FAYETTEVILLE -- The city will grow by about 150 acres at its western edge, but a proposal to rezone the area will have to wait until next month.
The City Council on Thursday voted 7-1 to annex land along Hughmount Road. The request included the Hughmount Village subdivision, which is a phase of a larger subdivision project still in development.
The meeting was held Thursday rather than Tuesday to accommodate the Black Lives Matter demonstration attracting thousands of people on the downtown square. It was held online via Zoom because of the covid-19 pandemic.
Robert Rhoads, attorney representing property owners Johnelle Hunt and Phil Phillips and a majority of Hughmount Village residents, said past agreements from 2012 to 2014 with the city prompted the landowners to seek annexation.
When Hughmount Village was built, part of the agreement was the city would provide water and sewer to all phases of the development, and all of it would be annexed, Rhoads said. The subdivision also was built under city regulatory standards, even though it remains outside the city limits, he said.
Some council members expressed concern that failing to annex the land would result in development under county standards, which are far more lax than that of the city. The land's proximity to Clabber Creek was of particular interest.
Council Member Mark Kinion said he saw environmental quality as the primary issue. Without annexation, further development could have a septic system near the creek. The residents who already live in the area also would be downhill of future homes to the north, which could exacerbate flooding issues if not developed correctly, he said.
The council voted 5-3 to hold off on a decision to rezone the area as a mostly residential use until July 7. About 92 acres was proposed as residential single-family, up to eight units per acre. Council Member Teresa Turk asked that portion be zoned to a maximum of four units an acre.
Rhoads offered the council a bill of assurance that would limit portions of land to no more than six units an acre. Development Services Director Garner Stoll said most properties in the city zoned for up to eight units usually are built out with four to six units per acre. Rhoads said he would work on the bill of assurance and present it during the July 7 meeting.
Council members Sloan Scroggin, Kyle Smith and Sarah Marsh voted against tabling the request.
Noise regulation
In other business, the council unanimously backtracked an ordinance it approved May 5 pertaining to regulating amplified sound.
The original proposal was intended to regulate sound coming from amplified speakers on pedal carriages. A separate ordinance the council approved April 21 established the framework for pedal carriages, commonly referred to as pedal pubs, to operate in the city.
The ordinance the council passed May 5 regulated sound from pedal carriages on the street as well as amplified sound from bicycles on the trails. Marsh asked to add bicycles on the trails to curtail nuisance sounds near neighborhoods.
Council Member Sonia Gutierrez asked for the ordinance to come back to the council to avoid singling out bicyclists. On Thursday, several members raised concerns over the unintended consequence of hindering free speech.
Scroggin said he understood the desire to prevent a nuisance, but couldn't support the amended proposal as written.
"I am concerned if the protest we had on Tuesday decided go down the trail system, we would be stopping that," he said.
The council's action Thursday effectively brought the ordinance back to its original intention of regulating amplified sound from pedal carriages on the street.
Markham Hill
A proposal that would have the city sell 9,310 square feet of land used as an access easement to a water tower on Markham Hill, west of the University of Arkansas, for $10,586 was tabled indefinitely. Specialized Real Estate Group asked to hold the item until council meetings resume in-person at City Hall.
City Attorney Kit Williams said the council can take the item off the table at any point before the end of the year. After that, the request would expire.
Specialized received approval in January from the Planning Commission for a preliminary plan for 26 single-family lots on Markham Road and Cross and Sang avenues. The plan's approval was granted on the condition the City Council grant the access easement request.
City Council members received several emailed messages from neighbors asking for denial of the access easement request, which were included in their packets of information.
Entertainment district
Additionally, the council considered a revised proposal to establish an entertainment district downtown on its agenda. The district would allow for public consumption of alcohol within a set boundary.
The proposal first made its way to the council in August but underwent numerous revisions after city officials held meetings with business owners. The new name for the district became the outdoor refreshment area.
There were two items pertaining to the topic on the council agenda. One established the language of the proposal, and the other dealt with a phased implementation plan. Discussion went past 9:30 p.m.
The revised proposal would allow the city to define a smaller area within the district for open consumption not tied to an event and without closing the street. People would be able to grab a drink from a bar using a compostable, branded cup and walk or sit within the smaller designated area. Part of the idea is to help attract a few more customers for businesses struggling because of the pandemic, Economic Vitality Director Devin Howland has said.
Another part of the proposal would allow businesses to have sidewalk cafes without a fence. It also would allow events to close a street and let attendees get drinks on the go from bars, rather than a beer garden
Council action
Fayetteville’s City Council met Thursday and approved:
• A $402,650 contract with Garver to design an extension of Rolling Hills Drive connecting to Appleby Road and Plainview Drive with a roundabout at the Fiesta Square shopping center.
• A $238,920 contract with Garver to redesign Archibald Yell Boulevard from the intersection with Rock Street and College Avenue south to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
• Rezoning 12 acres on Genevieve Avenue near 54th Avenue and Persimmon Street from residential single family up to four units an acre to eight units an acre.
The council also tabled a proposal to regulate single-use grocery bags indefinitely and tabled another proposal to change meeting procedure until July 7.
Source: NWA Democrat-Gazette
NW News on 06/05/2020