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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-02-21 - Minutes -Council Member Sonia Harvey Ward I Position I Council Member D'Andre Jones Ward I Position 2 Council Member Sarah Moore Ward 2 Position I Council Member Mike Wiederkehr Ward 2 Position 2 Mayor Lioneld Jordan City Attorney Kit Williams City Clerk Treasurer Kara Paxton City of Fayetteville Arkansas City Council Meeting February 21, 2023 City Council Meeting Minutes February 21, 2023 Page 1 of 27 Council Member Scott Berna Ward 3 Position l Council Member Sarah Bunch Ward 3 Position 2 Council Member Teresa Turk Ward 4 Position l Council Member Holly Hertzberg Ward 4 Position 2 A meeting of the Fayetteville City Council was held on February 21, 2023 at 5:30 p.m. in Room 219 of the City Administration Building located at 113 West Mountain Street, Fayetteville, Arkansas. Mayor Jordan called the meeting to order. PRESENT: Council Members Sonia Harvey, D'Andre Jones, Sarah Moore, Mike Wiederkehr, Scott Berna, Sarah Bunch, Teresa Turk, Holly Hertzberg, Mayor Lioneld Jordan, City Attorney Kit Williams, City Clerk Treasurer Kara Paxton, Chief of Staff Susan Norton, Chief Financial Officer Paul Becker, Staff, Press and Audience. Pledge of Allegiance Mayor's Announcements, Proclamations and Recognitions: None City Council Meeting Presentations, Reports, and Discussion Items: None Agenda Additions: None Consent: Approval of the February 7, 2023 City Council Meeting Minutes. Approved 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www.fayetteville-ar.gov City Council Meeting Minutes February 21, 2023 Page 2 of 27 Memorandum of Understanding Southeast Fayetteville Community Center, Inc. d/b/a Friends of Yvonne Richardson Community Center: A resolution to approve a Memorandum of Understanding with the Southeast Fayetteville Community Center, Inc. d/b/a Friends of Yvonne Richardson Community Center to clarify the responsibilities of each entity. Resolution 37-23 as recorded in the office of the City Clerk Acceptance of an Assistance to Firefighters Grant: A resolution to authorize acceptance of an Assistance to Firefighters Grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the amount of $84,081.81, and to approve a budget adjustment. Resolution 38-23 as recorded in the office of the City Clerk RFP 22-06 MGT of America Consulting, LLC.: A resolution to authorize a contract with MGT of America Consulting, LLC, pursuant to RFP 22-06, in the amount of $48,312.50, for the development of an updated Cost Allocation Plan & User Fee Study, and to approve a project contingency in the amount of $4,832.00. Resolution 39-23 as recorded in the office of the City Clerk 10 Year Water Purchase Agreement between the City of Fayetteville and the City of Elkins: A resolution to approve a 10 Year Water Purchase Agreement between the City of Fayetteville and the City of Elkins to allow the City of Fayetteville to furnish wholesale potable water to the City of Elkins and its residents. Resolution 40-23 as recorded in the office of the City Clerk Kim Petrone Water Damage Claim: A resolution pursuant to §39.10(c)(4) of the Fayetteville City Code to authorize the Mayor to pay the amount of $50,000.00 to Kim Petrone, Privacy Fence, Inc., and JDE Foundations, Inc. for a water damage claim arising at 3263 North Makeig Court. Resolution 41-23 as recorded in the office of the City Clerk Cards Holdings, Inc. - West End Apartments: A resolution to approve additional funding in the amount of $3,078.08 associated with the demolition of the structures located at the former West End Apartments, and to approve a budget adjustment - 2019 Drainage Improvement Bond Project. Resolution 42-23 as recorded in the office of the City Clerk Council Member Bunch moved to accept the Consent Agenda as read. Council Member Jones seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion passed unanimously. Unfinished Business: 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www.fayetteville-ar.gov City Council Meeting Minutes February 21, 2023 Page 3 of 27 Amend 130.39 Graffiti: An ordinance to amend § 130.39 Graffiti in the Fayettevi Ile Code to create a Graffiti Abatement Program. At the December 6, 2022 City Council meeting, this ordinance was amended to add ExhibitA and omit leasehold tenant. This ordinance was left on the second reading and tabled to the January 3, 2023 City Council meeting. At the January 3, 2023 City Council meeting, this ordinance was left on the second reading and tabled to the February 7, 2023 City Council meeting. At the February 7, 2023 City Council meeting, this ordinance was tabled to the February 21, 2023 City Council meeting. Council Member Hertzberg moved to suspend the rules and go to the third and final reading. Council Member Harvey seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion passed unanimously. City Attorney Kit Williams read the ordinance. Council Member Turk incorporated the Arts Council's recommendations into the amended ordinance but felt there were still issues she would like to continue to work on with the item. She believed the city had a graffiti problem and she was open to any recommendations that would keep the city beautiful while also allowing graffiti artists to thrive in a space designated for them. Council Member Moore: How many complaints were coming out about graffiti that led us to try to update this ordinance? Council Member Turk: We have that See Click Fix application, but I don't know how many complaints we have. On a prominent part of our trail and by Dickson Street we have a problem. I showed you the photos maybe six or eight weeks ago, and that area has gotten worse. It's not being addressed and we spend lots of money on trails and yet we have not been able to keep them clean. Council Member Bunch believed it would be a good idea to take new photos of the area and gather information on how many complaints the city had received for graffiti. Council Member Berna believed the challenge of the item would be defining what was considered offensive. He stated they needed to lean heavily on guidance from the City Attorney. Council Member Jones: Have we looked at what other cities have done? Council Member Turk: Our first draft was what Springdale had enacted and that may be something that we fall back on and reconsider, but that's where we started from. Mayor Jordan: Chief, do you have some data on the complaints on graffiti that might help? Chief Reynolds: I probably didn't do a good job of getting the most recent data but I can tell you. You've heard me talk about 2020 and 2021 and the crime and the increase after the pandemic, that was also relevant with graffiti. We had about 31 reported graffiti cases in 2021 and that went down to eight in 2022, so it ebbs and flows, that's how it works with graffiti. It's the broken windows theory that you've heard about; crime leads to crime and graffiti leads to graffiti. If you don't get that cleaned up that'll cause other graffiti to occur. The data I'm sharing with you this evening 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www.fayetteville-ar.gov City Council Meeting Minutes February 21, 2023 Page 4 of 27 doesn't capture all of the data, and what I mean by that is we're talking about the parks and trails. The Parks Department will call us and we'll go out, it's not necessarily an incident report made on that particular case and so the data is skewed on the low number. Council Member Harvey stated the Arts Council researched multiple cities' ordinances and created a report. She agreed with Chief