The future of the Architectural Control Committee came up during a Town Hall meeting last week.
About 50 people gathered in Riordan Hall on April 26.
Members of the Property Owners Association Board and the City Council were on hand along with POA General Manager Tom Judson and Mayor Peter Christie.
After Judson presented a summary of the functions of each of three entities in Bella Vista -- the POA, the ACC, and the city -- people asked questions about the ACC.
The ACC's authority came from the Declaration, Judson said. The Declaration is the document written by Bella Vista's developer -- Cooper Communities Inc. -- that established Bella Vista Village and serves much like the constitution does for the U.S.A. Members of the ACC are appointed by CCI and is separate from the POA.
Christie said he's discussed the ACC with CCI President John Cooper III, who said he would allow the city to take over the ACC if the city agreed to indemnify CCI. That wouldn't be legal, Christie said. The ACC will remain a separate entity.
Christie answered a question about potential commercial development. The city will soon have an employee who will concentrate on economic development. There's not a lot of available land, Christie said, but there is some including the craft fair grounds on Arkansas 279, and smaller pieces of land near the Mercy Clinic and between Walgreens and the real estate office. There is also some land between Sugar Creek Center and the golf course.
People often mention the golf courses along U.S. 71 as a possibility for commercial development, but that land is in the floodplain and would be very expensive to develop, Christie said. There are also permitting problems involved when building in a floodplain.
POA Board Member Ron Stratton responded to a question about the sale of undeveloped POA owned land near the Arkansas/Missouri border, called the ArkMo land. The POA did not accept an offer for a portion of that land. There might be a need for that land sometime in the future, he said, although the board was evenly spilt on the sale.
Later, when a member asked if the POA would ever have a PGA golf course, Stratton responded that sometime in the future, if the "valley courses" -- the ones along U.S. 71, continued to flood the POA might replace them with a PGA course on the ArkMo land. He doesn't foresee an additional golf course, but possibly a replacement golf course, he said.
The audience also had questions about Town Center, which, Christie assured one audience member, has not been sold. He believes Cooper Communities wants to remain active in Bella Vista and will renovate Town Center in the near future. He said he's already asked them to consider space for some new restaurants.
The Yacht Club may reopen, Judson said in answer to another question. He's working on a plan that he will present to the board in the near future. If they agree, work could begin soon.
The POA and the city are interested in bringing new residents to Bella Vista, Christie said, and not just retired people.
"We have a nice balance here," he said, reminding the audience of the Tanyard Creek Celebration last year which was well attended by both young families and seniors. He expects the Blues Festival that will take place near Loch Lomond just before the Fourth of July fireworks will also be a fun, multi-generational event.
General News on 05/04/2016