The natural beauty of the area known today as Bella Vista has drawn crowds to Northwest Arkansas for well more than 100 years. For decades, it served as a resort whose owners invited visitors to come stay a while during the summer and fall months. In the early 1960s, development visionary John Cooper Sr. bought the resort and thousands of contiguous acres to create a real estate development mecca to give people a chance to settle down and eventually retire there.
Cooper Communities' many such residential developments set up on a basic model: Buy land in low-cost areas, spread the development costs over a large number of owners to make ownership attractive and provide amenities such as golf courses, country clubs and lakes, according to the company's official history. The company tapped into the first generations in the nation's history to be able to afford comfortable retirement, and many found their new homes in northern Benton County's little village.
What’s The Point?
With another defeat of an assessment fee increase from members of the Bella Vista Property Owners Association, the question may someday become “what’s so special about Bella Vista?”
The village isn't so little anymore, with a population approaching of more than 26,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. In 2006, residents voted to officially become an incorporated city, but the many amenities the village is known for are operated by the Property Owners Association, an organization supported by fees charged on both undeveloped and developed property.
So everything is looking up for Bella Vista, right? One has to wonder.
Property owners in Bella Vista just recently, again, rejected an increase in the so-called assessments to fund the Property Owners Association. After the failure of an earlier and higher increase, this one amounted to $6 for improved lots and $2 a month for unimproved lots. The vote was 8,107 for and 8,947 against. Assessments at Bella Vista have not increased since 2001.
The association, which is not a tax-supported entity, is responsible for maintenance and operation of seven golf courses, seven lakes, two recreation centers with fitness facilities, clubhouses, parks and playgrounds, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, walking and biking trails, a gun range and other facilities. Imagine trying to keep up with maintenance on all of that without having increased revenue in 14 years.
Now, it must be said that the Property Owners Association isn't everything in Bella Vista. There is a city government just like there is in all other incorporated towns across the state. One can easily argue it is precisely what the association is responsible for that gives Bella Vista its identity as something more than just every other city. John Cooper Sr. envisioned it as a special place, but it appears significant numbers of property owners have mistakenly believed that status will come from city hall. City government really isn't built to run the amenities Bella Vistans are use to.
So are there reasons to worry about the future of Bella Vista? Are the property owners there going to give up the unique character that attracted them there?
The long-term impact of constantly voting "no" will be reduced hours of operation, closed golf courses, worsening conditions of facilities. These seem like outcomes no property owner would want, whether they use such amenities or not, because without the attraction of the amenities, Bella Vista isn't a resort; it's just a bunch of houses that are hard to get to.
Commentary on 09/30/2014