Subdivision to bring nearly 300 homes to south Fayetteville

A cyclist rides Friday near Morningside Drive and 15th Street in Fayetteville. Rausch Coleman Homes will develop a 290-lot Park Meadows subdivision on the 68-acre site. Developers expect to kick up dirt on the project by mid-2017
A cyclist rides Friday near Morningside Drive and 15th Street in Fayetteville. Rausch Coleman Homes will develop a 290-lot Park Meadows subdivision on the 68-acre site. Developers expect to kick up dirt on the project by mid-2017

FAYETTEVILLE -- People who live or commute near Walker Park in the south part of town will get an influx of neighbors in the next five years or so.

The Planning Commission has approved plans for a 290-lot Park Meadows subdivision, which will sit on the northeast corner of 15th Street and Morningside Drive. The 68-acre tract of land was rezoned and now Crafton-Tull engineers must turn in full construction plans to the city.

The vote

Planning Commissioners approved a plan for the 290-lot Park Meadows subdivision on Monday.

“Yes” votes:

Ron Autry

Leslie Belden

Tom Brown

Tracy Hoskins

Ryan Noble

Janet Selby

“No” votes:

Kyle Cook

Matthew Hoffman

Allison Thurmond Quinlan

Source: Staff report

Developer Jesse Fulcher with Rausch Coleman Homes said dirt should get moving on the project by mid-2017. Construction will take about five years over several phases, with each phase lasting eight to 12 months and 40 to 60 units built.

Fulcher said the subdivision will feature a mix of one- and two-story single-family houses. He declined to provide a price range.

"We are building quality housing that is affordable for the first-time millennial homeowner and for baby boomers who are wanting to move down to less square footage," he said.

Planning commissioners, city staff, Fulcher and residents discussed the development for more than two hours Nov. 28. Planning staff members made numerous conditions for approval largely dealing with improvements to the subdivision's frontages on 15th Street, Morningside Drive and Huntsville Road.

Andrew Garner, the city's planning director, said the staff made the recommendations out of a concern for safety. City staff and developers presented traffic studies with conflicting information to the commission.

Having nearly 300 homes in one development puts Park Meadows among the largest since the recession, Garner said.

"The difference on this one is how close it is to the core of the city," he said. "This is definitely the biggest one I can ever remember in-town like this, closer in toward the downtown."

Fulcher said he expected a lot of conversation with such a large-scale project.

"I think it was a fair decision that was made in the end," he said. "We certainly have a burden of a number of improvements that we're going to make as part of our impact. But, from the process, I think it went fine and smooth and in a timely manner."

Homes on the west side of the development will line Morningside Drive with garages in the rear. Homes on the east side will have more of a typical suburban vibe, Fulcher said.

The pond on the property will stay with about a 5-acre park next to it. A multiuse trail will wind between the homes and separate the east and west sides.

City approval called for four main conditions. Morningside Drive will be widened, with the ditch on the east side filled, curbs and gutters built and enough room for cars to park on the street.

The developers will repaint Huntsville Road for a left-turn lane onto Morningside Drive.

Instead of immediately installing a traffic signal at Huntsville Road and Morningside Drive, the developers will pay about $18,000 over the course of the project so the city can install a signal later. City staff estimated a traffic signal would cost about $150,000 and the subdivision would contribute about a 12 percent increase in traffic at the intersection.

Lastly, the developers will get financial credit for dedicating the land for the trail inside the subdivision.

The Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department will widen 15th Street between Armstrong and College avenues to four lanes sometime before 2020, City Engineer Chris Brown said. The city previously teamed with the Highway Department to widen that stretch of 15th Street as part of a larger project, but the two sides mutually terminated the agreement because of costs, he said.

Dave and Kate Baer, who live on Morningside Drive with their 9-year-old daughter, Suri, had mixed feelings about the development. Dave Baer expressed concern over what could develop in the northwest corner of the property. That part is zoned as community services, which allows for convenience stores, restaurants or offices.

Kate Baer questioned the high density of the project.

"I feel like southtown is a great place to get your foot in the door for home ownership," she said. "I would hate to see the character of the neighborhood compromised."

Kate Conway and Ralph Nesson, who have lived on Morningside Drive for 37 years, were two of the four residents who spoke during the Planning Commission meeting.

Increased traffic congestion and more speeding cars concern the couple the most. Lots of people already come in and out of Summer Hill apartments to the north, the low-income Nantucket Apartments for older residents to the south and from the numerous homes in neighborhoods in between, they said.

"It's kind of a nightmare waiting to happen," Conway said. "It's unsafe already. It'll be just more unsafe, and the potential for accidents is going to skyrocket."

The couple expressed hope that cars parked on Morningside Drive would help calm the speedsters who frequent the area. A four-way stop between the subdivision and the neighborhoods would go a long way, they said.

"When the first accident happens -- I hope it doesn't -- but, I'll bet it's going to involve an elderly person pulling out from Morningside and being struck by one of these cars racing down," Nesson said.

The plan will go on as scheduled unless the Planning Commission's decision is appealed within 10 days of approval.

NW News on 12/05/2016

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