KINGSLAND - The Kingsland City Council once again decided to table a possible ordinance that would establish a building permit policy within the city, though the council seemed to favor an idea of having it only apply to commercial structures or those built by the city itself.
In addition, council member Keith Spencer questioned the pay for new City Attorney Tristian Bransetter-Thomas of The Chosen Law Firm in Little Rock, citing it was not approved by the city council.
This was the third time that the Kingsland City Council has tabled Ordinance 2026-2, which would establish a building permit program for any construction within the Kingsland city limits.
Mayor Samantha Johnson first proposed the ordinance during the Aug. 14 council meeting. The city council split on its vote to move the ordinance forwards after its first reading. Council members Spencer and Lee Penister voted against it while Linda Burns and Suny Blair voted for it. Johnson voted in favor to break the tie.
Spencer has been the most vocal in opposing the building permits. He was critical of the fact that the original ordinance would require residents to get building permits for projects like decks, porches, out buildings and mobile homes.
Spencer continue to express opposition during last Thursday’s regular monthly meeting of the city council. He again cited the fact that the city’s population is declining, and the last thing the city needs is what he considers to be another obstacle in bringing people to Kingsland.
“We don’t need anything to make the number (of residents) go down. We need to make it go up,” he told the council.
Spencer’s remarks came after Johnson presented a series of questions to Bransetter-Thomas about the legal ramifications if the city does not have a building permit program. Essentially, Bransetter-Thomas answered that the state has its own building codes and cities have the option of going beyond that. While she said there could be some situations where a city might be liable …