Fayetteville City Council gets first read of proposed Markham Hill development plan

File photo/NWA Democrat-Gazette/DAVID GOTTSCHALK The cottage near Pratt Place Inn and Barn is seen Aug. 8 at Markham Hill in Fayetteville. Specialized Real Estate has plans to develop a portion of the hill.
File photo/NWA Democrat-Gazette/DAVID GOTTSCHALK The cottage near Pratt Place Inn and Barn is seen Aug. 8 at Markham Hill in Fayetteville. Specialized Real Estate has plans to develop a portion of the hill.

FAYETTEVILLE -- The City Council heard a resounding message Tuesday from neighbors regarding a proposed development on a wooded hill west of campus: No.

Specialized Real Estate, a property management company, owns nearly 144 acres at Markham Hill, which includes the Pratt Place Inn and Barn. Ownership of the property had stayed along the lineage of the Pratt, Markham and Archer families since the early 1900s. Specialized bought the property two years ago in a bankruptcy sale.

Other items

Fayetteville’s City Council on Tuesday approved:

• Appointing Kristen Bensinger and Evelyn Rios Stafford to the Housing Authority Board.

• Continuing the city’s property tax millage levy at the same rate as last year.

• Space requirements to leave room for recycling and trash containers for new commercial, office and mixed-use developments.

• Changing the time for residents to set trash and recycling out from 6 a.m. to 5 a.m. the day of pickup.

Source: Staff report

Web watch

For more information on the proposed Markham Hill development, go to:

fayetteville-ar.gov…

The open 12 acres or so at the top of the hill has the inn and barn, which have played host to weddings and events for about a decade. The rest of the wooded acreage features wildlife, streams, rock formations and trails.

A Tudor-style cottage built in 1929 near the inn is on the National Register of Historic Places. The open area on top of the hill is on the state register, once serving as a summer camp.

Specialized has two proposals before the City Council -- one that would rezone about 120 acres and another that would modify the planned zoning district at the top of the hill established in 2005.

Right now, most of the property is zoned as a residential district allowing up to four units per acre. The request from Specialized would rezone 75 acres to a residential intermediate-urban district and 44 acres as agricultural. A residential intermediate-urban district allows homes of up to four units and cluster housing. It has a lot minimum width of 18 feet, compared to 70 feet for a single-family home under the current zoning.

Included in the Specialized proposal is a bill of assurance to preserve all 44 acres within the agricultural district, which mostly lie on the western side of the property near Interstate 49. Another 16 or so acres would be preserved within the developed residential district.

The second request would shrink the planned zoning district at the top of the hill from about 69 designated acres to 24. More than 5,000 square feet of event space, 12,000 feet of restaurant and commercial space, 80 guest accommodations and 43 homes would be built on the 24 acres.

An online petition to save Markham Hill from development had about 2,400 signatures as of Tuesday evening. Petition-signers asked the City Council to deny the rezoning request and see all 144 acres are protected as a nature and wildlife preserve.

Developers on the project asked the council to hold off on a vote heading into Tuesday. The proposal will be on its second reading at the Oct. 2 meeting. Another reading will follow after that, then the council will vote.

Seth Mims with Specialized gave a presentation to the council outlining details of the plan. The neighborhood portion would have a maximum density of 476 units, a figure derived from calculating the area under the rezoning request multiplied by four units per acre.

"We're certainly not talking about some sort of vast, big-box commercial development," he said. "We're talking about facilitating a truly walkable neighborhood."

About 20 people, mostly neighbors, spoke against the proposal Tuesday. Two, living in other parts of the city, expressed support.

Edward Hejtmanek, a Markham Road resident, said he went to previous meetings with the developers with an open mind. He said he supports infill development, however, Markham Hill is one of the city's last urban forested areas left.

"Here is this beautiful, historical hillside that can be an enduring natural preservation for years to come for the whole community," Hejtmanek said.

Opening access to the hill will serve as a detriment to the area's natural assets, he said.

Marquette Bruce, also a neighbor, described herself as a refugee of Austin, Texas, and said she didn't want what's happening there to happen to the city.

The wealth and security of residents shouldn't reside solely in their bank accounts, Bruce said.

"This sacred hill can be shared and protected for the benefit of all, not merely for the benefit of a developer," she said. "No matter how sustainable the development is."

The council held off further discussion of the item until the next meeting.

NW News on 09/19/2018

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