Gulley Park could gain an acre

FAYETTEVILLE — Gulley Park could expand by an acre with a pending subdivision planned nearby.

The Parks and Recreation Advisory Board on Monday approved accepting a combination of park land and money for the proposed Colette Street subdivision at 2705 N. Colette Ave. The development would have 58 buildable lots on 8 acres.

Under the agreement, the city would receive just more than an acre, north of East Magnolia Drive, adjacent to Gulley Park, and about $13,000. New residential developments in the city have to dedicate some amount of land for a park or pay a fee instead. Park staff uses a formula to determine how much land or money is owed, and the park board recommends whether the city should accept the land or the money, or a combination of the two.

The land is zoned as a residential single-family district allowing up to four units per acre. Joe Fifer with Crafton Tull, the engineer on the project, said the team will ask for a planned zoning district, which would allow development of the desired number of lots. The project would be redesigned if not approved by the Planning Commission and City Council, he said.

A preliminary design shows an open space in the middle of the land for large trees, with the park expansion in the southwest corner. A trail would run from the park through the development heading northeast, connecting to a sidewalk on Colette Avenue.

Richie Lamb, park board chairman, said he saw the project as an investment in the community. Board members took a tour of the land before Monday’s meeting.

“It’s very helpful putting new development close to this type of asset we already have, as opposed to somewhere where we’ve got to go build it,” he said.

Ted Jack, park planning superintendent, said the extra space for Gulley is needed. The board last year approved a new plan for the park, which

would add play space for children, an orchard, more parking, a splash pad, dog park and other amenities.

“This is our second most popular park,” Jack said. “Adding some more acreage to it would be helpful.”

Local group Friends of Gulley Park tried a few years ago to get the land dedicated for an expansion of Gulley Park but were unsuccessful, member Max Mahler said. The plan as proposed doesn’t fit the neighborhood, he said.

The proposal is a huge jump from the number of homes that would be built under the current zoning, Mahler said. The area’s streets and schools won’t be able to handle the influx of residents, and the park land dedication serves as a substitute for the homes that won’t have a yard, he said.

Mahler said he sees the development as the equivalent of putting dense apartments in a single-family neighborhood.

“Let’s just call a spade a spade,” he said.