District Court could be ready Jan. 1

N The proposal calls for the city to lease space near Community Development Services’ office.

The City Council looked at establishing a Bella Vista District Court Department and regulation for accessory structures during its Monday work session.

Mayor Peter Christie unveiled the earliest incarnation of a timeline that could guide the city to having an operational district court around Jan. 1, 2017.

While exact costs are not calculated, he said, it’s already looking like this could save money compared to paying to use Bentonville’s court facility.

“The preliminary look at things suggests that we could run our court a lot cheaper than $15,000 a month,” he said. That amount is what Bentonville District Court was going to start charging Bella Vista.

The agenda suggests the council move to third and final reading on the ordinance establishing the court, in order to expedite this process.

Staff attorney Jason Kelley said that the current ordinance is simply a framework and will not cost the city anything just yet.

“This just creates the skeleton structure that we need to get some things done,” Kelley said.

The council also looked at a resolution to authorize leasing a space for the court. The proposed space would be in 612 W. Lancashire Blvd., in the same plaza as Community Development Services and Duffer’s Cafe. The lease starts May 1.

The space in question is 4,272 square feet, and rent will be $4,150 per month. This would be done with a 3-year lease, Christie said, which assures a more affordable rate than signing on for a single year. Additionally, he said, it’s unlikely the city will be able to move the court facility particularly soon after setting it up.

In order to make this space usable for court, he said, the city has some building to do.

Aldermen looked at a set of regulations aimed at accessory structures. Alderman Linda Lloyd said she would be presenting an amendment at the regular meeting to clarify

rules regarding structures on adjacent lots.

The proposed ordinance does not allow an accessory structure on the primary lot if there is an accessory structure on the adjacent lot. Her amendment specifies that the adjacent lot is under common ownership. Without this clarification, she said, a next door neighbor with a shed could prevent someone from building an accessory structure of their own lot.

“It’s just clarifying that it’s on lots that I own,” she said.

Alderman Doug Fowler said this ordinance is not a decision to make lightly. The city needs to decide how strict it really wants to be, he said, and right now there’s very little regulation on what people can build.

People in Bella Vista, he said, often have boats or RVs and it’s natural they’d need a place to store them, but if that storage proves

an eyesore it can affect neighbors’ ability to sell homes.

“The other residents in this neighborhood, you know, they have to live with this,” Fowler said.

The council also discussed an ordinance to establish the Advertising and Promotion Commission, which will have its third and final reading at the April 24 regular meeting.

Christie said the commission’s start date will be Sept. 1.

“This is the basic nuts and bolts just to get us started,” he said.

Lloyd said the Bella Vista Business Association board voted in favor of supporting the commission.

The council also discussed purchasing new tablets for ambulances, accepting state funds to help with the project to pave Cedar Crest Drive,

regulation for portable storage containers and a pair of lot splits.