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HomeMy WebLinkAbout22-01 RESOLUTION• • RESOLUTION NO. 22-01 A RESOLUTION APPROVING AD00-47, AMENDING THE CITY'S MASTER STREET PLAN BY REMOVING THE CURRENT LINE ON THE MAP THAT INDICATES THE EASTERN BYPASS AND TO SHOW A CORRIDOR THAT IS THE SAME AS THE NORTHWEST ARKANSAS REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION'S 2025 TRANSPORTATION PLAN AND THE NORTHWEST ARKANSAS REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION'S MAJOR INVESTMENT STUDY. BE IT RESOLVED BY TILE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS: Section 1. That the City's Master Street Plan is hereby amended by removing the current line on the map that indicates that eastern bypass and to show a corridor that is the same as the Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission's 2025 Transportation Plan and the Northwest Arkansas Regional Transportation's Major Investment Study. PASSED AND APPROVED this 20th day of February , 2001. f'� y \(< . ate Heather Woodruff, City Cleric APPROVED: By lCta/l 0 Ccrd, Charles D. Coody, M CJ 11/4 NAME OF FILE: Resolution No. 22-01 CROSS REFERENCE: 02/20/01 Resolution No. 22-01 01/22/01 Planning Commission Minutes (Pages 34-51) 02/20/01 Staff Review Form 03/07/01 Departmental Memo from City Clerk NOTES: • • Planning Commission January 22, 2001 Page 34 AD 00-47.00: Administrative Item Master Street Plan for Eastern By-pass Review. Odom: The next item that we have on tonight's agenda is item number six which is AD 00- _ 47.00_for_the_Master_Street_Elan Eastern Bypass review._Notations here state that during recent meetings concerning the update to the City's General Plan 2020, -questions arose regarding the eastern bypass which is a part of the Master Street Plan that was adopted in 1995. During a joint meeting of the Planning Commission and City Council on December 7, 2000, staff was directed to review the proposed bypass and to present findings to the Planning Commission for further discussion and public comment. The eastern bypass as it is currently shown on the Master Street Plan has been a part of this planning document since the adoption of the eighth draft of the Master Street Plan on March 7, 1995. Staff has been and is still collecting information from the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department, Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission, and the City of Springdale regarding the Eastern Bypass. The Eastern Bypass findings are noted that in 1995, the City of Fayetteville placed on the Master Street Plan a proposed Eastern Bypass that would begin at the southern terminus of the 71 Bypass and end at the Planning Area Boundary northeast of the current city limits. The City placed this on the master street plan as part of a plan to provide a loop circulation concept around the existing developed areas of Fayetteville and to avoid building new roads through the developed parts of the City. This project is not on the Springdale Master Street Plan. This idea was further identified and studied in 1996 and 1997 and a Major Investment Study (MIS) was completed by the Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission which identified the costs of such a project and alternative routes. To date, there has been no environmental review, surveys, or engineered route study. Furthermore, only one right-of-way dedication has occurred as part of a lot split request. The City has not been able to proceed beyond this point due to the financial constraints associated with a project of this magnitude. This project is located in Washington County within the City of Fayetteville and City of Springdale Planning Areas. Only a very small portion of this project, at the southern end, and where it crosses Highway 16E. is within the Fayetteville City Limits. In 1997, the Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission amended the 2020 Plan and showed a corridor for the Eastern Bypass. The 2025 Plan also shows the same corridor on the plan for the Eastern Bypass. The staff has listed for our consideration the possible options that we may consider. The first is to show a corridor on the Plan that is the same as the Regional 2025 plan, second possible option is to eliminate the Eastern Bypass from the plan, the third one is to relocate the Eastern Bypass on plan, the fourth is to leave the current line on map that indicates the Eastern Bypass on the Master Street Plan, the next option is to downgrade the road to a principal arterial and the last option is to conduct further studies before making any recommendations to the City Council. Tonight we are going to do two things, we are going to receive a report from the Regional Planning Commission and after we hear the report of the Regional Planning p//Ili comn,I • • Planning Commission January 22, 2001 Page 35 Commission we are going to take public comment for those interested I would hope that many of you that are here tonight have some comment that you would like to make on this issue. I would ask that when you do this that you keep a couple of things in —mind._First,_there.are_several_people_that_wantto_talkso_we need to be mindful of those who want to speak and do our best to limit comments to your opinion or your point of view that perhaps hasn't been already presented to us That way we can avoid duplication and being here all night. You can get up and say Amen all night, that's okay. Let's just do our best to keep on new points as we move along Also, let's keep in mind that we are doing our best up here to follow the plan that we have. We cannot simply without public hearings and so forth, make decisions based on emotions and what we want to do or not to do. That being said, I'm going to, at this time, ask that the representative of the Regional Planning Commission come forward to make their presentation. Conklin: Commissioner Odom, I would like to welcome John McLarty, he is with the Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission. He is here this evening to kind of go over where we are at with regard to the Regional Planning Commission, what a major investment study is and what our planning area or NARTS boundary is. Welcome John and I appreciate you coming down to the Fayetteville Planning Commission tonight. McLarty: My name is John McLarty. I'm the Transportation Planner with the Regional Transportation. I'm going