Reynolds that graffiti could cause more graffiti, but graffiti itself did not cause other crimes. She believed it was important to get the graffiti removed quickly. Jonathan Curth, Development Services Director stated Code Enforcement looked into the issue last year and there had been three complaints, and since then there had been an additional two. Council Member Jones: What part of Fayetteville do you see the majority of the graffiti? Chief Reynolds: I don't know that it's any specific area of Fayetteville. We see it around the Dickson Street area, probably the Entertainment District is the most often place that's tagged. Outside of that I'd say it's pretty sporadic. If you're asking me to pinpoint one location I would say our Entertainment District. Council Member Jones: Have we been receiving any complaints from business owners? Chief Reynolds: When it's their business they'll call us to lodge the complaint. Like Council Member Berna said, some things are offensive to some people and some aren't as offensive. Wc'vc seen marijuana leaf s that have been tagged on Dickson Street that may not be as offensive as something that would be deemed as hate speech. Those are the type of complaints we get and that's the concern. Like Council Member Harvey mentioned, graffiti tends to lead to more graffiti. Some of that may not be offensive but sometimes it can be to the masses and that's when we get the most calls, like the situation that happened on MLK a couple years ago that got painted over and the Bank of America building that was on MLK that was unsightly and became an eyesore to folks that were coming into Fayetteville. Those of you that can remember as far back to the old city hospital and the old Mountain Inn, those were struggles for us as well. As a Police Department and as a city, we didn't have a mechanism to clean those situations. Most often than not it's a private property owner, or like you mentioned, a business owner on Dickson Street that has graffiti. They'll call us and they'll get it removed as quick as possible. When it's on our city property we get it removed as quick as possible but it's those situations where you can't find the property owner or the property owner is not being cooperative. Those are the three best examples I can site. Council Member Berna questioned if the City Attorney had any guiding recommendations. City Attorney Kit Williams briefly spoke of how graffiti had been a problem in Fayetteville and how removing graffiti required personnel and employee time. He believed it would not be bad for the City Council to authorize city funds to clean graffiti that a property owner did not want, but if the property owner wanted it there it wouldn't be considered graffiti. He spoke of how the Supreme Court of the United States were absolutists in first amendment protections and spoke of hate speech on private and public properties. He believed there were ways to amend the ordinance to keep it constitutional and yet still effective, especially in the speed of removal of graffiti. He was concerned about removing graffiti without the permission of property owners and explained how 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www.fayetteville-ar.gov City Council Meeting Minutes February 21, 2023 Page 5 of 27 he tried to put due process protections in the final item but it still did not completely satisfy him. He addressed his concerns in the memo that he sent to the Council Members. He explained how some cities may have graffiti ordinances that hadn't been challenged yet, but that didn't mean they were correct to follow from. He preferred the item be tabled for additional work. Council Member Moore: I didn't know if we had looked at the financial impact. We're working with Code Compliance on removal from our city owned areas but what kind of manhours and manpower is that? In the event that we move forward, we were going to work on private areas as well, have we explored what kind of labor and financial outlay that might be for the city? Council Member Turk: Springdale spent $12,000.00 last year and that's the best number that we have. It's hard to anticipate if we're going to go on private property what kind of issues we would have relative to theirs. Blake and I thought they had many more issues than we did so we anticipated the cost, or at least I anticipated the cost, to be less. Mayor Jordan: I assume we're going to table? Council Member Turk would like to table and work on the item more to strengthen the ordinance. Council Member Harvey believed the time spent on the item was helpful and hoped they could review the Art Council's recommendations as well as Council Member Turk's original draft. Council Member Jones thanked Council Member Turk for her work on the issue. City Attorney Kit Williams suggested tabling the item for two months. Mayor Jordan: Kara, do you have a time for the meetings? When is two months from today? Kara Paxton, City Clerk Treasurer: That would be April 18, 2023. Mayor Jordan: Council Member Turk, is that amenable to you to table to the 181" of April? Council Member Bunch moved to table the ordinance to the April 18, 2023 City Council meeting. Council Member Jones seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion passed unanimously. This ordinance was tabled to the April 18, 2023 City Council meeting. Fayetteville Active Transportation Plan Update: A resolution to approve an update to the Fayetteville Active Transportation Plan. At the February 7, 2023 City Council meeting, this item was tabled until the February 21, 2023 meeting. Dane Eifling, Mobility Coordinator stated there had been a social media push and website update since the last meeting which resulted in over 7,000 social media impressions and 200 website 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www.fayetteville-ar.gov City Council Meeting Minutes February 21, 2023 Page 6 of 27 visits, with the average visit time on the website being over four and a half minutes. He briefly spoke of the contacts that ran stories on the update to the plan. The City Council received 1 public comment regarding this resolution. Council Member Harvey thanked staff for allowing more time on the item and gathering feedback from the public. Council Member Wiederkehr was pleased to support the item. He briefly spoke of a business, the Fayetteville Gift House, that would be impacted by construction of the trail. He mentioned exploring creative ways that could accommodate deliveries for the business. Council Member Bunch believed that staff tried to work something out with the business that Council Member Wiederkehr mentioned. She thanked everyone for their comments. Council Member Hertzberg moved to approve the resolution. Council Member Harvey seconded the motion. Upon roll call the resolution passed unanimously. Resolution 43-23 as recorded in the office of the City Clerk New Business: African American Trail Blazers: A resolution to honor African American Trail Blazers of Fayetteville. Council Member Jones spoke of how February was Black History month and how we had four Trail Blazers in Fayetteville to recognize. He appreciated the work the Black Heritage Preservation Commission did and recognized the following Trail Blazers who made history; Tony Johnson, Frank Johnson, Jessie Bryant and Dr. John L Colbert. Council Member Harvey would follow Council Member Jones lead when presenting the certificates. She was honored to be a cosponsor. The City Council received 3 public comments regarding this resolution. City Attorney Kit Williams questioned if Superintendent John L Colbert might give a speech. John L Colbert, Superintendent thanked Council Member Jones for the recognition. He spoke of his career as an educator in Fayetteville. He based his career upon doing what was best for all students and trying to make a difference in their lives as well as the lives of teachers. He briefly spoke of his involvement in the community and how he had given back as an educator. He was honored that his board decided to name a school in his honor; John L Colbert Middle School. Council Member Jones stated he had Certificates of Recognition he would like to present to the Trail Blazers. 