The Murphy City Council has overturned residential zoning in place since November 2021, returning 3.2 acres at the southeast corner of North Murphy Road and Betsy Lane to Neighborhood Services zoning that allows light commercial and retail development. 

The change, made to comply with the city’s new master plan, came Tuesday, March 10, in a rare joint meeting of the council and the Planning & Zoning (P&Z) Commission. All four corners of the intersection are now zoned commercial.

P&Z had voted 7-0 in December 2025 to approve an application by ND Associates to build 32 attached townhomes on the site, but the council denied the plan at its Jan. 6, 2026, meeting, sending the application back to staff to address concerns about housing density.

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