LR board votes to annex 180 acres to city's west

The city Board of Directors on Tuesday voted to annex about 180 acres in western Pulaski County to Little Rock.

The two chunks of land are along the north side of Kanis Road, west of Iron Horse Road, according to city documents. Much of the acreage is wooded and undeveloped.

One part of the area to be annexed sits between Kanis Road and the city's western limit, while the other is a smaller site to the northwest that has no direct access to any street or road, documents show.

The land is owned by PotlatchDeltic Corp., a domestic timberland owner and wood products manufacturer. The El Dorado-based Deltic Timber Corp. and Potlatch Corp. of Spokane, Wash., merged in early 2018.

The annexation will allow the property to get city services including police, fire, road maintenance and sewer.

Central Arkansas Water already serves rural western Pulaski County and would provide water for a new subdivision if one is built, regardless of whether it is on annexed acreage.

The land is zoned for single-family housing with a minimum lot size of 7,000 square feet, city documents show. PotlatchDeltic Corp. has not submitted development documents for the area to the Little Rock Planning Commission.

About a dozen residents of the area came to Tuesday's meeting to express their support of the annexation.

One, Mike Mitchell, said he appreciated the timber corporation's intent to preserve the part of Kanis Road known as Fletcher's Hollow, where the trees create a canopy over the roadway.

"Deltic has shown great faith in preserving Fletcher's Hollow," Mitchell said. "We want to thank them for recognizing something that is so unique."

The West Pulaski Fire Protection District, which currently serves the area, recommended against the annexation, according to a write-up from the city planning commission. The division said it has the correct equipment to fight fires on the undeveloped land and still has enough fire stations to serve the area if it is developed.

Groups such as the Coalition of Little Rock Neighborhoods have been critical of Little Rock's western annexations in previous years, calling them costly for the rest of the city.

Deltic Timber Corp. was behind the Chenal development for 30 years.

A study on how much it would cost the city to provide services to its extraterritorial jurisdiction -- two areas outside city limits that are already within Little Rock's zoning control -- is underway. The area to be annexed is within that jurisdiction.

A separate study by the Little Rock Water Reclamation Authority, the city's wastewater utility, is looking at the cost and effects of extending sewer service outside city limits.

The results of both studies are expected to be released in the fall.

Metro on 08/22/2018

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