FAYETTEVILLE -- The Planning Commission on Monday shot down two commercial projects proposed for residential areas of the city, though the developers could try again or appeal the decisions to the City Council.
Planning commissioners voted without opposition to reject a permit for a 150-foot cell tower near the intersection North Street and Gregg Avenue. A permit for a relatively small gym near Crossover Road and Township Street, meanwhile, failed to get enough votes in favor of approval. The votes came after dozens of neighbors of one project or the other turned out to voice their opposition.
"I really think it's going to be horrendous," commission chairwoman Sarah Bunch said of the cell tower, adding there were other options for a tower site in the same general area of town. "I cannot support this."
The proposed tower would have been built on a narrow piece of land on Lawson Street off of Gregg for Sprint. Kayla Kramer, project manager with Branch Communications, pointed out other towers do or could soon stand nearby and negotiation to hitch Sprint's technology onto one of them failed.
"This is a good site," Kramer said. "It is our position we've met all conditions of the ordinance as written."
Neighbors pushed back with arguments common in cell tower debates, with many saying they wouldn't have moved to the surrounding streets to enjoy the neighborhood's views if a cell tower had been there. One woman called the proposal "an insult and an affront" to the residents' commitment to the neighborhood.
"Generalized" concerns about aesthetics and property value can't be grounds to reject a cell tower under federal law, City Attorney Kit Williams said, and cell towers generally must be allowed unless there's "good reason" to reject them. But he said the neighbors' statements were specific enough to clear that bar, and the application was also incomplete in his opinion.
In other business, the commission voted 4-3 to approve a permit for a 6,000-square-foot gym called Crossfit Commence at the corner of Crossover. It needed the support of five commissioners to go to the City Council.
Jerry Jones, the land's current owner, said he'd tried for years to sell the property without success.
"If not this, then what?" said Jody Hendrix, Crossfit Commence owner. He said his gym has about 150 members and would be within walking distance of many of its clients in the new location.
Still, neighbors and city staff members said the project shouldn't be allowed, pointing to the area's largely residential character and the potential for dangerous U-turns on Crossover, where a median doesn't allow left turns from the property.
"My plea is, let the homeowner in Fayetteville live with a sense of security and safety," said Dennis Bailey.
Some commissioners said the gym was an ideal, low-impact business for the area, while others endorsed neighbors' concerns. Commissioner Matt Hoffman, who voted for the permit, said Crossover has become an awkward hybrid of a high-speed road and a residential street. The city must eventually choose which way will win out with projects such as this one, he said.
"We have a lot of good points being made on both sides of this question," Hoffman said.
NW News on 03/15/2016