Benton County planners review plans for church and riding arena

BENTONVILLE -- Benton County planners on Wednesday reviewed plans for a combined church and riding arena on Old Highway 68 near Siloam Springs.

The Planning Board discussed plans for the Corner Post Cowboy Church project, proposed on a 15-acre site at 18200 Old Highway 68. The plans call for a 6,000 square-foot church building and a horse riding arena on the same site.

Ron Homeyer, planning board member, was also the engineer on the project. Homeyer recused from the board's deliberation but answered questions about the project.

"What's the riding arena use?" Starr Leyva, planning board member, asked Homeyer to explain the combination of the two facilities.

"There will be some 'pseudo-rodeo events' out there," Homeyer said. "Probably no more than four or five times a year, during daylight hours and lasting four or five hours for an event. The church is probably just one day a week. There's no day care or school."

The board asked about a waiver being sought to avoid the requirement for screening the church and riding arena from adjacent residential properties. Homeyer said the property was chosen because it's visible from U.S. 412, just to the south and the owners want it to be easily seen.

"They went to a lot of trouble to find this property, because it is visible from 412," he said. "They bought it for that reason."

The board discussed lighting requirements, if the riding arena is to be used at night, provisions for water for both the church and arena and dust-control measures for the arena. With those questions answered, the proposal was set for a public hearing at the board's July 6 meeting.

"I guess we can say amen to this one then," Mark Curtis, board chairman said at the end of the discussion.

The board also approved a proposal to expand Flint Creek Woodworks, a commercial cabinet operation at 18958 Jackson Road near Gentry. The owners plan to add a 3,120 square-foot building to the site, which is used for cabinet making, assembly and office areas.

Also Wednesday, the board discussed a request to waive the sanitary sewer requirements for 13 lots in the Osage Ridge subdivision on 72 acres near Heagerty Road and Sears Road. The subdivision was approved by Bentonville, but the developer, Ben Shankle, said he was told he had to comply with the county's regulations.

The county regulations allow one sewer system per lot. Shankle said the development was planned for large lots, raging from five to eight acres, with the idea each homeowner could also build smaller structures, such as pool houses, shops with apartments or "mother-in-law" apartments for the family's use. The board asked him to limit his request to each lot as the project developed.

NW News on 06/16/2016

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