HomeMy WebLinkAbout2005-03-17 - MinutesMINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE
SUBDIVISION COMMITTEE
A regular meeting of the Subdivision Committee was held on March 17, 2005 at 8:30
a.m. in room 219 of the City Administration Building, 113 W. Mountain, Fayetteville,
Arkansas.
ITEMS CONSIDERED ACTION TAKEN
LSP 05-1422 & 05-1423 (Brewer, pp 526) Approved
Page 2
PPL 05-1408 (Cherry Hills Subdivision, pp 282/243) Tabled
Page 5
LSD 05-1416:
(Bedford Apartments, Campus Properties, pp 520)
Page 22
Approved
MEMBERS PRESENT MEMBERS ABSENT
Loren Shackelford
Jill Anthes
Candy Clark
STAFF PRESENT STAFF ABSENT
Suzanne Morgan
Brent O'Neal
Jeremy Pate
Subdivision Committee
March 17, 2005
Page 2
LSP 05-1422 & LSP 05-1423: Brewer Tract A & B, pp 526 was submitted by Bill
Rudasill for property located at 7 Happy Hollow Road. The property is zoned RSF-4,
Residential Single Family, four units per acre and contains approximately 0.81 acres and
0.69 acres. The request is to split the two tracts into four tracts of 0.41, 0.40, 0.41 and
0.28 acres.
Anthes: Good morning. Welcome to the Thursday, March 17th meeting of the
Subdivision Committee of the Fayetteville Planning Commission. Today
is Loren Shackelford's last day at Subdivision. I want to thank you for six
years of service to our Commission. It has been an honor for me to serve
as Chair for the past year but today I am going to pass that to Candy who
will take over starting this meeting.
Clark:
Pate:
That means be gentle. I have learned a lot from both of you and
appreciate your tillage on the Subdivision Committee. Planning
Commission has run much smoother because of the work that we do here.
Now that we have gotten that out of the way, the first item on our agenda
is LSP 05-1422 and LSP 05-1423. Would the participants come forward?
Is there anybody here for Brewer Lot Split? Seeing none, we can hear it
without an applicant.
These two requests I've put together. They are adjacent properties. Back
in December, 2003 the Planning Commission granted approval to the
same applicant to split a larger tract of approximately 1 % acres into two
tracts of .81 and .69 acres. These two tracts are now being requested to be
split essentially in half. The reason for that is that before, in December,
2003 there was not sewer in the general vicinity for this area. With the
approval of the Cliffside PZD directly to the east there will be sewer
extensions with that development which will allow for sewer to be
extended to this particular piece of property and thereby be able to have
smaller lots without septic systems in this area. The applicant has two
requests and they do need to be voted on separately. Tract A is requested
to be split into 0.41 acres and .40 acres and Tract B, which is directly
south, is requested to be split into two tracts of .41 and .28. All of which
do meet the RSF-4 bulk and area requirements. The right of way has been
dedicated with the previous Lot Split for this property. Public water is
available along Happy Hollow Road. As I mentioned, access to city sewer
is not currently available and both of the Lot Splits are contingent upon
city sewer being extended to serve these lots. Staff is recommending
approval of both LSP 05-1422 and 1423 with five conditions of approval.
The owner/developer shall extend a public sewer main to serve the created
tracts prior to filing the Lot Splits. Lot Split approval and recording is
contingent upon the extension of sewer to serve the proposed lots. The
owner/developer and surveyor are aware of these requirements and the
sewer line extension has been shown on the plans. None of the conditions
I believe are any surprise to them. Item number two, no structure shall be
Subdivision Committee
March 17, 2005
Page 3
permitted to encroach in the utility easements. There is a Targe electric
easement running east/west to the north of Tract B1 so they will have to
stay out of that. Item number three, there will be additional parks fees
necessary and item number four, Lots Al and B2 were the lots on which
the existing homes sit now already have an existing access drive and staff
is merely stating a condition that they shall not have any additional access
drives onto Happy Hollow Road, which is a collector street.
O'Neal: Just going over this plat I noticed that the scale is incorrect and there are a
few minor problems with some overlapping text.
Clark: Is the applicant for the Brewer Lot Splits with us yet? Do you want to
introduce yourself and tell us about your project?
Rudasill: I'm Bill Rudasill with WBR Engineering representing Mr. Mark Brewer
and Brewer, Inc. on these tract splits. Currently he has two lots that he is
planning to split into two more. The Cliffside development is occurring
across the street which is bringing sewer to that area which is why he is
planning to split two more lots off. That is the basics.
Clark:
Is there anyone in the audience who would like to address the Brewer Lot
Splits? Seeing no one from the public I will bring it back to the
Committee.
Shackelford: Madam Chair, you might let Engineering address with the applicant what
changes they would like to see on the plat.
O'Neal:
I just noticed that the bar scale does not coincide with the scale of the
drawing. That just needs to be clarified what the scale is. There are a
couple of minor items that have some overlapping text that make it
difficult to read.
Rudasill: We can clean that up.
Clark: Does anybody have anything else?
MOTION:
Shackelford: We are looking at basically splitting a piece of property into two smaller
tracts to allow two homes where one was originally approved. The
justification for that is there is now city sewer. That is a better situation
for everybody involved to have two houses on sewer rather than one on
septic. I am going to make a motion that we approve LSP 05-1422 at the
Subdivision Committee level based on all staff comments and the stated
four conditions of approval.
Subdivision Committee
March 17, 2005
Page 4
Anthes: Second.
Clark:
MOTION:
I agree.
Shackelford: I will make the same motion regarding LSP 05-1423 based on the same
comments.
Anthes: I will second that as well.
Clark: Thank you. I will concur.
Subdivision Committee
March 17, 2005
Page 5
PPL 05-1408: Cherry Hills Subdivision, pp 282/243) was submitted by McClelland
Engineers for property located at the west side of Hughmount Road north of Lierly Lane.
The property is in the Planning Area and contains approximately 75.85 acres. The
request is to approve a Preliminary Plat for a residential subdivision with 202 lots
proposed.
Clark:
Morgan:
The next item on the agenda is PPL 05-1408 for Cherry Hill Subdivision.
Can we have the staff report?
