Springdale Planning Commission balks at NTI building design plan

NTI (Northwest Technical Institute) campus in Springdale taken Friday June 2, 2017.
NTI (Northwest Technical Institute) campus in Springdale taken Friday June 2, 2017.

SPRINGDALE -- The Planning Commission made clear Tuesday it won't let Northwest Technical Institute stray far from the city's design standards as the school plans to build a new facility.

For the second time in as many months, the commission tabled a request from the school related to its plans for a 20,000-square-foot metal building the school wants for its ammonia refrigeration program.

Northwest Technical Institute

Northwest Technical Institute is a state-supported school offering programs for high school students and adults in industrial maintenance, diesel technology, nursing and information technology. A five-person board oversees the school.

Source: Staff report

The school was seeking commercial design standard exceptions related to the building's facade and exterior walls, detail features, roof and landscaping.

Several commissioners expressed discomfort with the request.

"We are used to dealing with a variance," Commissioner Gary Compton said. "But what we're being asked here tonight really isn't a variance. It's carte blanche. It's the mothership of variances. With all due respect to (Northwest Technical Institute), I just cannot support what I see in front of me at this moment."

Commissioner Roy Covert said the issue isn't about the school, but what Springdale looks like "and what we're trying to build in this community."

Chris Bakunas, a landscape architect with McClelland Consulting Engineers, presented the school's request to the commission for the second time Tuesday.

The first time was at the commission's June 4 meeting. The issue was tabled because of confusion over whether the school is a state entity, and whether being a state entity exempts it from the city's commercial design standards.

Northwest Technical Institute is indeed a state entity, but a review by the city attorney showed the school still must comply with design standards, said Patsy Christie, director of the Planning Department.

David Rook, associate director of refrigeration training for Tyson Foods and chairman of the school's advisory committee, told the commission there was a "communication breakdown" over what regulations the school was required to follow. He assured commissioners the school would go back to the drawing board with the design standards in mind.

"We want to do what they want us to do," Rook said after the meeting.

School officials said they are aiming to open the ammonia refrigeration building in 2021 or the following year. It will go on the east side of campus, just off Bain Street and next to a smaller building used by the refrigeration program. The school is working with Key Architecture, a Fayetteville firm, on design of the building.

Tyson Foods donated $1 million for the building and Gov. Asa Hutchinson has designated $1 million from his discretionary fund for the project. It will be the top facility of its kind in the country, said Blake Robertson, the school's president.

The school offers an 11-month diploma program in ammonia refrigeration training students to be an entry-level technician. It also offers training for people already in the industry.

NW News on 07/03/2019

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