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www.fayetteville-ar,gov City Council Meeting Minutes February 21, 2023 Page 7 of 27 There was brief conversation of which Trail Blazers were present at the meeting. Council Member Jones requested Chief Reynolds to present Frank Johnson's certificate. Council Member Turk: Mayor, should we pass the resolution first? Mayor Jordan: We should. Council Member Hertzberg moved to approve the resolution. Council Member Turk seconded the motion. Upon roll call the resolution passed unanimously. The African American Trail Blazers were presented with their certificates. Frank Johnson, Former Police Chief spoke of his history as chief and thanked the City Council and Mayor Jordan for the recognition. He believed Fayetteville had a good Police Department and spoke of the citizens of Fayetteville's support and the new Police Department that was being built. He spoke of Chief Reynolds and how he believed Fayetteville was in good hands. Council Member Harvey read the recognition for the two African American Trail Blazers that were not in attendance. Mayor Jordan thanked Council Member Jones and Harvey for bringing the item forward. Resolution 44-23 as recorded in the office of the City Clerk Study, Possibly Amend, and Affirm Support of the Amended City Plan 2040: A resolution to study, possibly amend, and affirm support of the amended City Plan 2040. Council Member Moore brought the resolution forward due to new members being on the City Council. Her focus tonight would be in regard to housing. She hoped to receive support in adopting the Master Plan to move forward. She stated there was a housing crisis that was further pressured because of the pandemic. She explained the income level data in Fayetteville and identified six goals in the Master Plan that would set Fayetteville on a path to success. She wanted to discuss what could be built on from the previous and current work that had been done on Goal 1 and Goal 6 of the plan. She spoke of short term goals she would like the council to think about. She described her past experiences in working with nonprofits and the public. She spoke of opportunities in areas of the city to discuss affordable housing on publicly owned land. She stated the long term goal from the Master Plan she focused on was creating a complete neighborhood or street corridor plan every other year. She was open to hearing council's thoughts on Goal 2, Sprawl, and she would like to take a deeper dive around the goal. She spoke of Washington County being near the border of Fayetteville and that we may have annexation in the future. She extended the opportunity to adopt the Master Plan as it stood and then identify ways in the future to amend it. Council Member Bunch: When we're talking about development in the county, we have this boundary where things have to meet what our standards are in Fayetteville, is that right? 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www.fayetteville-ar,gov City Council Meeting Minutes February 21, 2023 Page 8 of 27 Jonathan Curth, Development Services Director: That's correct, we call it the Planning Area; that's how it's described in state statute. As it's applied to Fayetteville and in our ordinances is that it can extend as far as two miles outside the city limits, unless we abut another city, in which case would mean halfway in-between. Sometimes with cities like Farmington or Elkins, it's immediately adjacent. When it comes to that two miles of Planning Area there's a bifurcation or split in our ordinance as to how our codes apply. When you're within one mile of the city limits, our subdivision standards apply and that's a relic of when most of the development that is anticipated occur there was residential subdivisions. Our tree preservation ordinances, our drainage criteria and things of that nature do not apply our Building Design Standards so we are not typically looking at land use. Zoning authority lies with the county, as Council Member Moore noted. Once you get beyond that one mile envelope, staff has the ability to review projects but it's held to the counties standards at that point. Council Member Bunch: Thank you. Would you explain what the Mayor's box is? Jonathan Curth: Certainly. It was envisioned before I began working with the city but it originally came out of the concept of a ring road that would surround the interior part of the city. It's Rupple on the west side, Crossover on the east side, varying between Joyce and Van Asche to the north and then MLK to the south. The intent of that was that would be something of an informal urban growth boundary beyond which the city would look at differently when projects came through, whether it was for cost shares or rezoning's in that nature. Is that fair Mayor? Mayor Jordan: Yes. Council Member Bunch thanked Jonathan Curth. Council Member Moore asked for Council to approve the Master Plan as it stood. Council Member Hertzberg: Is the Master Plan not already approved? Mayor Jordan: Yes, it is. Council Member Hertzberg: I don't think we would need to approve it. Council Member Harvey thanked Council Member Moore for highlighting important parts of the Master Plan. She believed the pandemic highlighted housing and had noticed an increase in people experiencing homelessness. She believed it would be good to have a recommitment to the plan and was willing to work on policies to take more action. Council Member Turk wondered if the better way procedurally to handle the request would be to have a resolution of intent to give city staff more direction. Council Member Jones thanked Council Member Moore for putting the item together. He believed Fayetteville was experiencing a housing crisis and that the council needed to be proactive. He was willing to support whatever he could to address the crisis. 113 West Mountain Fayetteville. AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www.fayetteville-ar.gov City Council Meeting Minutes February 21, 2023 Page 9 of 27 Council Member Turk noted that Fayetteville's rent prices were lower than other areas but that we still had a housing crisis. She looked forward to seeing what was brought forward in the future. Council Member Jones spoke of how there were individuals in Fayetteville who were working poor and struggling to pay for groceries and rent. He wanted to shine a light on this issue. Council Member Bunch thanked Council Member Moore for bringing the item forward. She liked the idea of working on the item more and having breakout sessions. She was in favor of building housing across the city that would meet the needs of different citizens in different areas. Mayor Jordan: This is the time that we need to discuss retreat for the City Council. We all gather together for a couple of days and express our ideas. Susan and I have been talking about that. We had an individual that was, what was her name, Susan? Ruth? Susan Norton, Chief of Staff: Ruth Whitney previously did a retreat for the then sitting