This subject property contains approximately 75.85 acres. It is located
west of Hughmount Road and north of Mt. Comfort Road. The proposal is
to create a 202 lot subdivision with 200 single family homes. One of these
additional two lots contains a lift station and the other is the location of a
community septic treatment area. This property is located in the Planning
Area and is currently undeveloped. With regard to development in the
Planning Area, this property is also within one mile of the city limits and I
have noted here in the staff report the different regulations and
requirements the city can address when reviewing these subdivisions of
land. These include appropriate division of land, review of this, lot area a
minimum of 10,000 sq.ft., lot width, a minimum of 75'. In addition, we
do review right of way dedication and conformance with the Master Street
Plan. We review the impact of traffic, on and offsite improvements to
reduce a dangerous traffic situation, grading and drainage as well as
construction of streets, sidewalks and installation of streetlights in
compliance with ordinance requirements. In addition, we also look at
septic system approval from the Arkansas Health Department for lots less
than 1.5 acres and street connectivity. With regard to surrounding land
use and zoning, all of the surrounding properties are within the Planning
Area and consist of large single family properties. With regard to water
and septic system, water will be extended to serve the proposed
development. With regard to septic system, the applicant is proposing lots
that are approximately 10,000 sq.ft. in size with each to utilize a
community septic system. The treatment for this system is located
adjacent to floodway and floodplain on Hughmount Road to the south of
the property. The applicant has submitted a letter from the Little Rock,
Arkansas Health Department office confirming the size of the field is
adequate to serve the subdivision based on loading rates. However, prior
to the Planning Commission consideration, staff has talked with the
Arkansas Health Department and determined that we will need a letter
from a private soil scientist verifying that the test pits indicate adequate
soils for the intended use as well as a letter from the Washington County
Environmental Services Department verifying approval of the soil tests
and location as preliminary approval. This information, again, these three
items will need to be provided before we can take this to Planning
Commission. One of which has been provided and is included in your
staff report. Adjacent Master Street Plans include Hughmount Road,
Subdivision Committee
March 17, 2005
Page 6
which is a collector street. Right of way 35' from centerline is proposed
to be dedicated in conformance with the Master Street Plan. With regard
to internal streets, they are shown at both 50' and 40' rights of way. Staff
does anticipate, we have looked over all of the streets and the proposed
widths for these and staff does anticipate that Golden Willow Drive and
Cotton Willow Drive, which lines the treatment area to the south, will
carry larger volumes of vehicle traffic, more than what will occur on a 40'
right of way, which is 500 vehicle trips per day. Especially with
development to the south and we do recommend that that be revised to a
50' right of way. With regard to connectivity, connectivity from this
subdivision is proposed in all cardinal directions. However, this property
is very large and is adjacent to several larger tracts of undeveloped
property. Therefore, staff is recommending additional street stub outs to
the east and west for future connectivity and have addressed that in the
conditions of approval on condition number two. Doing so will also result
in smaller block lengths which will discourage potential high speed traffic
and reduce potential dangerous traffic situations. With regard to street
improvements, subject to an ordinance passed on December 21, 2004, the
city does require that all subdivisions within the Planning Area that are
within one mile of the city limits to conform to our street standards. Staff
recommends standard street improvements from the centerline of
Hughmount Road for the entire length of the subject property as well as
construction of all interior streets to city standards. Staff has evaluated the
width of Hughmount Road and the offsite bridge to the south and found
them to be of sufficient width and condition to sustain the traffic that will
be generated by this development. Staff does, however, recommend
improvements to the "Y" intersection of Mount Comfort and Wheeler
Road to the south of this property so that there will be created an
intersection at a 90° angle. Currently it is kind of at a "Y". This will
allow for greater safety for the increased number of motorists who will
traverse these streets. With regard to traffic the applicant has submitted a
traffic study and the recommendation from that traffic study is included in
your staff report. The recommendations consisted of construction of
streets per the City of Fayetteville design standards as well as
recommending that both streets connecting to Hughmount Road be
constructed so that there is a right and left hand turn out onto Hughmount.
At this time the plat shows just two lanes, one inbound and one outbound.
With regard to public comment, I'm sure that there are people in the
audience today who will address this. We have not received any formal
letters from the surrounding public at this time. Staff is at this time
recommending that this Preliminary Plat be tabled until items addressed in
the condition are completed. Condition one addresses the plat revisions.
This plat that was submitted for Subdivision Committee does not address
many of the items that were submitted by Engineering and Planning. The
Engineering and Planning Division have submitted a memo, which is
included, which address all of the items that need to be further looked at
Subdivision Committee
March 17, 2005
Page 7
and addressed on this plat before we can evaluate it and make a
recommendation to the Planning Commission. Condition two, Planning
Commission determination of appropriate street connectivity. I mentioned
that staff is recommending additional stub outs to the east and the west.
Planning Commission determination of street design with regard to rights
of way for the internal streets. Condition four, Planning Commission
determination of off site street improvements. Staff is recommending
streets improvements the length of Hughmount Road adjacent to this
property as well as redevelopment of the intersection to the south. All
streets will need to be constructed to city standards, as addressed in
condition five. Condition six addresses requirements for approvals for the
proposed treatment area. At the time of Final Plat application submittal a
permit will need to be issued by the Arkansas Department of Health and
that is addressed in condition five. There is a request that the applicant
submitted for an intent to line this property along Hughmount Road with a
decorative fence. I've included some elevations that were submitted in the
packet. Condition eight states that gated subdivisions shall not be
permitted on public roads within the county. Perimeter walls are
discouraged within the city's General Plan 2020. Condition nine just
further expands on regulations with regard to perimeter fences. Should the
applicant request that this subdivision be phased, it was the intent of the
applicant to phase this into three phases, possibly four, with the revisions
those phase lines were not put on the plat. If it is the intent to phase it that
will need to be represented. Approval from Washington County Planning
shall be obtained for this Preliminary Plat. As with any subdivision in the
county, it does go through our process through the Planning Division for
approval and will have to go to public hearings at the county. Finally,
twelve just addresses a note that will need to be placed on the Final Plat.
The rest are standard conditions of approval.
Clark: Thank you Suzanne. Are there any other comments?
O'Neal: My comments are included in the packet.
Clark: Would you like to introduce yourselves and tell us about your project?
Morgan: My name is Mike Morgan from McClelland Engineering.
Gill: I'm Ryan Gill from McClelland Engineering. As far as the actual
comments themselves, we took staff's recommendations and we consulted
with our client and chose to accept some of the recommendations and
choose not to on some of the others per this process.
Clark: Do you want to clue us in to what you are agreeing with and what you are
not agreeing with?
Subdivision Committee
March 17, 2005
Page 8
Gill:
We are already providing four stub outs and didn't feel like it was
absolutely necessary to provide an additional two stub outs. We did agree
with the fact that we needed two entrances per the Fire recommendation.
These are going to reduce our subdivision by at least two lots and we are
already providing two stub outs to the west so we didn't see the need for
an additional stub out for that. One of the comments is specifying the
treatment area, which is Lot 81 as an unbuildable lot. In future
developments once we get the treatment plant built, it is a possibility that
this subdivision could be put onto city sewer, in which case, this drip field
would become buildable area. By calling it an unbuildable lot at this point
could hinder that future development for our client. We have provided for
50' right of ways to control traffic for all of this, by expanding this to a
50' right of way would not only hinder the addition of these lots because it
would make us reduce down to under 10,000 sq.ft. and if we expand it the
other way it would have reduced our treatment area so it was efficient to
handle our effluent. Those are the ones I'm thinking of off the top of my
head.
Morgan: We reviewed lot sizes to ensure that all of the Tots are within the minimum
lot size. Our street lights have been revised so that they are of adequate
spacing. Fire hydrants have adequate spacing. Like Ryan said, we have
modified our front two entries to agree with the Fire Code. Perimeter
wall, we have lights that we have placed along that perimeter wall to allow
for street lighting along Hughmount Road. Our client will improve
Hughmount Road to the necessary extent. As far as the streets, the longest
one is as long Chenille Drive. It has a large number of intersections that
will come to it to slow down traffic so no one gets ahead of speed along
there. We can also add stop signs along that longer length to mitigate
traffic. The stub out to the east is prevented by a severe grade there at lot
154.
