City board to hear ordinance on South Washington Street rezoning

City Hall
City Hall

City board of directors will hear the first reading of Ordinance 20-14 regarding the rezoning of the 900 block of South Washington Street from C-2 (Roadway Commercial) to R-2 (Residential, Medium) and vote on Resolution 25-20 concerning the preliminary plat development permit for the same area during its meeting on Tuesday.

Chavez LLC submitted the rezoning permit in order to rezone 1.76 acres of a 2.84 vacant lot on South Washington Street and the preliminary plat permit for the proposed subdivision. The permits went before the planning commission on May 12 and both were denied.

Senior Planner Ben Rhoads is recommending denial of the ordinance and the permit, according to staff reports issued on May 13 and 14.

Reasons for the denial include the area's incompatibility with the current future land use map; the Kansas City Southern (KCS) rail abutting the back lot of the proposed subdivision; the neighborhood context of having a subdivision among large homes; the proximity of the potential subdivision to an auto body shop and drainage issues with the lot itself, Rhoads said.

Owner Javier Chavez sent a letter to the city detailing his reasons the permits should be approved. He concluded the letter saying if the permits were denied he will have to consider putting in an industrial commercial property, which could include an adult or sex-oriented business.

Planning commission members voted 5-1 to deny both permits, with Tom Montgomery absent. J.W. Smith was the only commissioner to vote to approve the permits and the vote was based on the presentation and because of Chavez's letter.

"Prior to having the letter read I was leaning the other way," Smith said in a phone interview. "There were just too many underlying circumstances of it."

Todd Colvin, planning commission chair, said he voted to deny the permits based on how the future land use map has the property zoned, but Colvin also said he is not comfortable with the bigger picture.

Other business the board will consider include:

• Dedication of utility easements for the 4300 block of Highway 412 East.

• Dedication of utility easements and right-of-way for the 1100 block of East Lake Francis Drive.

• Placing Ordinance 20-10 regarding net-metering on its second reading.

• Placing Ordinance 20-11 concerning property maintenance code amendments on its second reading.

• Placing Ordinance 20-12 amending the Northwest Airport Authority Agreement on its first reading.

• Placing Ordinance 20-13 regarding the rezoning from A-1 (Agriculture) to C-2 of the 4200 and 4300 block of Highway 412 East.

• Resolution 26-20 concerning the preliminary plat development permit for the Carley Crossing addition at the 14800 to 14900 block of Lawlis Road.

• Resolution 27-20 regarding the preliminary plat development permit for the Endura Park addition at 14701 N. Country Club Road.

• Resolution 28-20 concerning the final plat development permit for the Elrod addition at the 300 block of Cheri Whitlock Drive.

• Resolution 29-20 regarding the significant development permit from Netzel Development LLC for the 1000 block of South Washington Street.

• Resolution 30-20 concerning the NWA regional planning commission Transportation Alternative Program grant application for the Lake Francis sidewalk.

• Resolution 31-20 regarding an application for the ArDOT Transportation Alternative Program for the Lake Francis sidewalk.

General News on 05/31/2020