FAYETTEVILLE -- Planning commissioners decided Monday that land at Markham Hill next to Interstate 49 should stay as it is, but one piece near some homes in the area could potentially have small-scale commercial or residential development.
The commission considered four rezoning requests for forested property at the southwest side of the hill west of the University of Arkansas campus. Three of the properties adjoin along I-49 on the west side of the hill. A fourth juts out from I-49 on the south side of the hill. Three properties are owned by the Barnes family trust, and one is owned by the Winfred Watson family trust.
The property the commission supported rezoning makes up 9.4 acres immediately north of Southern View Apartments on Futrall Drive. The zoning would change from residential single-family up to four units an acre to a community services zone. A community services zone is a primarily commercial zone that also allows residential and multifamily development. Allowed commercial uses include eating places, neighborhood shopping, gas stations or drive-through restaurants, home occupations and sidewalk cafes.
The commission's vote Monday was a recommendation to the City Council, which will make the final decision on the rezoning.
The rest of the requests the commission rejected make up about 17.7 wooded acres along I-49. Most of it lacked access to water and sewer infrastructure and resided on a hillside, according to Jessie Masters, development review manager. Hillside land carries more development regulations under city code, such as additional tree preservation.
The commission's vote fell in line with planning staff's recommendations. Staff recommended against rezoning the three properties abutting I-49 but supported rezoning the land on the south side of the hill.
The city's future plans for the property on the south side of the hill include a mix of uses, bus stops are nearby and Root Avenue connects to the land, Masters said. Adjacent land to the south and east is zoned for apartments. Those qualities made it different from the other three properties, she said.
Payton Bentley with Clark Law Firm presented all four requests to the commission. In July, three of the properties, including the one approved Monday, went before the commission for rezoning but were rejected. The request at the time was to turn them to urban thoroughfare districts, which is the city's most intense zoning type allowing buildings as tall as seven stories. The City Council upheld the commission's decision.
During the July discussion, several commissioners said they would prefer a community services request. Bentley said the new request was based on those comments.
All nine commissioners supported the southern property rezoning. Matt Johnson and Porter Winston supported rezoning the other three properties along I-49. Quintin Canada, Mary Madden, Rob Sharp, Mike Wiederkehr, Sarah Sparkman, Jimm Garlock and Leslie Belden voted to deny the requests for those three properties.
Most of the land on the southwest side of I-49 is zoned for commercial development. Madden said allowing commercial development on both sides fronting the highway was not her idea of smart growth.
"I think of places in the North Texas area, like Dallas-Fort Worth where I lived for a while, and every interstate there is just hideous with stuff strewn along both sides of the road," she said. "I would hope here in Fayetteville we're not aspiring to do that."
Sparkman said commissioners were tossing around ideas during the July discussion. The difference with Monday's request was that planning staff had reviewed and recommended against putting the community services zoning along the interstate, she said.
No one from the public spoke at the meeting.
All four properties lie south of 62 acres the city owns as a preservation area, and west of about 50 acres development firm Specialized Real Estate plans to keep natural west of its hotel and housing development at the hill.
Commission action
More News
NoneFayetteville’s Planning Commission met Monday and approved:
• A variance to flood damage prevention requirements to enable an outdoor seating restaurant out of a ship container on the west side of Leverett Avenue between Lawson and Holly streets.
• Fifteen cluster housing developments totaling 162 single-family homes on 20.4 acres north of Old Farmington Road.
• A zoning plan for single-family homes on North Sequoyah Drive.
Source: Fayetteville