Alderman Mike Overton apparently wants to do what he can to make sure there’s no Love’s lost in Springdale.
As in Love’s Travel Center.
Overton last week revived the controversy over Springdale’s treatment of Love’s proposal to build a truck stop near the planned intersection of Don Tyson Parkway with Interstate 540. He proposed a resolution of support for the company’s efforts to open a business in Springdale.
“We’ll see if there’s support for this business or not,” Overton said prior to the meeting. Overton’s resolution failed to get enough votes for passage.
Passage might sound simple enough in business-friendly Springdale. After all, who wants to turn around a tax-paying and -collecting business?
But this proposal comes after months of debate revealed the Love’s-hate relationship in a town whose history is intimately tied to trucking but whose leaders - at least some of them - recognize a truck stop isn’t a good fit for every proposed location.
Last September, the city rejected a sign variance the company wanted for the planned truck stop location - on Victory Church-owned property near the future Interstate 540 interchange.
The variance was approved by the planning commission, but was appealed to the City Council by the Tyson, George and Shaw families. They own significant amounts of land in the area. The City Council said “no” to the 125-foot-tall sign typical of truck stops along interstate highways elsewhere.
This property isn’t just anywhere. It’s a location some city leaders see as having great potential for unified development. Mayor Doug Sprouse has a committee working on what planners call an overlay district to establish a game plan for development within the district’s boundaries.
Advocates for an overlay district believe the area - already home to Arvest Ballpark - has greater potential as a well-designed, cohesive collection of developments than the hodge-podge possible if ventures are evaluated solely on a case-by-case basis.
Caught in the middle is Victory Church, whose leadership has felt anything but victorious in its dealings with the city. Love’s wants to buy land owned by the church on the interstate’s west side.
The church, east of the interstate, is already being forced to move to make room for the interchange.
Overton’s move appeared to be designed to either encourage Love’s to continue its eff orts or to pressure aldermen. Other alderman have been fairly clear the dispute isn’t in opposition to Love’s, but in support for making the best use of the real estate surrounding Arvest Ballpark.
We support the push to slow things down and develop a plan before allowing a disruptive business such as a truck stop to build there.
Don Tyson Parkway and the area around Arvest Ballpark is rich with possibilities that can pay long-term dividends to the city and its citizens.
This really boils down to a choice between perspectives: Will it be a U.S. 412 approach or a Tyson Parkway approach? It’s entirely possible to support business without giving away the community.
As we’ve noted before, Springdale officials could certainly have worked sooner to accomplish the overlay district. If they had, they wouldn’t be in the defensive posture they find themselves in today. But their goal is still to make the best of the opportunity before them. Springdale has invested too much in Don Tyson Parkway and Arvest Ballpark to leave the area’s development to chance.
Opinion, Pages 5 on 02/19/2013