City Council. Council Member Bunch, you were here. Council Member Bunch was a new Council Member when the retreat happened. Mayor Jordan explained how the council at the time expressed ideas, spoke of their interests and passions. Council Member Bunch believed the retreat was a great learning experience. She remembered the retreat was in Spring of 2017. Mayor Jordan: Do you all want me to pursue that? Council Member Harvey: That would be amazing, yes. Council Member Hertzberg: Yes, that'd be great. Council Member Berna: Are we talking about the overall direction? Mayor Jordan stated the council talked about a lot of things and how they would like to see the city grow. He stated a lot of the goals in the 2040 Plan came out of the retreat. Susan Norton: To answer Council Member Berna's question, I think what the Mayor was talking about was overall because City Plan 2040 address's our entire overall strategies and goals. What the then City Council looked at was an old strategic plan that had been on the shelf and at the same time the City Plan 2040 was beginning to come forward to be amended, but we wanted to revisit the old strategic plan and it turned out through the process of the retreat and the program area, you all at the time, came up with the same types of goals that City Plan 2040 had. It was a coincidental arrival at affirmation and then moving forward, but it was comprehensive stuff. Council Member Wiederkehr: Do you want a show of hands if we're interested in the retreat? 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www.fayetteville-ar.gov City Council Meeting Minutes February 21, 2023 Page 10 of 27 Mayor Jordan: No, i noticed by the head nods that people seemed interested. If nothing else, we can express ourselves in a meeting. Council Member Wiederkehr stated no one was against affordable housing. He believed it was a challenging topic worthy of time and attention because the entire nation was wrestling with it. He loved the idea of a retreat and believed it would be worth the investment and time. Mayor Jordan: We'll pass the resolution. Do we need to put an amendment on it? Council Member Bunch: I don't think we're passing. City Attorney Kit Williams: I don't think so, if you look at what the City Council is binding themselves to by passing this resolution it says the City Council hereby expresses its desire for further study and possibly to amend. I think that's why Council Member Moore brought this was so the council would be able to take a second look. Where you want to look and how broad you want to look, that's up to the council. Council Member Hertzberg moved to approve the resolution. Council Member Harvey seconded the motion. Upon roll call the resolution passed unanimously. Resolution 45-23 as recorded in the office of the City Clerk American Rescue Plan Act Reimbursement of Loss Revenue: A resolution to allow nonprofit organizations operating in Fayetteville to submit an application for reimbursement of loss revenue from American Rescue Plan Act Funds from March 15, 2020 to March 2, 2021, and to approve a budget amendment of one million dollars for these qualified applications. City Attorney Kit Williams stated Council Member Turk would need to remove from the table her resolution and then once the City Council approved it they could discuss it further. Mayor Jordan: You want to do that before I read it? City Attorney Kit Williams: Right, because even though it's shown on the agenda it's really on the table so we ought to bring it off the table before you read it. Council Member Turk moved to remove American Rescue Plan Act Reimbursement of Loss Revenue from the table. Council Member Hertzberg seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion passed unanimously. City Attorney Kit Williams stated there would need to be a motion to amend the resolution to what had been supplied to the City Council for the meeting. Council Member Turk moved to amend the resolution to match the additional information document in the revised packet. Council Member Harvey seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion passed unanimously. 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www.fayetteville-ar.gov City Council Meeting Minutes February 21, 2023 Page 1 1 of 27 Mayor Jordan read the resolution. Council Member Turk gave a brief description of the amended resolution. Council Member Jones: What if a nonprofit has already received funding initially? Can they apply for this round as well? Council Member Turk: If they've received funding from the city already, it was during a different time period. If they document these losses from March 3, 2020 to March 2, 2021, they can apply under this resolution. City Attorney Kit Williams stated there could be no double dipping but that this resolution was covering a different time period. He explained that some of the amendments suggested were originally from Steve Dotson and Paul Becker to make sure everything was legal under ARPA. Council Member Moore thanked Council Member Turk for bringing the item forward. She believed this would help many organizations. She questioned the amount of $1,000,000.00 and commented that nonprofits with the arts community expressed desire for ARPA funds. Council Member Turk: The first round when we did this, I can't remember how many applications they got, but a huge amount. That was consideration for staff time because we've been struggling with this for quite a while. I recognize there may be some groups that have suffered greater losses than that but there's a whole lot of other small nonprofits that I hope would be able to apply and be compensated with the proper documentation. To spread the money a little bit wider was also part of the consideration. City Attorney Kit Williams stated if there was not a limit on the resolution, somebody might apply and take the entire $1,000,000.00 without anyone else getting anything. Mayor Jordan: Steven, do you have any input on how it was arrived at the amount? Steven Dotson, Internal Auditor: Yes, Mayor. It was that we had concerns one organization or two might show up and take the whole amount when Council was looking to spread this out. Council Member Berna: Why did we have the initial window that we had? Was it government required? Was there a reason we didn't open it up for the full two years? Steven Dotson: Yes, Council Member Berna. When we first opened this program, we were the second in the country who was running this type of program. We needed to reach out to treasury to discuss this with our auditors and find what the appropriate timeframe was where we could run this. The interim final rules supported a timeframe of 2021 to 2022 and so that's what we did. Council Member Berna struggled with the fact there were nonprofits who requested funds who had not received an answer from council yet and now the council was opening the window up and giving away potential funds to someone that would apply within the next week. 