SPRINGDALE -- Aldermen approved annexing five properties from Elm Springs and another from Washington County during a City Council meeting Tuesday.
The Washington County property is on the East side of the city, said Ernest Cate, city attorney. The property owner initiated the annexation.
Council action
Springdale’s City Council met Tuesday and approved:
• Spending $15,100 for new puppy cages at the Springdale Animal Shelter.
• Spending $55,556 for pavement work at Springdale Municipal Airport.
• Spending $9,950 to finish construction on an office in a hangar at the airport.
• Amending the Police Department’s budget to use $26,317 from drug seizure expenses for equipment.
• Rezoning 1.3 acres at 1845 Butterfield Coach Road from agricultural district to institutional district.
Source: Staff Report
Signature Bank of Arkansas owns the property, which is about 14 acres, according to meeting documents.
The five properties in Elm Springs have multiple owners, Cate said. The largest of the five properties is 2.25 acres.
All five properties are on Oak Grove Road, according to meeting documents. Annexation of the properties is based on the property owners seeking sewer services.
Elm Springs aldermen approved deannexing the land at their City Council meeting on June 15, said Elm Springs Mayor Harold Douthit. He said it would be too expensive for Elm Springs to run sewer to those properties.
"It's a mutual agreement with everybody," he said.
Springdale aldermen approved the annexation of three other nearby properties from Elm Springs in April. Those properties are at 881 Oak Grove Road, 825 Oak Grove Road and 5119 Elm Springs Road.
Douthit said in April it would be expensive for Elm Springs to run sewer to those properties.
Springdale Mayor Doug Sprouse said it's always good when people want to come into the city. It creates a slight population increase.
Cities in Arkansas get money from turnback funding based on population size of each city, said Wyman Morgan, city director of finance and administration. The state legislature decides how much money from state revenue to use for this purpose. Cities can use general turnback funds for municipal expenses and highway turnback funds for street expenses.
Cate said property owners benefit from annexations through city services.
Aldermen also recently approved an annexation from Bethel Heights, which has been at the center of a recent property dispute.
Bethel Heights filed a lawsuit against Springdale in April claiming the city improperly annexed three tracts, containing more than 85 acres together, from Bethel Heights in March.
Cate said in May he filed a motion to dismiss, arguing it was filed after the deadline to do so expired. He said earlier this month Benton County Circuit Judge Brad Karren granted Springdale's motion to dismiss the lawsuit June 2.
Rezoning the property was also contingent upon the June 2 court hearing. Springdale aldermen approved rezoning the property to general industrial May 26.
Robert Rhoads, the attorney representing Bethel Heights, filed an appeal of the rezoning on Bethel Heights ' behalf June 4. The complaint requests an immediate and permanent injunction against Springdale and the Planning Commission.
The complaint states it's "an appeal of the decision of a quasi-judicial body," and also states "the amendment to the zoning ordinance of Springdale without making its zoning compatible with zoned uses of the adjacent land in Bethel Heights" renders the ordinance void.
Cate said he hasn't replied yet, but he said he will contest the incompatibility of the tracts to the properties that are within 1,000 feet of them.
NW News on 06/24/2015