Letter to the Editor: Rezoning Argument Flawed

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

In response to the April 18 letter "Traffic Concerns Misplaced" by John Marinoni, whose family is developing a large-scale student housing project on 22 acres at the southeast corner of Wedington Drive and Interstate 540, here are some points Mr. Marinoni overlooked. The main issue is the rezoning request from RSF-4 to R-PZD.

• Per "Traffic Study, Residential Student Housing," prepared for Capstone Collegiate Communities LLC by Peter and Associates Engineers Inc. dated March 26, 2014 -- The estimated number of 24-hour, two-way vehicular weekday volume is 2,371. That's 11,855 per week, 248,955 per month. The traffic study doesn't include streets east and south of Wedington/Sang and Sang/Cleveland. All traffic concerns lie beyond those limits.

• High school graduates, free from parental/guardian control, with their own transportation, tend not to use fully mature, adult reasoning in planning their daily commutes to and from campus, even if door-to-door service is provided. Speeding is of particular concern, and a hazard to all.

• There are no definitive plans by the University of Arkansas or Capstone to provide bus service for that development.

• On April 23, I drove from the Marinoni property to home, four blocks from the Garland parking deck, leaving at 7:45 a.m. It took 14 minutes, (a distance) Mr. Marinoni drove in three minutes.

• Leverett Elementary School severely hampers traffic on Garland during morning and late afternoon hours, hours similar to those that university students maintain.

• It's not just traffic issues. It's the other incremental increases of trash on roads, driving under the influence, texting while driving, to name a few, that erode a quality of life that once gone, will never return.

• The Fayetteville Police Department and University of Arkansas police are understaffed now.

Compare all that with the current zoning, RSF-4, and types of services and retail shops created to serve that community, and everything changes.

Marinoni's windshield study was flawed on all levels. One can only hope the subdivision committee and planning commission will have enough input from residents to vote "no" to rezoning of the Marinoni/Capstone project. The difference is 700 students versus 350 residents/students.

The other conditional-use permits at street side on Wedington hinge on passage of rezoning the property.

The subdivision committee meets at 9 a.m. Thursday, May 1. The Planning Commission meets at 5:30 p.m. May 12. All meetings in rooms 219 or 326 in the City Administrations Building, 113 W. Mountain Street.

I strongly urge all west Fayetteville citizens to attend. Let your voices and opinions be heard. If current zoning is kept at RSF-4, we're protecting the value and quality of life for ourselves, our families, and future generations.

All residents within an area surrounded by Wedington to the north, UA campus to the east, and Nettleship Street to the south will feel the impact of 700 students trying to get to and from the UA campus. Anyone west of I-540 traveling to and from destinations around and on campus using Wedington should have significant concerns.

Joe Paul

Fayetteville

Commentary on 04/29/2014