Fayetteville panel OKs initial plan for subdivision, rejects park land

Part of the request entailed what to do with a piece of green space just west of Bundrick Park. Project engineer Jason Appel with Engineering Services Inc. presented a plan during the commission’s Sept. 12 meeting to dedicate about 4 acres to the city as

FAYETTEVILLE — The city would be better off with $140,000 to use for park projects rather than having about 4 acres of mostly unusable land north of an incoming subdivision, the Planning Commission voted Monday.

Commissioners voted 9-0 to approve a preliminary plat, or layout, of a 60-acre parcel of land with 163 single-family lots near West Wedington Drive and North Heritage Avenue. The request pertained to the incoming Woodridge Hollow Subdivision. First Security Bank owns the land.

Part of the request entailed what to do with a piece of green space just west of Bundrick Park. Project engineer Jason Appel with Engineering Services Inc. presented a plan during the commission’s Sept. 12 meeting to dedicate about 4 acres to the city as park land.

The cost to the project’s developers without a parkland dedication was $140,760, which would go to the Parks Department, according to information from the city.

Commissioners asked Appel to come back with alternative plans. One of the new plans Appel presented Monday would add two more acres for park use and an extra $10,000 to pay for maintenance. Another plan would allow a separate portion of the land to be developed for a single-family house.

The Parks and Recreation Advisory Board reviewed the parkland dedication proposal in February and determined the area would not be suitable for a park. The area has steep hills with a ravine near Hamestring Creek to the north, Park Planner Ken Eastin said.

The area also would require an “inordinate” amount of maintenance, Eastin said, because of its numerous invasive plant species.

Commissioners also worried about access to the potential park and a lack of separation from surrounding streets.

Parks and Recreation Advisory Board member Wade Colwell spoke at Monday’s meeting, describing the 4 or so acres as unusable. The proposal had suggested using the space as an add-on to Bundrick Park.

Commissioner Ron Autry said he wanted to see the project move forward with its development, but questioned why the city would want to spend money on upkeep for a hillside and a ravine.

“What are you going to see when you get there? What are you going to enjoy when you get there?” he said.

Commissioner Tracy Hoskins recognized the value of more rugged, “passive” parks that feature more than flat land and playground equipment. But, he said, he wanted to see a plan more palatable to the Parks Department.

In other business, the commission voted 8-1 to vacate Jupiter Drive between South McGuire Street and Ball Street, just north of Van Asche Drive near the city of Johnson.

Commissioners approved vacating the street on the condition that a street connecting McGuire and Ball streets be a part of future development proposals. Commissioner Allison Thumond Quinlan was the sole no vote.

Jorgensen & Associates plans to develop the area, coinciding the city’s improvement of Van Asche from North Gregg Avenue to North Garland Avenue.