A Little Rock developer hoping to build a high-density subdivision is asking a judge to reverse a city decision last month that nixed his construction plans.
In May, the Little Rock Board of Directors rejected a zoning permit that would have allowed the building of the Mountain Valley subdivision, a 135-lot development proposed for a rural area along Arkansas 10 near Pinnacle Mountain State Park.
A month after that denial, developer Rick Ferguson filed a notice of appeal in Pulaski County Circuit Court, as provided by state statute.
City officials have yet to be served the appeal, which was filed June 1, and have yet to file a response.
Ferguson's request for a zoning permit originally was denied by the city's Planning Commission last year, prompting Ferguson to appeal that decision to the city board. The board agreed with the commission that the subdivision would be incompatible with the surrounding rural countryside.
City staff members called the proposal a "classic case of urban sprawl." Ferguson objected to that characterization.
At the center of the issue is the viability of a wastewater treatment plant, which would be necessary to process the houses' sewage and would discharge wastewater into nearby Nowlin Creek, a tributary to the Little Maumelle River.
The area's residents organized against that disposal strategy and became a powerful voice in discussions at the city level.
Two weeks after the city board rejected Ferguson's proposal, the city passed a moratorium on permitting any new subdivision development in that area.
After that decision, the neighborhood group's president, Drew Kelso, who had been leading the fight against the subdivision for over a year, expressed relief.
"This is more than we could have hoped for," Kelso said at the time.
But the new appeal, which will go before Circuit Judge Wendell Griffen, indicates the fight will be ongoing.
Metro on 06/10/2017