BENTONVILLE — A review of proposed revisions to Benton County’s planning regulations turned into a discussion of how to increase public awareness and input, with county officials suggesting a series of town hall meetings to engage the public.
“I think it would still be good to have a meeting on the west side of the county, one on the east side of the county and another in the central part of the county,” Justice of the Peace Susan Anglin said Monday. Anglin and other justices of the peace were examining the planning regulations during a meeting of the Benton County Quorum Court’s Legislative Committee.
Justice of the Peace Barry Moehring also thought the county needed more public input on the process.
What's Next
Review
The Benton County Quorum Court’s Legislative Committee will continue its review of the county planning and development regulations when the panel meets at 6 p.m. April 4 in the Quorum Courtroom of the County Administration Building, 215 E. Central Ave. in Bentonville.
Source: Staff Report
“This one strikes me as something a little bit different,” Moehring said. “Something we need to get public comment on.”
Justice of the Peace Shirley Sandlin said holding meetings may not guarantee public participation, pointing out that the current process of reviewing the regulations has been publicized, but to little or no effect.
“Public meetings will be great,” Sandlin said. “But, historically, they’re not always well-attended. People will say they didn’t read about it in the newspaper. They didn’t hear about it on the radio. They didn’t see it on TV. You could put posters on their foreheads and they wouldn’t have seen that either.”
Chris Ryan, the county’s planning and environmental director, said he had tried to reach out to interested groups with little result. He said the proposed revisions are on the county’s website, but are difficult to find. Ryan said he will continue to work with the county’s Information Services Department to get information on the revisions posted in a more easily accessible location.
Justice of the Peace Tom Allen said the justices of the peace may have to do more to generate public interest in the process.
“Based on my experience as a JP, on issues like this it’s going to be up to us as JPs to reach out to our constituents,” Allen said.
"People will say they didn't read about it in the newspaper. They didn't hear about it on the radio. They didn't see it on TV. You could put posters on their foreheads and they wouldn't have seen that either."
Shirley Sandlin
Justice Of The Peace
The committee did review some parts of the proposed changes Monday, with home occupation regulations taking up much of the discussion. Ryan and M.J. McGetrick, the county’s planning coordinator, briefed the justices of the peace on proposals to limit home occupations by size, with some variation for enterprises in more urban areas and those in more rural areas. Possible areas of concern included noise, vibration, glare, fumes, odors and electrical interference. The proposed regulations also limited the number of employees and vehicles, the number of customers allowed on premises at a given time, deliveries, the amount of space in the residence or associated building used for the business and storage of materials and equipment. A suggestion to limit signs to no more than one square foot was also discussed.
Several justices of the peace raised questions about signs, about specific businesses or business models. Ryan said existing businesses will be “grandfathered in” and the revised regulations only applied to new businesses.