HOW WE SEE IT

Overlay Plan An Opportunity To Set Future

Property owners within a city are responsible for the year-to-year appearance of their properties. When it comes to how a city looks over the course of decades, however, the responsibility shifts to some degree toward city planning.

A community’s governmental leaders and residents either care about the look and feel of their city or they don’t. If they do, the strongest tool they have available is a set of planning standards reflecting a long-term vision that comes into play when properties change hands or go through substantial changes.

City officials in Rogers early next year plan to discuss the extension of an overlay district - a location-specific form of planning standards - along Eighth Street. The city’s overlay district applies to several streets, establishing special planning rules within 330 feet of the public right of way.

The existing overlay district boundaries run along Walnut Street from 28th Street to Interstate 540; along Eighth Street from Olrich Street to the south city limits; along Hudson Road from the east to the west city limits; along Locust Street and Prairie Creek Drive from Second Street to the east city limits; along New Hope Road from Dixieland Road to I-540; along I-540 from the north to the south city limits; and Pleasant Grove Road from Eighth Street to Bellview Road.

The specific proposal would extend the overlay district along Eighth Street, a move that seems logical as the city examines ways to make downtown more of a vibrant part of the overall city.

“Over the long term, including Eighth Street from Olrich to Walnut will give us the opportunity to improve what a driver sees entering the city,” said Derrel Smith, city senior planner. “If city oftcials agree to change the boundary lines, it will have no effect on existing businesses, but will have an effect on businesses that change hands, or build along that corridor.”

Businesses will no doubt have concerns about any additional burdens the overlay district might impose, but those concerns should not lead to an automatic rejection of the plan. Anyone desirous of largely restriction-free business operation should consider a very rural location. There is an implied social contract when businesses operate within more populous areas, a responsibility to the greater good, one might say. That doesn’t mean a city gets to impose its will on property owners; it also doesn’t mean the property owner gets to trump the community’s long-term interests.

An overlay district to promote better development that meets the needs of property owners and the community as a whole is a strong tool for the future improvement of a city, but it also relies on community feedback to determine what that future should look like. The very best kinds of planning regulations are the ones that put into motion the kinds of changes necessary for the community to realize the goals it sets for itself. As it involves individuals, that can be a challenging process, but it’s one every community must periodically go through to get it right for future generations.

We encourage those interested in the future of Rogers and its downtown to attend a public hearing on the overlay district scheduled for 3 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 7, at City Hall.

Opinion, Pages 5 on 12/26/2013

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