Tractor Supply rezoning request gets nod from planning commission

The Berryville Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously at a special called meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 24, to recommend the city council approve a rezoning request for a planned Tractor Supply Company Store.

Tractor Supply which bills itself as “the largest rural lifestyle retailer in the United States,” had filed a petition to rezone a 6.75-acre parcel of land on the west side of the city’s West Freeman Avenue extension from R-1 Single-Family Residential to C-2 Highway Commercial “for the purpose of allowing a retail supply business.” The proposed store location is on the north side of West Freeman Avenue, across the street from a solar panel array utilized by the Berryville School District.

A preliminary site plan submitted by the company shows a proposed store layout comprising 21,930 square feet, with a fenced outdoor display area of 20,048 square feet. The document notes that it is a “conceptual site plan,” for planning purposes only.

City administrative assistant Jay Lee said he was not aware of any opposition to the rezoning request.

“I have not heard any adverse comments,” Lee said. “No calls. Nothing like that. All the stuff that I’ve heard is positive, people looking forward to a new, hopefully cornerstone business here in Berryville. And a lot of people realize what it hopefully will do for our sales tax and all that kind of stuff.”

Founded in Chicago in 1938 as a mail-order business selling tractor parts, Tractor Supply Company is now a Fortune 500 company, operating more than 2,200 stores in 49 states. The company says it had $14.6 billion in sales in 2023.

The Berryville City Council’s next regular meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 1, at City Hall.