Fayetteville neighborhood forum focuses on growth, communication

NWA Democrat-Gazette/STACY RYBURN From left, Lisa Orton, James Tolbert and Nancy Allen, members of the Fayetteville Neighborhood Interest Forum, speak with Mayor Lioneld Jordan during the group's meeting held Thursday at City Hall. Jordan formed the committee to address issues associated with the city's growth and the effect on neighborhoods.
NWA Democrat-Gazette/STACY RYBURN From left, Lisa Orton, James Tolbert and Nancy Allen, members of the Fayetteville Neighborhood Interest Forum, speak with Mayor Lioneld Jordan during the group's meeting held Thursday at City Hall. Jordan formed the committee to address issues associated with the city's growth and the effect on neighborhoods.

FAYETTEVILLE -- A group of residents wants to find ways to serve as a bridge between neighborhoods and city officials.

Mayor Lioneld Jordan formed the Neighborhood Interest Forum to bring together residents who have an interest in city growth and how change might affect their where they live. The group, comprised of 11 members, held its second monthly meeting Thursday.

Web watch

For more information on the Neighborhood Interest Forum, go to:

bit.ly/fayneighborhoodinterest

Topics ranged from infill development, affordable housing and homelessness to the deer population. The forum is still working on its mission statement and electing a chairman, but spoke with Jordan about various concerns.

Lisa Orton, representing the University Heights neighborhood west of the University of Arkansas campus, said there's a disconnect between what residents want and what the City Council chooses to do. Orton fought against the rezoning of Markham Hill, which the council unanimously approved last fall. Thousands signed a petition against development of homes and amenities at the 144-acre site, and droves of residents spoke against the proposal during public meetings.

Orton said the city should strive for a variety of neighborhood types, rather than forcing mixed uses and high-density everywhere.

"It seems to me people are different in Fayetteville," she said. "Some people will want upzoning in their neighborhood. And some people don't. Why not listen?"

Robin Devine, of the Parksdale neighborhood south of 15th Street, said a lot has changed in the last 30 years. People used to be able to get a single-family home on a modest salary and with one-income stream. An influx of people coming to the city from outside the state, and with more money, has caused the city to mushroom, she said.

"For a lot of people who have been here a long time, it's more of a shock, what has happened," she said. Devine helped lead an effort last summer to get the City Council to rezone her neighborhood, which had been zoned for multifamily residential, to districts more in line with the character of the mostly single-family homes built there.

What's missing is the middle-level of housing, such as townhomes, said Will Dockery, representing the Rupple Row neighborhood west of Interstate 49. When residents want their neighborhoods to stay the same as single-family, it drives up housing costs, he said.

"I am concerned that my children will not be able to afford a house here in 20 years," said Dockery, who led a resident campaign last year to save Lewis Park near Asbell Elementary School from being sold.

City staff is working on a number of the issues the neighborhood forum members brought up, Jordan said. On the agenda is more clearly defining appropriate infill and what is considered affordable in housing.

Jordan said he felt encouraged by the give-and-take of the meeting. He said he wants the group to serve an advisory role in making decisions.

"I think it'll be really beneficial for the growth of this city," Jordan said.

NW News on 04/19/2019

Upcoming Events