LIVE UPDATES: Fayetteville City Council recap: June 5, 2018

Notes: Property owner Bob Weaver has requested water service for a single-family home being constructed. He’ll be responsible for installing the main extension. City staff said based on his projected usage, Weaver only needs a 4-inch water main. However, city officials anticipate future growth in that area and will instead require Weaver to install an 8-inch line, but the city will pay the difference in cost.

The item was left on the first reading at the May 15 meeting.

On June 5, Utilities Director Tim Nyander estimated the city will save about $20,000 with this cost-share agreement.

Council member Marsh said she doesn’t want to see a new neighborhood built that far out on the edge of town. She said she’d support a cost-share for a 4-inch line, but not for an 8-inch line.

Council member Kinion said while the city doesn’t want to support sprawl, it has a responsibility to make sure that infrastructure is in place for the expected growth in that area.

Council member Tennant agreed with Kinion and said he appreciates city staff’s attention to saving taxpayer dollars.

Council member Petty asked Nyander what the benefit of an 8-inch line would be. Nyander said fire service requires an 8-inch line. Petty said according to the city’s fire hydrant proximity rules, most of the parcels in that area would require their own fire hydrant. He said it’s unlikely every homeowner will volunteer to install a fire hydrant for their parcel, and therefore, he doesn’t want to spend the money on an 8-inch line.

Marsh, Petty and Smith voted against the ordinance. Mayor Jordan cast the final vote needed to pass the ordinance.

Notes: The property parcel contains 30.90 acres, however only 23.76 acres is proposed for rezoning. Both city staff and the Planning Commission are in favor of the request.

Here’s a map:

The item was left on the first reading at the May 15 meeting.

On June 5, Council member Gray said she has concerns about the trees on the parcel. A representative for the property owner last month said the Planning Commission asked them if they would leave a strip of trees on the property’s southern border as part of the city’s 15 percent tree canopy preservation rules. Gray said she wouldn’t be in favor of a project that would remove trees from everywhere except the property border.

Council member Smith agreed, and said the council could be setting itself up for a similar situation that it was in a couple of months ago when a property owner requested a vacation of an old tree preservation on a parcel that had used its tree canopy entirely on the border of the land (see item #2 from the April 3 City Council meeting).

Council member Marsh said Urban Thoroughfare is an appropriate zoning next to the road, but said she’d like to see it stepped back a bit from the nearby Kessler Mountain.

Council member Petty said he’s ready to support a variety of uses on the land, but he doesn’t like that UT allows up to seven stories across the entirety of the parcel. He said if a modified request were brought forward, he’d be in favor.

The property owner representative said the reason they mentioned the tree buffer was because the Planning Commission had requested it. The representative said they have no plans to wipe the entire parcel clear of trees except for the buffer.

The council agreed to leave the item on the second reading to allow the property owner some time to revise the request.

Notes: City staff are in favor of approving the application subject to the following conditions:

1. The business owner or manager shall contact the Fayetteville Police Department’s Community Oriented Policing Division to schedule training for staff to properly identify fraudulent identifications.
2. A multi-camera surveillance system must be installed on the inside of the business to provide video surveillance of the main entrance/exit, bar area and registers.
3. The business owner or manager shall provide a “good neighbor” policy to surrounding businesses and residents of the club, if any.
4. The Arkansas Alcoholic Beverage Control permit holder associated with The Roost Motor Club shall obtain the minimum training requirements as a private security officer, as defined in Ark. Code Ann. § 17-40-208 and shall receive a training certificate. A copy of the training certificate shall be provided to the Fayetteville Police Department’s Special Events Division supervisor.

Council member Petty said he’s fine with the stipulation that the permit holder attend a security officer training course, but said there is currently only one person in this part of the state who can administer the training. He said he’s involved with the permitting process for a business that has tried to schedule a training class, but the instructor has cancelled the class twice, which has held up the opening of the business. Petty suggested amending the stipulation to require the permit holder to receive training within six months of their opening date, instead of before they open. Council member Gray seconded the motion.

The amendment and ordinance both passed unanimously.