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www.fayetteville-ar.gov City Council Meeting Minutes February 21, 2023 Page 12 of 27 Council Member Turk struggled with what Council Member Berna stated as well. She stated it was based on federal regulations at the time the program was put together. Steven Dotson: The organizations that submitted a subrecipient grant application, they would be eligible to apply under this program if they sustained an economic loss. Council Member Jones: It's sounds like those nonprofits who haven't heard anything, they can apply for this round of American Rescue Plan Act funding, correct? Council Member Turk: Correct, it's not a requirement that they applied in 2021 for the previous round of reimbursements. I thought about that but there may be some organizations that only suffered losses back in 2020 to 2021 so why would they apply in 2021 and 2022? So, it is open to all of those and it's open to organizations that applied for subrecipient funding. Council Member Jones believed the request was making it more equitable. Council Member Turk spoke of the requirements for the request. Council Member Jones: Those organizations or those nonprofits who haven't heard anything, what's going to happen with them? Council Member Turk did not understand Council Member Jones' question. Council Member Jones: Are we going to reach out and tell them they didn't get the money? Mayor Jordan: They'll have to reapply. I see what Council Member Jones and Berna are saying, these folks have already got in the hopper and we haven't told them whether they're going to get money or not. What do we tell them when they say, `well I got my stuff in and did it exactly how I'm supposed to so are you telling me that I could loser Susan Norton, Chief of Staff. Mayor, the distinction is that even though they submitted as a subrecipient and perhaps the committee and the City Council didn't approve them yet or may not, they might have another opportunity to apply under the revenue loss which is not the same thing that they submitted previously, which we still don't have a resolution for. Council Member Jones thanked Susan Norton for her helpful clarification. Council Member Turk stated there would still be funds remaining if the item passed. Susan Norton: Counci l Member Turk, I know you stressed the two week application window and the $100,000.00 cap, but I also want to make sure everyone understands the application window gets one application and we will not have continuing rounds continuing to request for the documentation. If it doesn't come in then it doesn't meet the criteria and will not be considered. Council Member Turk thanked Susan Norton. She hoped that if the council passed the resolution they could get the information out immediately to the public. 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www.fayetteville-ar.gov City Council Meeting Minutes February 21, 2023 Page 13 of 27 Steven Dotson planned to get the information out this week and opening the program next week. Susan Norton stated if it was alright with the Council the announcement would be handled the same as the prior cycle. Council Member Jones: How did we arrive at the two week window? Council Member Turk: That was a recommendation by staff. We were also concerned that we would have so many applications and that $1,000,000.00 would run out very quickly and so we were trying to restrain it so that we wouldn't have applications for $5,000,000.00. Council Member Wiederkehr liked the idea. He believed that since the nonprofits were organizations instead of subrecipients, it set them apart from subrecipients who had yet to be awarded funding. He was proud of what Fayetteville had done with the American Rescue Plan Act funding. He supported the request and commended Council Member Turk. Steven Dotson stated there was $1.75 million left of funding. Council Member Moore moved to approve the resolution. Council Member Harvey seconded the motion. Upon roll call the resolution passed unanimously. Resolution 46-23 as recorded in the office of the City Clerk Appeal LSD 2022-039 (788 S. Sherman Ave./E. Huntsville Rd. Multi -Family West): A resolution to grant the appeal of DCI and to approve Large Scale Development 2022-039 located at 788 South Sherman Avenue in Ward 1. Jonathan Curth, Development Services Director gave a brief description of the resolution. He stated staff supported the overall project but was not in support of the access management variance or of the request to not provide accessible parking. He stated the Planning Commission ultimately moved to deny the project with a vote of 7-2. He noted that several commissioners commented that the proposals conflicted with ordinance and the number of variances the applicant was requesting suggested the layout of the property itself was inappropriate and flawed. He stated the two votes who favored approving the project felt the applicant represented good effort on a challenging property. He stated there had been no public comment on the item. He noted Jay Young was available as the applicant. Jay Young, Applicant believed the project was a good fit for Fayetteville. He noted the property was zoned to allow 29 units but they only planned to build 22. He stated they were in full compliance with all zoning requirements and described the units they planned to build. He briefly spoke of the fire code requirements with the property and how the developers began the project working together but has since chosen to separate on the project and seek two separate approvals. He stated the other project was approved but this current one was ultimately denied. He spoke of the meetings they had with departments within the city and how they worked to accommodate all the requests asked of them. He stated each department recommended approval of the project, they 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www.fayetteville-ar.gov City Council Meeting Minutes February 21, 2023 Page 14 of 27 just couldn't get behind the two variances the developers were requesting. He noted there had been zero negative comments from any neighboring properties. Mayor Jordan stated the applicants time was up. Council Member Bunch requested the applicant have another minute to finish his presentation. Jay Young requested council's review and consideration of the proposal. Council Member Turk: Huntsville is very busy, I'm wondering if you all looked at the safety of concerns there? How many traffic accidents have happened in that area and proximity? Jonathan Curth: That is one of the considerations. It's not always the number of accidents it's also the severity. You may hear engineers talk about vertical curves, that's when you have someone flying over a hill that you cannot see. The peak of Huntsville is a further west from this property so people aren't coming downhill from it. Just for visualization purposes, here is the traffic data that staff was reviewing from and this represents the information from 2017 to 2021. It's a heat map and it is worth noting that the heat map looks more specific as you zoom in and out so if you zoom out to all of Fayetteville you probably won't even see these spots on it, but as you zoom in this is clearly a very localized heat map. There is a record of at least one non capacitating injury at Sherman Avenue. That confined with the number of accidents in this area gave staff some concern with not just having the potential for a higher volume of traffic coming out of this property but additional curve cuts along Huntsville Road. We felt that typically it is more ideal from a design standpoint to have access points in the vicinity of an intersection, in this case it would be meeting immediately across from where the public street Sherman Avenue intersects with Huntsville Road, which coincides with this properties existing shared access with the property to the west which you can see here as I'm indicating. That was the major factor in staffs recommendation. Council Member Turk: Thank you that's very helpful. I always ask for a topography map, the applicant talked about the gradient and I did not see that in our packet. Can you speak to that or is there something we could see quickly? If not that's okay. Jonathan Curth: Certainly, I can pull the other map right up but while I'm doing that if you'd like the applicant may be able to speak to exactly what the grade is if he has that on hand. Council Member Turk: Yes, could you describe what the gradient drop off is? Jay Young: Sure. In our packet, Jonathan if you want to pull up the first sheet of our submitted plans, it'll how the current conditions of the property and it has the contour and grading on it. Jonathan Curth: Certainly, allow me one moment here. Council Member Turk: While he's doing that, I do have one question for you, sir. You noted that the Fire Chief or the fire code says it's a maximum of 30, is that units or? And between your neighbor to the east of you, how many units is he putting in? 