BENTONVILLE -- Benton County officials Wednesday discussed plans to open the golf course at the Dawn Hill Country Club near Siloam Springs.
John Wood, owner, met with the Development Review Committee. The committee is made up of planning staff and a representative from the Arkansas Department of Health. It also includes representatives of other departments that might have authority over a development.
Wood and the committee discussed ways he could open the golf course and also develop it for other uses. The golf course was closed before he bought the property about two years ago, Wood said.
"The fairways were being used for hay fields," he said.
Wood wanted information about development regulations and whether the property fell under the jurisdiction of the county or Siloam Springs or Gentry. Wood said he hopes to have the golf course partly opened this year, but no timetable was discussed Wednesday.
Kevin Gambrill, planning director, said the property is in the county and outside the planning areas of both cities.
"Physically, it's closer to Gentry," Gambrill said. "It has city water service from Siloam Springs. But anything they're looking to do, right now, is in the county's purview. It's not in either city or in their planning areas."
The committee discussed problems with the lots laid out in the original development, which was begun in the 1960s, according to Wood. Houses that surround the golf course were built on small lots that wouldn't comply with current regulations and might not meet Health Department requirements for septic systems.
Many of the homes have the lateral lines for their septic systems running across their lot boundaries and onto the golf course, Wood said. A number of lots also are in what has been identified as a floodplain area along Flint Creek and are subject to federal regulations for building.
Gambrill suggested Wood might seek to have the property re-platted, abandoning the smaller lots and those in the flood plain, leaving him with fewer but more "buildable" lots.
Derek Linn, senior planner, suggested Wood might be able to have some of the floodplain designated as a conservation easement, working with local nonprofit groups. The land still would be usable for "foot golf" -- a combination of soccer and golf -- and disc golf activities Wood said he hopes to add to the golf course.
"They bring in a lot of people onto a golf course who've never been into golf," he said. "The creek, with the open areas and the wooded areas, is perfect for disc golf."
NW News on 09/15/2016