Permit for treatment facility denied

Washington County officials reject appeal after neighbors voice opposition

FAYETTEVILLE — Washington County officials on Thursday rejected an appeal from a residential treatment facility seeking to operate in a residential area near Beaver Lake.

The Quorum Court voted 8-4 to uphold the county Planning Board’s denial of a conditional use permit for the EagleCrest Recovery facility near Beaver Lake.

A conditional use permit for the EagleCrest Recovery facility, a proposed residential addiction treatment center at 19965 Lakeview Road, was rejected by the Planning Board at its January meeting. The request had been tabled at the board’s December meeting.

The EagleCrest Recovery facility is already operating on about 3 acres of land northeast of Springdale. According to information from the county’s Planning Department, the residential treatment facility is licensed by the state and can house up to 15 people and have from two to five staff members present. The facility uses three residences already on the property.

Neighbors raised concerns during the meeting over safety, saying they have already had residents of the treatment facility leaving the grounds and trespassing on their properties. Concerns over safety on the narrow roads in the area and the increased traffic generated by the facility were also voiced. The neighbors also said a for- profit business is not compatible with the long-established residential character of the area.

Residents of a neighborhood west of Fayetteville were disappointed in their hopes for another hearing in their effort to block the Hunt- Rogers quarry near their homes.

County Judge Patrick Deakins said the county “made some very big missteps” in telling residents an appeal of the large-scale development plans for the quarry would be heard by the Quorum Court. Deakins said such appeals are decided by the county judge, under county ordinances, and apologized the those in the public who were told otherwise.

At its Sept. 29 meeting, the Planning Board voted 3-2 in

favor of a motion to recommend approval of a conditional use permit to add about 107 acres to the Farmington Quarry operation at 15557 Hamestring Road. The motion needed four affirmative votes to pass, according to Brian Lester, county attorney, which meant the permit application died and had to be refiled with the county’s Planning Department or appealed to the Quorum Court.

The board’s vote was appealed to the Quorum Court, and at their Nov. 17 meeting, justices of the peace voted 10-2, with two abstentions, on the appeal and approved the conditional use permit.

The Washington County Planning Board voted 5-2 to approve the preliminary large-scale development plans for the quarry expansion at its January meeting. A number of residents of the area, west of Fayetteville and north of Wedington Drive, attended Thursday’s meeting to voice ongoing complaints about the company’s operations.

Several residents spoke during the public comment portion of Thursday’s meeting, indicating they still oppose the quarry operation. The residents complained that the company has failed to abide by previously agreed upon limits to the business, including limits on blasting, on hours of operation and on controlling trucks hauling material from the quarry.

A group of residents has organized as the NWA Citizen’s Alliance for Property Rights and filed an appeal of the county’s decision in Washington County Circuit Court alleging the county failed to follow the procedures set out in the county’s zoning ordinance. The group filed an amended complaint with the court March 13 and is asking the court to retroactively deny the conditional use permit.

Also Thursday, the Quorum Court unanimously approved a conditional use permit for the Greenland Business Park. According to information from the county’s Planning Department, the Greenland Business Park is proposed for about 76 acres of land located at 10175 Webb Way, east of Interstate 49. The business park would use about 35 acres of the total.

According to the permit application, the business park could include as many as 34 new buildings with each being about 10,000 square feet in size. The permit application indicated the project would be designed for “light commercial” uses, which could include HVAC, electrical, drywall, flooring, cabinet shop and various other trades. The entire development could have as many as 204 employees.