LIVE UDPATES: Fayetteville City Council recap: June 18, 2019

Nominees:
The Mayor recommends the following candidates for appointment:

HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION
Kathryn Cook – One term ending 06/30/22
Vacant – One term ending 06/30/22

The Nominating Committee recommends the following candidates for appointment:

ANIMAL SERVICES ADVISORY BOARD
Vacant – One Licensed Veterinarian/Veterinary Professional unexpired term ending 06/30/22
Meghan Dale – One Business Representative term ending 06/30/22
Billie Firmin – One unexpired citizen at large term ending 06/30/20
Sherri Wheeler – One citizen at large term ending 06/30/22

BOARD OF ADJUSTMENTS
Catelyn J. Gibbs – One unexpired term ending 03/31/22

CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION
Paul Younger – One unexpired term ending 03/31/20

CONSTRUCTION BOARD OF ADJUSTMENTS AND APPEALS
Vacant – One unexpired term ending 03/31/24

ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION COMMITTEE
Gene Allen Franco – One term ending 06/30/22

FAYETTEVILLE ARTS COUNCIL
Nick Zazal – One Arts and Cultural/Citizen at Large term ending 06/30/22
Barbara Putman – One Arts and Cultural/Citizen at Large term ending 06/30/22
Cindy Morley – One Working Artist term ending 06/30/22
Robert Stafford – One Working Artist term ending 06/30/22

PEG ADVISORY BOARD
David Embree – One term ending 06/30/23
Melissa Zabecki – One term ending 06/30/23
Vacant – One unexpired term ending 06/30/21

WALTON ARTS CENTER COUNCIL, INC.
Justin Tennant – One term ending 06/30/22 Barbara Taylor – One term ending 06/30/22

Background:
This item was tabled on June 4.

The request comes after last year’s failed vacation of a tree preservation easement on the same property.

A tree preservation easement was created in 2001 when JD China was built. After the restaurant closed in 2016, the owners requested (and were approved for) a lot split that created two parcels. One lot included 1.09 acres and was sold to Raising Cane’s to build a new restaurant. The remaining 0.67-acre lot is almost entirely covered in the tree preservation area required when JD China was built.

The applicant last year wanted to abolish the remaining tree preservation to facilitate the sale of the remaining lot, but city staff said approving this request would set a precedent that would allow property owners to utilize lot splits to thwart tree preservation requirements and then later vacate the tree preservation easement allowing sale of the parcel. The council agreed, and voted to deny the request.

This new proposal has support from city staff. While it would provide the same vacation (0.67 acres with 0.38 acres of tree canopy), it would offer the city two new tree preservation easements (0.95 acres with 0.85 acres of tree canopy) on the west side of town adjacent to Harmony Point Park (see attachment). Staff pointed out that the new easements offer over twice the size of the existing easement’s tree canopy. Staff said the new easements offer more environmental services to the city than the existing easement, which is why they are in favor of the request.

June 4 Discussion:
Council member Kinion said considering the history of this property and the owner’s requests, he thinks this request is just “more monkey business.” He questioned the meaningfulness of the trade offer, and said he doesn’t think the two new easements offered could even be developed on anyway. “It’s an issue where there was a promise made when the property was being developed and now we’re being asked to go back on that promise.” He said he won’t support the request.

Council member Scroggin agreed, and said it’s not clear whether the two new easements are developable, but it’s almost certain if the old easement is vacated, the trees will soon be removed and the property will be developed. “There’s just not a lot of trees left on MLK,” he said.

Council member Bunch said she’s not convinced the two new easements are a better deal for the city.

Council member Marsh suggested tabling the request to give the council a chance to go and look at the properties.

Mayor Jordan said personally, he’s not in favor of the request. He said a promise was made about the trees on this property and he believes it should be honored.

The council voted unanimously to table the item until the next regular meeting. The discussion will continue on June 18.

June 18 Discussion:
Staff said the applicant has now included two new tree easements as well as offered to pay additional funds into the tree preservation fund.

The applicant asked the council to table the issue until July 16 to allow more time to firm up the new offer. The council agreed.

Background:
This contract will permit Food Recycling Solutions to collect and transport compostable materials to permitted food waste composting operations. The company will be required to provide certification of the weight collected for hauling the organic waste.

Compost would be delivered to the city’s facility. Commercial recycling could go elsewhere, but if that occurred, the company would be required to report where it was delivered and to which re-manufacturer it ultimately ends up at.

Discussion:
During public comments, one person asked about language in the contract referring to residential pickup and non-food waste collection.

A representative for the company said they do not handle residential pickup, and they only work with food waste.

Blake Pennington, the city’s assistant attorney, said that language should be removed. He suggested tabling the item to allow the agreement to be revised. The council agreed. The discussion will continue on July 2.

