Development Gets OK For Highway 62

PROJECT INCLUDES OFFICE BUILDING, STORAGE UNITS

FARMINGTON — Farmington Planning Commission approved all three requests last week that go along with a plan for a new retail/ office building on Main Street and storage units on the property behind it.

Scott Busch with Holland House Holdings requested a conditional use permit on appeal for a residential dwelling in a C-2 zone and a variance to the front setback requirement for the retail/office building.

The Commission also approved his large-scale development plan, with the agreement the developer meets all conditions outlined in a letter from city engineer Chris Brackett with Olsson Associates of Fayetteville.

No one from the public made any comments about the requests.

Joey Ingle with Sand Creek Engineering and Landscape Architecture in Bentonville addressed the Commission on behalf of Busch, who also attended the meeting.

Holland House Holdings proposes to build a two-story structure at 277 E. Main St., with about 4,500 square feet on each floor. This address now is occupied by the business Holden Buildings.

The plan calls for one-half of the building’s first floor to be used as retail space and the other

half will serve as an office for the storage unit business, called Vault Self-Storage. The second floor will be used as a residence for the office manager.

By allowing a residential dwelling as a conditional use permit, the Commission would be able to put its own conditions in place, said City Attorney Steve Tennant.

His one concern was that a family with children does not live in the building because of its proximity to the highway.

“This is the last thing we want to see is a lot of kids getting out on the highway,” Tennant said.

Other city staff indicated by letter they were not opposed to the requests. City Business Manager Melissa McCarville and Rick Bramall, building inspector, were both absent from the meeting but provided written comments on the requests.

Commissioner Jay Moore wondered what would happen if the city received complaints after someone has been living in the building for a couple of months.

Tennant replied that if there was a safety issue, the city would address it. Busch will have to renew the conditional use on appeal each year.

Ingle said the owner was requesting a front setback variance of 28 feet because of the odd layout of the property and that frontage was lost when the Arkansas Transportation Department widened U.S. Highway 62. He said parking would be behind the building and the front would be landscaped.

Commission member Gerry Harris said she supported the plan to have parking in the back. Harris wondered if the Planning Commission should revisit how it wants Main Street to look. She noted that driving through Farmington, it is one parking lot after another.

Mayor Ernie Penn also told the panel he likes parking behind the building, not in front of it. He said a front setback variance would allow the business to be closer to the highway for visibility.

“I think we should make an exception for this project. I think it could be great addition to our city,” Penn said.

Brackett said he thought the variance was a special circumstance because of the wide ditch along the highway.

The large scale development plan shows the property has about 10 acres and goes from Main Street back to Old Farmington Road. The project has four storage-unit structures to be built in phases. Phase 1 is a 30,000-square-foot building. The other buildings range from 18,200 square feet to 35,000 square feet. A driveway to the west of the office/retail will be used for customers to access the storage units.

Busch said the development would have more than 600 storage units when it is finished. Units would be different sizes and would include space for travel trailers.

The property also includes the older white, two-story house at 275 Old Farmington Road. Busch said the project does not call for any changes to the house at this time. A workshop behind the two-story house will be torn down, along with a pavilion on the property. A small pond will be expanded to help with drainage for the commercial development.