to probably instruct you a little bit. We kind of wear two hats at the Regional Planning Commission. We do planning for the entire two counties and we are also the MPO which is the Metropolitan Planning Organization. That's kind of a transportation entity. We need to exist because the Federal Government requires that for federal money to come into an area that has our density of population that they want some regional planning so that highways aren't just kind of scattered willy nilly with things that don't match or that one city is building a major collector and it meets a dirt road in the boundaries of another city. We've been in that roll for several years. Then the MPO is made up of a committee called the Northwest Arkansas Regional Transportation Study. That is comprised of 16 government entities that are within what is called the study boundary and that's outermost line that you can see on that map That was based on the Census Bureau telling us in 1990 what our urbanized area was. Then we project what might be an urbanized area in 2025. The cities that fall within that boundary to make up the NARTS Study Commission and I say that because the eastern corridor was a decision made by that committee. Just the Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission in and of ourselves, if we are wanting to erase it off the map, we couldn't. It would take an action of those same 16 government entities which includes Washington County, Benton County, Fayetteville, Springdale and the rest. A • • Planning Commission January 22, 2001 Page 36 little history here, back in 1995 when the 2020 Plan was being developed, the corridor that went, the 412 Northem Bypass that is going to go to the north of Springdale was on the map put there by the Highway Department and it went quite a ways further toward -Beaver -Lake -than -that -shows, it swung way out to the. east At the same time as that 2020-Plari was put together and after that was approved it was noticed by -somebody,- I'm not sure who because I wasn't there then, that Fayetteville kind of almost at the same time put a corridor on their Master Street Plan for an Eastern Bypass and the two corridors didn't line up, they did this kind of thing. The NARTS Committee, at the request of the City of Fayetteville, did another study and amended this map to make those corridors line up. The significance of that is the corridor for the Northem Bypass was pulled in further to the west. One of the logistic problems or topographical problems is that crook in the White River there. I think you can notice that. That prevents any proposed Eastern Bypass from swinging out further to the east. That bypass almost has to be pulled back to the west. Those things were taken into consideration and a major investment study was undertaken An MIS is undertaken when projects that just involve massive amounts of funding. An example would be the Northern corridor around Springdale, the access road to the airport, the Bella Vista Bypass and things of that magnitude require a major investment study. In 1997 there was about a six month to a year long process of public hearings, ads in the paper, a lot of participation, Kevin Santos was on that committee, several representatives from Fayetteville, all of those committees and they made those corridors line up. That kind of in a nut shell is where that corridor came from. The major investment study never _put a specific lineon_the map,_it was just the corridors were just lined up. That MIS did not take into account any of the engineering, the environmental impact studies. If you are aware of what's going on with the Northern Bypass around Springdale, that's been there a long time and they still don't know the route. They have like four or five lines intertwined in there, now they are doing the environmental impact and they are considering neighborhood costs. I just heard a figure the other day of just property acquisition will cost them 15 million dollars. That's just to buy right-of-ways, no pavement being laid. These projects are very expensive. Just in terms of the reality of it, they are looking for money to build the Northern Bypass. They are talking about toll roads and they are looking for money to build an access road. They are looking for the money to build a Bella Vista bypass. In most of these corridors, like in Bella Vista, the citizens in Bella Vista are crying for that bypass. You might have a few that are saying not in my back yard. The general consensus is for the Bella Vista Bypass, for a Northern Bypass around Springdale. I think my point is, that Fayetteville is the catalyst to the Eastern Bypass, I don't think we have the Highway Department wanting to shove this project down the throat of the region because they are scratching their heads to get the money to build other bypasses. It took decades to get 1-540 in and 71 had to be Planning Commission January 22, 2001 Page 37 Odom: • • declared one of the most dangerous highways in the nation. So, with that being said, . the corridor_is on the map_and we can't just throw it out. I think any good project should withstand rethinking it and looking at it again. From our viewpoint, Northwest --Regional-Planning-Commission -andas-the-MPO,. wearecertainly willing to take another hard look at that bypass, at the corridor and have more rounds of public -hearings. If -s nothing that we are wanting to throw out or just hang onto unreasonably. It would take an action of that NARTS Committee. We can't have a meeting overnight and take some kind of action because there is quite an extensive amount of study put into that. I don't have those facts and figures. I might not be able to answer all your questions tonight in terms of the exact rational for that Eastem Bypass. Engineers from the Highway Department participated and Dr. Alguire from the University and planners, so it wasn't just done in the comer, it wasn't some midnight thing that was stuck on the map. So; we have to weigh all those factors as we consider what to do with it. t'm willing to take questions. John, thank you for those comments. I don't necessarily think that the objection we have heard is to the corridor as much as it is to the proposed route that we have, like a line in -the sand; on our Master Street Plan. - McLarty: In a lot of cases within the corridor the exact line on the map is one of the last things to go on