Notes: The City Council last August expressed its intent to move forward with a stormwater feasibility study to address the city’s issues with stormwater runoff. City staff have since worked to draft an RFQ with guidance from the council’s Water and Sewer Committee. Seven firms responded, three were interviewed, and CH2M Hill was eventually selected. The council originally set aside $200,000 from the general fund to pay for the study. This request includes a budget adjustment for an additional $29,222 from that same fund, and cover the cost of advertising the request for qualifications, for a total budget adjustment of $29,498.

Notes: City Engineer Chris Brown said Nabholz Construction was the low bidder.

Notes: The City Council in February recommended in favor of a corridor plan for College Avenue/Highway 71B from Cato Spring Road north to the city limits. This contract is for the development of that plan.

Garner Stoll, the city’s development services director, said 13 firms responded to the RFP.

Council member Marsh said RDG Planning & Design was her least favorite of all the groups that responded. She said as a member of the selection committee, she doesn’t think they’re the right team for the job. She also named several things in the contract that she said need to be adjusted.

Kinion moved to table the resolution until June 19. La Tour seconded.

Notes: Both the Planning Commission and city staff are in favor of the rezoning. The property is currently vacant, following demolition of a single-family home several years ago. It is surrounded on three sides by single-family homes in the Neighborhood Conservation zoning district.

Here’s a map:

Notes: The Planning Commission recommended approval, but city staff are against the request.

From city documents:

“In their request letter, the applicant has noted that right-of-way dedication requirements along College Avenue will total approximately 22% of one of the proposed four new properties (or 7% of the existing property), and that this is arbitrary and capricious. Right-of-way dedication is a typical requirement as codified in the City’s Unified Development Ordinance of all land subdivisions where insufficient right-of-way is required to accommodate the City’s designated Master Street Plan section. The request to calculate right-of-way dedication from the center of the existing right-of-way rather than the street centerline is inconsistent with the City’s requirements, and may lead to an inability to make future street improvements associated with College Avenue’s 59-foot Collector classification.

College Avenue’s existing right-of-way width at this location is a result of the Walker family’s dedication in 1990 which allowed for the existing sidewalk and greenspace on the west side of College. By reducing the right-of-way dedication requirement on College’s east side, this will require the City to reduce or eliminate potential street elements, such as bike lanes, sidewalks, or greenspace. Given these considerations, staff does not recognize a hardship associated with the proposal to subdivide and develop the property, and denial of the request is recommended. Further, staff evaluated this entire section of South College Avenue and determined that it does function as a Collector Street and the additional right-of-way is in the long-term interest of Fayetteville residents to accommodate safe and convenient multi-modal transportation.”

Here’s a map:

The applicant asked to withdraw this request. The council voted unanimously to table the item indefinitely.

Notes: Both the Planning Commission and city staff are in favor of the amendment.

From city documents:

“Staff, property owners, and the development community have identified several impediments to building ADUs under the current ordinance. The primary impediment is the requirement for the property owner to file a deed restriction specifying that the owner will reside on the property either in the principal or accessory dwelling. This was included as a neighborhood protection measure to ensure that both the primary house and the ADU could not be rentals. Staff proposes to remove this impediment to encourage more ADUs to be built to fulfill the goals of City Plan 2030. To staff’s knowledge there have been few if any neighborhood complaints related to ADUs and the current code is overly restrictive.”

The following restrictions (that are not standard for single-family dwellings) would be removed:

• Exterior design requirements.
• One additional parking space (unless the ADU is over 800 square feet).
• Deed restriction specifying that the owner will reside on the property either in the principal or accessory dwelling.
• Additional site and landscape plan review.

Other changes (as recommended by the Planning Commission) include:

• Strengthening requirements to protect privacy of adjacent backyards.
• Allowing one detached and one attached or interior ADU provided total additional space doesn’t exceed 1,200 square feet.

Council members Kinion and Marsh said they’re concerned about increasing occupancy to existing neighborhoods. Marsh said more people means more cars and more noise.

Council member Smith said there are means to address excess cars and noise, and this ordinance aims to create more options for affordable housing.

The council discussed how many occupants should be allowed in an ADU. There was also a discussion about which direction windows should face in an effort to preserve the privacy of neighboring dwellings, and height restrictions of an ADU.

City Attorney Kit Williams suggested leaving the item on the first reading to allow some time to tighten the ordinance language.