BENTONVILLE -- The Bentonville City Council on Tuesday was debating whether a controversial housing development will move forward.
The council was considering at press time four parcels totaling about 3.6 acres at 1602 N.W. Third St. Developers were seeking a change in zoning from low-density, single-family residential and residential estate to planned residential development for Echelon -- a single-family subdivision.
Council members will also consider amending the property's designation on the city's future land use map from open space to low-density residential.
The proposal for the development is a mixture of 10 attached and 10 detached two-story, single-family homes. It came from Leadership Properties LLC and Thrilled Home Builders LLC in Bentonville in collaboration with Development Consultants Inc. and Travis Harris Design LLC.
The development also will include a walking trail connecting the back of the property to Northwest Third Street and a shared green space along the northern property line.
The Planning Commission voted to approve the requested rezoning and future land use map amendment Nov. 19. It had voted to table the rezoning request Oct. 15 to give the developers time to incorporate revisions and additional clarification the commission requested.
The planned development will likely increase traffic in the area to a slight degree due to being built on undeveloped lots, according to a city staff report included in the Nov. 19 meeting packet. However, it said Northwest Third Street will likely be able to handle any additional traffic as a designated collector street. A dedicated two-way bike lane along Northwest Third Street and various nearby amenities may allow more trips to be carried out by walking and biking as alternatives to driving as well.
City staff recommended the Planning Commission approve Echelon due to it aligning with both the Bentonville Community Plan, which calls for housing diversity, and the city zoning code's criteria for planned residential developments, the report states.
The Planning Commission's decision came after about an hour of listening to 26 residents voice their opposition to the proposed development. The meeting packet contained more than 50 emails and letters from residents opposing the rezoning, along with two emails from Kyle Smith, project manager for Leadership Properties.
More than 30 residents urged the City Council either in person or online to vote against the development, and people lined up outside City Hall prior to the meeting holding up signs in protest.
Resident Beth Keck pointed out the neighborhoods near the Echelon property are zoned single family, low-density residential, not planned residential development.
Other concerns residents expressed included uncertainty of how garbage would be collected in the development, the narrowness of the roads, the influx of traffic, a lack of adequate parking, dead-end streets, additional noise and worries about privacy.
An online petition asking city officials to deny the rezoning had 178 verified signatures as of Tuesday afternoon.
More than 10 people spoke in favor of Echelon and Leadership Properties, including Smith. Proponents cited the housing the development would provide and positive attributes of and experiences with other Leadership Properties neighborhoods, among other benefits.
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