after environmental studies. We could have endangered species out there. . Odom: For some reason we have it the first thing this time and we are all trying to figure out why. My question to you is, is that line that we have now detrimental or vitally important to the corridor itself? That corridor is going to exist without the line that we have, isn't it? McLarty: Yes. Odom. If we remove that sucker today the corridor is still going to be there but we are not going to have that thing that's there first that really should be coming last? McLarty: Right. One of the reasons to keep the corridor there is because even though there may, just for speculation, there may never be an expressway built to the eastern side of Fayetteville. Fayetteville does have congestion problems on 45 and 265 and down on 16 and we have to consider that. According to our studies, our projections in our area, the two counties have increased in population by 80,000 people in the last decade. We anticipate that to happen again. We are looking for 80,000 people to move into the two counties in the next decade and then 80,000 again. So, we are looking at a • • Planning Commission January 22, 2001 Page 38 population by 2030, that's if that trend continues, of over a half a million people living in these two counties. There probably will need to be some form of relief in that corridor area, if not an expressway then some kind of networking routes to get people coming in from 16 and maybe routed around to the bypass and maybe coming in 45 another way to get up to 265 rather than coming to the 45 and 265 intersection. There are other ways to talk about that networking short of a limited access expressway. There will be some kind of traffic solutions needed on the east side of Fayetteville over the next 20 to 30 years. So, people living in that corridor need to be aware of that, there will need to be some traffic relieving measures in that area. Estes: John, is the corridor study that is shown on the large map, is that the same as the Regional 2025 Plan? McLarty: That is the 2025 Plan right there. Estes: If we were to remove from our Master Street Plan the 2000 revision, the Eastern Bypass as it is showing and replace it with the corridor study that is shown on the 2025 plan, will that in any way impede or hinder the planning process? McLarty: No. Estes: Would that be consistent with the planning process? McLarty: The only thing that it may do, the reason this is somewhat timely is, you have the Highway Department in the process of making their decision on where 412 will reconnect with Business 412 and they are trying to figure out where that terminus will be. They are wanting to match a Fayetteville bypass, they tend to pull that Into the west but if Fayetteville seems less interested in that bypass there may be other considerations. Strictly coming from the north down, the terrain up above 412, they may decide to shift that to the east. Their original plans had it further to the east. Conklin: Keep in mind when we say Fayetteville bypass, we are also talking about Springdale because our Master Street Plan ends at our planning area boundary. So, Springdale is also involved in this process and as I stated in these findings, this information that I presented to you this evening, that it is not on the Spnngdale Master Street Plan. Another important difference on this 2025 Plan, the 412 northern loop or bypass is the State Highway project. Our bypass is a City of Fayetteville project. It is not part of the State Highway system. What Springdale did on their Master Street Plan, they showed the northern 412 Bypass on their Master Street Plan as a corridor to let the • • Planning Commission January 22, 2001 Page 39 public know that this is where the Highway Department is thinking. It's a little different _because_we_are talking_about_a multi-million, 150 to 300 million dollar project, I'm not sure what the exact figure would be for the City of Fayetteville taxpayers through a CIP _process or something -to-build.--I_don't think that'sgoing to_happen. We cannot afford that. It will have to become a State highway, it will have to have federal funding at the --minimum ifit-ever-is achieved.- -There is still -a lot of work with regard to if this is going to ever get built to get the highway department to accept this and make this a part of their program for highway building in northwest Arkansas. Odom: John, I have a real concem. This highway which we can't afford to build, it's not on the plans to be built, our Planning Director can't conceive that it's ever going to be done, it's on our Master Street Plan and the State Highway Department says "Hey look, they are going to build this thing that's on their Master Street Plan. Let's curve our project in some." We may be holding them or detriment to them bringing a project in that we are never going to build. Do you see that being a problem? McLarty: That's a possibility. Conklin: We also, this past fall and winter, we went through a process to fund State Highway projects for the next 25 years. I can tell you this evening that this Eastem Bypass is not one of those projects that's on that constrained list for funding. Even the funds that have been identified for State Highway projects for the next 25 years, we do not have funds targeted or identified for this Eastern Bypass. Once again, I guess I'm discouraged a little with regard to one, the City can't afford to build this, it will have to be part of the State Highway system and two, we just went through a planning process identifying what State Highway's will be built the next 25 years and it's not on that list for a constrained project. Estes: The pragmatic issue that I deal with and my thinking is that on the Master Street Plan we have the Eastern Bypass and that as people come to us and want to develop property that's contiguous with that then we start talking about easement dedications and we start talking about costs and I said pragmatically, pragmatically this has a chilling affect on people developing property that's out there that is contiguous to this. John, what would happen if we deleted the current line on the map that indicates the Eastern Bypass on the Master Street Plan and we show the corridor on the plan that is consistent with or the same as the Regional 2025 Plan? Would that be an intelligent thing to do or would that be a foolish thing