City OKs commercial zoning along U.S. 71

A zoning change along U.S. Highway 71 near the state line drew concern during Monday night’s City Council meeting.

The most talked-about item on the agenda was the rezoning of 5 Bella Vista Way, owned by Pat Cooper, from residential (R1) to commercial (C-1).

A property zoned R-1 is designated for single family housing, while a C-1 property designation is for a neighborhood commercial district.

Allen Eckhart, who owns property near the property, voiced his concerns.

“I own a property that is immediately adjacent to this,” he said. “The changing from an R-1 to a C-1 is clearly very personal to me.”

He’s concerned, he said, that the vacant properties near it will become difficult to develop if there is a commercial property here.

While there has been talk of opening a bed and breakfast with this zoning, he said, other potential uses are cause for concern — he doesn’t want to live next to a Waffle House or McDonald’s, he said.

Additionally, he said, it’s a highly visible property near the city’s northern-most entrance, and a business placed there could affect the whole city’s image.

“I think we’re opening a door here that cannot be closed,” Eckhart said.

He asked the council to grant a variance, rather than a zoning change, allowing the property to be used as a bed and breakfast.

Chris Suneson, director of Community Development Services, said the city code does not allow for a variance on the land’s use.

“When we talk about a variance,” he said, “we’re addressing a physical limitation.”

The applicant, Gene Groseclos, is an attorney with Cooper Communities Inc. He’s representing the property’s owner, Pat Cooper.

“This property really is uniquely set with direct access onto 71,” he said. “No residential streets are utilized whatsoever.”

This property, he said, is already across the street from industrial property.

“It won’t increase the traffic noise that’s already there,” he said.

Moreover, he said, this has already been done in Bella Vista. There’s a bed and breakfast on Chelsea Road that is zoned C-1. This property, he said, has not been an issue.

The council voted 4-1 to skip to the third reading, with only alderman Becky Morgan opposing, then voted at 4-1 once

more, again with Morgan in opposition, to pass the ordinance.

Morgan said she voted against it because she wanted more opportunity for public discussion, and skipping to the third and final reading did not allow this.

“I won’t say I’m against it,” she said. “I voted against it because it skipped to the third reading.”

The agenda included appointing a member to the board of zoning adjustment to fill an expiring term, extending the community development department’s lease and authorizing the city to enter into a $64,870 contract to build an addition to the Street Department building.