FAYETTEVILLE -- The Planning Commission recommended making room for a student housing complex planned near Center Street and West Avenue by vacating an alley right of way on Monday.
Commissioners voted 7-2 to vacate the public right of way for the Gregg Avenue alley in between a quonset hut to the east and the building with Trailside Yoga to the west. A student housing complex with more than 500 beds is planned for the area, according to plans presented to the commission. The Razorback Greenway lies east of the quonset hut.
A letter to the commission from attorney Suzanne Clark says Trinitas Ventures plans to develop the two properties on both sides of the alley. The site contains the quonset hut with the AM/PM bar and other businesses, Trailside Yoga, the former B Unlimited building and other commercial buildings.
Clark, and Todd Wendell with Trinitas, presented the request to the commission. Slides showed a complex with seven stories on the west side and six stories on the east side. The complex would have 191 units and 572 beds. It would have a parking garage inside it, with bicycle and scooter storage, lounge rooms, a study and co-working space, fitness center and rooftop pool.
"Given this project's location relative to campus and relative to Dickson Street, we think it is the ideal location for housing," Wendell said.
Commissioners debated whether the public would need the right of way once the cultural arts corridor, known as the Ramble, is completed. They voted 6-3 to amend the proposal to shift the right of way from the Gregg Avenue alley to the north and west sides of the property, which would make it possible for Meadow Street to connect from the northern side and run along the west side to Center Street. Sarah Sparkman, Andrew Brink, Mary Madden, Fred Gulley, Porter Winston and Mary McGetrick voted in favor of the change. Jimm Garlock, Brad Payne and Joseph Holcomb voted against.
Sparkman, Brink, Madden, Gulley, Holcomb, Winston and McGetrick voted in favor of the amended proposal. Garlock and Payne voted against.
The City Council will have the final vote on the right of way vacation.
In other business, the commission voted 9-0 to rezone a single building at Mount Sequoyah for use as a coffee shop or cafe. The site is currently zoned for institutional use, which does not allow a commercial coffee shop.
Emily Gentry, president and chief executive officer of Mount Sequoyah, said the request the commission considered Monday was revised from a previous proposal to rezone the entire top of the hill. Mount Sequoyah staff held several public meetings with neighbors to come up with a proposal that had neighborhood support and fit the overall nature of the site, she said.
The original proposal, which was withdrawn from Planning Commission consideration earlier this year, faced widespread opposition from neighbors. The revised proposal would have only the Ozark building in the center of the campus serve as home to a coffee shop or cafe, Gentry said.
Madden said the proposal made sense for the site.
"It doesn't seem like they're trying to create a destination coffee shop," she said.
The City Council will have the final vote on the rezoning.
Additionally, commissioners voted 9-0 to deny a short-term rental application from Dre Greenlaw, former Arkansas Razorback football player and current linebacker for the San Francisco 49ers. The home is located in a subdivision on the southeast edge of town.
An attorney for Greenlaw said the intention was to have people occupying the home while Greenlaw is out of town. Commissioners said they denied the request because the rental was still listed online without a permit, and that neighbors had complained to police about a party that happened there in July.
Commission action
Fayettevilles Planning Commission met Monday and approved:
Variances to city code dealing with design, parking lot and access management standards for a planned Valvoline auto service building at the northwest corner where Interstate 49 and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard meet.
Rezoning about 5 acres south of Dot Tipton Road west of 54th Avenue from residential agricultural to residential single-family up to 2 units an acre.
Source: Fayetteville