to do? McLarty: I think it would be intelligent because the line on the map as it exists, is not the result of Planning Commission January 22, 2001 Page 40 Estes: • • any kind of extensive engineering or environmental studies. Anybody that lives within that corridor needs to be aware of the maybes but that line, if it's ever built, could be way off from where it is on that map. Usually those specific lines are the last thing that's _put within a corridor afterextensivecost,topographical, environmental studies of where the cheapest place would be to build that. I think what we don't want as a region is something like-a-WalMart Distribution Center that takes 40 acres to go in or something like that, that would kind of raise some questions. They would need to be aware that they are in this corridor. I do see the point of just the property owners wanting to develop their property without that particular restriction Another thing I might add is, if the State Highway just looks at where they put the terminus coming down from the north and then wherever that falls and they put less weight to the Fayetteville Bypass and then in 30 or 40 years, this thing is built and it has to connect at 412 and someone has to go on down 412 a mile before they access back to the north, it's doable, it's not something that can't be dealt with. Our children may look back and say we were a bunch of dummies to not make them line up but we do have that pragmatic consideration. Here now, we don't know what things are going to look like in 40 years. Tim, what are we supposed to do with this administrative item? Are we supposed to forward this to the City Council with recommendations after hearing public comment or why did you put this on the agenda? Conklin: On December 7, 2000, we held a Joint Planning Commission/City Council meeting. At that time, the public did speak out regarding this Eastern Bypass. I believe it was Alderman Kevin Santos who suggested that we leave the line on the map as part of the 200 revision to the Master Street Plan and then start early this year to take more public comment regarding the Eastern Bypass. That's why we are back before you tonight. With regard to the Planning Division and my recommendation to you, the line is problematic with regard to planning for subdivisions and lot splits. I don't believe that line, we should be able to require the right-of-way because it's in areas that I believe you are not going to be able to build this Eastern Bypass. Also talking with Charles Venable, the former Public Works Director, he was a Chief Engineer at the State Highway Department, his comments to me when I did bring this issue up to him was that, in his experience working for the Highway Department that you have to do your engineered route studies, your environmental review and to determine where the actual road will be located. At this point in time, if we are actually talking about a controlled access freeway/expressway system, it's almost impossible to tell where that right-of- way should be dedicated to the City of Fayetteville. What I would like to see this evening, it's on the 2025 Plan. I do realize there's been a lot of planning and work that Planning Commission January 22, 2001 Page 41 Estes: Conklin: • • has gone into looking at the Eastern Bypass and the need for the Eastem Bypass. I'm - —not-prepared_this_evening to_say_that-itisnot needed in northwest Arkansas or in Fayetteville but what I would like to see is the corridor that has been identified through - the major investment study -to be -shown -on -our -Master -Street -Plan.. The next item on your agenda is an ordinance to amend our subdivision regulations not to require right- -of-way for expressways -or -freeways on -our Master Street Plan: -That would take care of both problems. It would remove the line and then also we wouldn't be required to have the dedication of right-of-way when we do have a lot split or subdivision. So, there should be a motion of some sort sending this matter to the City Council? Yes. I would like to amend our Master Street Plan to remove the line from the map, show the corridor that's currently shown on the 2020 Plan of the Regional Planning Commission, also shown on the 2025 Plan as the same corridor, show that on our Master Street Plan. The public is aware that the Regional Planning Commission does - have a regional plan that shows a corridor for a controlled access facility but not to require the right-of-way or have the line on our Master Street Plan. McLarty: I'll add one more thing and then I think I'll be done. We are going to undertake the 2030 plan early because we are kind of at a disadvantage on our 2025. We have a lot of census data that we are really anxious to look at that's going to tell us the real numbers and population an not only that but where they are on the census tract by tract. _We are very willing -and intend to look at this corridor very closely starting now and try to have an update in three years and really take another look at this eastern corridor. We'll be working with Tim, City of Fayetteville and the City of Springdale and revisit the issue with a lot more data, studies and traffic counts and more of the computer based modeling that we are getting into. I think we'll have a lot better rationale one way or another. I think what I've heard tonight would be a wise decision and then just take a harder look at this eastern solution because there is traffic congestion. We don't want to just hide our heads in the sand and that's not what I'm hearing here tonight. Something this expensive, we need to look at every alternative. So, we will be taking a close look at that over the next months and years as we develop the 2030 plan. Odom. John, before you sit down we have some other Commissioners that have questions for you. Hoffman: I want to get to public comment really quickly but I agree with staff's position on this that this line on the map is in an area that certainly doesn't seem to be the appropriate one from an economic or what's in place standpoint. I do strongly believe that we need • • Planning Commission January 22, 2001 Page 42 to keep the corridor and that the corridor can move according to the census data. I _.. dust wanted to point out thatthe river need not be, in my mind, a boundary because we already have a bridge across the new 412 extension. Possibly, if we are talking