SILOAM SPRINGS -- County residents spoke to city directors July 6 during the city board meeting about Resolution 32-21 regarding a proposed subdivision that will be built on Oak Crest Road.
The board voted 6-1, with Director David Allen voting no on the resolution. The resolution, which was on the consent agenda but was pulled off by Director Brad Burns, would authorize a preliminary plat development permit for Whispering Oaks subdivision on the 300 to 500 block of Oak Crest Road, according to a staff report prepared by Ben Rhoads on June 15.
This went before the planning commission on June 8 and passed unanimously. Several residents of the county voiced their concerns at that meeting, and one resident sent a Dropbox file with a video that showed issues like drainage and road conditions on Dawn Hill Road and Oak Crest Road.
Many of those same citizens appeared at the July 6 board meeting to share their concerns with the city directors. Mark Miller spoke about three issues: lot size, house size and a desire to not have duplexes built.
Miller said, when Siloam Springs was founded in 1881, the standard lot size was 50 by 150 feet.
"Things have changed since then," Miller said. "If you draw a half-mile ring around the proposed property, the smallest lot in the development is in the development to the north, and it's 0.62 of an acre, over three times the size of these lots."
Regarding the house sizes and the issue concerning duplexes, Miller said the development is zoned as single-family housing and he didn't want to see duplexes put in.
"Failure to alleviate these concerns only leads us to believe that you don't care about the community but only the revenue that this project would generate," Miller said.
Miller said in a follow-up phone interview on Thursday that he was not against development but wanted the development to be more in line with the neighborhood context.
Miller's wife, Diane Miller, said in the phone interview she left the meeting feeling like the board didn't care about her concerns.
"They just dismissed us," Diane Miller said. "I don't think any of them came out to see what the issues were."
John Courtney said, if they develop the land, he hoped brush and debris would be hauled off instead of being burned because his wife has severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and would not be able to breathe if the builders started burning debris.
Gaylene Ellis said she understands this is going to happen but is concerned about Dawn Hill and Oak Crest roads. Ellis' concern is the narrowness of the roads, making it difficult for two large vehicles on either side of Dawn Hill to pass each other without getting on the side of the road.
"I was trying to mow my yard yesterday," Ellis said. "I got a beer can thrown at me because there were two cars passing and I was mowing down along the road."
Ellis called both Dawn Hill Road and Oak Crest Road "sorry" and asked who was going to do something about them.
Another issue Ellis brought up was a lack of clarity regarding the responsibility of the city and the county. Ellis said she had a noise complaint and, when she called the city, she was referred to the county and, when she called the county, Ellis was referred to the city.
The northern part of Oak Crest Road is in the county, while the southern portion of Oak Crest Road is within city limits.
Miriam Gage said her concern was the flooding she normally sees in April. Gage's yard and her neighbor's yard flood during the spring, she said.
"We're worried that, if everything gets built up and developed there, the water is going to come back towards us and cause significant damage to our yard and our property," Gage said.
Jim Krein, the owner of Whispering Oaks, said, as far as city growth, that a city can't be neutral adding that a city either grows or dies. Krein did say that he is willing to work with the residents in the area.
Civil Engineer Ron Homeyer addressed the drainage by saying he plans to build a ditch that runs in the middle of the subdivision that will be 6 feet deep and 36 feet wide.
Burns referred county citizens to a workshop of the Illinois River Watershed Partnership (IRWP) called "We All Live Downstream," which addressed the issue of drainage.
Burns also said the city is dealing with an issue of not being able to generate enough revenue to keep up with the infrastructure the city is trying to develop.
"People don't want development," Burns said. "They live in the country, but they live right against the city, and we've tried to get people to be pro-annexation so that we can address those problems."
Burns and Director Mindy Hunt both said they hear the county residents' concerns. Hunt said she went out to Dawn Hill Road and Oak Crest Road and said she did notice a pretty significant tree line. Hunt asked Krein if he was going to keep that tree line.
Krein said he didn't know where the electrical lines were going to go but said, if he could, he would. Hunt also asked Krein about debris removal, flooding and road improvement.
Regarding the debris, Krein said he hadn't gotten that far but said he was 90% certain he would ask to get a burn permit. Krein went on to say that it was a big tract and construction crews would push the debris in the middle of the tract to burn it.
City Engineer Justin Bland said he thinks the proposed ditch would alleviate the drainage issues.
"With their proposal, they're gonna be cutting a ditch through there, so there's gonna be some vertical relief for the water to kind of drop down and drain more quickly off the property," Bland said.
Allen brought up the unsafe driving conditions on both Dawn Hill and Oak Crest roads and asked when the city will work on them. Bland also said Oak Crest Road is scheduled to be worked on in 2024 and Dawn Hill Road is on a shortlist of projects the city is looking at.
City Administrator Phillip Patterson said one of the board's goals was to find a way to accelerate street projects and he is looking at holding a workshop for the board on either July 20 or Aug. 3.
Allen called Dawn Hill Road dangerous and said it can't handle the traffic currently on the road, much less the extra traffic the construction would bring.
The city director made a motion to table the issue until a future meeting because he felt the board did not have the chance to study the situation and talk to staff because the city hall was closed July 5 for Independence Day.
City directors voted against the motion in a 5-2 vote, with Director Lesa Rissler being the only other director to vote to table the issue.
A new motion was made to approve the resolution, and that motion passed in a 6-1 vote, with Allen casting the only "no" vote.
The city directors also discussed and voted on the following items:
Consent agenda
• Approving the workshop minutes from the June 15 workshop.
• Approving the regular meeting minutes from the June 15 city board meeting.
• Approving the dedication of utility easements for the 14000 block of Cozy Corners Road.
• Approving the dedication of utility easements for the 1400-1500 block of North Inglewood Street.
• Approving Resolution 30-21 regarding a significant development permit for Camp Siloam to build a new bunkhouse to replace the one destroyed during the tornado in October 2019.
Contracts and approvals
• Approving a grant from the Arkansas Department of Health for $50,489 for fluoridation equipment to put fluoride in the city's water.
Resolutions
• Approving Resolution 31-21 concerning a significant development permit for McReynolds RV Park located at 4290 U.S. 412 E.
Ordinances
• Placing Ordinance 21-11 concerning the annexation of 12.25 acres of the 21100 block of Arkansas 16 on its second and third reading with Allen abstaining due to a familial connection to the project. The board then took a separate vote to adopt the ordinance, with Allen abstaining for the same reason.
• Placing Ordinance 21-12 regarding the annexation of 22.05 acres at the 23300 block of Raines Road on its second and third reading and then taking a separate vote to adopt the ordinance.
• Placing Ordinance 21-14 concerning the annexation of 37.44 acres of the 15000 block of Arkansas 59 on its first reading.
Staff reports
• Annual planning commission report.
• May financials.
• Administrator's report.
