Proposal for Garfield cell tower tabled

Applicant asks for more time to address issues with site plan

BENTONVILLE — Benton County’s Planning Board on Wednesday night tabled a proposal for a telecommunications tower in the Garfield area.

The applicant, CMI Acquisitions of Madison, Miss., asked for more time to address issues with the site plan in a letter Taylor Reamer, planning director, received Monday.

In the letter, David McGehee with CMI Acquisitions said they are working with Verizon to reconfigure the site to make it more compliant with county ordinances.

“This will give us time to make the design changes and resubmit to the Planning Department,”

the letter reads.

The next Planning Board meeting will be at 6 p.m. May 15.

The site is at 22078 U.S. 62. The land owner is Charles Capps, according to county documents. The applicant plans to lease a 60-foot by 60-foot area on 11.77 acres, according to planning documents.

The original proposal was for construction of a 250-foot telecommunications tower. McGehee’s letter notes changes will include lowering the tower height by 50 feet and a slight shift in location.

Cameron McNabb lives across the street from the site. He told the Planning

Board the tower should be moved somewhere else on the property. “Then it would be out of sight,” he said.

The Planning Board approved two telecommunications towers in unincorporated Benton County in 2018, Reamer said. The board already approved one other new telecommunications tower this year, Reamer said.

The land uses around the site are single family residential to the north, south and west. The area east of the site is vacant, according to planning documents.

The Planning Board also unanimously approved the

Beavers/Howard site plan at 14696 and 14698 U.S. 62 in Garfield. The applicant will use the property for outdoor vehicle sales on the south side of the half-acre property, according to documents.

The property owner is Billy Beavers and the applicant is Robbie Howard, according to documents. The current zoning is improved commercial parcel-restaurant. The proposed use is heavy commercial-automotive sales, according to documents.

Howard said after the meeting he plans to open as as soon as possible. Motorcycles and automobiles will be sold, he said.