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www,fayetteville-ar.gov City Council Meeting Minutes February 21, 2023 Page 15 of 27 Jay Young: He's putting in 23 units and the property that I'm here representing tonight is putting in 22 units for a combined 45. Council Member Turk thanked the applicant. Council Member Berna: From the existing curb cut that's there, how many residents? Is it just one single residence that feeds that curb cut? Jay Young: That shows the grading across. You can see where the contours are stacked up at the northwest corner, which is to the lower left, and then all the contours consistently fall as you go to the upper right, which is to the southeast. The existing curb cut, which is at our northwest corner, there's about five feet of that driveway that's on us and the remainder of it is on the neighbor's property and the neighboring property today is a duplex. There are two units that use that driveway on the neighbor. Our property previously had a duplex on it and so there were two units on our property and those four units were using that one driveway for a period of year. Although it's addressed on Sherman Lane, Sherman Lane does not extend south and there's no public right-of- way. Although the use has been consistent for a period of time, there's no written easement for the use of the neighbors property to access our property. Jonathan Curth: Council Member Turk, to put a number to your question, it looks like the general slope on the property varies from just shy of 4% to around 5%. Council Member Harvey: Kit, do we have any legal ramification state wise for not having an accessible parking space for that number of units or is that more our code? City Attorney Kit Williams: I don't think that's a legal problem, if that's your question. If the federal law would make this builder do it, then we would ensure that they would do it and there would be no variance possible. This is something that is up to your discretion just like it was up to the Planning Commission's discretion. Council Member Harvey thanked Kit Williams. Council Member Wiederkehr: If I understand correctly you're saying the legal liability when someone sues for their lack of an ADA parking space would be the property owner and not the City Council? They can't name me as a co-insured? City Attorney Kit Williams: It's probably not covered under the ADA to require this private developer to do that. That's what they're asserting and I don't think that even though our code is trying to be more generous, under the federal law they're okay and so it's unlikely anybody would be sued. However, we like to be even more generous in our protection of ADA rights. Council Member Wiederkehr briefly spoke of Chapter 13 of the original UBC that states it is a requirement under federal law even if the state doesn't allow it. He was concerned about the number of variances because he believed there were six all together, not just two. 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www.fayetteville-ar,gov City Council Meeting Minutes February 21, 2023 Page 16 of 27 Council Member Hertzberg did not believe the ADA requirement would apply to a private sector. She believed in the development and explained how the council looked at each request as a case by case scenario. She explained why it made sense to grant the variances for the property. Council Member Jones requested the applicant come forth to discuss safety and traffic concerns. Jay Young briefly referenced the access management code. He explained the speed limit on the street and demonstrated calculations of safe stopping distances for reacting to hazards. He briefly spoke of trafficability and the neighboring driveways next to the property. He spoke of how they were only able to get 70 feet instead of the 100 that was required for the driveway. He explained how the proposed driveway location could see 500 feet to the east and west, which was more than 136 feet needed for drivers to react to hazards. He noted there was a driveway next to the property but they did not have easement to use the driveway and the owner was unlikely to grant access. Council Member Berna noted the project had challenges. He originally believed he wouldn't support the project due to the ADA variance, but after listening to further conversation he felt it wasn't a hurdle that should prevent the property from being developed. He believed curb cut was problematic and was unsure of what direction he wanted to go in terms of support on the item. He felt the project was viable and hoped they could figure out a way to get it approved. Council Member Jones questioned if anyone had spoken out against the request. Jonathan Curth stated there had been no public comment. Council Member Turk: Could you give us some perspective on how often you grant a variance with access management, especially with the traffic and accident data you showed us earlier? Jonathan Curth: It's difficult to put a number to. There are significant legal considerations every time staff is charged with making these recommendations. We have written and rewritten our access management ordinance to protect private property rights. When a piece of property is adjacent to a public street there's a certain amount of assumed right to access that street so there are instances where staff has supported these variances. It's not frequent or infrequent. Of those instances there's several times that staff supports some sort of reduced access so what we like to call a right in right out. If you think of some developments, like a gas station, where it's on the corner we tend to recommend full access to a side street that connects as a street live and then off the main road they'd have a right in right out. We want to discourage those left turns being the most dangerous onto a higher volume street. I realize that's a non -answer of sorts, we certainly see these quite a few times but it is always first and foremost in our mind to make sure that a property owners right of access is protected and in this instance that went into staff s recommendation to pursue the existing shared curb cut as an alternative to a new curb cut. City Attorney Kit Williams pointed out the legal ramifications the Supreme Court of Arkansas held regarding street access for property owners that abutted streets. He briefly explained how it would be possible to redesign the project so the applicants driveway could hit the other curb cut that was already there and spoke of the safety concerns this could present between the tenants of 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www.fayetteville-ar.gov City Council Meeting Minutes February 21, 2023 Page 17 of 27 the current duplexes and the tenants of the new development. He believed there was a test for the council to consider on