Gill: This is really not even possible to do a stub out here because of the TOPO
of the land. There is a large swale right here that we are going to fill and
grade as much as we can. You would dip to get back to a hill that is right
here on this adjacent property. Another comment I saw about the
minimum street frontage on Lots 73 and 74, I was under the understanding
that the ordinance read that it was 75' at the building setback line. On
Lots 73 and 74 there is a 30' building setback which allows for that.
Pate: The 25' setback is the setback line that is enforceable. The 30' is not
enforceable.
Clark: Ok, is that it?
Gill: Yes.
Subdivision Committee
March 17, 2005
Page 9
Clark: We are going to open it up to public comment. If you would like to
comment on the Cherry Hill development please come to the podium, state
your name and address and talk to us.
Haberman: My name is Rich Haberman, I live at 3135 N. Hughmount, approximately
3 mile north of this proposed subdivision. I would like to go along with
the Planning staff's recommendation to table. Primarily because my first
indication that this was at this stage of the game was approximately seven
days ago when I saw a sign on the road. Because we are a rural
community, you may find that in a one mile radius you will have''/ dozen
residents so we are not within your notification process so we received no
notification except by sign. The fact that North Hughmount is a single
road that is the only way that we can travel. Let me give you a little bit of
history if I may. I built my home out there in 1987. The county sealed and
built Hughmount Road to it's current standard in 1987. It is a two coat
chip sealed road. That's it. It is certainly not designed for truck traffic. I
have been watching subdivisions that have been approved by the City of
Fayetteville in between my house and Shiloh Road down on Mount
Comfort. You have approved four subdivisions on Mount Comfort Road.
If you travel down Mount Comfort Road towards the City of Fayetteville
toward the end you will make a sharp turn as you are headed east, you will
make a sharp turn to the south. Starting at Razorback Road you have
within a couple hundred feet Shiloh Road, both coming in from the left.
You immediately have an offset Shiloh Road coming in from the right, an
off ramp and an on ramp, all within about 150'. Mount Comfort Road is
not designed, and certainly does not have the road capacity, I don't
believe, for the subdivisions that you have approved, let alone another 202
houses. Rupple Road is clearly a substandard road. It is full of sharp "S"
turns, very, very narrow, has a 2" to 4" drop off at the edge. There is
essentially no shoulder and if you have ever driven down Rupple Road at
night and confronted a concrete truck, of which we are having a lot of
those out there, you will find that there is no escape. It is clearly a very
difficult situation. The only other road is there is another road, I right now
do not have it's name. I think it is a county road that comes off Mount
Comfort just past what used to be the glass company, I think it is AAA
Glass Company. As I recall, there is a road that shoots off to the west and
eventually comes back onto Wedington. My concern here is that we need
alternative roads to Mount Comfort Road to handle all of the subdivisions
and improvements that are happening northwest of the City of
Fayetteville. I know that that may not be part of this particular application
but I think the Subdivision Committee and the Planning Commission need
to be aware. It was way back in the recesses of my mind, there was a plan
to extend Salem Road south all the way to Wedington Road to provide
some kind of alternate route off of Mount Comfort and relieve some of the
pressure. These are offsite issues that I have grave concerns about. The
concern I have with respect to the condition of Mount Comfort Road,
Subdivision Committee
March 17, 2005
Page 10
Pate:
Haberman:
Pate:
Haberman:
O'Neal:
Haberman:
relates again going back to the concrete trucks. If you go back and look at
Mount Comfort Road, especially where a lot of the subdivision work has
been going, there are sub grade failures already appearing on Mount
Comfort Road. It has been beaten down. It was not designed, nor was it
built, nor was the sub grade built to handle the kind of truck traffic that is
occurring right now. Hughmount Road will not in any way, shape or form
handle the amount of construction traffic that will go on for this
subdivision. I have concerns on the condition of that road at least
maintaining it's current surface viability. If I remember correctly, I would
like a copy of your staff notes. One of the requirements you are
requesting is that Hughmount Road be brought up to city standards the full
length of the subdivision, am I correct in that?
Yes.
If I remember right, you will do the inspection on that at some point
during the construction, is that correct before you will accept the road?
That is correct.
The "Y" intersection I think is very important. I don't know what the
current Arkansas State standards are for sight distance but the sight
distance to the west at that "Y" intersection is horrible. If you live out
there you know that you don't stop at the stop sign, you stop about 20'
before the stop sign so you can see around the corner down low to the
bridge. The sight distance there is a serious problem with all of the
development that is going on. Mind you, this is a 45 mile per hour road.
They are going to be on you before you realize it. Making it a "T" is very
important but I think you also need to pay attention while you are looking
at your intersection improvements with the sight distances, especially to
the west. Are you all operating under Phase II Storm water?
Yes.
Will this subdivision be monitored for that purpose? If the City is under
Phase II I have concerns in terms of storm water and storm water runoff.
Clabber Creek is, as I understand it, a tributary to the Illinois River so
there has to be some particular attention paid there to ensure that we don't
end up with excessive sedimentation and those types of things that will
occur on Clabber Creek. Right now that is about all I've got. I put this
together real quick in the last few days so I would appreciate if you all
would table this. This is not going to hurt me economically. All of this
development has made my land value higher. I've got close to 10 acres so
they are only going to get so close to me. I have concerns with trying to
get into the City of Fayetteville. Right now I can do it in 15 minutes. I
Subdivision Committee
March 17, 2005
Page 11
Clark:
Whiteman:
Peret:
would like to keep it somewhere in there, I would like to make it at least
not an hour trip. Thank you.
Is there anybody else?
My name is Randall Whiteman, I live at 2804 N. Adams Road, which is
County Road 707 to the west of this development. I have seven acres that
is encompassed by David Dial's and John Armstrong's land. There is
probably about 1,500 feet between this development and my land. One of
the things that really concerns me is the density. This is an area where
most of the people who are investing in homes there are building small
five acre estate type places. If you drive around all the area there are a lot
of $300,000 to $500,000 houses being built on three, four, five or ten acre
pieces of land. The density of the housing, I would like to see it a lot less
dense. Another thing is the traffic. Like the gentleman before was
speaking, if you drive down Mount Comfort Road it is not far before you
start feeling like you are on a dirt road because the road is completely
broken down already. If you try to come to Fayetteville at 7:30 in the
morning you will find yourself sitting still. It takes 15 to 30 minutes to
make a %4 mile stretch of road because they have already built two schools
there and both of those schools only have one access. It is just stand still
traffic. I think before we just start spreading out that kind of density we
really need to address the traffic and the size of the roads coming into
Mount Comfort. To the north of the subdivision you can weave around
and come out there on Hwy. 112, which I think you have to go on some
dirt road to do it. To the south you can cut through Bridgeport or you can
go 51s` Street back to Wedington and to Rupple Road. That's about it.
