LIVE UPDATES: City Council Recap: March 1, 2016

Citizens for Responsible Development, a group of neighbors who oppose the proposed rezoning, tonight delivered to aldermen 689 signatures of residents who are opposed to the ordinance.

One issue the opposition has drawn attention to is the potential for additional flooding problems a new development might cause. Alderwoman Gray asked city staff if there are any development processes that can help with flooding issues. Jeremy Pate, the city’s development services director, said the answer is yes. Retaining ponds and other low-impact development techniques, he said, can help detain and control rain water in areas where runoff is a problem.

Several residents who spoke tonight echoed some of the same concerns brought up by at the previous meeting, including what they said was a lack of infrastructure in place to support the additional proposed capacity of residents to the area.

Others who spoke urged aldermen to consider the environmental impact a large development could have on the adjacent Wilson Springs Preserve wetland, and to consider the Planning Commission’s decision to recommend denial of the proposed RMF-24 rezoning at the south end of the property.

Robert Rhoads, an attorney representing four neighborhood associations, said with traffic already a problem in the area, development at the proposed density can only be considered a mark of incompatibility with the surrounding area.

Alderwoman Gray said she has struggled with her decision because she is usually in favor of Lindsey Management projects. She said in this case, she likely won’t support the rezoning request due to the area’s existing traffic issues and lack of infrastructure.

Alderman Kinion said managing stormwater at the headwaters of Clabber Creek is of high importance. He said if Lindsey could provide a Bill of Assurance that low-impact development techniques would be practiced, he might be more supportive. Without those promises, he said, it would be irresponsible to approve the rezoning request as it stands.

Alderwoman Marsh agreed with Kinion, and said she’d prefer to see a form-based zone used on the south end of the property. She said she hopes the developer comes back with a modified proposal so the area can be developed.

Alderman Tennant said traffic on both sides of Dean Solomon Road is “terrible” and adding the amount of cars that RMF-24 could bring to the neighborhood would be a bad decision. He agreed with Marsh and said he hopes a modified proposal can be brought forward to reach a compromise.

The group voted 7-1 to suspend the rules and move to the third and final reading. Kinion voted against because he said he wanted to give the developer a chance to bring a modified proposal before a final vote was taken.

Alderman Long said he understands Kinion’s intent, but said it was time to wrap up the current proposal and if there were a second option, Lindsey could bring that back at another time.

In the final vote, the group unanimously agreed to deny the request.

Quick Summary: This proposal was denied.

Alderwoman Marsh spoke first, and said the city should be more responsible in its efforts to promote tourism. She questioned whether Bikes, Blues & BBQ, which has grown from a day-and-a-half event to a four-day festival with large crowds is healthy for a city like Fayetteville. She said events should be lower in volume and higher in financial return. Having a public hearing for proposed large events, she said, would ensure proper vetting of the impact the festival could have on the city.

Marsh proposed an amendment to the ordinance that would expand the affected area from the Dickson Street Entertainment District to the entire city. Her proposal includes an exclusion for three longstanding events that have already been granted use of parking spaces and road closures in city code: the Fayetteville Farmers’ Market, Lights of the Ozarks, and First Thursday Fayetteville.

There was no second for Marsh’s amendment.

Arsaga’s owner Cary Arsaga, who first proposed this ordinance, said it was not his intent to stop Bikes, Blues & BBQ. He said he doesn’t want to see a similar event approved in the future that could have the same types of negative effects on some residents and businesses as the annual motorcycle rally. He said if this ordinance had been in place years ago, Bikes, Blues & BBQ might not be as detrimental to his business, which he said sees a 60 percent decline during the week of the event.

He said he and other business owners he’s talked to are willing to take a hit during Bikes, Blues & BBQ if aldermen decide to deny his proposal, but he urged the council to consider allowing a public hearing before approving permits for large, multi-day events.

“I don’t want this ordinance to pass if it’s not good for Fayetteville, but I have yet to hear a compelling reason not to include public input,” Arsaga said.

Alderman Kinion said there is an obvious perception that this ordinance is targeting Bikes, Blues & BBQ. He said if the proposal is taken at face value, then it’s simply a parking and transportation issue (see title above). If that’s the case, he said, then major event applications should be sent to the Transportation Committee with the opportunity to appeal any denial to the full City Council.

After some back and forth between aldermen about other possible amendments, Kinion then suggested sending the ordinance to the Ordinance Review Committee for fine tuning before any decision is made tonight.

Kenneth Morton, chair of the Bikes, Blues, & BBQ board of directors, said time is running out for organizers to wait for a City Council decision before moving forward with plans for this year’s event. He urged aldermen to act quickly in their attempts to craft a new ordinance.

Alderman Petty said the current proposal is a flawed, “catch-all” approach to solving some specific problems people have with large events. He said he hopes the Ordinance Review Committee is able to target and address those specific issues instead of sending all large event applications through the City Council process.

The group voted 7-1 to send the ordinance to the Ordinance Review Committee. Gray voted against and said her reason was because she won’t be here at the March 15 meeting and she wants to be able to cast a final vote. She then asked the council if they’d be willing to table the item until the first meeting in April so she could take part in the final decision. Aldermen then voted 6-2 to delay any final vote until April 5 (Marsh and Petty voted against).

Quick Summary: Instead of voting tonight, aldermen agreed to send the proposal to the Ordinance Review Committee to see if it can be more finely tuned. The committee, which is comprised of four City Council members, will hold a meeting to discuss changes and will likely bring back a revised proposal for consideration by the full council on April 5.