which was safer and which idea made the most sense. Council Member Hertzberg believed the separate entrances would make more sense. Council Member Turk preferred to hold the item for two weeks so the council could get a tour. Council Member Wiederkehr: Jonathan, we have a proposed development site plan but we don't have a site plan that would show the shared driveway example do we? Jonathan Curth: I don't believe that's been proposed by the applicant at this point so we don't have any drawing showing that. City Attorney Kit Williams believed the applicant would have to redesign their whole project. Council Member Berna: It sounds like you all had some conversations about that shared drive. How would that, if we came down on that side to say we're going to force you to use that, how does that change your development in your eyes? Jay Young stated that if the two variances were recommended for denial they could still move forward with the development and that it would not be a complete redesign. He briefly explained how they could adjust the property to accommodate the request if the variances were denied, but they would lose tree canopy. Council Member Bunch questioned if the applicant could work with the request being tabled. Jay Young: We would pause for two more weeks if that was the desire, we can accommodate that. Council Member Turk: The applicant just mentioned that the drive, once it's past 500 feet in length it has to be widened to 26 feet as opposed to 20 feet? If I got that correct. Why is that? Willie Watts, Assistant Chief. It's for Fire Department access. It's simply so that we are able to access if vehicles are parked on the side. Council Member Turk: So just to ensure there's enough room along the length for you to turn around and maneuver? Willie Watts: Yes, and to be able to operate off of whatever side the fire apparatus is on and it gives us that buffer so we are able to operate as well as park that unit. Most of those units do take up quite a bit of space, they're about eight foot wide and then a lot of time if we do have an aerial apparatus in there those require an offset so they require usually another four to five feet. Council Member Turk: If they have the same number of apartments, the probability of a fire is roughly the same. How critical is that distance? What I'm asking is that that variance may be less important than maybe some of these other variances. I just don't know. 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www.fayetteville-ar,gov City Council Meeting Minutes February 21, 2023 Page 18 of 27 Willie Watts: We're going to refer back to fire code. Fire code does require two separate approved road accesses into that complex and honestly if it's 30 or more units it either requires two roads in or it requires that facility or development to be sprinkled. it's going to have to meet either, like the applicant stated earlier, it's going to have to meet that 13-D or the 13-R requirements. Council Member Turk: Those are state and federal regulations, right? Willie Watts: Yes, ma'am. Council Member Moore would be in favor of approving the item. She stated the item had challenges but would be increasing access to housing. She was concerned about some of the drawbacks to solutions on the item and understood if the council wanted to give it more thought. City Attorney Kit Williams explained that if the council wished to approve the project, they would need to say except for the conditions which denied the variances in the resolution. Council Member Bunch: If we do that, then we're going back to that original approval, right? City Attorney Kit Williams: Well, the original city staff approval was for everything except those two variances, is that right? Jonathan Curth: That's correct, as the resolution is written it recommends in denial of the access management and ADA parking space. City Attorney Kit Williams would have to change the resolution if council granted the variances. Council Member Bunch made a motion to approve granting the variances and not the denial. Council Member Jones seconded. Mayor Jordan: Council Member Bunch, you made the motion to include the variances in the development? City Attorney Kit Williams: To approve the variances. Mayor Jordan: Yes, that's what I understood. Is that what you're saying? Council Member Bunch wanted to approve what the applicant was asking for. Mayor Jordan asked if Ward 1 representatives had heard any comment in regard to the item. Council Member Jones had not heard anything. He was in support of the item. Council Member Harvey had not heard anything either. She spoke of how the applicant had done nothing but work with the city departments to figure out how to make his item work. She believed 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www.fayetteville-ar.gov City Council Meeting Minutes February 21, 2023 Page 19 of 27 the request fit well with housing needs. She believed that in speaking about curb cuts, the applicant should have his own instead of sharing with the neighbor. She was in support of the project. Council Member Jones noted that no one had come forward to oppose the project. Council Member Turk was concerned about the accident information and that the applicant hadn't approached the neighbor in regard to sharing a driveway. She believed a tour of the property would be helpful. She did not feel that allowing the variance for access was the best thing to do. Council Member Berna stated he started out unsure about the project. He explained how the council was going to have to get creative when working with challenges such as this in regard to housing. He believed the project fit with the vision of the area and would be supportive. Council Member Wiederkehr complimented the engineer and was surprised he was not present at the meeting. He was concerned about the safety of the driveway and that he didn't have an example to view of the possible shared drive with the neighbor. He briefly explained how a possible long term resident could potentially become disabled and not be accommodated by the unit and that it was an ADA variance he was hesitant to approve. He briefly spoke of the access variance and how he did not feel comfortable approving anything involving that kind of road safety. He spoke of how all residents who use Huntsville Road were going to be impacted by the development. He would be leaning with the Planning Commission and staff on disapproval. City Attorney Kit Williams: The first thing that must be done according to our motion at this point in time is a motion to amend the current resolution. I would only add at the end where it says with the conditions outlined in the staff memo attached to this resolution and then I would add except that variances for access management and no disabled parking are approved. That would be the additional language at the end of that resolution and that vote on amending the resolution would need to come before we vote on the resolution. Mayor Jordan: So, it would get rid of the handicap requirement? City Attorney Kit Williams: Yes, the handicap requirement variances would be approved and the access management variance would be approved. Is that what you are intending? Council Member Bunch: Yes. Council Member Bunch moved to amend the resolution to what the City Attorney read. Council Member Jones seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion passed 6-2. Council Member Bunch, Hertzberg, Harvey, Jones, Moore and Berna voted yes. Council Member Turk and Wiederkehr voted no. Council Member Bunch moved to approve the resolution. Council Member