BENTONVILLE -- A judge has halted a special election in Lowell set for April 9 to decide whether to reverse a rezoning request approved by the City Council.
Benton County Circuit Judge Doug Schrantz granted a temporary order Wednesday about a referendum on the ballot concerning the council's Nov. 13 approval of the rezoning.
George Spence, the attorney for Benton County, said the formal order hadn't been entered Thursday afternoon, but the judge granted a restraining order stopping the election.
Spence said ballots won't be printed.
"We will not do anything toward an election until the judge lifts his order," he said.
Lowell Mayor Chris Moore declined to comment on the case. The council voted Jan. 15 to refer the issue to voters in a special election.
The referendum concerns rezoning land on Old Wire Road east of McClure Avenue. The land was rezoned from residential to medium-density residential, which allows multifamily housing.
The council's vote Nov. 13 was split 4-4. Eldon Long, who was mayor at the time, broke the tie in favor of the rezoning.
Rogers attorney Jennifer Gray filed the lawsuit last week on behalf of Tuscany Vines, the owner of the land.
The lawsuit names Lowell, Mayor Chris Moore, City Clerk Elizabeth Estes, and City Council members Todd Fenix, Eric Schein, Lisa DeGifford, Linda Vannoy, David Adams, Dean Bitner, Thomas Evers and Chasity Taylor. Russell Anzalone, Robbyn Tumey and Harlan Stee, who comprise the Benton County Election Commission, were also named as defendants.
The lawsuit wants the court to cancel the election.
It argues Lowell requires all referendum petitions to be filed with the city clerk-treasurer within 40 days after passing such ordinances. The ordinance was passed Nov. 13, and the deadline for filing the referendum petition would have been Dec. 23 except the date was a Sunday and the following Monday and Tuesday were observed as holidays, which extended the deadline to Dec. 26.
The lawsuit claims the referendum petition was dated Dec. 28 -- two days after the deadline.
Schrantz hasn't scheduled any further hearings in the case.
NW News on 02/22/2019