about the kind of increasing -population over -the -next decades, -that -it -could be even east of that -m the eastern portion of the county. I -would like to lay that out as a possibility not -something I'm pushing -for. -- - McLarty: I -don't think we should rule out any alternative. People have suggested a western bypass with all the growth trending out that way. Hoffman: You have to look at the growth and where the subdivisions are going in Springdale. Have we grown as far as we are going to grow out east of Fayetteville due to the more hilly terrain as you get further east and things like that. I will not vote for any that removes a corridor but I will vote for something to remove the line. Marr: I guess my only comment Commissioner Bunch, Commissioner Shackelford and I have been on this 2020 subcommittee and this has been probably the most talked about. The thing to me as I was reading through the study that we were given a copy of, I guess I have questions about how a line got there because in reading this, it says we're concerned with identifying certain corridors and cross-sections not specific routes which is why environmental assessments and impact studies weren't done, which to me says we shouldn't have a line anyway, as a result of what this report says. Secondly, the question is why now_in this study are we worried about siting this thing The rational -that he gave was the right-of-way protection. - - - - McLarty: What study are you referring to? Conklin: He's referring to the Major Investment Study. I did make copies of that for each of the Commissioners not the background or technical information that was used throughout the study. They did not receive a copy of that. Marr: So, if the main reason for "Why now?" is right-of-way protection and in not wanting to do that and the study was done without environmental impact and without environmental assessment so that you don't have a specific site and that when we are talking about corridors and cross-sections it makes no sense to me to have it sited as a line on a map particularly when the weight of public feedback and the weight of the Commission and the City Council was we don't want to dedicate land which is the whole reason why we had it sited. So, I guess that's my initial thought on why other than getting validated at the reception should we have two hours of public comment • • Planning Commission January 22, 2001 Page 43 when the majority of, at least what I heard, relates around these two questions. Odom: It's necessary for us to get public comment. We were charged with having a hearing to -_hear a presentation-from-Regional.Planning Commissionandto take public comment. Marr: Odom: —I -guess my -point -is -not to not take public comment but -if the -public comment is about the siting of the line on the plan as the whole objection of this, I think we have that clearly identified that we are talking corridors and cross-sections. I would be interested in new public comment outside of that particular matter or land dedication. If we could, does anyone have any other questions or comments for John? I'll let you go ahead and sit down. Would you mind sticking around just in case we have any questions that come up during the public comment portion? McLarty: Yes. PUBLIC COMMENT: Odom. Now what we would like to do is take public comment and we do_want to hear your comments. I think you've heard from the tone of the Commission that it seems to be the consensus that we don't want this line and that we are moving towards getting away from that and perhaps doing a corridor. We would appreciate your public comment at this time_so if you could please come forward and state your name for the record and where you lives Does anyone want to come up and speak? Come-on you all sat here forever. Alexander: Fran Alexander, Fox Hunter Road. I wanted to thank you for discussing this particular line and deciding that although you have not taken a vote and I think public comment ought to be in regard to your discussion as well as the impressions that we are getting but you have not taken a vote so I believe public comment should address what is being discussed. The situation about drawing a line is that you are, at that point in time, doing strange things as far as land speculation goes. Residentially you might be depreciating land and commercially you might be increasing land values. I would just ask that you get that cart and horse straightened out because the way I look at the topography in the county area where I live, even if you could get from 16 toward 45, in that particular vicinity, you would have to helicopter up to 45 from where you would wind up in the valley down near the sewage treatment plant for example. The sewage treatment plant is another issue which to me is certainly one that is a large obstacle and some of this line drawing could be for a limited access expressway. I want to emphasize to you that • • Planning Commission January 22, 2001 Page 44 drawing that line can be there for years and years and make people really uncertain as __to how they want to think about where they live and what they want to do as far as investments in their property. Even if you draw a corridor, you need to start thinking about-land.acquisitionsomewhere-if you.draw_it because -right now, if you.were trying to acquire land where that line is, you are running into 2001 residential areas where there are $300,000 -to $500,000 houses. You've got to think about what that line would be running through in 2001 dollars not to mention 2030 dollars. If we are going to think corridor, I think we do need to think about land acquisition at some point in time. I have been to the Regional Planning Commission reviews, I've looked at the 2020 plans over the years, I have made comments periodically about this but as you probably know, I kind of keep an eye on things in the City and what the City is doing. It can't be said for folks in the County and they really don't keep that close of watch on the Fayetteville Planning Commission and the Fayetteville City Council. If you are going to start establishing corridors or lines, please try to work in the County people, via the Quorum Court or whatever technique you can come up with. Generally the attitude of the public is to tune out something that's not really brought to their close attention. I noticed at some of the hearings that I've