Commission OKs Wall of Honor expansion plan

BELLA VISTA — The Planning Commission examined a large scale development to expand the Veterans Wall of Honor facility and a rezone for a parcel along Chelsea Road for the Hole in the Wall campground.

Senior planner Derek Linn said the Veterans Wall expansion also has an attached waiver removing the normal time limit to complete work on the project.

Typically, large scale developments are required to obtain all permits within six months of acceptance, but the nonprofit organization developing this facility would like to be able to develop as money becomes available, he said.

The proposed addition would expand the facility to the east, with walkways, additional walls, spaces dedicated to different branches of the military, and a retired military aircraft on display.

Staff recommended approval with conditions, including addressing staff comments, obtaining a flood plain development permit and an engineer stamped foundation for the proposed airplane display.

Chairman Daniel Ellis, who works for the applicant, Crafton Tull, said he’ll abstain from discussion and voting on the matter.

Barry Williams with Crafton Tull said the project will work nicely in phases and updated plans will address staff comments.

“We are proud to bring this to you,” he said.

It could take several years for this project to be completed, he added.

A rezoning application for the 11.97-acre Hole in the Wall campground property at 581 Chelsea Road requests to change the parcel from R-1 single-family residential to C-2 commercial, in which a recreational community center would be allowed.

Ellis said the commission will take a vote and make a recommendation, but ultimate acceptance or denial of the application comes down to the City Council. The commission’s decision needs to be based on the full schedule of uses and not the specific intended use of the applicant, he added.

The Hole in the Wall business opened in 2018 and was considered a nonconforming use because of some confusion over whether the land was in the city or county. The property had been annexed in 2016 but the city’s paperwork wasn’t filed with the county.

In 2019, the city ended this compromise and began enforcing R-1 residential zoning because evidence it gathered suggested the property owners were aware the land was in the city, though the property owners argued this was untrue and there were no misrepresentations on their part.