Fayetteville Commission Tables Urban Agriculture Proposal

FAYETTEVILLE — Planning commissioners said Monday they want more details before signing off on a set of ordinance changes intended to promote urban agriculture.

Meeting Info

Also on Monday, the Fayetteville Planning Commission:

  • Approved plans for a 13-unit residential development at 1707 W. Nettleship St.
  • Suggested changes to city code, requiring developers of smaller than 1-acre properties to pay parkland dedication fees when developing a site with more than 24 residential units.

The commission also recommended approval of four rezoning requests Monday — one on 25.9 acres west of Garland Avenue and north of Truckers Drive; one on 19.6 acres southeast of Interstate 540 and Wedington Drive; another on 6.1 acres near Wedington Drive and Garland Avenue; and a fourth on 1.5 acres south of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and east of Beechwood Avenue.

City Council members are scheduled to consider the rezonings Jan. 7. Planning commissioners will again review the urban agriculture proposal Jan. 13.

The proposal would allow goats, bees and more chickens and ducks in non-agricultural zones. Up to 20 fowl, four beehives and three pygmy or dwarf goats would be allowed in residential and educational areas, depending on the size of the property. The proposal would also change the definition of garage sales and home occupations to make it easier for people to sell agricultural products from their homes.

Commissioners Ron Autry, Craig Honchell and Tracy Hoskins said they would like to see specific requirements for how large a beehive could be and how tall a fence must be to enclose the animals. Hoskins said goats, in particular, should be confined to someone's backyard.

The ordinance changes, as proposed, would restrict chicken coops, beehives and goat shelters to someone's side or backyard, but, according to Peter Nierengarten, Fayetteville sustainability and strategic planning director, the animals would be free to roam in people's front yards so long as there is proper fencing and pens are set back a specific distance from a neighbor's house.

"This is a great ordinance, and I hope we can find a way to get it to work," Autry said. "Maybe we just need to have some additional definitions and bring it back one more time so we can tweak it just a little bit."

Commissioners William Chesser, Kyle Cook, Ryan Noble and Porter Winston voted to forward the proposal to the City Council with a recommendation for approval.

Autry, Honchell, Hoskins and Commissioner Blake Pennington voted against forwarding the ordinance changes.

The rezoning near Garland Avenue and Truckers Drive was once part of a 140-acre development called Park West that the City Council approved in 2006. Plans for Park West, across Garland Avenue from the 112 Drive In, included 1,700 dwelling units and 856,000 square feet of commercial space. Building permits were never issued, and the property is now owned by Legacy National Bank.

The proposed zoning would allow for a mix of houses, apartments, restaurants, offices or a gasoline station.

The rezoning request near Wedington Drive and I-540 is for 19.6 acres subdivided into nine commercial lots in 2002. The land, owned by Thomas F. James Realty, is just east of Futrall Drive and across Wedington from where a Casey's General Store is being built. The lots run along either side of McMillan Drive, one of two streets built through the property.

The proposed zoning would also allow for a blend of residential and commercial uses.

"Everyone knows this property has been sitting there as it is for a while," said Justin Jorgensen, an engineer with Jorgensen & Associates. "We're looking at a way to market it differently and get some movement on it."

The third rezoning is for land behind a Harp's grocery store at Wedington Drive and Garland Avenue. The City Council approved zoning and development plans for 296 residential units and 16,500 square feet of office and retail space in 2006, but nothing was ever constructed. The planned zoning district where the development, called Wedington Circle, was located expired, and a new development cannot be built until the property is rezoned.

The proposed zoning would allow for similar uses as the Wedington Circle development.

The Beechwood Avenue property borders 16.6 acres the City Council rezoned Dec. 3. The land includes several warehouses and industrial buildings as well as the White Elephant Emporium and Suds Car Wash. The 1.5 acres are owned by Eaton Properties.

The proposed zoning, across from the University House apartments, would allow another student apartment complex to be built as well as shops, restaurants, offices or a gasoline station.

Commissioners had been scheduled Monday to review development plans for a 175-unit, 432-bedroom apartment complex south of Center Street between Duncan and Hill avenues, across the street from where other student apartments, called The Cardinal at West Center, are being built.

Seth Mims, president of Specialized Real Estate Group, said earlier this year he had hoped to open the new complex in fall 2014.

The project could be delayed, however, following City Council approval last week of a change to the city's building height limits and setback requirements. More than 24-foot-tall multi-family, commercial and mixed-use developments now must be set back at least 15 feet from side and rear property lines when built next to single-family houses, duplexes and triplexes. Development can be no taller than 36 feet in the 15-foot setback. After that, a building must step back an additional 15 feet before going higher.

Plans presented by Specialized Real Estate Group and Fayetteville architecture firm, Modus Studio, did not meet the new setback requirements.

Planning commissioners on Monday tabled consideration of the development, called Harvey's Hill, until their Jan. 13 meeting.

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