Background:
This change would allow non-citizens to serve on some city boards, commissions and committees. The current law restricts those positions to “registered voters within the corporate limits of Fayetteville.”

The goal is to attract a more diverse group of candidates to serve on the local boards, following the city’s recently adopted Welcoming Plan, which recommends the city “explore barriers and encourage civic engagement for new Americans who wish to participate in boards, committees, commissions and other leadership positions.”

Discussion:
Council member Scroggin asked if these changes inadvertently remove age requirements for volunteers. Council member Smith, who sponsored the proposal, said it wasn’t intentional when the ordinance was drafted, but he thinks encouraging a wider variety of age groups to apply is a good thing. Scroggin agreed, and said he only asked to make sure there wouldn’t be a later issue with recommendations made by minors. Scroggin said he’d love to see younger residents involved in the advisory board process.

Two people spoke in favor of the ordinance during public comment.

Assistant City Attorney Pennington recommended holding the item to ensure that it doesn’t violate the Arkansas “sanctuary cities” statute. He said the city could be susceptible to losing state funds if the Attorney General interpreted the ordinance to be in violation of that statute.

Paul Becker, the city’s finance director, said the amount of funds the city could lose may be up to $6 million.

Smith said he’s in no rush to immediately adopt the ordinance, but he doesn’t think the ordinance will be in violation of the sanctuary cities statute.

The discussion turned to the state bill itself. It’s been said that the governor supports amending the ordinance to make it clear that the intention of the statute is to stop cities from neglecting to properly enforce federal laws regarding immigration, and not to regulate non-citizens’ eligibility to volunteer on a local advisory board.

The item was tabled. The discussion will continue on July 2.

Background:
This resolution includes several changes to the language used in the department policies. Officials said the updates are necessary to meet best practices.

Have a look at the agenda packet for this item to see a highlighted overview of each change to the department policies.

Discussion:
There was no public comment or discussion.

Decision:
The council voted unanimously to approve the resolution.

Background:
Both the Planning Commission and city planning staff are in favor of the request with the following condition of approval:

1. Any relocation of or damage to existing utilities or existing facilities shall be at the owner/developer’s expense.

The property is developed with a single-family dwelling. The platted easement does not contain any utilities and is located over the existing single-family dwelling and carport. Neither staff nor the applicant is aware of how the conflict between house and easement came into existence.

Location:

Discussion:
There was no public comment or discussion.

Decision:
The council advanced the item to the third and final reading, and voted unanimously to approve the ordinance.

Background:
Both the Planning Commission and city planning staff are in favor of the request with the following conditions of approval:

1. A 15-foot electric utility easement shall be dedicated along the eastern boundary of the property for the existing overhead facilities along School Avenue;
2. Easements shall be dedicated for existing or proposed public infrastructure as required by the City’s Water and Sewer Department; and
3. Any relocation of or damage to existing utilities or existing facilities shall be at the owner/developer’s expense.

The property is currently developed with the Farmers’ Co-operative, including several non-residential buildings serving a mixture of retail and storage purposes. A mixed-use development is planned on the site, and the applicant is requesting this vacation as part of site preparation for that project.

Location:

Discussion:
There was no public comment or discussion.

Decision:
The council advanced the item to the third and final reading, and voted unanimously to approve the ordinance.

Background:
Both the Planning Commission and city planning staff are in favor of the request with the following condition of approval:

1. Any relocation of or damage to existing utilities or existing facilities shall be at the owner/developer’s expense.

The property is located in the parking lot of the Malco Razorback Cinema. The request is to reduce a portion of an existing utility easement and drainage easement to allow future commercial development in the area.

Location:

Discussion:
There was no public comment or discussion.

Decision:
The council advanced the item to the third and final reading, and voted unanimously to approve the ordinance.

Background:
This resolution will enable staff to begin working with Experience Fayetteville to develop a scope of work for the programming, marketing, operations and maintenance aspect of the public spaces associated with the Cultural Arts Corridor project, as well as the drafting of a contract for those services. Funding for the planning, design, implementation and maintenance of the elements identified in the scope of work will be requested through a negotiated contract to be approved by the City Council at a future date.

Discussion:
Council members asked how stakeholders will be incorporated into the planning process.

Council member Marsh asked whether the Community Creative Center and other local artists would be included in the process.

Molly Rawn, executive director of Experience Fayetteville, said her team is ready to begin stakeholder sessions for groups who will be impacted by or who will benefit from the project, including artists, event promoters and business owners or leadership from the organizations that make up the corridor. She said that more specific and more detailed stakeholder sessions are planned that would address more than the general community sessions that were held in leading up to the public vote that provided funding for this project.

Decision:
The council voted unanimously to approve the resolution.