"That's not our fault," Brown said. "Why penalize those who bought properties two or three deep into a subdivision for their mistake?"

In 1996, the Bakers asked for a rezoning and were turned down. They in turn filed a lawsuit against the city and the judge ruled in the city's favor.

The Bakers said they have received interest from prospective buyers in the case that the property's zoning is changed to commercial.

bmiller@semissourian.com

243-6635