Judge favors Fayetteville on rezoning

Markham Hill development can proceed after appeal fails

FAYETTEVILLE — Work could begin soon to develop the eastern side of Markham Hill following a judge’s ruling Wednesday.

Washington County Circuit Judge Doug Martin sided with the city in a nonjury trial over last year’s rezoning of the 144-acre property west of the University of Arkansas campus. A resident, Rob Karas, appealed the City Council’s decision to rezone.

The open acreage on the hill has Pratt Place Inn and Barn and is on the state register of historic places. A Tudor-style cottage built in 1929 is on the national register. The rest of the wooded acreage features wildlife, streams, rock formations and trails. Ownership of the property had stayed along the lineage of the Pratt, Markham and Archer families since the early 1900s, until Specialized Real Estate bought the property three years ago in a bankruptcy sale.

City Attorney Kit Williams argued the council followed the recommendations

of planning staff and the Planning Commission, both of which supported the rezoning. Council members also heard from the public and developer before making the decision. The burden was on the appellant to provide evidence the council acted arbitrarily, he said.

“If they can’t rely upon all the statements that were made to them about this, then what can they rely on?” Williams said.

Specialized most likely will start building single-family homes planned along Markham Road first, said Sarah King, head of marketing and outreach. Passersby can expect to see construction happening over the next two years, with trees continuing to serve as a buffer along the road, she said.

“They’re very traditional-style or Ozark vernacular homes,” King said. “That existing neighborhood has a great mix of architectural styles, and I think that mix will be reflected in the homes that will be in the first phase.”

The group is working on how the homes on the western side will be amassed, and detailed designs for the hotel and commercial pieces at the top of the hill, she said.

Alex Shirley, representing Karas, said the council

had no rational basis to say the proposal was compatible with the surrounding neighborhood. The planned zoning district’s intense commercial uses would have a disparate impact on the community, and the council provided no evidence to the contrary, he said.

“By definition, this was an arbitrary and capricious decision that was based on what City Council members felt at the time,” Shirley said.

Martin said Williams presented a thorough argument and indisputable case law. The legal standard was a difficult one to overcome, he said.

“There’s no way that I can say the City Council had no rational basis to enact this legislation,” Martin said.

The City Council unanimously approved two requests to rezone Markham Hill in October. One request was to change the planned zoning district at the top of the hill. Specialized presented plans for more than 5,000 square feet of event space, 12,000 feet of restaurant and commercial space, 80 hotel rooms and 43 homes.

The second request rezoned the rest of the hill from a purely single-family zone to one allowing a variety

of housing types at a higher density, with 44 acres left as a preserve. Specialized agreed to a 476-unit cap on the residential development.

Martin dismissed Karas’ appeal of the rezoning for the rest of the hill in March. Williams argued at the time Karas hadn’t filed the appeal within 30 days of the council’s decision, per state law. The council meeting was Oct. 2, with the appeal filed Nov. 29. Martin granted the city’s request to dismiss the appeal on that zoning decision.