Despite pushback from residents, the planning and zoning commission unanimously approved a request Tuesday, Jan. 8, to rezone a 10-acre property located at 801 E. Lake Francis Drive from R-2 (residential, single family) to R-4 (residential, multi-family), to make way for what will likely be a multi-family housing development.
This is the first rezoning request of its kind to be presented for consideration in a public hearing since September, when an applicant requesting to rezone a property located at 817 N. Mt. Olive St. from R-2 to R-4 withdrew the application following months of opposition from residents living nearby. The property on Lake Francis Drive is large enough to sustain multi-family housing and has the capacity to support up to 160 units, although it is likely to be lower, according to a city staff report.
The proposed zoning is consistent with density guidelines in the city's 2030 future land-use map and although the applicant -- Englebrecht Family Revocable Living Trust -- has not yet submitted any design plans for what would be built on the property, he provided an architectural rendering that was shown by Senior City Planner Ben Rhoads during his presentation of the agenda item. The rendering depicts a two story, townhome-style development, which was opposed by many residents living near the proposed site.
Charles Moore, lives south of the proposed site and said he was against it due to concerns of increased pedestrian and vehicle traffic that the area is inadequate to handle. He also said he is worried about a possible decrease in his property's value.
Another resident, Linda Sheehy, cited similar concerns relating to traffic. She, along with her husband, John, also submitted a letter to the commission detailing their concerns.
"Our property backs up to the parcel which is being considered for rezoning to an R-4 multifamily housing," the letter states. "The proposal for phase one of this project estimates 84 units of apartments. A fair assumption for vehicles would be one car for smaller apartments -- (and there are) 24, and two cars for larger apartments. That is a total of 144 cars that will need parking spaces and will need access on Lake Francis Drive. This suggested density seems much more suited for a city and not a smaller thriving town like Siloam Springs."
This proposal went to the city board for consideration during their meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 15. This timing is unusual, as recommendations from the commission typically don't go to the board until their first meeting of the following month. The applicant, however, requested an "expedited," review of the item, Rhoads said.
New developments
As for other items on the night's agenda, the commission approved a significant development permit to begin construction on a new shopping center and restaurant that will be located on an undeveloped piece of property on the 3600 Block of U.S. Highway 412, according to a city staff report. The property is between Lowes and Northwest Health Urgent Care and the development and will be about 6,000 square feet, with about 4,000 square feet being for retail space and the remaining 2,000 will be used for restaurants.
Another significant development permit on the agenda pertained to a request to construct three, two-story townhome-style apartments, creating what would be called the "Eagles' Nest Townhomes," according to a city staff report. The proposed site for the project is a 1.08 acre property located at 2211 W. Central St. and in total, 16 new dwelling units would be added.
The area was rezoned to R-4 by the applicant in 2015 in preparation for this project, but unlike the significant development permit, this proposal prompted numerous complaints from residents, who largely emphasized the issue of wastewater management in the area, such as Larry Kennemore, who lives in a cul-de-sac located behind the proposed site.
"You should all know that (our) cul-de-sac has a lift station and it's actually the end of the line for the city sewer system in that area, Kennemore said. "Over the years, there have been numerous problems with this lift station backing up and backing up so bad that it throws raw sewage into the air 10 to 15 feet high and into the streets and the yards. It is still a problem, however, to stop the 10 to 15 foot high discharges into the environment, you, the city, welded the cover to the street. However, there's a hole in this welding, that I assume is (there) to release gases, (but) when the system backs up, (sewage) shoots out that hole, 10 to 15 high still spewing raw sewage into the neighborhood. With that said, we're assuming that if you approve this housing project, there's going to be a new, larger lift station to handle all of the housing. If not, how do you plan to accommodate 16 new units that will have to hook into the system right behind our house. If you cannot install a larger lift station, then you're placing myself, my family (and) our neighborhood at a health risk from raw sewage, which means, we are against the project."
The commission approved the item 5-2, and Commissioners Todd Colvin and Karl Mounger were the dissenting votes. They said the reason for their decision is that they agreed with resident's concerns of potentially exacerbating a public health issue.
New year elections
At the beginning of the night, the commission held three elections to determine who would serve as the commission chair, vice chair and secretary. Commissioners unanimously re-elected Chairwoman Judy Nation to serve another term in the position, Todd Colvin was elected vice chair and Jerrod Driscoll was elected secretary. At this time, Commissioner Kolin Blakely made the announcement that he plans to step down at the end of his term for personal reasons.
In other business, the commission took the following actions:
• Unanimously approved a lot split development permit for a 10.83 acre property located at 14975 S. Highway 59.
• Unanimously approved a rezoning development permit that requested to zone a .53 acre property located at 992 S. Lincoln St. from C-2 (roadway commercial) to R-3 (residential, two-family)
• Unanimously approved a rezone plat development permit and preliminary plat development permit, both of which pertained to a construction project that is underway at a property located on the 100 Block of North Lincoln Street.
• Unanimously approved the decision to table the review of a preliminary plat development permit and final plat development permit until the commission's Feb. 12 meeting, both of which pertain to the first phase of a project underway on the 23000 Block of Lawlis Road called the "Lawlis Ranch Subdivision."
General News on 01/16/2019