Fayetteville City Council recap: Feb. 20, 2024

Approved:

• Approving a budget for an extension of East Stearns Street
• Allowing city property to be included within the proposed Spout Spring Historic District.
• Rezoning 15.66 acres at Shiloh Drive and Persimmon Street.

Held:

• Prohibiting dumping mulch, dirt and other natural materials on vacant lots in the city.
• Rezoning 2.4 acres near Chicory Place.

» Download the agenda (PDF)

The eastern segment that connects to Old Missouri Road was built in the late 1980s as part of the Brookhollow residential subdivision. The western section that connects to Vantage Drive, was constructed in 2018 as part of a commercial subdivision. The gap includes undeveloped city right-of-way that a neighboring subdivision’s property owners’s association has used for maintenance purposes and has built a shed.

When the commercial subdivision was built, the city collected nearly $21,000 in fees from developers to put toward the connection. That money must be spent within seven years or it will need to be refunded, so city staff are looking to get the project started before it’s too late.

The city held a public meeting in July and surveyed residents to gauge support for the project. Staff said
the responses were quite polarized, with most responses being either “highly supportive” or “highly opposed”
to the connection.

The Planning Commission in September voted 8-1 to recommend approval of the connection, and the Transportation Committee in November voted 4-0 in favor of the project.

Location:

Jan. 18 Discussion:
Bunch asked if the connection could be more narrow than the existing streets in order to mitigate the loss of trees in the right of way. Staff said once the design process begins, it’s possible there are ways that could be accomplished.

Turk said she’d like to tour the area before voting. Jones agreed.

Moore said the project has been through the Transportation Committee a couple of times with a lot of discussion, and the group – which is made up for four council members – has already recommended approval of the project, so she’d like to vote tonight.

Berna said he’d be fine tabling the resolution to allow enough time to tour the area.

Wiederkehr said as the city grows, Fayetteville needs as many east-west connections as it can afford to build. He said he’ll support the project, but he doesn’t mind waiting to vote if that’s what the other council members want.

Bunch said she was ready to vote tonight. She said she’s in support of the project, partially because she believes if this connection had been made sooner it would’ve already solved some existing traffic issues on the surrounding streets. She understands that neighbors don’t want change, but the project has been on the master plan for many years.

The council voted 7-1 to table the resolution until Feb. 6. Stafford voted against.

Feb. 6 Discussion:
Some council members asked if there would be any changes to the Stearns/Vantage intersection as traffic increases. Staff said if necessary, yes. Some asked what the cost would be if only a trail was built instead of a road. Staff said it would be about $100,000 total. Others asked if the alignment of the road could be shifted away from the existing homes. Staff showed a diagram (see below) that included the alignment shifted a bit to the south away from the homes.

Berna said considering the new diagram that was presented tonight, he suggested tabling the item for another two weeks after tonight’s discussion to give the residents a chance to think about it. Stafford said he’d like to move forward with a vote tonight.

Staff said the diagram shown tonight is not an actual design of the project, but was meant to show that a realignment is possible within the space available. If the budget is approved, design would begin after that.

Three people spoke during public comment who said they’d prefer the connection not be made. Some said they thought it would make an unsafe traffic situation, one said they didn’t think it would help alleviate any traffic issues, and another said it was too costly of a project.

Turk said she agrees with Berna that the residents should have more time to look over the conceptual diagram.

Moore said tonight’s vote would only be about whether or not the connection is needed, not about the diagram or the design of the project. “The diligence has been done,” said Moore.

The council voted 6-2 to table the item for two weeks. Moore and Stafford voted against.

Feb. 20 Discussion:
Five people spoke during public comment. Four were against the proposal and one said they hope that once the connection is made, the city will consider some improvements to the intersection at Vantage Drive. Those against echoed the same concerns from the previous meetings (too expensive, too dangerous, unnecessary).

Moore said she initially supported the project, but now she’d like to pause the decision to consider the possibility of moving the funds to a transit fund for other use.

Stafford said he’ll support the proposal. He said he doesn’t think their concerns will turn out to be as bad as the neighbors think if the connection is made.

Turk said she thinks the money could be better spent elsewhere, so she won’t support the project.

Berna asked the fire chief if the area needs a second access point based on the city’s safety standards. Chief Hardin said the neighborhood is about three houses away from being too large for only one access point from a fire safety standpoint.