Those are a couple of my biggest concerns. Another concern would be, as
the gentleman said, that tributary runs out to the Illinois River and I don't
think it would be wise to leach that much sewage into the ground all in
one spot. I think they should have to build a pump station or something
and connect to the sewer. They mentioned that possibly down the road
that is the plan, I think it should just be the initial plan if they are going to
put in this subdivision.
I am Dave Peret, my wife and I own a piece of property contiguous to this
development. I would like to also commend you all for moving to table
this for the time being. It also seems to be that the property owners in the
area were not given sufficient notice to take a look at how we might want
to consider what was happening in the neighborhood around us. I have ten
acres and have thought for many years that at some point I would build a
sort of larger house on that particular site. We live on that site now in a
house that is about to fall down that I bought from my grandparents. That
being said, it looks to me that the comparables immediately west of us are
indeed these higher dollar $400,000 to $500,000 houses. They are not on
big lots. Some of them are probably an acre or larger. Ideally, if we are
Subdivision Committee
March 17, 2005
Page 12
going to be developed in the area, I would rather not, I am a typical
redneck and don't want everybody moving in around me. If we are going
to see development I would rather it be on these larger lots. Especially if
it is going to be any kind of septic system at all. Conventional wisdom has
been for years large lot septic system, you treat what you need to treat on
your lot. If it won't support it you won't do otherwise. I don't know
anything about the shared septic systems, I am going to have to defer to
the gentleman who's job it is to do the engineering, but I do know that
lower corner where the substandard bridge is adjacent to where the septic
field will be. I know the behavior of the water in the area probably better
than anybody else on the property save perhaps Dess Halicker, who is
immediately opposite the road there. That corner will flood. It will flood
fairly frequently. It may be in the 100 -year floodplain but I have seen it in
my lifetime, I've been on and off of that place since 1963. I have seen that
water completely over the existing road and the road before 706 was
improved, I have seen it 5' or 6' above the old road grade. I don't know
how septic fields behave but that is going to be a mess and it is not a
matter of if it will be a mess, it is when it will be a mess. We also have, in
addition to the concerns I have over a large septic field being there, we are
still on a well. My well is 280' deep. I would like to see some
hydrogeology on what is going to happen with what you have proposed
that tells me where the groundwater moves from what you do to my well
that is 280' deep. I am sure it is significantly below where you are going
to be leaching. I don't know where the water moves, I would assume it
moves down to that Clabber Creek or Hamestring Creek area and then
moves out. I would sure like to know that. Also, I have a concern in that
you have mentioned that County 706 would need to be revised from 35'
from centerline right of ways to 50' centerline right of ways. I haven't
had time to go out and measure to see what that is going to do along my
property that fronts that road. I have got some pine trees that I would
really not like to lose. We lost a huge number of them when they widened
the road and made it into an all weather road some years back. I would
rather not lose the rest of those. If I am going to I would like to know why,
when, where and how and see what kind of traffic is going to be flowing
that way. I don't see any reason to cut that road up past me anyway. If,
indeed, you widen the entire length of the subdivision, since I include that
between 706 and the subdivision, you would still be coming on past my
place to widen the road if I understand what your recommendation was.
Also, you mentioned the traffic flow that you have concerns within the
subdivision about keeping people below the speed limit and accesses and
things like that. We are out there day and night and we see what people
do on County 706. If you add 500 drivers, that is my swag for what is
going to happen if you have two folks in each household that drive, if you
add 500 drivers everyday that is going to be very dangerous. We have all
had dogs run over in that neighborhood, we have all had people speeding
up and down the road. That is just going to get worse. Also, all of us out
Subdivision Committee
March 17, 2005
Page 13
there have talked to the county and said can you get the sheriff out here
anymore? Can you patrol this so we can slow people down. It is not going
to be any easier for us to get the city police out there because they are
stressed and there are not enough of them either. There is going to be a
drag race up and down that road. The problem is folks will speed up and
down the road until they get to Mount Comfort in one direction or to
Salem Road in the other direction where they are bottle necked every
morning for about 20 minutes just to drop kids off at school. That already
happens. Those roads and that traffic situation will not support 500 more
folks out there taking their kids to those schools, if those schools would
even support that. Another concern, the stubs to the east and west, the plat
that I've seen with the stubs that they have, I don't see any problem with
ingress and egress to that subdivision with the stubs already there. If you
propose another stub either east or west, my inclination is to believe that
that is going to come between me and Kerry on an extension of Lierly
Lane, which I would not like to see because that comes right along our
property line. I know that that is in the 2020 Master Plan but the character
of the dirt through there and the fact that Kerry has a swimming pool and I
have a pond, two attractive nuisances that I'm also concerned about if you
move 500 people in close to me. The character of the ground through
there to put a road across that you are going to have to do a tremendous
amount of work that is going to have a substantial amount of impact
between what is now the northern edge of my property and the southern
edge of Kerry's. Another concern that I have with the dirt work that is
going to be done in here, there is a tremendous ravine in and along the lots
that border Bob and Dan Cable's place. I think their lots 154 or 158 are in
there, the character of the grade in there, I would describe it as a good size
drop. It is probably 40' on my place. I could see about a 40' drop. That
dirt work in there is going to change the way water flows back through
here which is going to affect us all, which I think would concern me quite
some bit. Another issue that I see is the 706 and Wheeler Road
intersection, which the gentlemen eluded to already, that intersection is
already a disaster. I don't know how you will traffic control it because
everybody from Double Tree and those additions further west are zooming
to town on that road. You can't very well stop that traffic because you
will back it up to 707 every morning. It is going to be a disaster traffic
wise unless you widen every street around there. You are going to have to
do it eventually and I would rather see it done proactively on some sort of
street plan before you begin to develop and put all these neighbors in who
are also upset that they can't get into town in 1/2 hour when it is only 10
miles, tops. The last question that I have is that the fence proposal seems
to me to be a good idea. I don't know what the exclusion for gated
communities is, I don't know the rules and regs., and can't speak for any
of the other property owners in the neighborhood, but I would much rather
see a fence around the subdivision so I don't have the concerns of every
kid that lives in that subdivision to come across to try to fish in my pond
Subdivision Committee
March 17, 2005
Page 14
or, god forbid, fall in the pond. I don't know how it should be incumbent
on me to police more aggressively a pond that has been there my entire
life and we have never had to fish anybody floating out of it. If I were a
kid in that subdivision I would want to climb the fence and go look at the
pond instead of looking at asphalt in my backyard. Kerry's pool I think is
a problem. There is some dangerous character of the land through there,
some rocky places with some old trees. We are not going to be able to
improve wily Nelly to meet the standard that they probably should meet to
be safe for every kid who wants to trespass I thank you for your time.
