Our View

Moves to clean up West Memphis taking the city in the right direction

Kudos to West Memphis City Planner Paul Luker for coming up with tough, new regulations that will seriously address the blighted business district on East Broadway and we give high praise to those city politicians who are standing behind this much-needed endeavor.

As many of us already know, there is currently a moratorium on any new used car business wanting to set up shop in West Memphis but as it is about to expire Luker has come up with a permanent means to effective rid this city of unwanted business blight that stretches the length of East Broadway.

One of the main reasons this once thriving and prosperous business section has failed to revitalize itself is because for decades previous city leaders allowed substandard business operators to literally turn the eastwest corridor into unsightly junk yards, used-car lots, repair shops where junk cars line up next to the highway and abandoned buildings that needed to be torn down years ago.

This is disgraceful especially during a time when all this attention is being given to clean up this city and make it presentable to sought-after tourists and visitors.

This new initiative covers new body shops, salvage operations and wrecker services alone with used car businesses. The way Luker’s proposal works is that individuals who want to set up a used car lot he, or she, must come before the planning commission, have a detailed site plan in hand and show the location of the vehicles, hard surfacing as well as storage.

Final approval, we’re told, must come from the full city council. Contrary to those individuals who may think this process is anti-business, what is being proposed in a better way to welcome business people willing and financially capable of investing in a better East Broadway and become the trailblazers who will attract other entrepreneurs with like thoughts and capabilities.

We were surprised to hear that there are even some city politicians who want even tough requirements that address current blight concerns that can be directly attributed to current proprietors.

What we’re hearing from these politicians is that while Luker’s new regulations are excellent in regard to moving forward there definitely needs to be something done to lay the hammer down on those individuals operating on East Broadway that are causing this ugly situation.

We’d like to commend Council members Willis Mondy, Lorraine Mohammed, Helen Harris as well as Treasurer Frank Martin for taking such a bold stance in truly making a difference. This call to action is what has been needed for years and we sincerely applaud their leadership in jot just admitting to the age-old problem but actually demanding action that will bear down on those responsibly for the way Broadway appears today.

Now, the next thing that needs to be done, is actually putting existing business operators and owners on full notice that either they abide by the new rules and regulations or face stiff fines, loss of their city permit and a cease and desist order.