BELLA VISTA -- The proposed development along Dogwood Drive gained Planning Commission approved Monday night at its regular meeting. Two of the commissioners, Theresa Neal and Jamie Kemp recused themselves, with approval coming on a 4-1 vote.
The recommendation is contingent on Cooper Homes providing a 50-foot-long right turn lane on Dogwood Drive and Lancashire Boulevard. Cooper Engineer Tom Oppenheimer agreed to the lane after the last Planning Commission work session, which was characterized by bitter criticism from people concerned about the project.
"The developer has a agreed to provide a right-turn lane," Oppenheimer said.
The development -- which is being presented in the form of a Planned Zoning District, that must be approved by City Council -- is on a 20.14 acre area in the center of Dogwood Drive. The development sits below the Country Club and is adjacent to parts of the Country Club Golf Course.
The proposal features 48 single-family lots of pre-designed floor plans. Buyers will choose one of five floor plans. The PZD, unlike other rezoning plans, is presented in full and voted on as complete development.
According to city code, "the purpose of the Planned Zoning District is to establish a mechanism to propose a development with a mix of commercial, industrial or residential uses that is innovative but which does not strictly comply with the provisions of the zone in which the property is located and cannot be achieved through traditional zoning."
"It is basically 'design your own district,' for lack of a better word," said Community Development Services Director Chris Suneson.
The meeting was heavily attended by both concerned Bella Vista homeowners and Cooper representatives. The proposal has been a subject of controversy for residents who live near the PZD ever since plans became public.
Bella Vista Mayor Peter Christie, who addressed the commission during the time for public comments, said he was mostly pleased with the developer's handling of the skepticism shown by residents who currently live near the PZD.
"This has been brand new for us. Have there been hiccups on both sides? Absolutely. It's a new process and I thank everyone for hanging in there. The developer has met or exceeded all the minimum standards we require," Christie said. "(The PZD) is a much more transparent and open process than the alternative."
Commission member Shawki Al-Madhoun was the sole "No" vote. Al-Madhoun was unsatisfied with the traffic report provided by the applicant, saying that it did not have any information on the safety of the major intersection of Dogwood Drive and Lancashire Boulevard.
"Are we going to guess with people's livelihood, or their safety?" Al-Madhoun said. "Be my guest, but I'm not."
Suneson said that the commission can add any conditions to the vote that they feel are necessary, but that, as the city engineer, he was satisfied with the traffic report.
"(The intersection) is bad now, and it's going to be bad after this development," Suneson said. "We have approximately 13,500 trips per day that go through (that intersection). The addition of however many this development will add to that will not decrease significantly the level of service at that intersection."
In addition, Suneson said that a traffic report is only required on certain kinds of streets that host cross-traffic or external traffic. The current street probably does not require a traffic study, yet the applicant provided one.
"If this were a subdivision located along a collective, major, arterial, or minor arterial street, a traffic study would be required," Suneson said. "(Cooper's plan) would not even meet the threshold requirements for those larger (streets) to require a full-blown traffic study. ... If we were talking about the same piece of land with a more traditional type of platting ... a traffic study would not be required."
Christie said that the addition of the Bella Vista Bypass and other freeway changes recently solidified by the Arkansas Highway Commission will help ease traffic significantly in the future.
"Commissioner (Dick) Trammel stood up and said that, because of additional federal funding, the bypass will now be four lanes instead of two lanes," he said. "That's good news. It will pull more traffic off the west side onto the two exits that are available to them off (Interstate) 49. Common sense says that this can actually reduce the traffic load on (Lancashire Boulevard)."
"Nevertheless," he said, "I approached the state and I asked them for a full traffic study, and they are now considering it."
Last month, a number of neighboring residents hired attorney Bill Watkins to represent them during the planning and approval process. Watkins argued that the residents were asking for reasonable concessions from the developers. Watkins asked for a dedicated 50-foot-long lane to be added to account for excessive traffic, architecture that is diverse and matches nearby homes, and that a sidewalk be included throughout the neighborhood.
"You have to preserve the quality and integrity of the neighborhood," Watkins said.
Speaking about whether the developer will have to change the plan to meet architectural compatibility standards, Suneson said that compatibility in the city code applies mostly to residential zones next to commercial zones. Since this development is surrounded by other residential zones, there is not much the city can do.
Cooper Attorney Gene Groseclos addressed the commission after the finished discussing the current state of the plans. He said that Watkins and some of the commission were underestimating the third-party engineer who performed the traffic study, saying that he has done work all over the state and is extremely well respected.
"I know the engineers are well aware of (Peters and Associates) reputation ... He's done research and provided expert testimony and traffic engineering in numerous state administrative hearings as well as circuit and federal courts," Groseclos said. "He's recognized as a pre-eminent traffic engineer inside and outside the state. He's licensed in 21 states."
Peters' clients include Little Rock, Washington County, Benton County, Wal-Mart, Chick-Fil-A and many more.
Groseclos said Watkins failed to convey that the traffic study was undertaken by "not just an opinion, but an expert opinion." He said that Cooper has already done far more than the bare minimum required of them.
Nevertheless, Cooper has agreed to pay for the dedicated lane.
The proposal now moves to the Bella Vista City Council, which will next meet at 6 p.m. Feb. 22 at American Legion Post 341.
General News on 02/10/2016