Larson: Good morning everybody. My name is Kerry Larson, I'm a homeowner at
2999 N. Hughmount. I am a neighbor of David's and most everybody else
who is sitting here. Everybody who has come up has addressed a lot of
my concerns as well. I think for me I feel fortunate that I am in an area
that is pretty secluded, unlike David, who has a little bit more open space
to the proposed subdivision. I would before I go any further, ask for the
Planning Commission to table this issue as well. The timing for us to kind
of get together and understand all that is going on would benefit if we had
a little more time and information to look at everything that is up against
us right now. My ultimate concern for this subdivision again, is the traffic
flow situation. I guess with what has been said so far, the thought of
widening Hughmount Road to me, for this subdivision is a necessity. I
don't understand how that can be done before Rupple Road gets done. If
you look at the way that they will funnel out, everybody that is going to be
in that subdivision, there are ways to get out. Whether it is from the west
or Salem Road, people are going to look for different ways to get to the
City of Fayetteville. If we start to limit the ways to get there and the ways
to get there aren't safe to begin with I think we need to kind of formalize a
better Rupple Road out there. I think with the schools that are out there,
the traffic light out of those schools would benefit to start and kind of ease
the traffic already, let alone to add 200 more houses out there. I'm not
super sure on the understanding of the specific questions I can ask right
now. I probably have more specifics on trying to understand everything
that is going on in that subdivision. Is this appropriate for me to ask
specific questions or am I just here to address my concerns right now?
Clark: You can do both. I am making a list of all the questions and we are going
to deal with them when you are finished.
Larson: I will fire away then. The sewer site situation, do we know where that is
going to be located exactly? Can someone tell me based on the map that
we are looking at?
Clark: The Planning Division can give you all the site plans, just go ahead and
ask your questions and we will answer them when everybody is done.
Subdivision Committee
March 17, 2005
Page 15
Larson:
Clark:
McDonald:
Ok. Where that is going to be located. Another question I have, is if this
does get approved and it does get approved and it does go into phases,
where will the phase begin and how many phases will it be? How long do
you anticipate the project to go in order to complete all phases? Was there
a survey done on my property and the fellow land owners that are around
that particular subdivision? If so, is there a way for me to get a copy of
that survey? Is the buyer of this land going to be the one to develop the
land and if not, who is the developer and what does the development
compare to in the surrounding area? Is it a Clabber Creek development?
Is it a Salem housing development? What does the development kind of
compare to? I am being super specific but with the lots this small, I might
be able to answer this with the type of development, what is the expected
lot price anticipated to go for? As we talked about with the privacy fence,
I am on the same page as David, I think as much as it is not appropriate for
a gated community but I am about to spend a good chunk of money on an
addition to my house that is already in the works right now and for me to
have that fence that surrounds the corner of my house and this proposed
subdivision I think would benefit with the possibility of kids coming in.
I've got dogs and a pool and I am not opposed to anything other than a
privacy fence to keep my property definitively secluded from someone
else's. It doesn't need to be 8' tall but you know, in order to keep the
potential kids away from dogs and a pool and to kind of protect
everybody's property, I think that would be pretty minimal considering the
expense for this project seems like it is going to be pretty significant.
Then my other concern is in the 2020 Master Plan, Lierly Lane, I'm just
concerned for that because as I said, both David and I share a great
property together and to see that road potentially go through to this
subdivision, I know it is not a part of this project right here but to
potentially see that I would wonder how that would benefit this
subdivision and then number two, what other alternatives there may be for
that potential road to go through. If it is on the 2020 Plan how realistic is it
now that we know that this subdivision is coming in, to kind of see which
way to put my house now. Which direction do I go? Do I shoot on the
south side of my house or do I go on the north side of my house kind of
depending on that proposed road and will this subdivision encourage that
road to be there or will it discourage? I don't know if anybody can tell me
right now but I would like to ask that question. That's all I have, thank
you for your time.
Is there anybody else?
My name is Michael McDonald, I live at 2825 N. Hughmount Road on
Mount Comfort Road I am the subdivision's northern border. It was kind
of short notice although, I got to see the engineers come out and start
making marks in the road. What concerned me immediately is all of those
marks shifted onto my land a good 8', which in turn, pushes my land on
Subdivision Committee
March 17, 2005
Page 16
over to the Cables which pushes further up on Peret. They told me just
this morning that that issue is going to go back to the original pins which
would be reflected in my survey which I had done in 1985. When we
bought in 1985 they did improve that road from a dirt road and I lost a
good 20' or 30' on the front of my property by the county straightening
that road to just a perfect 1/4 mile race track. Before that, there was a little
jog in the road. They had to slow down to get around that jog or end up in
the woods. That is no longer there so that road is right now pretty heavily
raced on. The other concerns, like David, I've been out there for 20 years,
he has been there much longer, but those fields take in a lot of water. A
lot of water comes off the back of my property and the Cables' property
from that real rough spot on Lot 157, that area where the ground is very
rugged back there. There are certain times of the year that there is a lot of
water that runs through the back of my place. It could sweep a small child
away easily. That ends up running off of my place onto that land. If it is
all going to be contained in a sewage situation underground that is great
but what is going to happen to the drainage on our land? Is it just going to
back up until it can fit through these pipes? I would like to know a little
more about the drainage situation coming across the back of that property.
A privacy fence would be a nice thing but I understand that is a lot of
money to do. I do have a pond right on my fence which is no more from
me to you sitting there. That is going to be, like David said, a very
attractive thing for people to come and take a look at. It is not a very deep
pond, but it is a pond none the less. I also understood the rules for septic, I
had to replace mine a while back, I had found out that there are rules that
it needs to be an acre or better per housing unit. If it was the whole 180
acres over there with 200 houses, I would probably go with it. Being 75
acres and 200 homes that falls well below that acre per house. I thought
that was the rule I had to go by but maybe it is no longer in affect. That is
about it. My main concern is the pins and the water flowing across that
land. The pins seem to be straightened out and that is a good thing Thank
you for your time.
Haberman: Just a quick follow up, I don't know this for a fact, but I was lead to
believe that the City of Fayetteville may have sewer lines that are running
along the Clabber Creek area. If I am wrong then this is irrelevant, but if
there are sewer lines down there, I think that would be an alternative that
you all may want to look at opposed to septic systems. I know that this is
not an area that I'm very familiar with but in another community that had
a subdivision with this type of density built on septic systems, 15 to 18
years after that subdivision was approved and built, they were having
septic system failures on every single lot because of soil saturation. That
would be something that I would ask you to keep in mind for the long
term. Thank you.
Clark: Is there anybody else?
Subdivision Committee
March 17, 2005
Page 17
Cable: My name is Bob Cable. My wife Dana and I live at 2839 N. Hughmount.
I would like to echo everything that has been said by the people before
me. There is nothing that I disagree with on anything that they have said.
