Commission OKs Bentonville rezonings despite residents' opposition

BENTONVILLE -- The Planning Commission approved two rezoning requests some residents believe will ruin their single-family-neighborhood feel in the city's southwest.

Commissioners approved 6-1 to rezone 3.25 acres at the corner of Southwest Featherston Road and Southwest 28th Street from agricultural to neighborhood commercial. Commissioner Tregg Brown voted against it.

Commission action

Bentonville Planning Commission met Tuesday and approved:

• Rezoning land at Southwest I and Southwest 41st streets from central commercial to general commercial.

• Rezoning land on Town Vu Road from agricultural to single family residential.

• Development plans for SE J Street Parking at 2500 S.E. J St. and for Capstone six-plex at Southwest Sixth and Southwest E streets.

• A sidewalk waiver for 1112 N.W. Briarwood St.

Source: Staff report

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They also approved 7-0 to rezone 6.75 acres directly to the east, at the corner of Southwest 28th Street and Been Road, from agricultural to medium density residential.

The sites are just north of Osage Creek Elementary School.

Several residents voiced their opposition to both rezonings. They said a commercial development and multi-family residential development would increase traffic, decrease pedestrian safety and lower the value of their quiet neighborhood and single family homes.

"I don't like having a commercial business in this area," said Paul Harper, resident of Southwest Pine Valley Road, about six blocks west of the discussed property.

Instead, he suggested, it should be a park. More greenspace is needed on the west part of the city, he said.

Harper also challenged the ability to develop multi-family residences on the land to the east.

"It's too small," he said.

Harper was one of nine residents to oppose the neighborhood commercial zoning and four to oppose the medium density residential zoning.

Residents also said there were plenty of commercial options and opportunities on Southwest 14th Street to the north and Southwest Regional Airport Boulevard to the south.

"This is not a major trip either way to get to commercial," Brown, commissioner, agreed after the public hearing was closed. "I hate to think that we'll make 28th Street like the other two."

Planning staff and Nate Bachelor, CEI Engineering Associates project manager representing the applicant, said Southwest 28th Street is designated as an arterial street and Southwest Featherston Road as a collector street on the city's street plan.

Neither street is built to withstand the traffic capacities in those designations but will be improved by developers building projects along those streets, planning staff said.

"Having nodal centers of neighborhoods is what we're after," Bachelor said.

Nodal centers, or nodes, have been a topic of recent discussion between commissioners and planning staff.

Planner Jon Stanley told commissioners last month a health node is a mix of various housing types with goods and services. They discussed how nodes create communities and not just neighborhoods during a tour of the city in April.

Commissioners and planners then noted the intersection of Southwest 28th Street and Southwest Featherston Road as a good location for a possible node.

The city's street plan has Southwest 28th Street extending so it eventually connects Greenhouse Road to Southwest I Street.

Bachelor also explained the original plan was to request the 6.75 acres to be rezoned to high density residential. It was brought down to a medium density residential after speaking with city planners, who said a high density residential would be too intense for the area, he said.

The high density zoning would allow 24 units per acre, and the medium density zoning allows 12 units per acre, Stanley said.

Bachelor said there's no solid plans for development for either of the sites yet. Shelby Elzey owns both sites.

NW News on 05/02/2018

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