LITTLE ROCK — Mayor Patrick Hays wants the North Little Rock City Council on Monday to decide whether to allow a long-debated hillside cut below homes in the Park Hill neighborhood for a church parking lot, he said last week, though opponents say they want more public debate.
Whether to allow the hillside excavation next to First Pentecostal Church, 1401 Calvary Road along Interstate 40, has sat on the council agenda since November.
The church’s proposal gained city Planning Commission approval almost two years ago, contingent on council approval of the hillside cut.
While neighbors and some city aldermen said last week that a compromise hasn’t been reached, Hays said he “remains hopeful” the two sides can find a middle ground.
“I also am hopeful that we can put it before the council to make some decision Monday night,” said Hays, who is the legislation’s sponsor and has said he supports the church’s proposal.
“After almost two years now that I think we’ve been wrestling with this, the neighborhood and the church deserve at the least a council-level decision,” Hays added. “I’ve encouraged both sides to find a path they could follow.”
An amendment to Hays’ ordinance is likely forthcoming for Monday’s meeting, a few aldermen said they have been told, but no changes had been submitted by last week. What such an amendment might do hasn’t been disclosed publicly.
“There’s been no compromise,” said Skyline Drive resident Jeff Watson.
On March 12, the council approved an amendment reducing the church’s parking lot expansion from 445 additional spaces to 343, as well as reducing the size of the cut into the hill by about half.
A list of 12 conditions from the Planning Commission’s decision in July 2010 — including landscaping, screening and lighting requirements and prohibitions against blasting or burning — were also added back to the legislation. The conditions had been left out when the legislation was refiled after automatically coming off the council agenda after six meetings.
After the commission’s 2010 approval, eight homeowners filed a lawsuit that resulted in a court settlement last year. The settlement confirmed a Planning Commission requirement for a 96-foot landscaped buffer between the new parking area and any houses.
Park Hill residents oppose “any plan that includes a hillside cut,” according to a March 9 letter signed by four Skyline Drive and Dooley Road neighbors and sent to Hays and church pastor Joel Holmes. The letter outlines four requests, including scheduling a public forum to allow a broader public discussion of the plans.
Since then, there’s been no further progress, said Larry McGrew of Skyline Drive, who has sat in on previous negotiations.
“Not really,” McGrew said. “We’re hoping the mayor will allow the process to go on. For example, to have the public forum we mentioned in the letter.”
Holmes was out of town last week, the church office staff said. No church representatives, though several were present at the last meeting March 12, spoke on the issue.
“The mayor has done most of the talking for them,” Mc-Grew said.
Of six aldermen reached last week, four said they lean toward opposing the legislation as is, with one for it and one on the fence. Ward 2 Aldermen Maurice Taylor and Linda Robinson didn’t return phone messages.
“I’ve never been for cutting into the hill,” said Beth White, who, along with Alderman Debi Ross, represents Ward 1 that includes the Park Hill neighborhood.
Ross said she didn’t “want to say” how she’ll vote, but added, “I have been supporting the neighborhood and their concerns. I really don’t think the benefits exceed the risk.”
Ward 3 Alderman Steve Baxter replied that he is still waiting for answers to questions he asked at the previous council meeting, but added that “I’m probably leaning against the cut at this time.” Alderman Bruce Foutch, also of Ward 3, said he won’t decide until the vote is taken.
Ward 4 Alderman Murry Witcher said he will support the legislation for a “reasonable cut.” He added that the property could be sold for a different project “that could end up being a disaster for that neighborhood.”
“I can’t think of a situation for that property that would be any better for the neighborhood than having a parking lot built for use on Sundays,” Witcher said.
Alderman Charlie Hight, also of Ward 4, disagreed, saying that he would be “siding with the residents” and oppose the cut because the excavation would result in trees being removed from the hillside.
Petitions filed opposing the plans have more than 850 signatures representing the city’s five ZIP code areas, proving a more widespread concern than just among the homeowners along the hill, Watson said.
“Everybody has to see it,” Watson said, referring to the church property’s I-40 frontage. “People who drive from Jacksonville to Little Rock look at it every day, too.”
A lesser cut into the hillside wouldn’t need council approval, but the church’s proposal calls for more work than city regulations allow.
“What we’ve said all along is that we’re not opposed to development, but we are opposed to developing property outside what the law allowed,” Watson said. “They’re asking the city to change its ordinance to accommodate them.”
In early discussions, a few residents have said that the perception of risk to homeowners if the excavation goes forward is magnified by damage to foundations three years ago to several North Cedar Street properties along an unstable bluff above a strip shopping center. Excavation of that hillside off John F. Kennedy Boulevard happened more than 40 years ago.
“The perception is that cutting away at that hill isn’t protecting the neighborhood and does not bode well for our property values,” Watson said.
Arkansas, Pages 13 on 03/25/2012