A commercial rezoning for a developed 5.02-acre site zoned for light industrial

was denied by the Fayetteville City Council Thursday night.

The site previously housed a furniture store that was operating illegally

in a heavy industrial district, city officials said. The property owner,

Mickey Edwards, sought the rezoning but said the company, which also did

Internet business, decided to relocate.

Although the city issued the store a business permit to Southland Home Furnishings,

it was done in error since normal retail sales were also taking place, officials

said. The city thought the business was exclusively conducted over the Internet,

making it a warehouse and therefore permissible in the M-2 zoning district.

Jahnee Prince, the city's Director of Planning and Zoning, noted that

the comprehensive land use plan calls for the property to be used as a business

park in the future.

Before voting unanimously to deny the rezoning, Councilman Walt White asked

Edwards if he'd consider making that change instead of a commercial

use.

"I'm not a developer, I'm an investor," Edwards said.

Mayor Ken Steele said the general consensus was that the city has plenty

of undeveloped and "under-utilized" commercial property. Councilman

Larry Dell noted that the lot would need "substantial improvements" to

meet the city's guidelines for commercial developments.