Bentonville council missed opportunity

I attended the Feb. 13 Bentonville City Council meeting and listened to the public comment, both in favor and against, and the discourse by the City Council on the rezoning request for the affordable housing project for employees of Bentonville schools. I was quite disappointed in the 4-3 vote against the request, not only because it was an open-and-shut case of appropriate zoning, but also because of the missed opportunity for the City Council to sign on to this unique, innovative and much-needed project.

The City Council could instead have been praised for helping preserve our highly functioning school system as the community continues its rapid growth. Any business with such growth struggles to maintain high standards, and the school board and the school leadership have worked tirelessly to do just that. That includes this plan to create a stronger pipeline for the recruitment of quality teachers and staff to educate our youth. It tells this vital workforce that they are welcome, that they are valued and that Bentonville takes care of its own.

The same message would have been extended to the others that could live in the development: firefighters, law enforcement, small-business owners, the job force at our larger businesses, etc. These are good neighbors to have, and they are even better for the community since these folks will grow even more invested in the place that they serve. The Bentonville Chamber of Commerce knows this, which is why they gave their full support to the project.

Yes, there are homeowners in the area who are concerned about traffic and flooding, as any homeowner would be. But there are at least two layers of oversight guarding against any negative impact: the Bentonville Planning Commission and the Bentonville Planning Department. Given their combined knowledge and expertise, the council could rest easy knowing that they were both overwhelmingly in favor of the project and would handle any issues that come up, as they are required to on all developments of this scale.

Add in the $25 million being brought by a coalition of philanthropic funding and long-standing government programs — both of which are specifically focused on the affordable housing mentioned in Project ARROW, the plan adopted by Bentonville early last year 7-1 — and you have a “win-win” situation for the council, the school district, the workforce and local businesses without having to spend a dime of the city’s money.

Bentonville has the opportunity to be leaders, heroes and trailblazers all in one go. This will be a national story of how one town stood up and rallied together to help the hard-working men and women who serve that community. By reconsidering its decision, the Bentonville City Council could be the ones to open the door to a brighter future for our children and families, We would all be grateful.

JEREMY GOUCHER Rogers