BENTONVILLE -- Benton County planners on Wednesday discussed fees for temporary permits for fireworks stands and tents, saying the fee amount was apparently omitted from the most recent fee ordinance.
The Planning Board adopted a process last year to govern fireworks stands and some other uses allowing them to go through a review process that included planning staff and the fire marshal rather than appear before the board. That process included a fee as provided for in planning regulations.
At Wednesday's meeting the board agreed the fee needed to be included in the ordinance and John Sudduth, the general services administrator, said it will be necessary to send a revised ordinance through the Quorum Court and it's committees. Sudduth said he'll prepare information showing what Washington County and others charge for the permits for the board's April 1 meeting.
The board also reviewed plans for the NWA RBI Baseball Academy at 9949 E. Arkansas 72 in Bentonville during the technical advisory committee portion Wednesday. The application will go to the board for a public hearing at the April 1 board meeting.
According to information submitted to the planning office by Dave Montgomery, project manager, the proposal is for a baseball training academy in a 7,500 square-foot building on the 5-acre site. The academy is supposed to include four indoor batting cages and one baseball diamond. The diamond area will be used for base-running drills, for example, there will be no dirt infield space. Montgomery and Tracy Barnes, one of the property owners, asked for a variance from the parking regulation that would cut the number of parking spaces from 38 to 20. The board agreed the owners needed to provide a specific hardship they would encounter in meeting the requirement before a variance is granted.
The board also told Montgomery and Barnes they must provide information about the number of people who will be at the business during any normal business day to be sure the septic system is properly sized. Starr Leyva, head of the Planning Board, said the number has to show the total daily use.
"If you have 15 kids per session and you have three sessions in a day, that's 45 people," she said.
During Wednesday's public hearing portion of the meeting, the board approved a variance request from Samuel Hollis to setback requirements for residential property at 18618 Shaddox Mountain Road in Rogers.
NW News on 03/19/2015