Council approves Walker Park Neighborhood Master Plan

• PROJECTS
Ruskin Heights



 
Park with a plan : Council OKs Walker Park neighborhood rezoning
BY SUSANNAH PATTON Northwest Arkansas Times
Posted on Wednesday, July 16, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/nwat/News/67181/

The Fayetteville City Council unanimously approved a proposal to rezone the Walker Park neighborhood Tuesday.
The proposal rezones the 308-acre neighborhood from predominately multifamily residential to Neighborhood Conservation and Downtown General.
Neighborhood Conservation allows single- and twofamily dwellings. Downtown General allows cultural and recreational facilities, offices, eateries, neighborhood shopping goods, home occupations and multifamily dwellings, in addition to the uses allowed in Neighborhood Conservation.
The rezoning proposal has gone through many revisions since it first went before the Fayetteville Planning Commission on April 28, most of them at the request of individual property owners.
One such revision was requested by Steve Winkler and approved by the Planning Commission on June 9. Winkler’s property, which includes four parcels on South Street, was originally zoned as Neighborhood Conservation on the proposed rezoning map. Winkler unsuccessfully requested that the property be zoned as Downtown General so he could eventually build an apartment building on the property, which amounts to approximately two-thirds of an acre.
Neighbors objected to the change and asked that the property remain zoned as Neighborhood Conservation, as originally proposed.
Jimmy Glen, speaking on behalf of the Jennings Plus Neighborhood Association, said he has a petition signed by 30 neighbors who are concerned about the increased density that the Downtown General zoning would allow and the impact the density would have on the neighborhood.
“ We see a bit of a can of worms if that density is increased, ” he said. “ We want to maintain the neighborhood’s character. ”
Ward 1 Alderman Brenda Thiel said the neighbors have invested a lot of time in the Walker Park plan and have requested that the property remain as Neighborhood Conservation.
“ I feel like the neighborhood feels very strongly about this, and they weighed in early, they worked on this plan and if we start making changes to this the plan is going to be back to (residential multifamily with 24 units per acre ), ” she said.
Ruskin Heights Developers of the Ruskin Heights planned zoning district will be allowed to pay more than $ 43, 000 in lieu of certain street improvements that the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department will not approve. The City Council approved an amendment to one of the development’s conditions of approval that requires the developer to construct turn lanes on portions of Greenview Drive as well a section of curb, gutters and sidewalks along the south side of Mission Boulevard to the east and west of the project’s frontage. The highway department stated in a letter that curbs and gutters will require additional maintenance and interfere with future widening of the road, which is also Arkansas 45. Pamela Conner, a resident of the neighborhood, said the development is going to add traffic to an already crowded road where turn lanes are necessary. “ You owe it to all of the people who use Mission to think about what this development means to them getting to work and getting to places they need to go without the turn lanes, ” she said. “ I think they are essential to moving traffic. ”
Thiel reiterated that the developers are requesting an amendment to the condition because the highway department will not allow them to construct the improvements at this time.
“ I don’t know how we could turn this down, ” she said. “ They came to us because the state basically told them this was something they couldn’t do.
“ We approved the planned zoning district based on everything before us. I don’t see how we could possibly go back and say this is justification for you going back to the drawing board and starting all over. ”
Thiel reminded the council that the developers are putting up money in lieu of the improvements.
“ When it’s built out, more than likely the highway department will see that there is a need for these improvements, and we’ll have (the developers’ ) share of the money to make the improvements, ” she said.
Alderman Nancy Allen, who along with Alderman Lioneld Jordan voted against the amendment, said she had trouble with the project when it first came through because the neighborhood was so unified in opposition.
“ They really worked together. They explained why they didn’t want it there, ” she said. “ As a show of faith to you people, I’m going to vote against this. ”
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