My main concerns are the density of the housing and the sewage, which I
said before, you have engineers that know this stuff and know what can
and can't be done, but it seems to me that having sewer out there would be
a lot better approach since the city is going that way anyway and is
eventually going to need sewer out there anyway, to maybe wait on the
large septic field that you are talking about. We live between the
McDonalds and the Perets and behind our place and the Perets are lots 154
to 158 or so, is very, very steep. I know there can be an awful lot of
bulldozer work and stuff to level that out but if you all could look at it, it is
pretty steep and rough and it would make more sense from my
perspective, if it was left as greenspace or made into a park of some sort
rather than trying to build a dozen houses on that steep part. I definitely
agree with the opinion that this should be tabled for a while where things
can be looked at and addressed with a little bit more research. If there is
an opportunity for the people living out there to get with the engineers to
work on something that will be agreeable with everybody concerned. Not
just us, but for the people who will be living out there later on where they
won't have problems with the sewer and the roads. It is kind of a shame
that the people who make the decisions regarding this subdivision don't
live on Hughmount Road, nor will they likely move out to the new
subdivision when it is built. Most of us have been living in this
neighborhood for 10 years or better, some of us going back to our
grandparents. Although change and growth is inevitable, it should be at a
good pace and well thought out. I was looking at the Fayetteville Vision
2020 Guiding Principles up there, I'm impressed by what it says
Fayetteville is doing, I just hope it is taken into consideration when they
are building on this subdivision. I would really like to see larger lots,
fewer homes, I know it is probably a money issue, the more houses you
can have, the more money that is there for the developers and maybe for
the city but that area is surrounded right now by five acre and up lots with
houses on larger lots. That's it. I thank you for letting me speak.
Clark:
Peret:
Thank you. Is there anyone else in the audience who would like to
address this issue?
He mentioned something about park, I know we don't have any park out
there really, there is a softball park out there on Salem Road, I noticed that
a lot of the other subdivisions that have been built out there have
incorporated parks into the development, they have set aside a couple of
lots for a park for the kids to play in, I don't know if you all have
incorporated that or not. The other thing is there is a lot of wildlife out
Subdivision Committee
March 17, 2005
Page 18
Clark:
Morgan, M.:
Clark:
Morgan, M.:
Clark:
MOTION:
Shackelford:
there. We have a herd of deer that roam free through there and things like
that, there might be some kind of impact on that.
Thank you Sir. Is there anybody else? We will close it to public comment
and bring it back to the Commission. Wow gentlemen, let me make a
guess, nobody talked to the homeowners around this proposed
development?
We have spoke with the homeowners along the eastside of Hughmount
Road.
They must be the ones not here today.
I have made an attempt to go by, it looks like everybody works, so when I
would go by from 8:00 to 5:00 there wasn't anybody home. I would like to
say that I certainly appreciate everybody coming out today and voicing
their concern. We are located at 1810 N. College and are certainly
available to you anytime during the day and after hours and will be sure to
provide surveys and all the information you need. We are McClelland
Engineering directly across from AQ Chicken.
I have a list of about 25 or 26 concerns, do you want to jump in now or
head for the list?
Obviously, as has been stated by staff, and I whole heartedly agree, this is
something that needs a lot more work before it comes back to this level. I
don't know that we need to go through all of it. There are some very basic
issues that we need to address. One thing is obviously, we have to get the
developer and the folks that live around this on the same page. A lot of
what we are hearing is regarding the septic system. It is not really a septic
system, it is what is called a drip system. We have seen these in other
parts of town. A lot of municipalities are using this. This effluent will
actually be treated to within one step of what the city wastewater treatment
system would treat effluent. We are not even comparing apples to oranges
when we are talking about septic systems on large lots verses this drip
system. I've seen this type of system used in other municipalities where
the leach field is actually parkland, the city's baseball fields, soccer fields
and that sort of thing. There is not that impact, that is just something that
you are going to have to help educate the public on what we are talking
about. There is a knee jerk reaction thinking of septic systems as we all
know septic systems and that is not at all what we are talking about. With
that being said, there is a list of, a record in my six years, 62 items that the
Engineering staff has addressed on your plat. I think all of those issues
need to be addressed, I think all of the concerns of the neighborhood needs
Subdivision Committee
March 17, 2005
Page 19
Pate:
Clark:
to be addressed and I think a substantial amount of work needs to be done.
I think you need to get on the same page with staff regarding connectivity
and some of the basic things that we can look at with property in the
county. That is my take on it Madam Chair. I don't know that we need to
go through every item other than to acknowledge that there is a lot of work
that needs to be done on two or three different fronts and table this. I will
make a motion that we table it subject to all comments that have been
made.
If I might add a couple of things before we vote on that, the Planning staff
is also available in the Planning office if the neighborhood has any
questions. We do have some of this information as well I think I have
more than 25 items that I listed down from the property owners adjacent
or nearby. I would highly recommend in having gone through this process
with a number of Commissions and Subdivision Committees, when we get
to a point of this nature, that you guys hold a neighborhood meeting so
that it is a publicly notified, everyone can come to it, Saturday afternoon
or Sunday meeting or sometime in the evening, get together with some of
the folks that are here today, establish a meeting in a time and place that
would be in your best interest so you are not answering the same question
17 times. Additionally, I think after getting some of that information,
another meeting with just staff to work out some of these issues with
regard to drainage, septic approvals and all of the comments that we had
that were or were not addressed. I don't think it is insurmountable, I don't
want to scare the applicant off, I don't want to scare the neighborhood as
well, I fully anticipate a development will occur on this property,
obviously, that is why they are here. I think it does need to be done in a
manner that benefits all involved.
I agree. This is something that will go much smoother if the neighbors are
willing to get together and work with the developers on this. There is a lot
of work to be done.
Anthes: There is an enormous list, I certainly don't think that we need to go over
all of those again because there is going to be a lot of work done. I do
think that there are a few items that we should give direction with so when
they are reviewing the plans so they have some indication on what this
committee feels. One of those had to do with street right of ways. I am
looking particularly at Golden Willow Drive. I believe the applicant was
wanting to keep that as a 40' right of way where staff was recommending
50'. If this was going to indeed stay an unbuildable lot, I might be more
inclined to support that request. However, if you are indicating that you
want to look at the possibility of development in that area in the future
then we will have considerably more cars and people fronting that
property and using that street, which would seem to me that you need to
have more right of way. We need to look more closely at that 40' or 50'
Subdivision Committee
March 17, 2005
Page 20
right of way and I would like recommendations from staff on that going
forward assuming that that becomes a buildable lot. As far as
connectivity, I really believe that I would support staffs comments to stub
out to the west and looking east, I looked at the grading plan briefly during
the meeting, it looks to me like if you take Sedona Hills Drive to the east,
which is somewhere around Lot 157 or 158 you will just clear where the
ravine starts coming down and again, that would be something if you
needed staff's comments to look at that grading. The fencing verses wall
situation, I realize this is in the county and we don't have the same
regulatory control as we have on property within the city limits, I
understand the current property owners and the surrounding properties
wanting some sort of privacy fence, what I take issue with is the wall
along Hughmount Road. As far as street improvements, I think we have
already looked at that and that seems consistent with what we usually look
at. Because this property is in the county to tell the neighbors that we
don't have the same regulations concerning parkland dedication, parks
fees or trees and landscape, we don't have any means to evaluate those at
this committee. The last thing that I would want to see is a really good
case for the environmental impact for this field. I am looking at the map
and it looks like these unnamed tributaries feed directly into a creek
system. It looks like this field is situated directly in the branch that leads
directly to Clabber and I would like to know a lot more about that before
we approve it. I think those are my basic concerns just to give you some
direction.
