Fayetteville council holds on annexation request

A car turns west Tuesday onto Canyon Run Dr. from Hugh Mount Road in Fayetteville. The City Council considered a request to annex and rezone about 152 acres near Hughmount Road. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/J.T. Wampler)
A car turns west Tuesday onto Canyon Run Dr. from Hugh Mount Road in Fayetteville. The City Council considered a request to annex and rezone about 152 acres near Hughmount Road. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/J.T. Wampler)

FAYETTEVILLE -- City Council members wanted more time to look into the history of a property up for possible annexation and rezoning and to weigh the potential costs and benefits.

The council held two requests, one to annex about 152 acres near Hughmount Road at the western edge of town and another to rezone most of the land for residential use. Robert Rhoads, attorney with Hall Estill, represented property owners Johnelle Hunt and Phil Phillips.

According to a letter from Rhoads, the city accidentally put in sewer lines across the property in 2008, without the property owners' knowledge and without an easement. As a result, the city agreed to provide water and sewer service as long as the land was annexed into the city as soon as legally possible, according to the letter.

One phase of the subdivision was built over the years, Hughmount Village, on about 56 acres. 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, according to the letter. The first phase was built to the city's standards, with work done at the intersection at Hughmount and Mount Comfort roads, planting 333 trees, installing trail structure and dedicating park land, the letter states.

Hughmount Village was never annexed as part of the city because it would have created a peninsula, violating the city's own rules on annexation, according to a staff memo. The request has Hughmount Village included as part of a larger annexation connecting to the city.

Planning staff recommended annexing all of the property except the northern portion because it would create a finger with unincorporated county land on three sides. The Planning Commission denied the annexation and rezoning requests in February, and the decisions were appealed to the City Council.

Council members had questions about the details of agreements made between the city and property owners from 2012-2014 that extended water and sewer service and enabled development of Hughmount Village. Development Services Director Garner Stoll said he would come back at the June 2 meeting with more information.

Henry Trejo was one of two Hughmount Village residents to speak during the meeting, which was held online via Zoom. He said he worried the rezoning would create too dense of a residential use. The streets and other infrastructure, especially Mount Comfort Road, would inadequately serve new neighbors, he said.

"It's going to create a lot of mess and a lot of chaos," Trejo said.

Council Member Matthew Petty echoed some of Trejo's concerns, asking staff for an analysis of potential costs of street maintenance and fire and police service versus revenue gained from property taxes.

"I'm concerned the proposed neighborhood format is going to run not just environmental deficits, but actual financial deficits for the city," he said.

In other business, the council unanimously approved naming the baseball complex at Kessler Mountain Regional Park after Chambers Bank. The bank donated more than 200 acres and sold an additional 328 acres for $3 million split between the city and Walton Family Foundation. Fayetteville Natural Heritage Association also contributed $300,000 to the city's portion.

Petty asked to hold the item May 5 out of a desire for the city to pursue a fundraising strategy for parks. Petty said Tuesday he worked with the City Attorney Kit Williams to draft a request for proposals from consultants who could help.

Williams said he, Mayor Lioneld Jordan and other city administrators negotiated with Chambers Bank on what eventually became close to a $10 million value to create the regional park.

"Frankly, we just would not have Mount Kessler Regional Park without Chambers Bank's help," Williams said.

Council action

Fayetteville’s City Council met Tuesday and approved:

• Rezoning about 8½ acres north of the Boys & Girls Club on Rupple Road for a 40,000-square-foot church.

• Rezoning a narrow lot between Hendrix Street and Mount Comfort Road to allow residential dwellings up to four units, as opposed to strictly single-family homes.

• Rezoning nearly 2 acres north Huntsville Road, west of Crossover Road, to allow some commercial services in addition to residential uses.

Source: Staff report

NW News on 05/20/2020

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