Farmington Commission Approves 82-Lot Subdivision

FARMINGTON — With the approval of the preliminary plat for a new single-family subdivision, the city of Farmington now has 11 new subdivisions in play, with some almost finished, some under construction and others in the beginning stages.

Farmington Planning Commission last week approved the preliminary plat for Hillcrest Subdivision, which will be located on the west side of Highway 170 between

Sunrise Lane and the sharp curve across from the turnoff to Garland McKee Road.

Nick Limbird owns the property, and Jorge Du Quesne with Blew & Associates engineering firm of Fayetteville represented the owner at the commission’s Aug. 24 virtual meeting, held through the Zoom app. At one time, 40 people were signed into the app for the meeting.

The subdivision will have 82 residential lots on 35 acres. The property is zoned R- 1, which requires a minimum lot size of 10,000 square feet.

Other ongoing subdivisions in Farmington include Redbird and Wagon Wheel Crossing on Double Springs Road, Engels at the Mill near Folsom Elementary School, Wingate on Rheas Mill Road, Farmington Heights (Phases 1 and 2) on West Sellers Road and Cedar Crest off Broyles Avenue.

Melissa McCarville, city business manager, opened the public hearing on the preliminary plat with a statement to correct information that apparently was being shared

about the property in the community.

McCarville said the property is not a part of the golf course but is adjacent to it. She also said the proposal was not a multi- family development as some people believed but was for single-family homes as required by an R-1 zone.

Residents living along the golf course property in Valley View Estates addressed the commission with concerns about drainage from the development because of flooding that already occurs on streets from storm water that drains off the pasture land.

City Engineer Chris Brackett with Olsson Associates of Fayetteville said water does drain on the property toward the golf course. The development will have two detention ponds and both are located near the golf course because of the drainage flow, Brackett said.

He noted that the owner is not required to fix existing downstream drainage but plans have to show drainage from the subdivision will not exceed pre-development flows. Brackett said the development’s drainage plan met this criteria.

Michael Gaudern, who lives on Bear Drive in Valley View Estates, said he believes bigger drainage issues need to be addressed before the property is developed.

“We have a lot of flooding issues,” Gaudern said. “The water flows so fast and is so deep that children could be swept away.”

Gaudern said he’s watched the water come across the field during rain events and has talked to Farmington officials about it, “and no one will listen to us.”

Commission Chairman Robert Mann advised Gaudern to go to the City Council about flooding issues, saying the Planning Commission is not the body to address such concerns.

Mayor Ernie Penn, who attended the meeting in-person, said the drainage issues are part of the development of the golf course before the land was annexed into the city. Penn said city officials have met with the owner of the golf course with some flooding solutions but the owner did not want to do anything.

Commission member Judy Horne asked if the developer could make the detention ponds deeper to help with flooding that now occurs.

Brackett responded that making the ponds deeper wouldn’t help but the ponds could be made larger. Such a decision would have to be made by the developer, Brackett told Horne.

Sharon Ibarra, president of Valley View Estates Property Owners Association, said at least 50 people had voted that they were opposed to the development. She said she believes others in Valley View would also be opposed to it but she only had a couple of days to talk to people about the proposal.

In answer to other questions from Valley View residents, Brackett said the development would have to have a property owners association to take care of the detention ponds when the subdivision is finished.

The subdivision will not be connected to Valley View Estates but will have access from Highway 170 only.

The project will include five- foot- wide sidewalks along Highway 170 fronting the property, as required by city zoning laws, but the commission approved allowing the owner to pay fees in lieu of installing curb and gutter along the highway.

In addition, the developer will have to pay $49,200 in fees in lieu of dedicating land for a public park. The fee is based on $600 per lot.

The developer also is required to pay sewer access fees to the city of Prairie Grove, $1,100 per lot. Proof of this payment is required before construction can begin. The subdivision will be part of the Valley View sewer system, which now is connected to Prairie Grove’s sewer system.