Shackelford: I would concur also. I appreciate you bringing up those specific points. In
regards particularly to the street width, recently I've supported the smaller
roads in the neighborhoods but I think that is kind of an either/or situation,
I would support a 40' right of way is Lot 81 was not going to develop.
With the thought that Lot 81 is going to develop, I think you need a 50'
right of way there.
O'Neal:
We do have improvements slated for several streets all the way from I-540
to Mount Comfort. We are available to also provide that to the public. On
storm drainage, we are currently in the process of reviewing our policy of
detention in the planning area. Everything else would be built to city
standards. Sewer, this development is not within the city limits. A
connection would have to be approved by the City Council. This is one of
those that it is very close to the proposed main transmission line that
would run fairly close to Clabber Creek. That is a possibility but when
that will be nobody is sure. That's all I have.
Morgan, M.: Our client would like to connect to the sewer. He would propose
connecting to the sewer in this phase if it was possible. I understand that
traditionally it is not possible since we are outside the city limits.
Subdivision Committee
March 17, 2005
Page 21
Clark:
Being non-traditional by nature you might want to talk to staff about that a
little bit more and let's get a definitive declaration on that. This is a long
list and I hope that you can work with the neighbors. To the neighbors, let
me tell you two things. This is not in the city limits so our jurisdictional
reach is somewhat abbreviated. There is a very specific thing that we can
look at with developments outside the city limits. Needless to say, there is
a whole bunch that was relevant today. We are going to table this item.
That does not mean it is stopped, it means it is tabled. The county,
however, has a Planning Commission itself, you still need to show up
there when this gets there. They have the ultimate authority. There are not
a lot of rules or regulations in the county, that is good sometimes, that is
bad sometimes. Typically it is bad when the development is in your back
yard. Unfortunately, that is what it is this time. It is not only this body
that we need to talk to, the County has an arm that needs to be addressed
as well. Having said all of that, I agree with everything Commissioner
Anthes said, especially about the environmental impact. I'm very, very
concerned about storm water runoff, I know we have our ordinance under
revision and it is a very, very good ordinance if it gets passed, but I don't
know that that will be relevant for this development.
Anthes: Are we tabling to the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Subdivision
Committee?
Pate: I would recommend tabling indefinitely, just in case it can't get back by
the next one.
Shackelford: That was my intention. I think we have a lot to do, more than can get done
in one meeting time.
Clark: The motion is to table indefinitely until these issues are worked out.
Anthes: I will second that motion.
Pate: Essentially, you just make the deadline for the next Subdivision
Committee meeting. For the public's benefit, there won't be an additional
notification because this is tabled. Please keep your eyes open for the
newspaper so keep your eyes open for that and call about when this will be
on the next agenda.
Clark: I will tell you that the Planning Division is great with working with
citizens. You've got the number, you've got the name, call them and ask
them what is happening with it and they will be happy to tell you. I am in
concurrence so this item is indefinitely tabled. Thank you all.
Subdivision Committee
March 17, 2005
Page 22
LSD 05-1416: Bedford Apartments, pp 520) was submitted by Milholland Engineering
for property located between Lewis & Cross north of Stone. The property is zoned RMF -
24, Residential Multi -Family, 24 units per acre and contains approximately 3.75 acres.
The request is to approve the completion of the previously approved LSD 03-10.00, an
apartment complex with 48 bedrooms and 32 parking spaces remaining to be constructed.
Clark: The next item on our agenda is LSD 05-1416 Bedford Apartments.
Morgan: This Large Scale Development before you has actually been reviewed and
approved once before this current submittal. The original approval was
granted April 28, 2003 with conditions. I have attached the previous staff
report to this. The expiration period for a Large Scale Development is
one year. Within the one year period after it was approved, the applicant
did receive several permits for four of the eight proposed structures.
However, not all permits were received before that year period and no
extension of the Large Scale Development was requested. Therefore, after
that year, we could not permit any additional buildings because the Large
Scale was expired. Because of this, the applicant recently requested a
building permit approval and staff notified him that he was not able to get
that until he proceeded with a new Large Scale Development for approval.
The subject property is located at the northwest corner of Stone Street and
Lewis Avenue. An existing 17,764 sq.ft. of residential space and 800
sq.ft. of office space for a manager's office has been constructed on this
property as well as improvements to the street and installation of sidewalk
as required by the previous Large Scale Development. The proposal at this
time is for completion of this project which entails four additional
residential structures as well as parking areas. The plat that you have for
the Subdivision Committee does not have the already constructed areas
hatched in. This plan will show the areas that have been constructed and
those left to be constructed. Those which have been finished are shaded.
All right of way has been dedicated and easements have been dedicated
with an easement plat which was filed prior to issuance of any permits
with the last Large Scale Development. Water and sewer will be extended
to those units that are proposed. Parks fees have been paid for these units
and we have evaluated the tree preservation and landscape plans proposed
with this Large Scale Development. At this time staff does recommend
approval of this Large Scale at Subdivision Committee level with a total of
15 conditions of approval. Required compliance with all conditions set
forth in the previously approved Large Scale Development and several of
these conditions actually address landscaping and tree preservation, which
I will allow our Landscape Administrator to address. Additional
conditions are standard conditions of approval.
Pate:
With the last Large Scale Development a tree preservation plan was
approved for that property and most of the trees on the site, as you can see
with the development plans, have been removed for construction of some
Subdivision Committee
March 17, 2005
Page 23
of those lots and buildings. You will notice under the tree preservation
numbers in the staff report on page two that the preserved canopy
proposed with the previous large scale, LSD 03-10.00 was 9% and the
proposed with this is 5.6%. The reason for that difference is that during
the process of construction and relocating the overhead lines along Stone
Street two trees were removed illegally, essentially, from this area along
Stone Street. A violation notice was sent to the property owner at that
time and mitigation was required for that. Pursuant to our city codes, that
essentially has been formulated and the numbers put into this staff report.
There are a total of 44 mitigation trees required on the site, which are
reflected on the preservation plan there before you. There were several
other conditions that were requested at Technical Plat Review that did not
make this plan. A couple of those are add the labels for each tree as
requested. Those were shown on the 2003 plans but it is really hard to
look at tree numbers and not reference these. I have referenced some tree
numbers here that you don't see in your plans and that is what I requested.
Condition number four says remove trees 472 and 473 from the tree
preservation plans as previously requested. Those were the ones that were
removed. Just to reference, it is essentially southwest of the manager's
office and maintenance garage, two of the trees there are no longer there.
Condition number five, all tree preservation fencing shall be inspected
prior to resuming work on this site. There are bonds required for
mitigation trees after they are installed and planted. Those are three year
bonds required by ordinance with a maintenance and monitoring program.
That includes a total of $11,000. After that three year period the
Landscape Administrator then is required to go and look at those trees and
see if they are indeed, healthy and still there. If they are the bond is then
returned. If not, the funds are utilized out of that bond to replant those
trees.
Clark: Do you want your comments added to the conditions of approval?
Pate: I believe they are. Numbers two through seven are landscape comments.
Clark: Is there any other staff?
