LIVE UPDATES: Fayetteville City Council recap: Feb. 20, 2018

Notes: This is the second reading of this request.

The applicant has said the rezoning is needed to allow small offices to be developed on the property after unsuccessfully marketing the property for 11 years as residential.

City staff have said they would rather see the property rezoned as Neighborhood Services-Limited as originally requested before the Planning Commission asked the applicant to change the request to Neighborhood Services-General – which the applicant agreed to.

During the Planning Commission meeting, significant public comment was made against the proposal citing safety, traffic, and general incompatibility.

For some context, the applicant in 2013 requested the property be rezoned to Residential Office, but the City Council eventually denied the request. At the time, council member Matthew Petty suggested the applicant instead request one of the smaller-scale, form-based Neighborhood Services zonings. He said since residents were concerned that a large commercial center might end up on the property instead of a small office, the Neighborhood Services zoning could be a good middle ground. At the time, council members Tennant and Marsh commended Petty’s idea, but said it was the wrong area for any type of commercial use.

Here’s a map of the subject property:

Some residents who spoke at the first reading on Feb. 6 were in favor of the rezoning, but several others said they were against the idea and cited safety and traffic as their concerns.

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City staff said the applicant called the planning office today (Feb. 20) and asked to change the request back to Neighborhood Services-Limited. This zone is preferred by city staff because it limits the sizes of buildings. NS-Limited limits retail buildings to 2,000 square feet, whereas NS-General allows up to 8,000 square feet. The height restriction of three stories is the same for both zones.

The council amended the request to NS-Limited with a unanimous vote.

A nearby subdivision representative who spoke tonight reiterated his neighbors’ concerns about traffic and safety.

Council member Tennant said traffic will be an issue no matter what is developed on the land. He said if the area is built in a residential manner as its current zoning allows, there could be up to 120 vehicles entering or exiting the property each day at peak times.

Council member Marsh moved to send the request to the third and final reading. La Tour seconded. The motion failed. The discussion will resume at the next meeting on March 6.

Notes: We wrote a story about this proposal last week. Click here to read it.

This proposal is to accept a grant and a loan from the Walton Family Foundation as part of a plan to acquire 228 acres in west Fayetteville for future development of a new single track trail system to serve the region’s growing mountain biking community, as well as local hikers and trail runners.

The land is known as Millsaps Mountain (or more recently Mountain Ranch) and is adjacent to Interstate 49 between Wedington Drive and MLK Jr. Boulevard. It is owned by Centennial Bank and there are currently no active uses on the property.

If approved, the city would enter a contract with the bank to purchase the property for $3,302,250. The idea comes from the Walton foundation, who offered the city a 50-50 matching grant for half the money and an interest-free loan to pay for the rest. In other words, the foundation has offered to front the money for the entire purchase. The city would pay its half back to the foundation in equal installments of $275,187.50 for the next five years.

The foundation has already funded a master plan for future trail development on the property that envisions infrastructure that would set Fayetteville apart from other nearby cities with mountain bike trails.

The city and foundation believe the trail system should be built so that it can be used not only for recreation, but also for programmed racing events that would draw competitors and spectators from around the country.

Here’s a map:

Council member John La Tour said he is slightly concerned about the agreement’s requirement that the property be preserved in perpetuity, but said overall, he’s excited about the potential of the acquisition as it relates to tourism.

Council member Marsh questioned where the city’s money would come from. City Finance Director Paul Becker said the payments would be taken from the city’s general fund reserves. Marsh said it’s clearly a good deal, but she has concerns about how the city will pay to build and maintain the trails.

Don Marr, the city’s chief of staff, said there is no required timeline for developing the land, which was a specific request of the mayor. Marr said there may be opportunities for future matching grants to build trails, or the council could decide to use bonds to develop the park. While there is no timeline for development, Marr said there is a timeline for buying the land, which was about to put up for auction before the Walton Family Foundation stepped in with this proposal. The proposal, he said, requires the city to close on the property by March 30.

Marsh said she wants to make sure the city isn’t using money that could be put toward sidewalk improvements, staff raises or other needed expenses. Becker said it’s not appropriate to take money away from a specific one-time purchase and use it for employee raises because salaries are needed year after year.

