Campus Crest requests another delay for sale barn rezoning

A representative from Campus Crest LLC, the company that has a stake in the Washington County sale barn rezoning, asked aldermen at the agenda session Tuesday night to table the sale barn issue for an additional two weeks.

The developers, who plan to construct student housing on the property, requested the delay because they are still working out the details for a bill of assurance, the representative said.

With the bill of assurance, the developers hope to allay some concerns expressed at previous council meetings.

Because the item before the council is just a rezoning issue, discussing the specifics of the future project is not allowed. However, a bill of assurance, which sets restrictions for developments, will confirm what the project cannot be by establishing height requirements etc.

For a bit of context, at the July 7 council meeting, a spokesman for Campus Crest suggested a concession of a 25-foot buffer between the development and the National Cemetery.

However, City Attorney Kit Williams reminded aldermen that because a bill of assurance had not been secured, Campus Crest was not actually bound to that promise.

At the agenda session, a question from Alderman Sarah Lewis prompted Williams to explain that if the rezoning is approved, the Planning Commission will then consider the actual project. And, if that project meets their bill of assurance and zoning requirements, the planning commission must approve it, Williams said.

“You have much more discretion in a zoning consideration than you would with a large-scale development,” Williams said.

The issue will be formally tabled at the council meeting next week, putting the discussion off until the September 1 meeting.

Mary Robbins is a guest contributor for the Fayetteville Flyer. Mary declared Fayetteville as her hometown upon moving here for college. She is a Journalism graduate who enjoys live music, the outdoors and attending city council meetings. For more of Mary’s contributions, visit her author page.

Disclosure: The owner of the sale barn property, Billy Joe Bartholomew, is our own Dustin Bartholomew’s grandfather. Read our full disclosure policy here.