Planning Commission faces full agenda
The Planning Commission of Siloam Springs will have a busy Tuesday this week. An agenda published on the city website Friday morning contained eight items for consideration by the body.
First on the agenda is a lot split development permit that has been tabled since Nov. 14. The permit application has received opposition from neighbors of the lot, which is located in the Chattering Heights addition at 1147 West Jefferson Street. The application is to adjust one lot line and create another lot line that will split two lots that one house currently sits on into three lots.
According to a city staff report, the application was tabled because the applicant needed time to finalize changes to the neighborhood covenant. As of the writing of the staff report, the applicant was five signatures short of the majority needed to change the covenant.
The city has received six phone calls on the project, three of which were of a questioning nature, and the other three were in opposition to the permit. The city also received one office visit in opposition to the project. The opposition is on the grounds that the proposed lots do not conform to the size of the other lots in the area, the staff report said.
The staff report also said neighborhood covenants are not taken into consideration during the planning and zoning phase of a project because they are purely private and the city is not involved in them. The report said staff is in support of the application because it conforms to the zoning code of the area.
Next on the agenda is another lot split development permit. This permit was actually approved by the commission in July, but was never filed and is now considered expired. The lot is located at the 1000 block of Cheri Whitlock Drive. Both lots resulting from the split are proposed for commercial use.
The next two permits on the agenda are a lot split permit and corresponding rezoning development permit for 1803 Dawn Hill Road, which used to be part of the Aurora Gables addition, the preliminary plat permit for which has recently expired. No building permits have been filed for the property.
The next two permits are for Camp Siloam, which is a church camp on the south border of city limits. First, the camp is applying for rezoning from R-2 to G-I, which is the general institutional zone. The zoning request is a requirement for the camp’s second permit request: a significant development for the construction of a 30,000-square-foot dining hall.
The final rezoning permit application is for 471 South Lincoln Street from I-1 to C-2. The site is the current location of Iron Core Gym. The rezoning request was prompted by a business license request, according to the staff report.
Last on the agenda for commissioner’s approval is a significant development permit for the city of Siloam Springs, which is applying to construct an office and a hangar at Cecil Smith Field. The addition is related to an agreement that was approved last month for Skydive Skyranch. The improvement will be the first major addition to the airport since 2005, according to the staff report.
Commissioners will also hear two staff-approved lot consolidation permits that will not require a vote. One permit is for the Siloam Springs School District, and the other is for Camp Siloam.