had to call neighbors, very close neighbors where this -line would be affecting them and remind them that this was occurring. They really were not well aware of what was going. on. That's just a housekeeping hint. I also wanted to point out to you on environmental studies that I've been involved with in highway development, that over and again one of the major concerns of limited expressway construction is that it's building a wall. The land use that is going to be-done_on the east side of this city, we need to understand that if you are building a limited expressway we are putting the Great China Wall between one side of that expressway and the other. You can't get ambulances and fire trucks on a lot of roads easily back and forth across that on that east/west direction if you've got a north/south wall. As far as your planning goes, please look at that in your thinking as well. I think that's the main thing that I wanted to bring up. Thank you. Odom: Thank you Fran. Estes: Tim, has the County Planning body been involved in this process? Conklin: With regard to the Regional Planning Commission and this Northwest Arkansas Regional Transportation Study, yes, they do have officials that attend those meetings and participate in this. I think overall, what we've found out this evening which I already knew, this is a regional type project that takes regional cooperation and planning. I think that's best done through the regional MPO that we have with Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission. When we do talk about the Planning Commission January 22, 2001 Page 45 Estes: Womack: • • corridor in this location if we want to make it further to the east, we are into the City of Goshen Planning Area We don't even have the ability to plan in that area. Right now we have Washington County, City of Fayetteville planning area, City of Springdale —planning-area-and-if-it-does-have-to-move-further-eastit will_be outside_of our jurisdiction and into the City of Goshen. Thank you. My name is Robert Womack and I live very close to the current line that you have drawn on the map. After listening to the conversation this evening and the input from the State Highway Department, it would seem to me that we did get the cart before the horse, that we did put the line out there. I applaud Mr. Estes' observation that perhaps the corridor should remain but the line should be removed. Thank you. Odom: Anyone else wish to speak to us on this issue tonight? Please come forward at this time. Bemis: My name is Chip Bemis and I'm currently under contract to purchase some property at 409 North Fox Hunter Road. I_would like tosay_first of all that I have spoken with Mr. Conklin about this particular project and it was a surprise. I will say that it's our first land acquisition so just the idea that at some point that property might be taken away, it was quite a shock for us. I'm not concerned with the line. I applaud you all __for considering the_removal of.the line from the Master Street Plan but that line is -exactly what prompted me to come to the meeting.- It was by accident -that we saw the line in tryingto apply for a lot split, we came in to find the papers, we saw the line and that did prompt us to investigate. The next day we met with Mr. Conklin and he cleared up lots of issues in our own minds. He explained to us the finances involved, the studies involved, the cart before the horse sort of thing. We can certainly appreciate everything that you are doing to try to rectify the situation. I do have some concerns about the origins of the line. If it landed on there once and no one seems to know how it appeared, I have some concerns with that issue. Public awareness, I'm aware now there is a corridor study. I wasn't aware of that on the Master Street Plan. I didn't see that. The line that was there, the proposed highway, was the only thing that brought my awareness to that issue. I just wanted to say those two things to kind of make my presence known. As I said, it's our first acquisition so this is all brand new to us. One other thing that I did have, the current city officials of Springdale, they don't have it on their Master Street Plan mainly because it's so very early in the game Any opinions from them would be most valuable to the public and to our awareness because even if it's not on paper yet, the opinions are quite important because those are the Planning Commission January 22, 2001 Page 46 Odom. • • things that become realities to us all in the future. I thank you very much. Thank you Chip. Yazwinski: I-apprediate the comments concerning the hopeful removal of that line out of the corridor. I appreciate that. Three concerns I have; one is, so few people out there realize that there was ever a line on a map that went right through their houses. My wife and I handed out about 50 flyers of people who lived on that line and maybe 2 people knew about a proposed East Bypass, 2 people out of 50. I know you are trying to get the word out, we're assured of that fact but evidently people out in the County don't read their newspapers that well or whatever. There should be some additional attempt made that when you plan a big street development like this that you draw lines on a map, the people should be notified somehow. We're required to notify you all and everybody when we want to do this with our land or that with our land, put signs up on the sign of the road of this anticipated use. It would be nice if you put a huge highway through the eastem part of town, every so often you put a sign up "proposed 300 linear foot freeway road is planned for this area". You would have -gotten people's attention i€you put a sign like that -in -some of the places out there. Another two -factors that are of concem is one, that Springdale Northern Bypass and how important the eventual placement of that is going to be with perhaps an Eastern Bypass in Fayetteville? Somebody has to decide it. Somebody has to talk to those folks and see how important. Maybe it's the Arkansas Street Commission or state . highway people that-are_going to.decide how important that line of the Springdale road =is going to be, where Fayetteville gets to put perhaps a road or the state is going to put a road. It would be nice if that was going to be nailed down, how important that Eastern Bypass is going to be around Springdale for the placement of this