Fayetteville council OKs fix in streamside protection ordinance

Members of the University of Arkansas' Arnold Air Society clean brush out of Hilton Creek on March 3, 2012, in Fayetteville. The City Council made a change Tuesday to the streamside protection ordinance to have any land annexed into the city be included in the map of protected waterways. (File photo/NWA Democrat-Gazette/J.S. Wedgeworth)
Members of the University of Arkansas' Arnold Air Society clean brush out of Hilton Creek on March 3, 2012, in Fayetteville. The City Council made a change Tuesday to the streamside protection ordinance to have any land annexed into the city be included in the map of protected waterways. (File photo/NWA Democrat-Gazette/J.S. Wedgeworth)

FAYETTEVILLE -- The City Council on Tuesday corrected an oversight in the city's streamside protection ordinance dealing with the map of protected waterways and land newly annexed into the city.

The vote came before the council will again take up a proposal to annex and rezone about 80 acres east of Zion and Crossover roads.

All eight council members supported making the change to the streamside ordinance. The change makes it so the city engineer can add waterways within land outside the city to the map of protected waterways once annexed. It also clarifies any waterways meeting the criteria of the ordinance but not included in the map are automatically protected.

The oversight was discovered when processing the annexation and rezoning request associated with Chandler Crossing, said Public Works Director Chris Brown, who also serves as city engineer. Chandler Crossing is proposed as a 370-lot mixed-use neighborhood with about 60 acres lying outside the northeastern city.

The city adopted the streamside protection ordinance in 2011. It restricts development such as parking lots, in-ground swimming pools, buildings and accessory structures, and clearing of noninvasive wooded vegetation, within 50 feet of a stream.

Architect Alli Quinlan with the development team behind Chandler Crossing has said in past meetings the project was designed to follow the city's streamside ordinance. Hilton Creek, which feeds into Lake Fayetteville, runs through the property.

Two neighbors near the proposed Chandler Crossing development asked questions about how the property's inclusion under the streamside ordinance might affect their properties, which they described as within a doughnut hole of county land potentially surrounded by city land.

Nicholas Anthony on Zion Road said he was concerned a widening of Hilton Creek associated with the proposed development would push a larger amount of water to smaller streams in the county.

"I really am curious about how my property would be impacted, seeing as how it's still in the county," he said. "I don't feel like the council has actually tried to resolve this doughnut hole situation that has been created by the potential annexing and rezoning of this property."

The council passed the change to the streamside ordinance with an emergency clause, meaning it takes immediate effect. It tabled the requests to annex and rezone the Chandler Crossing property until Feb. 16.

City Attorney Kit Williams advised the council to table the annexation and rezoning request so the change to the streamside ordinance would be in effect if the council were to annex the land.

In other business, the council voted 8-0 to make gas stations and drive-through restaurants a conditional land use in the community services zoning district. The change will take effect in six months.

The community services zone is intended to provide convenience goods and services for people living in a surrounding residential area, according to city code. It allows a mix of residential and commercial uses, including single-family homes to quadplexes to apartments, and eating places, shopping and offices.

Former Council Member Kyle Smith introduced the item late last year, saying he had received requests from constituents to make gas stations a conditional use. A conditional land use in city code requires approval from the Planning Commission, rather than an automatic allowance under the zoning code.

Smith joined the meeting, which was held online on Zoom.

"Rules change on a regular basis, that's why you all exist and you have procedures for amending the code," he said. "I think this is a reasonable response to a public request."

Two other associated items were held until the Feb. 16 meeting. They had to do with making single-family home and duplex land uses conditional in the community services and urban thoroughfare zoning districts. Urban thoroughfare is similar to community services, but with a higher development density and allowing taller buildings.

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Council action

Fayetteville’s City Council met Tuesday and approved:

The annual plan for sidewalk and road paving projects. The plan includes more than 8,500 feet of new, repaired or rebuilt sidewalks and 21 miles of pavement maintenance, along with eight to 10 bus shelter pads.

• A two-year renewal of a $150,000 annual contract with Startup Junkie and an $180,000 annual contract with the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce for economic development.

Source: NWA Democrat-Gazette

Stacy Ryburn can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @stacyryburn.

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