Developers of the proposed Mountain Valley Subdivision have asked the Little Rock Board of Directors to defer a vote on a permit application for a wastewater treatment plant planned in west Pulaski County.
It's the third time developers have deferred the vote since it was appealed to the city board last summer.
Subdivision developer Rick Ferguson asked for a 60-day deferral in order to explore alternative options to the disposal of wastewater into Nowlin Creek, a method that became contentious among area residents last year.
One option being considered is recent legislation filed that would force cities to extend city services to some areas outside the city limits at a property owner's request. That piece of legislation -- House Bill 1549, filed last month by Rep. Andy Davis, R-Little Rock -- is expected to be considered by lawmakers within the 60-day deferment period.
As written, the bill would require cities to extend sewer services upon request by a property owner if the property owner provides easements, pays for tie-ins and signs a pre-annexation agreement with the city.
Developers are also considering another sewage disposal solution that would not discharge any wastewater into the creek. The 60-day deferment period would allow them more time to perform more soil testing. However, they would not disclose any further details on what new methods or technology they were exploring.
Prompted by the concern residents of western Pulaski County have expressed over the sewage treatment plant, the city board also authorized two studies that would examine extending wastewater services to the city's extraterritorial jurisdiction, or the 3-mile area just outside the city limits where the city has zoning authority.
The first study, sponsored by City Director Lance Hines, directs Little Rock Wastewater to conduct a $250,000 examination of how the city would extend sewage service into the extraterritorial area, and what impact the extension would have on the city.
The second study -- sponsored by City Director B.J. Wyrick -- will examine how extending all city services to the area would affect the city in a broader sense.
"I think the upfront expense for doing the studies is much less than irresponsible growth and the cost associated with it," said Hines, who represents Ward 5 on the city's west side. "This is what we're supposed to be doing in being proactive in our development."
The issue over wastewater plants began heating up last summer as two high-density subdivision developments were planned in the city's extraterritorial jurisdiction: Ferguson's 135-lot Mountain Valley Subdivision along Nowlin Creek and, just 5 miles south, Wayne Richie's 266-lot subdivision along Fletcher Creek called The Trails.
Richie has said that if the city board grants a permit for the wastewater treatment plant, he would submit an application for a similar plant to dispose treated sewage into Fletcher Creek.
The area's residents have coalesced into two cooperating neighborhood organizations in opposition to both subdivision developments: the Citizens of West Pulaski County and the Nowlin Creek Neighborhood Association. The two groups are composed of nearly 500 area residents.
Both proposed developments would place high-density subdivisions in contrast with the existing sparse countryside development, the neighborhood groups say. The area is defined by the valleys and ridges of the lower foothills of the Ouachita Mountains, where a network of streams and creeks drain into the Arkansas River. It retains its raw natural beauty, residents say, with thick canopies overshadowing winding county roads and bucolic homes upon acres-large plots of land.
It's the raw beauty that developers plan to utilize -- "that elusive combination of a beautiful nature location and a close proximity to some of Little Rock's best shopping and dining," as Richie described it online last summer. At the same time, it's that raw beauty that the neighborhood groups are trying to protect.
"The creek is just as pure as it can be when it's running," said west Pulaski COUNTY resident Mike Mitchell, who has owned 8 acres along the headwaters of the Little Maumelle River for 40 years. "The idea that we're going to foul up our creeks in western Pulaski County by dumping treated sewage into them is just abhorrent."
The Little Rock board will revisit Ferguson's permit application May 16.
Meanwhile, HB1549 has yet to be presented to the House's City, County and Local Affairs Committee.
Metro on 03/08/2017