Residents and representatives from the Arkansas branch of the National Interscholastic Cycling Association said a park of this size and nature would be a major asset to the local mountain biking community and would attract lots of cyclists from outside the community.

Molly Rawn, executive director of the Fayetteville Advertising and Promotion Commission, said recent research indicates that avid mountain bikers take at least two cycling-specific trips per year. She said this acquisition would build upon the city’s recent push for more mountain biking infrastructure – including the new trails at nearby Kessler Mountain – and could help generate big revenue from tourism dollars once cyclists begin to come to Fayetteville to ride.

Tour representatives from local environmental groups, along with several residents and the president of the Chamber of Commerce also spoke in favor of preserving the land.

The council voted unanimously to approve the purchase.

Notes: Both city staff and the Planning Commission are in favor of the request. The applicant has said that the intent is facilitate re-development of the site.

Notes: City staff and the Planning Commission both recommend denial of the request. The applicant is here tonight to appeal the commission’s decision.

The property is an undeveloped 29-acre parcel east of Greens Chapel Road and north of Drewrys Bluff Road in west Fayetteville. The property is bordered on the south and west by phases I and IV of the Legacy Pointe subdivision, and on the north and east by large lots in the older residential-agricultural pattern.

City staff believe the proposed zoning is compatible with the land use patterns to the west and south, which consist of single-family neighborhoods and have street stub-outs that would connect to the subject property. However, they said it’s somewhat incompatible with the land uses to the north and east which are very low in density and rural residential in nature.

Here’s a map:

Council member La Tour said the proposed rezoning would fit nicely against the neighborhoods to the west and south, especially considering there are dead-end streets in those neighborhoods just waiting to be extended into a new neighborhood.

Council member Marsh said the city’s 2030 Master Plan discourages suburban sprawl, which, she said, is exactly what the council would be encouraging if it approves a rezoning that allows another subdivision on the outskirts of town.

Council member Smith said there are neighborhoods further west of the subject property, so it’s not exactly the edge of town. Marsh said the council’s intent when approving the Rupple Road extension is that it would be the western-most boundary for residential growth. The subject property is about a mile and a half west of Rupple Road.

Council member Tennant said the property is sort of trapped in no-man’s land in that the master plan may call for no development there, but if the council denies any attempt to develop it, the land could just sit unused forever surrounded by previously built residential neighborhoods. He said he’d likely approve the rezoning request if the vote occurs tonight.

Council members Bunch and Kinion said while they are both against sprawl, this piece of land is unique, not only because of the reasons Tennant stated, but also because it presents an opportunity for the addition of affordable housing in Fayetteville, much like the neighborhoods that directly abut the land to the west and south. Both said they would likely support the rezoning.

Council member Petty said he’s not looking at this decision in the frame of whether or not it’s sprawl. He said building streets for neighborhoods that only allow four units per acre is not financially sustainable, which is why the city is behind on street and sidewalk maintenance. He said he won’t support the rezoning.

Kinion said while it’s true there’s a pattern of allowing unsustainable growth in Fayetteville, this particular piece of land is in an area that would be inexpensive to develop since there are street stubouts and infrastructure already in place.

In the final vote, Marsh, Petty and Smith voted against.

Notes: This property is actually in the city of Farmington and was already approved by the Farmington City Council, but since the Fayetteville city limits are located across the street, the request won’t go through unless the Fayetteville City Council agrees that the rezoning will not adversely impact the adjoining land uses in Fayetteville.

City staff are in favor of the resolution.

Notes: This item would make two changes to a part of the city code that defines the purpose and duties of the Environmental Action Committee. The volunteer committee meets once a month and makes recommendations to the City Council on matters concerning the environment.

According to a staff memo, Fayetteville’s recently adopted Energy Action Plan recommends that the purpose and duties of the committee be updated to include:

• Consideration of climate mitigation and adaptation strategies
• Policy recommendations regarding energy efficiency efforts and clean energy
  purchasing decisions

City staff and members of the Environmental Action Committee are in favor of the proposal.

La Tour voted against. He didn’t specifically say why, but earlier questioned whether members of the Environmental Action Committee could be held liable if they advise the council to approve any environmental policy changes that turn out to be bad for the public. The city attorney said the committee only gives advice and it’s the council’s duty to approve any policy changes.