FAYETTEVILLE -- Two meetings and dozens of residents didn't dissuade the Planning Commission from wanting to open a small parcel of land in the northern part of town for development.
The commission voted 8-1 to recommend rezoning two parcels at Hearthstone Drive and Crossover Road, just across the street from the Botanical Garden of the Ozarks and west of hundreds of homes. The proposal would rezone fewer than 2 acres from a residential office designation to a neighborhood services, general zoning.
Next meeting
5:30 p.m. April 24
Room 219, City Hall
113 W. Mountain St.
Developer Blake Jorgensen said the rezoning is meant for a pizza place and a coffee shop. Jorgensen proposed a Community Services rezoning at the March 27 meeting. About 20 residents spoke adamantly against it.
About a dozen neighbors on Monday spoke against the proposal, citing concerns over traffic, loss in property value, future development, odors, noise and other consequences of the new zoning.
Landowner Max Parker said the proposal would usher responsible development, putting buildings closer to the street than to the homes, and be more compatible with the nearby neighborhood than current zoning.
Commissioner Leslie Belden classified the proposal as "downzoning," saying the current zoning is far more intrusive.
City planner Jonathan Curth said the zoning allows buildings up to six stories with no limitation on square footage. The proposed rezoning has the same height requirement as a neighborhood zone, 45 feet, and limits buildings to 8,000 square feet.
City Attorney Kit Williams contested the idea the proposal could be considered "downzoning." The new zoning would allow more variety of uses and is labeled "medium intensity" under the zoning code, meaning more pedestrian and vehicular traffic, than the current zoning.
Commissioner Tom Brown cast the sole "no" vote, arguing the city shouldn't push commercial development in residential areas resulting in more traffic accidents.
Commissioner Matt Hoffman said the new zoning would be a significant improvement.
"Do you want a smaller building farther away from the homes, or do you want a larger building closer to the homes?" he said. "I'm going to vote for the smaller building farther away from the homes."
The meeting went into the night and a proposal to rezone College Avenue just north of downtown underwent its first discussion.
Planning staff proposed the rezoning in order to encourage walkable, mixed-use development more in line with the city's long-term goals. Most of College Avenue was zoned decades ago as a commercial thoroughfare meant almost exclusively for retail, gas stations, restaurants, hotels and offices.
The rezoning would make most of that section either an urban thoroughfare or create areas for community services. A construction project to add a 10-foot sidewalk, decorative street lights, trees in grated wells and other improvements to the east side of the stretch finished last year. The west side is getting the same treatment this year.
The current zoning allows seven-story commercial buildings and requires structures be 50 feet from the street. A lot of the structures are out of compliance with the current code.
Commissioners also approved 6-3 a permit for Artist's Laboratory Theatre to hold events out of a former church in south Fayetteville.
Erika Wilhite, artistic director, said the theater uses different venues and hosts a variety of programs. The venue at 1030 S. College Ave. is in the middle of a residential area and planning staff made a number of conditions for approval.
The commission also added provisions making the allowed hours of operation from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily with an unlimited number of events.
NW News on 04/11/2017