FAYETTEVILLE -- About 80 acres mostly outside the northeastern city limits could become a neighborhood with varied housing types, commercial uses and environmental improvements made to the creek running to Lake Fayetteville, City Council members heard Friday.
The council was invited to tour vacant land east of Zion and Crossover roads as part of an annexation and rezoning proposal. Two requests will be on Tuesday's agenda. One is to annex about 60 acres in Washington County into the city. About 20 acres of the property lie within Ward 3. The second request is for a planned zoning district for the development.
The development proposal is for 370 lots with homes ranging from single-family to quadplexes and cottage houses sharing a greenspace area. A commercial area is proposed next to Crossover Road on the west side of the property. All of the development would lie south of Hilton Creek, according to plans submitted to the city.
About 8 acres at the northern portion of the property near Zion Road is proposed as park land, including the portion with the creek running east-west through the site.
Architect Alli Quinlan with Flintlock Lab, part of the development team, said the intention is to keep that part of the project as a natural area to better treat stormwater. Phosphorous-removing plants would improve water quality, with the stream widened and a small bridge removed.
"The overall approach of the project is that we want to keep the section north of the creek more or less in low development agricultural format or park land dedication," Quinlan said.
Some residents, many of whom live in the Copper Creek subdivision north of Zion Road, have written to the city with concerns over water quality, traffic, property values and overall impact to the area.
Jack Waxenfelter, a neighbor, joined the council on the tour and asked questions about what types of homes were planned.
"What I see is Fayetteville wanting to try and shove as many people as they can in small spaces," he said.
Quinlan said the planned development pattern puts groups of homes together, maximizing the amount of green space throughout the site.
"We really tried to balance the amount of open space that's being preserved with that tighter density," she said.
The property is owned by a family trust and is under contract to be sold to Chandler Crossing,. The prospective owner and developer behind the limited liability company preferred to remain unidentified, Quinlan said.
Patty Severino, the current property owner, helped lead the tour and said she was thrilled about the planned development. The planners devised a way to preserve much of the natural landscape, such as 12,000-year-old prairie mounds, while providing a variety of housing types for families of different income levels, she said.
Severino, a member of the Lake Fayetteville Watershed Partnership, said the developers' plans will vastly improve the quality of the creek.
"The fact is, they're going to do more than I am currently capable of doing at the moment," she said.
Sloan Scroggin, Ward 3 council member who toured the site, said he was glad to know the developments are proposed south of the creek. If annexed, the city's regulations will better protect the water quality, as opposed to staying under the county's jurisdiction, he said.
"The city will be better protected from runoff by having the site under our control," Scroggin said.
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Stacy Ryburn can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @stacyryburn.