# A-1 to I-3 Rezoning (Conway) The Conway zoning code's A-1 (agricultural) to I-3 (heavy industrial) rezoning category, as applied in [[Rezone Ordinance O-25-39 and REZ-0425-0052]] to convert the 160-acre Adams Property at the NE corner of Lollie Rd and Donnell Ridge Rd to a zoning category that permits data-center development "by right" without a Conditional Use Permit. ## How it appears in the corpus - **Ordinance O-25-39** (April 22, 2025) amends the Conway Zoning District Boundary Map under Conway Zoning Code §§ 201.1 and 201.3 to convert 160.57 acres in Section 30, T5N R14W from A-1 to I-3. - **Ordinance O-25-37** (April 22, 2025) annexes 296.21 acres in Sections 19 and 20, T5N R14W and assigns the annexed territory I-3 zoning by the annexation ordinance itself (without a separate rezone), per Section 1 of O-25-37. - The [[Conway Internal Staff Teams Chats on Project Stratus|April 2, 2025 Lauren Hoffman Teams comment]] explains the procedural significance of I-3: "what I saw (pre-application submission) was a request for I-3, where it is allowed by right. They can't zone up at PC so that would be a mess." I-3 permits data centers as a matter of right; I-1 (light industrial) would require a Conditional Use Permit. The applicant's request for I-3 specifically — rather than I-1 or another industrial classification — converts the data-center use from a discretionary CUP question to a by-right zoning fact. ## Stakeholders - [[City of Conway]] — adopting authority. - [[Conway Planning Commission]] — public-hearing body for the rezone. - John William Adams — landowner-applicant for the rezone case REZ-0425-0052. - [[Conway Development Corporation]] — adjacent landowner; staff-internally treated as the rezone party. - The April 22 opposition speaker [[Alan Rice]] (on behalf of his son [[Jeremy Rice]]) — the only public opponent at the time of adoption. ## Timeline - **April 3, 2025** — rezone-application cover letter signed by John William Adams. - **April 4, 2025** — certificate of mailing to property owners within 200 feet. - **April 21, 2025** — Conway Planning Commission public hearing; unanimous recommendation. - **April 22, 2025** — City Council adoption 8-0 of O-25-39 (and O-25-37, O-25-38). - **April 28, 2025** — Denise Hurd certifies the ordinances. - **May 12, 2025** — Faulkner County Circuit Clerk records O-25-39 as Inst. # L202506522 and O-25-37 as Inst. # L202506520. ## Notes The combined effect of O-25-37 (annexation with default I-3 zoning) and O-25-39 (rezone of the Adams Property to I-3) is to create a **~456-acre contiguous I-3 development footprint** at the NE corner of Lollie Rd and Donnell Ridge Rd, with [[Conway Development Corporation]] parcels (DB 2003 P 20243, DB 2012 P 1063) adjoining on the west and [[Conway Corporation]] holding a small carved-out parcel within the rezone area. Per Jamie Gates's testimony to Council on April 22: "by annexing and rezoning it would eliminate the A-1 island and create a contiguous I-3 development to site plan around which would create control over the entire development of the area." The wiki has not separately archived the Conway Zoning Code definitions for A-1 and I-3 as Tier-2 records. The Conway Code of Ordinances published via Conway's municode is the authoritative source; a follow-on web-archive of Sections 201.1 and 201.3 and the use-tables for A-1 and I-3 is warranted. Under Conway's standard practice, an I-3 rezone in advance of a specific tenant disclosure is unusual but not unprecedented. The pattern — rezone before tenant confirmation, accepting an irreversible land-use change in exchange for unspecified development potential — is the structural feature [[Annexation Ordinance O-25-37 (Lollie Rd)|the April 22 Council discussion of Tony Salter's question]] surfaced. Tony Salter asked whether the rezoned property could be subdivided if the development did not proceed; Anne Tucker confirmed it could but would require replating. The Council adopted the rezone notwithstanding the contingency.