PG Planners approve development concepts

PRAIRIE GROVE — Prairie Grove planners gave their OK on Feb. 16 for developers to move ahead with concepts for two residential developments that, if approved, eventually would build out to a total of 689 units.

Larry Oelrich, city administrative assistant, explained to those at the meeting developers submit a concept plat to see if it is something the city might consider and approve in the future.

Approving a concept plat does not approve a subdivision, Oelrich said, but if there is a general agreement in favor of the concept plat, then the developer can move forward with plans to prepare a preliminary plat.

COPPER HILL CONCEPT PLAT

Jesse Fulcher with Rausch Coleman Homes first introduced his concept for a large planned unit development called Copper Hill PUD at the commission’s Jan. 12 meeting. The commission agreed to take the concept plat and look over it before the next meeting.

On Feb. 16, Fulcher told commissioners that Copper Hill would be located on an 80-acre property off Butler Road. He said Rausch Coleman wants to provide a variety of house sizes and a variety of price points within the neighborhood.

The proposed project has six residential planning areas. In all, the development calls for 599 units: 475 lots for single-family houses, 100 two-story townhouse units and 22 duplexes.

Along with residential units, the PUD would have two large park areas, one 3 acres and the other 1.25 acres, as well as a walking trail around an existing pond on the property.

The northern end of the development would have more of a traditional feel to it and mirror existing homes in the area, Fulcher said. Smaller lots will be located within the interior of the project. The northwest corner falls behind the backyards of existing homes so the plan is to keep that as a preserved area in respect for those neighbors.

Fulcher said Copper Hill is probably a 10-year project and it would be about two years before anyone would see a house on the project. House, townhouse and duplex sizes would range from 1,200 square feet to 2,600 square feet.

“When you look at the number of lots, it’s not something that’s going to fall on us tomorrow. You might see 50-60 lots developed 18 to 24 months from now. This is long term,” Fulcher said.

He also said he believes the development lines up with the city’s new comprehensive plan and is a compatible use for the location.

“I think these rooftops will support the commercial and industrial growth you’re planning to see there on Highway 62,” Fulcher said.

In addition, he said the new homes will support downtown businesses because the subdivision will be about 2,500 feet from the city’s downtown core.

Commissioner Brea Gragg

wondered if the city could dictate the timing of the phases or the number of houses built in each phase.

“As a young family, I love this,” Gragg said. “I think it provides something for everyone. But on the other end, and that’s our job here, I am concerned about the rate of growth.”

Commission member Lynn Gregson responded he did not want to place “handcuffs” on Rausch Coleman if the need was there for additional housing.

Oelrich said he would talk to the city attorney to see if conditions could be placed on the number of houses per phase as part of the planned unit development.

RESIDENTS EXPRESS CONCERNS

Some of the concerns expressed by people at the meeting included several who said they were not supportive of some projects built by Rausch Coleman in other cities in Northwest Arkansas and did not want to see such developments in Prairie Grove.

One woman wondered if the development would turn into a large-scale rental area.

“Are we ready for that?” she said, noting that Sundowner Estates has a lot of rental houses and there are problems with parking on the street. She said she had a little concern with an overflow of transient rentals happening in Prairie Grove.

Fulcher replied that if Rausch Coleman used some of the houses for rental property it would be on a smaller scale but he did not anticipate building any of the houses for rentals. He noted, however, that real estate companies might come in and purchase houses for the purpose of renting them.

Another man noted that, in his personal experience, smaller houses negatively impact the value of larger houses in a subdivision and that would be the case in the proposed Copper Hill development.

Gragg said she supports the project as a planned unit development because the city would have some control over the details of the project.

“This is a good, big lot in the middle of town,” Gragg said. “It’s going to be highly sought after whether you build it, they build it or we build it.”

Commission chairman J.C. Dobbs noted that the city wants controlled growth, as much as possible.

“We do our best to plan so it doesn’t encroach upon the neighbor’s property and it doesn’t harm someone else’s property values, keeps the aesthetics of that neighborhood the best it can,” Dobbs said. “At the end of the day, growth is coming, whether it be from Rausch Coleman, whether it be from Lindsey, Snyder. Growth is coming to Prairie Grove. We’re doing our best to manage it so the city can keep up and the school keep up.”

The commission unanimously voted in favor of the concept plan.

The vote was not unanimous for the concept plat for Parkwood Estates, a development on 20 acres off Parks Street adjacent to Prairie Grove United Methodist Church. The “ayes” had it but Gragg said “nay” on the motion to approve the concept plat.

The commission approved a preliminary plat for Parkwood about a year ago but in December engineer Ferdi Fouri submitted a new concept plat with 12 more units, from 78 to 90, for the property because of increased costs. The commission voted against this concept plat with several commissioners, including Gragg, saying they thought the density was too high.

In January, Fouri submitted another concept plat with very low density, nine single-family lots with about two acres per lot. This also was voted down because commissioners believed it did not fit with the city’s proposed land use plan for that area.

Fouri returned with both concept plats on Feb. 16 and said the developer was asking the commission to approve one of the concept plats but that the developer preferred the lower density proposal with the estate lots. Fouri said the developer believes the estate lots fit in with the other houses on the same side of the street.

After some discussion about both concepts, Gregson made the motion to approve the concept plat with the highest density. This concept proposes eight single-family lots and 41 townhouse lots with two townhouses per lot sharing a wall.

In other action, the commission approved a conditional use permit for a duplex in a B-2 zone at 10980 Brady Road at the request of Morris Lawson.