FAYETTEVILLE -- A second Raising Cane's chicken-finger restaurant could come to Northwest Arkansas, but the developer said Monday a city tree preservation rule would need to be adjusted for the project to happen.
The Planning Commission on Monday approved development of a 3,600-square-foot Raising Cane's at 1740 W. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., currently the site of the J.D. China buffet restaurant. Now the developer might need approval from the City Council for another request to legally split the land the restaurant stands on*, City Attorney Kit Williams told the commission.
Also on Monday the commission voted to rezoning 36 acres about half a mile east of Walker Park, which would allow a neighborhood to be built there if the council also approves it. The commission then voted to allow a double drive-thru at the city's second Whataburger on North College Avenue near Joyce Boulevard, where heavy traffic is expected once the restaurant opens.
Arkansas's first Raising Cane's location opened last August near the Northwest Arkansas Mall. The Louisiana-based chain's menu includes fried chicken fingers, coleslaw and Texas toast.
Before a second location moves in on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Raising Cane's wants to split the rectangular property's tree-covered northern end from the rest of the property, project manager Thomas Murphy said. A city tree preservation easement protects portions of those woods and prevents anything from being built on that part of the land.
It also is a potential reason for the Planning Department to deny the lot split, because the easement blocks any development there, Williams said. If the department denies the split, only a City Council vote can change the easement to remove that obstacle, he said.
Murphy said the project likely won't go forward without the split.
The rezoning vote covered about 36 acres on East Huntsville Road. Developer Bart Bauer asked to rezone most of the land for neighborhood conservation zoning, which allows up to 10 homes per acre. Another 2 acres of residential-agricultural zoning would protect a stream, and another 3 acres in the land's northwest corner would allow small businesses.
Bauer said he hoped to restore a home in that corner and rent it for a doctor's office or a coffee shop and the like.
The commissioners debated the best zoning for such use; Bauer requested the community services zone, which could potentially allow businesses such as gas stations or drive-thru restaurants, commissioner Matt Hoffman said. A zone called neighborhood services would still allow an office but would bar those more disruptive businesses, he said.
"Many, many things could go on that corner lot," Williams agreed.
Bauer said he didn't see something such as a gas station going there, and most of the commission voted to keep his request as-is. City planning director Andrew Garner pointed out most gas stations are bigger than the 3-acre zone, and larger businesses could still set up shop in a neighborhood services zone with a permit.
NW News on 02/09/2016
*CORRECTION: The developers of a second Raising Cane’s restaurant in Fayetteville might need City Council approval to split the property into two lots, but only if the city’s Planning Department decides to deny the lot-split request. A tree preservation easement on part of the land is a potential reason to deny the request but doesn’t guarantee that denial. The process was incorrectly explained in this story.