Leave it to the locals

The proponents of Arkansas Senate Bill 170 claim that residential design elements are on par with exclusionary zoning practices and price low-income residents out of the housing market.

While I agree that exclusionary zoning practices such as minimum square footage and restrictive definitions of family/household are abhorrent and result in concentrated poverty, this bill does not fix these problems. Furthermore, man-made features such as walls and fences, or complete lack of infrastructure, such as neighborhoods designed without public transit or sidewalks, can be viewed as discriminatory exclusion practices that disproportionately affect poor populations. This is also not covered in the bill.

Rather, SB170 deals solely with design elements such as building color or roof pitch. Zoning and design elements are completely different matters and should not be confused. The only exceptions to this rule are historic districts or landmarks, which is why the bill excludes them from consideration.

Residential design guidelines can be used to protect neighborhood character and enhance attractiveness and quality of life. They can also bring about positive change when housing has deteriorated in a community or when a community desires to use design to develop a sense of place to encourage tourism and economic development. In the majority of situations they are voluntary and typically only apply to infill development or new construction in designated districts. They can be an important tool to transform a community over time and to protect the assets that are already in place.

Most importantly, this is an issue that must be decided and managed at the local level. The state has no role in these decisions. Let the developers and builders of Springdale and Fayetteville and their planning commissions fight about aluminum and vinyl siding among themselves. Leave the rest of Arkansas out of it. MARY MARGARET JACKSON

Jonesboro