Development plan nears end

BENTONVILLE — A nearly completed draft of Bentonville’s Community Plan is on the city’s website for public review a year past the initial deadline.

Houseal Lavigne, a Chicago-based planning, urban design and economic development consulting firm, began to develop the plan in July 2015. Officially titled The Bentonville Community Plan: A Plan for a New American Town, it’s a guide for growth during the next 15 to 20 years.

Officials anticipated the process would take 18 to 24 months, but the plan was put on hold so Houseal Lavigne could develop downtown neighborhood zoning districts, said Danielle Semsrott, the city’s senior planner.

The city adopted the districts Oct. 11, 2016. They were needed before the plan’s completion because the city’s zoning code was antiquated and no longer met the needs of a quickly developing and redeveloping

downtown, officials said.

Then scheduling conflicts and staff changes, within the Planning Department and at Houseal Lavigne, contributed to the delay, according to Semsrott.

Final adjustments need to be made to the last chapter, Land Use and Strategic Growth, according to Shelli Kerr, interim community and economic development director. The final chapter will be posted as soon as it’s available, she told the Planning Commission in a June 19 email.

The plan addresses neighborhoods and housing, commerce and industry, transportation and mobility, open spaces and environment as well as community facilities and infrastructure.

The project includes smaller plans for five subareas — downtown, downtown neighborhoods, Eighth Street, 14th Street and Southwest Regional Airport Boulevard/ Southwest I Street. The areas warrant detailed planning because of rapidly changing conditions and the need for specific development and investment guidance, the chapter’s introduction reads.

A public workshop is scheduled for Aug. 7 at the Public Library, according to city’s website. More details about the workshop will be released soon.

The plan is set to go before the Planning Commission on Sept. 4 and the City Council on Sept. 11 if major changes aren’t needed after the August workshop, Semsrott said.

The city is operating under a 2007 General Plan.

Good plans give direction, are flexible and have community buy-in, which makes implementation more likely, but the cost to create one can be a drawback, according to the Project for Public Spaces, a nonprofit organization seeking to create and sustain public spaces to build strong communities.

“The delay will not cost the city more,” Semsrott said. The community plan will cost $448,223. About half is being paid for with a $200,000 Walton Family Foundation grant.

“The Community Plan will provide the City of Bentonville with a vision that will set the stage for thoughtful growth,” Karen Minkel, foundation Home Region program director, said in a statement. “We hope the plan will outline how the community can continue to serve new and longtime residents while offering

a unique and enviable quality of life.”

Fayetteville is the only other of the region’s four largest cities working on a comprehensive plan. Fayetteville adopted its first plan in 1970 and is operating under City Plan 2030, adopted in 2011.

The update is an interdepartmental effort being done within the city, said Jonathan Curth, Fayetteville senior planner. Five public input sessions will be scheduled before Aug. 3 so residents can review information and fill out a survey. The survey is available on the city’s website.

The update process is just shy of being half done, Curth said. The goal is to present it to the City Council for adoption by the end of the year.

Springdale and Rogers use street and zoning plans to guide development.

“We have considered it,” Wyman Morgan, director of administration and finance for Springdale, said about creating a comprehensive plan. “But we feel like the added benefit would not warrant the resources. The other plans are updated every two years.”

Rogers’ street plan looks at all forms of transportation and is updated as needed, said Ben Cline, city spokesman.

The city is in the process of finalizing its zoning plan, which will include downtown, midtown and uptown areas, he said. Each of the three areas are in different stages.

“We have a variety of master plans we rely on to shape Rogers,” Cline said.

NWA Democrat-Gazette/SPENCER TIREY People sit enjoying the morning outside of Onyx Coffee Lab on June 8 in downtown Bentonville.