The historic Wonderland Cave is officially inside the city limits of Bella Vista.
Aldermen on Monday, Aug. 24, voted 5-0 to annex the Wonderland Cave area and assign central commercial zoning (C-3) to the property. Alderman Larry Wilson was absent.
Mary Miller, co-owner of the property, plans to develop a theme park on the 30 acres located along Dartmoor Road, just south of Manchester Drive.
"I'm very thrilled about the decision," Miller said after the meeting. "I'm excited and I look forward to working with and cooperating with the city and county."
Miller envisions the property as the "Wonderland Cave Adventure Park." The theme park will include an array of attractions such as a mini-golf course, petting zoo, shops and restaurants, Miller said. There also are plans to renovate portions of the cave -- which has been closed going on 30 years -- for dancing and dinning. Miller declined to give a construction time line for the project.
The cave first came to prominence in the 1920s, when the Linebarger brothers developed it into an underground nightclub as a side attraction to Bella Vista, which they operated as a summer resort.
Over the ensuing decades it was used to host an informal session of the General Assembly, fraternity conventions, parties, storing wine and even designated as a fallout shelter during the Cold War. The cave was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.
The City Council made its decision after hearing an impassioned plea from several residents that developing the property would benefit the city. Applause followed nearly every public comment.
"We've struggled to bring growth (to Bella Vista)," said Ashley Linden, owner of Linden's Jewelry. "We didn't want to be Bentonville or Rogers with the big box stores. Now we've got something unique and it's ours. Why wouldn't you support that?"
Doug Swanson said that revenue from tourism is important for Bella Vista to flourish.
"For Bella Vista to move forward with young people, we need to bring in commercial enterprise," Swanson said. "There is tremendous potential for growth with this."
The council's decision go against an earlier recommendation from the Planning Commission, which on Aug. 1o voted 5-1 to deny Miller's original zoning request of shopping center district (C-4). Under city code, unless an annexed property is assigned a specific zoning district, it enters the city under agriculture (A-1). Miller told commissioners she needed high-density commercial zoning for her project to move forward.
In denying the request, commissioner Don Robinson cited his concerns with other allowances available under C-4 and the possibility that the project could be realized in lower-density commercial zoning districts.
"To jump all the way to C-4 is a problem. I'm worried about setting a precedent," Robinson said.
Planners, as well as aldermen, are required by code to consider all available uses of a property within a designated zoning district, not specific projects, according to staff attorney Jason Kelley.
In other business:
n ISLAND ANNEXATION -- The council voted 5-0 to annex the Hole in the Wall Cave area.
The city limits of Gravette and Bella Vista surround the property, which is comprised of several parcels on the west side of Chelsea Road near Plymouth Circle and Leona Drive. The vacant parcels are owned by a mix of private residents, the Property Owners Association and Cooper Communities Inc.
State law allows cities to annex unincorporated land that has become surrounded by municipalities, Kelley said. Because Bella Vista has the larger amount of perimeter around the parcels, the city can annex the land by ordinance.
Aldermen also accepted the Planning Commission's recommended zoning designations for the property. The property will be a mix of open space (P-1) and residential single-family zoning (R-1). The P-1 zoning runs along the outside of the R-1 parcels, acting as a buffer against Gravette city limits.
n NAME CHANGE -- Aldermen approved changing the name of the Planning, Building and Code Enforcement Department to the Community Development Services Department. City code now reflects this change as well.
General News on 08/26/2015