Commission seeks to keep spaces open

Plan would strategically protect natural areas as region grows

ROGERS —The public got its first glimpse at a draft of a nature- focused plan for Northwest Arkansas on Wednesday.

Wednesday was the public launch of the draft of the Northwest Arkansas Open Space Plan, said Elizabeth Bowen, project manager at the Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission. The commission and Alta Planning + Design started working on the plan in January, said Jason Reyes, associate planner for Alta.

The Friends of the Library Community Room was set up with maps and information on display Wednesday. People sat in rows of chairs and listened to a presentation by Reyes and looked at slides on a screen.

Copies of the draft and appendix sat on a table. Both were dated September 2015. The draft plan has four chapters and 110 pages with text, maps, photos and graphs.

The plan covers Benton and Washington Counties, Bowen said. It’s about making natural areas available to residents. She mentioned national parks, state parks, city parks and cultural sites, such as War Eagle Mill, as examples of open spaces.

“It’s what makes Northwest Arkansas appealing to all of us,” she said.

Open spaces can increase

property values, attract visitors, help with water quality, provide opportunities for physical activity and provide natural habitats for wildlife, according to the draft plan.

The plan was paid for with a $ 350,000 grant from the Walton Family Foundation, Bowen said. Reyes said they plan to have the draft online at nwaopenspace.com by Friday.

Bruce Pertle, who lives outside Rogers, attended one of the two presentations on Wednesday. He said he thinks the process is “a positive step forward.”

Pertle explained he’s lived in multiple urban areas. He said he saw the effect of the lack of long range planning for nature.

Reyes said now is the time to be strategic about open space while the region is growing.

Reyes spoke about a possible open space committee, as part of the commission, to work on an open space program. He said people would be able to nominate projects.

Sales tax would be an option for paying for the program, Reyes said. He spoke about the options of a ¼ cent sales tax and a 1/8 cent sales tax. He said a tax for Washington and Benton Counties together would be the ideal approach.

Reyes also said the tax could exclude certain items if needed. A ballot measure for this for fall 2016 would be an option.

Voter approved bonds, “project- by- project basis” and a “city-by-city” sales tax were also noted in the draft as possible funding methods.

There have been multiple public meetings so far in the plan process, Reyes said. Wednesday’s presentations were the eighth meeting. The other seven meetings have been held in Fayetteville, Bentonville, Garfield, Springdale, Prairie Grove, Gentry and Siloam Springs, according to the draft.

Bowen said they hope to have the final plan available for public comment in November. They want the commission to approve and adopt it by February 2016.