O'Neal: I need to add one condition. The sidewalk along Lewis Avenue, which
was previously approved with a separate project was not constructed and I
need to add that as a condition, that the sidewalk be continued to the north
property line. A couple of things that need to be confirmed, one is just I
don't know if the interior street lights are installed yet, Tom, do you know
if that is the case?
Jefcoat: Not on the part of the property where there are no buildings, everything
else is.
Subdivision Committee
March 17, 2005
Page 24
O'Neal: I just needed to confirm that there are not conflicts with the proposed
street lights and the water line that goes through the property. The other
thing that needs to be confirmed is the Fire Marshal asked for an
additional hydrant at the Tech Plat level.
Jefcoat: I think they sent you a letter saying that is not required.
O'Neal: I have not seen that letter, but if that is the case, that's all that I have.
Clark: Mr. Jefcoat, introduce yourself and tell us about your project please Sir.
Jefcoat: I'm Tom Jefcoat with Milholland Company. As Suzanne stated, this
project was started over a year ago and essentially, all of the infrastructure
has been built in place. Water, sewer, overhead electrical, sidewalks have
been improved and accepted by the city. Maintenance bonds are being put
in place for those. Certified As Builts have been submitted and essentially,
this is a resubmittal of a LSD for the additional development of the
remaining Phase II four remaining units and parking areas and sidewalks
to those units to be completed.
Clark: There are four buildings?
Jefcoat: That is correct.
Clark: Is there anyone in the audience who would like to speak to LSD 05-1416
for Bedford Apartments? Yes Ma'am, please come up, give us your name
and your comments.
Benedict: I'm Hillary Benedict, I own property at 221 Cross Street right across from
the development. In fact, it is up above it so that any exhaust fumes and
such will come up to our property and effect the living quality there, the
environmental quality there. I understood that there would be a lot more
trees and apparently I did not hear what he said, all I could hear is that he
was talking about trees. There are not many trees left. I'm very
disappointed in the quality of that development. I think that is so close to
the University and I was really surprised at the quality. It wasn't upgraded
much more from what it was before. That area should be upgraded, there
are some efforts being made to upgrade that area there but they are not
adjacent to this so they could not come and make any comments. I just
want to express my concern about the quality of that development. I would
not permit anymore of that. I object to anymore of it right there. I think it
is going to be high density and low quality development and it is so close
to the University, I would just like to express my objections to it. I would
like to see Fayetteville upgrade their quality rather than downgrade their
quality, especially close to the University. That whole area in there needs
Subdivision Committee
March 17, 2005
Page 25
Clark:
Anthes:
Pate:
upgrading. There is going to be eventually more upgrading, but this is not
going to help it. Thank you.
Is there anyone else from the public who would like to comment on this
development? Seeing none, I will bring it back to the Commission.
I seem to remember when this came through originally there was a lot of
discussion about the utility lines and overhead verses burying, could
someone bring me up to date?
The applicant, I'm not sure if they went to City Council or not, to request
that overhead electric not be installed underground, that request was
denied so overhead electric lines, per ordinance, were required to be put
underground in this location. I believe it was primarily along Stone Street.
This applicant predates me as well, I believe it was along Stone Street,
potentially along Lewis as well, but there were overhead electric lines that
were required to be put underground and that has occurred to the best of
knowledge.
Jefcoat: I may mention too that the majority of the trees in this area were sycamore
trees and were in fairly poor condition to begin with, damaged from the
type of structures and existing conditions there. The installation of the
storm drainage, the installation of conduits to put the electrical
underground, all of that affected those trees and they just didn't make it.
Anthes: Was this bend in the sidewalk constructed in order to go around a tree?
Jefcoat: Yes it was.
Anthes: That tree is gone but the sidewalk still bends?
Jefcoat: I don't know if it is gone or not, but that was part of the construction to
save the root systems as much as possible.
Anthes: Ok. That's in place now?
Jefcoat: Yes, it is in place.
Anthes: Are you in agreement with the sidewalk along Lewis Avenue to the north
property line is something that needs to be extended here?
Jefcoat: I think that there are several issues that have taken place and transpired
over and over again. The property actually ends here. This little unit
belongs to the gas company and the gas company has from time to time
agreed to the sidewalk and not agreed to the sidewalk because their
entrance to the property is here, because of the grade change and drainage
Subdivision Committee
March 17, 2005
Page 26
Anthes:
Crandall:
issues. The city inspector and the developer have agreed to the
construction as it exists I believe. If that is not correct and the city
inspector in the future development works that out with the developer to
extend it across there and Arkansas Western Gas agrees to it then yes, it
will be extended.
So that piece doesn't exist yet?
I'm Marc Crandall, the builder. We have agreed to extend that all the way
up to the corner. What's holding us up right now, I own this building,
there was supposed to be a sidewalk here, but because of the questions we
had in terms of burying power lines, we didn't do it. Right now we have
the sidewalk up to here, I've agreed to bring it up to the corner. Basically,
what is holding us up is there is a utility pole, that utility pole that is
supposed to be removed is still there. We are just waiting for SWEPCO to
come.
Anthes: Is this a dumpster?
Crandall: That is from the old development. The gas company is here, there is a
transformer and a pole that is remaining there so we are going to have to
kind of, as we have done with a lot of the sidewalks, go around some of
the existing utilities in order to do it.
Clark: You are in agreement to do it?
Crandall: Yes. We are just waiting for the pole to be moved.
Anthes: I just have one other comment in response to the lady about the quality of
your development. We do not have design standards for residential
properties within the City of Fayetteville so that is not something that we
can look at.
Shackelford: I will make a motion that we approve LSD 05-1416 based on all
conditions of approval with the addition of condition number sixteen, the
sidewalk to be completed on the north property line known as Lewis
Avenue, to Main Street.
Anthes: I will second.
Clark:
Before we vote on it, I have two questions. One was about the trees. On
one of the drawings it is a reduction, it is like a 20% reduction, is that
because of the loss of those trees?
Pate: No. The Landscape Administrator is given the ability to reduce onsite
mitigation of up to 20% if all trees are planted on site. In looking at any
Subdivision Committee
March 17, 2005
Page 27
property we have to evaluate special constraints and conditions. Kim
Hesse's evaluation in 2003, the trees were in poor condition. In my
review of this project, I probably would not have recommended some of
these be saved because of the amount of infrastructure, storm drains and
utilities going in in this location anyway. It is so close to those trees that it
would be very difficult to save those so I felt it was appropriate in this
location to recommend a 20% reduction, which brings it from 55 to 44
trees to be planted on this site, which will be a major improvement for this
property.
Clark: Are some of those trees going to be planted along the backside of this
property?
Jefcoat: There is a landscape plan.
Pate: They are actually planted around along the backside of the property.
Jefcoat: There are mitigation trees and the others are required for landscaping for
parking.
Clark:
I couldn't figure out from these plans which buildings were built and
which were not. These are not the best plans we have ever received. I
think that would address part of Ms. Benedict's issue. If you can't see it
you can't be upset about it. Those were my comments. I have a motion
and a second, I concur. We are done. Thank you.
Announcements
Meeting Adjourned: 10:01 a.m.