Council OKs Mixed Use Development

FARMINGTON — Council members last week unanimously adopted an ordinance to add a new zoning designation that allows mixed use on undeveloped property, and approved an emergency clause so the measure takes effect immediately.

The ordinance amends the city’s zoning regulations to add a Planned Unit Development zoning district to provide for developments that may incorporate residential, commercial and others such as a single unit.

This zone will be another zoning district available in the city, along with others, such as R-1, R-2, C-1, highway commercial and multi-family zones.

Council member Keith Lipford said he had only one concern. The ordinance sets the minimum area for a PUD zone as four acres. Lipford said he thought four acres seemed very small for a planned unit development.

Lipford noted that Harber Meadows in Springdale was used as an example of a successful PUD during discussions about the ordinance. Harber Meadows is 100 times the size of a four-acre PUD, Lipford said.

Lipford said he would “trust the process” and vote for the ordinance.

Mayor Ernie Penn said he believes any developers interested in requesting a PUD zone would be looking at a much larger piece

of property. Penn also invited council members to attend Planning Commission meetings on any future developments. He said the commission is very thorough when considering development plans that come before the city.

City Attorney Steve Tennant, who was absent from the Sept. 9 meeting, has explained in previous meetings that the city and developer will have an agreement on how the land will be used for a Planned Unit Development zoning district. Once the agreement is finalized and approved by both the Planning Commission and City Council, the plan cannot be changed by the developer or any future owners of the property, unless it goes back through the process.

A developer in requesting land to be rezoned to a PUD must submit the request and the design plans at the same time to the Planning Commission.

The regulations for a PUD district are presented in a 12-page document that details general eligibility and comment period.

Billy Carter, who lives on Bethel Blacktop Road, thanked Penn and City Council members for speaking out against a proposal for a commercial development on Bethel Blacktop just outside the city limits. The plan was turned down by Washington County Quorum Court after several meetings.

Two residents who live near Creekside Park asked the city to be mindful that expansions to Creekside Park will bring in more traffic and people, which may require a larger police presence. One of the men, Michael Compton, talked about ongoing problems with trash and vandalism in the area. Another, Steve Fischer, asked if the city had discussed how it would police the area.

Mitchell Pearce, who lives on Clubhouse Parkway in Valley View Estates subdivision, asked the City Council to consider approaching the owner of the Golf Course at Valley View about leasing the course and “improving that situation out there.” He wondered if the idea was something the council would entertain.