Bunch said this proposal presents an opportunity to build a small connection that could alleviate a lot of traffic in the future once the surrounding properties are developed. Any future development in the area will likely be of a higher density than the current neighborhoods, she said, which makes this decision even more important now.

Jordan said he has always been a proponent of making more street connections, and with the potential for upcoming developments on the horizon in the area, the area will need more connectivity.

Decision:
The council voted 6-2 to approve the resolution. Turk and Jones voted against.

Location:

Feb. 6 Discussion:
The council discussed whether city-owned easements need to be signed for since there are several within the proposed district. City Attorney Kit Williams said he doesn’t believe the state would require a signature for a property that isn’t developable since nobody would be living on it to be affected by it being added to a district.

Four people spoke in favor of the resolution.

The council first amended the resolution to make NWA Black Heritage the primary sponsor, and then voted 8-0 to table the item until Feb. 20 so some clarity can be obtained on the issue of the easement properties.

Feb. 20 Discussion:
Staff said after seeking clarity on the amount signatures needed, it was determined that only one signature is needed for multiple properties that are owned by the same entity. In other words, the city would only need to provide one signature for all the publicly-owned lands within the proposed district.

Bunch asked if the city would be limited in whether it can update or expand the YRCC in the future if it’s part of a historic district. Williams said interior updates are not limited by historic districts, but the Historic District Commission would likely need to approve some exterior changes to any buildings within the district, if it’s eventually approved.

Berna said the time to decide what powers the commission would have over limiting property owners is for another day. Tonight’s decision, he said, is whether the city should give its signature to help get the process started, which he said he will support.

There was no public comment.

Hertzberg suggested amending the resolution to clarify that any city property within the proposed district boundary would be included, not just the Yvonne Richardson Center. That amended passed 8-0.

Jones said there’s been overwhelming support for the proposal since it was first discussed – particularly from the city’s Black population. He said he knows there’s a lot more work to be done and that the signatures are just a small part of a big puzzle, but he’s excited to get started.

Decision:
The council voted 8-0 to approve the resolution.

Turk’s proposal would prohibit dumping mulch, compost, fill dirt and brush on vacant lots within the city. It would not include non-vacant lots or any commercial activity.

Discussion:
City Attorney Kit Williams said he would prefer the proposal to include wording like “unreasonably” rather than “any” when describing the prohibition of dumping those materials since it could be necessary to place some of those items on a property in preparation for its development. He said he thinks the proposal needs more work before a decision is made. He said a permit system is likely the best solution.

Bunch said she looked at the property and was surprised at how much mulch is piled on the land. She said that much material can create a runoff issue that clogs the street drains when it rains.

There was no public comment.

The council voted 8-0 to table the item until April 2.

This amendment would update the lease to include:

• Omitting the lease for the Lake Fayetteville Environmental Study Center
• Omitting the lease for a portion of the old Jefferson School area grounds where the city formerly
  programmed a community garden
• Including the priority scheduling for Fayetteville Public Schools for at least one of the fields at the Lewis St. property
• Adding the use by the City of a parking area they own at the north end of Walker Park

Discussion:
There was no public comment.

Decision:
The council advanced the ordinance to the third reading, and voted 8-0 to approve it.

Discussion:
There was no public comment.

Decision:
The council advanced the ordinance to the third reading, and voted 8-0 to approve it.

Both city staff and the Planning Commission recommend approving the request to rezone the property to UT, Urban Thoroughfare.

Location:

Discussion:
One person spoke against the rezoning and said UT doesn’t fulfill all the promises of the former PZD.

Turk said the property is low-lying and UT is a high-density district, so she won’t support the request.

Stafford said he doesn’t want to leave the property in a zoning limbo where it cannot be developed by its owner. He said he’s ready to support the request. “It’s a small property at two acres,” said Stafford. “If it were 10 acres, maybe I would feel differently.”

The council advanced the ordinance to the second reading, but voted 4-4 to move to the third reading, so the discussion will continue on March 5. Turk, Hertzberg, Wiederkehr and Bunch voted against moving forward tonight.

Both city staff and the Planning Commission recommend approving the request to rezone the property from C-2, Thoroughfare Commercial to a mix of CS, Community Services and R-A, Residential Agricultural.

Location:

Discussion:
There was no public comment.

Decision:
The council advanced the ordinance to the third reading, and voted 8-0 to approve it.