one. The other important issue is, every week that you wait, how many new houses are being built out there? It's probably on a weekly basis that more $300,000 and $400,000 houses are being built out there. So, you are almost putting that whole area of town in a corner there as to how massive a destructive move it's going to be when a bypass is eventually required out there. The sooner it is decided how important that bypass is going to be, I think someone ought to bite the bullet and put a line on a map and say "This is where it's going to be." It might be 20 years from now, it might 30 years from now but please stop building these $500,000 homes right here, because the longer you wait, the more optimal routes will get clogged up with houses and developments out there. It needs to be decided by someone that it's needed and if it's decided it's needed, then it needs to be decided where and when that's decided then people should stop building in those areas rather than letting people continue to build out there. I guess that's about it. Thank you very much. Planning Commission January 22, 2001 Page 47 Odom: Bunch: • • Thank you very much. Commissioner Bunch. On the issue of public notification, one of the things we did do at our past meetings of -the-2020 Plan_Updateis we-did-takea-list ofcitizens.either_in-the_City_or in_the County that wanted to be notified of the various stages of the process in addition to television and newspaper type notifications. I would like to ask the people here if they would mind if City Staff forwarded our list to the Regional Planning Commission because I think many of these concerns will be handled. If it would be alright to you all to forward that working list or if anyone wants to be added to it. We can give that information to Regional Planning and then Regional Planning could contact interested parties in addition to the media publications. • Odom. .. Any other audience member like to address us at this time? Wyatt: Good evening. My name is Patricia Wyatt. I live at 2488 Fox Trail. The view out of my window is the view of the highway that you have just removed from the map, I hope. I would invite any of you to come out there and see what it looks like too. We -chose to live out there as most of my neighbors did because it -is one of the most beautiful parts of Fayetteville. People are building out there because it is a gorgeous view. I would like to recommend serendipitously after hearing the previous agenda that perhaps, if the land is there and available, that is be considered for a multi- use bike trail because it is a gorgeous area and it's overlooking the White River. I would also like to reiterate what Fran_saidabout -the concept of a wall being built I think most of my -neighbors consider ourselves to be part of Fayetteville. We are about three minutes outside the limits and we are the virtual city, within 20 years I'm sure we will be part of the City. If a wall is constructed, that won't happen. If a wall is built that would limit what Fayetteville can someday become. I would urge you in making the decision to think imaginatively. Thank you. Odom: Thank you Ms. Wyatt. Scoggin: My name is Cliff Scoggin. I live right off Sassafras Hill Road which is inside of the line. After hearing what came out earlier in the evening we were talking about a project that was not on the 25 year plan for the state and costs more than what we could afford to sponsor here. I guess I'm up here to encourage the Planning Commission to take a look at the possibility of maybe working with the State and County to come up with some improvements to some of the county roads because having to drive in from that eastern part Washington County on a regular basis, you do find yourself going on a combination of county roads and dirt roads to try to get around to Springdale and there • • Planning Commission January 22, 2001 Page 48 may be an affordable, I'm sure you guys are trying to look at that, but there are some dirt roads and county roads that if they were patched together might well serve as and really, to some degree, are already serving as a makeshift bypass for the folks that live out way east and are trying to get around. That may be an affordable option that - maybe the Planning Commission could also encourage, it sounds like that was one of the things that was on the list initially, I want to encourage that as -something going forward here to look at. There may be some relief for the congestion there at Crossover and Mission along those routes. Thank you. - Odom. Thank you Cliff. Any other member of the audience like to address us? Johnson: My name is Mike Johnson. I live on State View Road which is just off Sassafras. My concern was not so much with the line on the map as it was the whole concept of the Eastern Bypass. Quite honestly the line on the map didn't go through my house so it was no great big concern. I guess with the removal of the line, I don't know if I've won or lost with what I think is fixing to happen in the future because now the line could come right through my house. I guess my concern would be, I don't know who is really in charge of putting this corridor together or taking if off, that I don't know. I • guess I would say let's take a realistic look.if there is a need for corridor and a bypass on the eastern side of town. If it is then I agree with the comments that had been made earlier. If there is not a need for the corridor, let's put a line on the map, let's make it definite. If there is•a need for the corridor, let's take it off. If it's unrealistic, if it's not _goingto happen,_if_it_s.Just something that's being put on there for the sake of putting it --on-there, let's not do that because people still -don't know what's supposed to -happen out there. If the corridor is not necessary for the eastern side of town, then let's remove the corridor. Odom. Thank you Mike. Would any other audience member like to address us at this time? COMMISSION DISCUSSION: Odom: Then I'm going to go ahead and close the floor to public discussion and bring it back to the Planning Commission for further questions or comments of John or the staff. Conklin: Just to respond to the last individual. I do believe we need to sit down at the Planning Commission level and look at this and conduct more studies and determine what's the best approach to determine what the transportation needs of