Bella Vista council OKs 10 rezonings

BELLA VISTA — The City Council approved 10 rezoning applications during its Monday meeting.

All the parcels are owned by Cooper Communities, and nine are zoned P-1 conservation while the remaining parcel is zoned R-1 single-family residential. Seven applications requested a change to R-1 single-family residential, and three requested rezoning to C-1 light commercial. The majority are in the Highlands, with a few near the city’s border with Gravette.

One resident, Laurie LaDue, spoke during the public input session and aired concerns about one of the requests.

She lives near the parcel off Huntley Lane, near its intersection with Lancashire Boulevard. The request, which was approved, was to rezone the land from R-1 single-family residential to C-1 light commercial.

LaDue said she doesn’t want to see commercial development so close to her neighborhood.

“We didn’t look for a house by a shopping center,” she said.

Gene Groseclos, an attorney representing Cooper Communities, said he would like to see the rezonings approved quickly because, in some cases, property sales hinged on the applications.

“We think it’s the highest and best use,” he added.

Council member Larry Wilms said it’s important to understand any property owner has the right to petition for a rezoning for a property not a platted subdivision.

The council’s role is to ensure the requested zoning designation is compatible with the surrounding area and the city’s land use map, he said.

“That usage has to be compatible,” he said.

Any development plans for the lots will need to go through an approval process as well, he said, and commercial developments will have to go through the Planning Commission.

Council member Doug Fowler said the council needs to consider compatibility and the rezoning’s potential impact on traffic congestion, noise, crime and very few other factors.

It’s important the council not consider who the applicant is or specific plans for the property, he added.

Fowler said he worked to make sure he knows what he’s voting on and the requested zoning designations were appropriate.

“I drove by every single one. … I didn’t find one of them to be out of order,” he said.

The council also approved increasing the city’s procurement authority without going through competitive bidding from $20,000 to $35,000 in compliance with state law; amending the city budget to recognize over $24,000 in American Rescue Plan grant money for the public library; and a $102,474 contract to replace the roof on the building housing City Hall and Fire Station No. 1.

The council also discussed ordinances creating impact fees on new development and adjusting the city’s rules on open burning for the purpose of clearing lots.