Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Council tours Marinoni property
Rezoning of more than 100 acres sought to allow development
FAYETTEVILLE — The family who owns a wide patch of farmland south of the Interstate 49 interchange with Wedington Drive hopes the City Council will grant a request to rezone the property, ushering development at the site.
Council members on Monday toured about 112 acres south of where Marinoni and McMillan drives meet. The council will consider rezoning the land for the third and potentially final time at its meeting Jan. 5.
The land is zoned mostly for single-family homes up to four units an acre, but operated as a farm for more than 70 years.
A rezoning would change about 85 acres to an urban thoroughfare zone and 23 acres to a community services zone. Both zoning types are intended to provide goods and services to nearby communities, according to city code. Both allow a mix of commercial and residential uses.
Landowner Paula Marinoni said her family has been trying to develop the land for about 15 years. It’s been under contract nine times in the past, once for the whole farm, and other times for pieces, she said. Deals fell through because of complications with city planners or opposition from neighbors to the east, she said.
The request before the council is the first time a rezoning plan for the land has made its way to the Planning Commission and City Council. The request passed the Planning Commission with a 5-4 vote in November. Commissioners who supported the request said they agreed with Marinoni’s vision to serve the city with an area in which people could live, work, shop and play. Commissioners who opposed the request said they wanted to see a more detailed plan.
Marinoni said she wants to keep the request broad to entice a variety of potential suitors. The request falls in line with the city’s land use map, and the two zoning districts are newer ones the city created just for such a piece of land, she said.
“What this comes down to is we have a right to develop our property,” Marinoni said.
Neighbors who have spoken at City Council meetings on the rezone have expressed concern over increased traffic in the area. Some also have spoken about potential incompatibility of commercial development near a neighborhood and north of a natural area at Markham Hill.
Council Member Sonia Gutierrez said walking through the property, especially farther south past the farmland, helped her get a better understanding of the topography, streams and rock of that section. The southwest corner of the request is proposed as community services, but Gutierrez said she found it hard to envision anything other than a natural park there.
“The other area up against Wedington all makes total sense to me, but then as it gets up close to that hill, it gets really iffy,” she said.
Council Member Teresa Turk, whose ward includes the property, said she was thankful Marinoni granted the council access to the land. She said she got a sense for how close or far away neighbors are, and could see features not obvious on a map, such as natural drainage areas.
Turk said after seeing the site she still has concerns over compatibility, traffic and density of development.
“Walking the property just gave me a better understanding of the scale,” she said. “You can see it on paper and not quite get a feel for how big 112 acres is.”