Council amends amendment on accessory structures
The Bella Vista City Council approved an amendment to its regulations on accessory buildings and discussed swing sets during its regular meeting Monday, April 23.
The amendment was originally proposed last fall and was sent to the planning commission for input earlier this year. With those suggestions accepted, the amended regulations now use the corners of the primary building to determine the front plane instead of the front door. Additionally, the front plane is now drawn based on distance from the road to account for curvilinear streets and that same setback is applied to accessory buildings on adjoining lots.
Councilman Jim Wozniak proposed an amendment to the amendment to allow a second accessory building on a neighboring lot if there is one on the primary lot. With this adjustment, he said, someone who has built a shed behind his house can now put up a structure on an adjoining lot he owns.
Councilman Doug Fowler said he agreed that this could help residents. A structure on the primary lot, he said, could be very small but it would still preclude the resident from using an extra lot. This adjustment, he said, could allow another structure for residents who have acquired things they need to store.
“I think it’s a great add,” he said.
The council voted unanimously in favor of this amendment to the amendment and passed the adjustments to accessory building regulations.
Additionally, the council further discussed an amendment to the city’s nuisance code to permit trampolines and playgrounds on a property’s front yard under certain conditions.
Bella Vista resident Dennis
Blind came to address the council on this topic. Blind said he received complaints after placing a swing set in his front yard and would like to see the city’s regulations clarified because, currently, the code states that people shall “refrain” from placing playground equipment in the front yard and offers no clear designation of what does and does not constitute playground equipment.
Moreover, he said, “refrain” is not a very clear word and leaves an excess of wiggle room.
Councilwoman Linda Lloyd said that, after some thought, she’d like to consider changes to this proposal.
“I brought this forward and, after thinking about it myself, I would not like a trampoline in the front yard regardless of topography,” Lloyd said.
Instead, Lloyd said, she’d like to define playground equipment as something larger than eight-by-eight feet. This would prevent slides and trampolines, she said, while permitting swingsets for children.
Currently, she said, a glider chair is permitted in a front yard but a swing for children is not.
Councilman Frank Anderson said his primary concern is bright colors.
“You see it in a lot of areas that it’s totally orange,” he said. “I’m not sure that’s really appropriate in the front yard in Bella Vista.”
“I just think you’re opening Pandora’s box here and one thing will lead to another,” he said.
The council also approved changes to zoning regulations for civic uses, accepting easements for new sections of trail, a lease agreement for new desktop computers, financial policies and street resurfacing.