northwest Arkansas are. I think just this past fall and winter sitting down and looking at you have one pot of money and how do you spend those federal dollars in northwest Arkansas. We do • • Planning Commission January 22, 2001 Page 49 need to make sure that we are meeting the needs of northwest Arkansas. It's not just the City of Fayetteville or City of Springdale, we do need to work together so I'm looking forward to working with John McLarty and Regional Planning Commission to look.at.how we can _do_additionaLstudies_to.determine-what_is needed for this region so I think there will be more information when the 2000 census information comes out and that will help -us better to guide and direct where we spend our federal and state dollars. Odom. I would like to thank everybody also for their public comment but just a little reminder that what we do really doesn't matter, the City Council are going to be the one's to take this issue up and make the determination as to what to do with it. They may take our recommendation and they may not. MOTION: Estes: Hoffman: Odom: I would move that we recommend to the City Council that the Master Street Plan 2000 revision be amended to delete the current line on the map that indicates the Eastern Bypass and show a corridor on the plan that is the same as the Regional 2025 - Plan -and -consistent -with -the -Major -Investment Study. -The reason -I make that motion, I feel like. I need to sort of summarize my thoughts at this time, after we've had the benefit and pleasure of public comment, is that the current line on the map is fiction. It's very doubtful that line as now sited would be constructed. That is the reason I suggest we take the line off. The reason I suggest that we leave the corridor on the plan, as shown in the Regional_2025_Plan,-is. that. it would not be fair to take that off because someone lookingatthe map and studying the map would not see that areawaseven under consideration for an Eastern Bypass which of course it very much is. I, with total concurrence with everything he said, will second the motion. We have a motion and second to move forward to the City Council our recommendation that we remove the current line on the map that indicates the Eastern Bypass on the Master Street Plan and that we show a corridor on the plan that is the same as 2025 Plan and consistent with the Major Investment Study. Do we have any further discussion? Before we vote, let me ask you this Tim, we've currently taken the right-of-way from one individual that had to do a lot split and that's the only person that's been impacted as a result of that line, is that correct? Conklin. That is correct and just a coincidence on our next Planning Commission agenda I do have two lot splits that are impacted by this Eastern Bypass. I haven't seen any or just one in eight years now but we do have two that are coming up. One is Chip Bemis • • Planning Commission January 22, 2001 Page 50 who spoke this evening. What I plan to do is take those to City Council and ask that the right-of-way not be granted and with regard_to the one that I have acquired right- of-way from, take that back to City Council and give that back to the developer. Odom. You can do -that on your own, it doesn't have to come through the Planning Commission or -be -recommended by the Planning Commission?- - - Conklin: That was at Subdivision Committee, I could take that one back to Subdivision Committee and have that recommendation made to go to City Council. Odom: The ordinance addresses future, it doesn't address retroactive. Conklin: I would like to at least have that right-of-way returned back to the developer. This is one area where I went out and took the City vehicle and actually I almost got stuck going down -towards the White River. That shows you how steep it can be in some of these areas. I think it's highly unlikely, in that particular location, we are going to have the road. Odom: I've ridden with you Tim,. I'm not sure it was the terrain that was the problem. Allen. I wondered if there would be any time table as to when a study would be done and a line would be drawn again? Odom. -That-would be a question -best posed to John from the -Regional Planning Commission, I believe. John, you said you were actually beginning your work for the 2030 Plan?. McLarty: We kind of see the finishing of our 2025 Plan as the beginning of the 2030 Plan because with 80,000 people moving into this area in the next ten years, this regional concept has got to really get up and running more and more. It's been there but it's got to accelerate. Where Springdale is sitting down with Fayetteville and Johnson and we are all looking at these things. We want to immediately. We are waiting on the census data. We are now getting the State data but we won't have the good stuff for another eight months to a year. That's going to tell us the tract by tract so we can look at not only population growth but where. We want to immediately begin looking at that. I do want to emphasize even if a corridor is really established, I think the Northern Bypass is the perfect example of that and the gentlemen's questions back here arelegitimate questions, its kind of a catch 22, you draw the corridor and then you have to commit major amounts of money, millions to do the environmental impact study to ever draw your line on the map. The northern corridor around Springdale, they don't have the line • • • Planning Commission January 22, 2001 Page 51 on the map yet and they have spent millions and millions of dollars in engineering studies. You_will see the crook in I-540 going up there, well that was Ozark cave fish. You can be going along and think you have a line going straight would make sense and ___then you get into_an_endangered_species -sort -of_thing.andjust. end_up- with .a big crook in the line: That costs enormous amounts of money: Unfortunately, when the line would - -ever be put-on the map, that would be when somebody, whether it's Fayetteville or Springdale or State Highway, pulls together enough money and a lot of money to begin to do the engineering and the environmental impact studies. Even with the corridor on the map, the line is way off. Odom. Thank you John. Allen: I understand -that.. Thank -you. —. Odom: Any other comments? Will you call the roll? ROLL CALL: Upon roll call, AD.00-47.00 is forwarded by_a unanimous vote.of 9-0-0.