BENTONVILLE -- The City Council approved zoning districts designed to bring consistency to building downtown.
The districts were approved by the council at Tuesday's meeting. The meeting was held in the Community Development Building, 305 SW A St.
Council Action
Bentonville’s City Council met Tuesday and approved:
• A $38,128 to bid from Fresh N Green Landscaping to plant trees along the Razorback Greenway
• A real estate agreement to sale of property to First Security Bank.
Source: Staff Report
The new zoning districts are downtown low-density residential, downtown medium-density residential, downtown high-density residential and downtown mixed-use residential.
Troy Galloway, community and economic development director, said the districts are in response to development happening downtown. "There's been a rapid change downtown and there needed to be a model for that change," Galloway said after the meeting.
Galloway said the city needed some guidelines to bring consistency to construction downtown. The new districts will help homeowners and builders, Galloway said.
Planning officials and Houseal Lavigne Associates, a Chicago consulting firm, have been working with commissioners, residents and developers to create standards for downtown for about a year because the old ones weren't sufficient. It's part of a larger city plan Houseal Lavigne is creating for the city to guide growth.
The City Council also approved a land use map which Galloway said will establish the foundation for rezoning.
Mayor Bob McCaslin read a proclamation at the meeting which designated October 2016 as Community Planning Month in Bentonville.
The mayor and City Council also recognized Lt. Joe Falcon, who is retiring after 19 years with the Bentonville Police Department.
NW News on 10/12/2016