City board members received an update on the progress toward determining the purpose of seven undeveloped and unused city-owned properties at their Nov. 20 meeting.
The presentation was given by Community Development Director Don Clark because this was one of the board's goals for 2017-2018. Listed below are location descriptions of each property Clark addressed, with additional information.
• 2.1 acres, located at the corner of Cheri Whitlock Parkway and Mount Olive Street
Situated across from the intermediate school and directly south of the Phillips 66 gas station, this square-shaped, undeveloped lot gets used for a variety of purposes throughout the year, mostly recreational, Clark said. City staff has been observing it over the last year, and have seen activities ranging from T-ball practices to kickball games taking place.
For that reason, the city is recommending that it be converted to a neighborhood park, Clark said. It is not zoned properly for that purpose as of now, but a goal of city staff is to eventually rezone some of these properties if they are zoned inconsistently with the use that gets decided on for them. In this case, the area would need to be rezoned to G-I (general, institutional) or P-K (parks).
• Four approximately .45-acre lots in addition to a single one-acre lot, located off of Mount Olive Street and/or on both sides of Willow Court
These lots are also undeveloped and are just down the street on the same block as the location above. The four lots were originally purchased by the city with intentions of using them for drainage detention, but it was later decided that wasn't necessary for that area, Clark said. They are currently zoned for commercial purposes and due to a lack of ideas for other possible uses, city staff is recommending the lots be used for some form of commercial development.
The one-acre lot was purchased in 2009 for drainage improvement purposes, but Clark said that city staff at the time remained undecided as to whether that was necessary. Rain events that have occurred since then, however, have made it increasingly clear that a good possible use for the area is a new drainage basin or detention pond, and Clark said that is what the city intends on looking into. He added that by doing this, it could end up helping with the drainage produced from future developments in the other four nearby lots.
• 29.32 acres, is a field located at the intersection of North Progress Avenue and Cheri Whitlock Drive
This area continues to be a work in progress, as the city put out a request for proposals and received one response back, but the responding entity, EJ Holdings, LLC, allowed their period of due-diligence to expire.
• .71 acres, located at the intersection of West Tulsa Street and Heritage Court
Located just off of Tulsa Street, this empty lot was once considered as a potential site for Fire Station No. 2, but the fire department ended up deciding that remaining in the their current location would be the best option, Clark said. During the same time frame, however, discussions arose about the possibility of converting the area into a community garden, which drew some interest particularly because of its proximity to the Manna Center, the Senior Center and the Boys and Girls Club.
He went on to say that staff is now looking into something "in that realm," and that whatever goes there should be non-permanent in the event the city needs to use it for another purpose. Ward 2 Director Brad Burns expressed support for the idea later in the presentation.
• 20.51 acres, located at 2251 S. Lincoln St.
The city purchased this property in 2012 with intentions of using it as the relocation site for the Siloam Springs Rodeo Grounds, Clark said. In a Sept. 4 workshop that was held to discuss the rodeo grounds relocation, city staff told the city board they would be unable to complete the project due to lack of funding.
For that reason, the city is wanting to hold on to the property and look at using it as a location for the construction of new city facilities if or when they are needed, Clark said. A couple of possible developments Clark said the property would be ideal for include a new city maintenance shop facility, which is one of the city board's goals for 2018-2019, or possibly a new animal shelter.
• .26 acres, located near the intersection of North Hill Street and East University Street
This area is located in a residential zone and was deeded to the city in 2016. Since then, Clark said that city staff has considered it to be an ideal location for a small neighborhood park and that's what will be explored moving forward. Once plans are better determined, the city will be seeking both input as well as grants from the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism for this project and will also do so for any of the other areas they decide to use for neighborhood parks, Clark said.
• 500.99 acres, located across the state line in Oklahoma
A city-owned entity called the Illinois River Water Resources Corporation owns this land and it is divided into five separate parcels. It was purchased in the 1930s for the purpose of securing a water source for the city and continues to serve that purpose today, Clark said.
A use for the area has not yet been determined, but Clark said that he hopes city staff can come back to the board at some point during the second quarter of next year to have a larger discussion about the topic. In the meantime, city staff will be trying to determine what the city actually needs from the property in order to maintain a reliable water source, and then to decide what to do with the rest of it. Another issue with the property is that since it is technically owned by a private corporation and because it is located across state lines, the city faces the possibility of someone claiming adverse possession on it, Clark said.
This refers to a situation in which someone can occupy a piece of property for a certain period of time and then after that amount of time has passed, they can lay a claim to it, Clark said. In this case, the amount of time someone would have to occupy the area is seven years and this has happened on certain areas of the property in the past, Clark said.
General News on 12/02/2018