Rogers panel approves rezone for apartments

ROGERS — The Planning Commission on Tuesday approved a rezoning for a 336-unit apartment complex despite concerns the development might be too large for the area.

Crafton Tull asked to rezone about 11 acres at the southwest corner of West Olive Street and North 40th Street from a mix of residential office and highway commercial to neighborhood commercial.

The property is across the street from Reagan Elementary School, and several residents expressed concern the development will result in increased traffic and be a safety hazard for children.

Resident Kathleen Davis told the commission she used to take her granddaughter to school at Reagan.

“The daily morning and afternoon traffic is just horrendous,” she said. “We’ve pulled her out this year. We’re not going to do that again. I think even a one-story anything with high density would just be a travesty to the city of Rogers and to Olive.”

Commission chairman Eriks Zvers said commissioners and/or city staff received more than 60 email opposing the rezone. About 10 people, including Benton County Justice of the Peace Carrie Perrien Smith, spoke against the rezone during Tuesday’s meeting. No one spoke in favor.

The land is adjacent to the Scottsdale Center, a shopping area Daniel Ellis of Crafton Tull said was half empty.

“I do think redevelopment will happen over time and this is a good place to start,” he said. City staff recommended approval of the rezone, granted plans would include a traffic circle at West Olive and 40th Streets, according to planning documents.

Commissioner Rachel Crawford said the apartments would create an appropriate buffer between single-family homes and commercial buildings. She added a traffic circle will ease traffic and reduce accidents.

“I think is probably the best thing we could bring to the Scottsdale center,” she said.

The commission considered tabling the request to give the applicant time to change it and cut 72 of the units. Ellis said his client wasn’t interested in modifying the request, leaving the commission with denying the request or accepting it, 336 units and all.

The request passed 7-2 with commissioners Crawford, Zvers, Kevin Jensen, Mandel Samuels, John Schmelzle, Tony Noblin and Mark Myers in favor and commissioners Don Spann and Dennis Ferguson opposed.

The commission also voted to allow Shadowbrooke at the Peaks to add 70 multifamily units on about 8 acres at the northeast corner of the South Kilimanjaro Way and West Everest Avenue.

The commission also approved a request by Hachem Investments to rezone about 3 acres northeast of the intersection of South Champions and St. Andrews Drives from residential office to uptown commercial mixed use zoning to allow a parking deck to be built there.