Jones seconded the motion. Upon roll call the resolution passed 6-2. Council Member Bunch, Hertzberg, Harvey, Jones, Moore and Berna voted yes. Council Member Turk and Wiederkehr voted no. 113 West Mountain Fayetteville. AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www.fayetteville-ar.gov City Council Meeting Minutes February 21, 2023 Page 20 of 27 Resolution 47-23 as recorded in the office of the City Clerk Appeal CUP 2022-0129: Conditional Use Permit (215 E. Lafayette St/Baxter): A resolution to grant the appeal of Council Members D'Andre Jones, Holly Hertzberg, and Scott Berna and approve Conditional Use Permit CUP 2022-0129 for a Short -Term Rental at 215 West Lafayette Street. Jonathan Curth, Development Services Director noted James Baxter was available as the applicant for the item. He gave a brief description of the resolution and property. He stated staff recommended approval of the request and that when a motion was made to approve the item by the Planning Commission it was a split vote of4-4, which was a failed motion. He stated the main commentary of the commission was with regards to why the appeal was not appropriate; there was concern that there was an excess of short term rentals in the area. He stated staff felt that since the area had more dense housing it may be appropriate to have a higher frequency of Short -Term Rentals. He did not believe Planning Commission received the same information about parking available as the council did. He stated staff had not received any public comment on the item. James Baxter, Applicant thanked the Mayor and Council for their time. He emphasized that the previous owner may have had a violation for operating a Short -Term Rental, not himself. He asked the council to approve the Conditional Use Permit that staff recommended be approved. He stated there had been no public opposition to the request. He gave a brief PowerPoint presentation for the item and spoke about the units around his property. He believed there was misunderstanding at the Planning Commission in regard to parking and clarified that his driveway was a two car driveway and that he also had two on street parking areas. He stated he bought the house because he went to school in and loved Fayetteville, but he couldn't live here due to job reasons. Council Member Hertzberg believed this was a unique situation because it had staffs approval but got a tied vote at the Planning Commission. She brought the item forward so the applicant could discuss the new information, specifically about parking. Council Member Berna echoed what Council Member Hertzberg stated. Council Member Jones felt the same. Council Member Bunch: I have a question for Jonathan, can you explain to us about the downtown design overlay area and what that means exactly? Jonathan Curth: Certainly. Is it any particular context? Council Member Bunch: Just give us a run down on that in case some of the Council Members don't understand that. Jonathan Curth: The Downtown Design Overlay District was a result of the Downtown Master Planning process in the mid 2000's. It was first meant to create the parameters for the area within which that plan was to take effect. From a functional standpoint, it does have design standards as 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www.fayetteville-ar.gov City Council Meeting Minutes February 21, 2023 Page 21 of 27 the name Downtown Design Overlay District suggests that is mostly about building materials. It doesn't necessarily speak to land uses, the land uses are controlled by the underlying zoning districts which were crafted as a result of the Downtown Master Plan. Council Member Bunch: What is this area zoned here? Jonathan Curth: This particular property is zoned NC, Neighborhood Conservation, and I'm glad you mentioned that because there's a misconception that Neighborhood Conservation has some sort of ecological component to it. It was originally intended in the Downtown Master Plan to conserve some of the single family neighborhoods that were part of the Downtown Master Plan, so portions of Mount Nord, this neighborhood and some areas additionally that are southwest of the library as well that were included in that. Council Member Bunch: A lot of the other areas around this when you get down into the real croaks of the Entertainment District is zoned Downtown General, is that right? Jonathan Curth: Along Dickson is mostly Mainstreet Center, which is Downtown General's bigger sibling. Council Member Moore was familiar with the area. She believed the timing was unfortunate for the applicant coming forward with the proposal because the council was under pressure about what to do with Short -Term Rentals going forward. She felt torn that she wanted to support the request but was concerned about accessible housing for residents so she wouldn't be in support. Council Member Bunch stated the area was not affordable for most people. She believed the property was appropriate for a Short -Term Rental. She was unsure about how she felt in regard to the item because it was so close to passing at Planning Commission. Council Member Turk echoed Council Member Bunch. She believed the real challenge was unlicensed Short -Term Rentals. She stated it was difficult to deny the Short -Term Rental since it was possibly unlicensed before the applicant bought the property and the data on if the city was at the cap for Short -Term Rentals was not available. She believed the additional information on the two parking spaces was helpful and alleviated the concern she had. She would support the item. Council Member Wiederkehr commended the applicant for their work on the appeal. He shared the same concerns as Council Member Moore. He explained how the house made sense as a Type 2 Short -Term Rental. He stated Ward 2 constituents had concerns about the abundance of Type 2 rentals in the area and because of those concerns, he would struggle supporting the request. Council Member Harvey would support the item. She described how the house was the perfect ideal place for a Short -Term Rental and saw it as a way to promote Fayetteville. Council Member Hertzberg moved to approve the resolution. Council Member Berna seconded the motion. Upon roll call the resolution passed 6-2. Council Member Bunch, Turk, Hertzberg, Harvey, Jones and Berna voted yes. Council Member Moore and Wiederkehr voted no. 113 West Mountain Fayetteville. AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www.fayetteville-ar.gov City Council Meeting Minutes February 21, 2023 Page 22 of 27 Resolution 48-23 as recorded in the office of the City Clerk RZN 22-053 (3017 W. Old Farmington Rd./Arnold): An ordinance to rezone that property described in rezoning petition RZN 22-053 located at 3017 West Old Farmington Road in Ward 1 for approximately 0.50 acres from RSF-4, Residential Single Family, 4 units per acre to RSF- 18, Residential Single -Family, 18 units per acre. City Attorney Kit Williams read the ordinance. Jonathan Curth, Development Services Director gave a brief description of the ordinance. He stated staff found the request to be compatible from a land use standpoint and that staff found the request to be complimentary of the city's adopted plans. He described the amenities near the property and noted the request would change the tree canopy requirements on the property from 25% to 20%. He stated staff recommended approval of the request and that Planning Commission felt similarly, forwarding the proposal to council with a vote of 8-0. He stated there had been no public comment received on the item and that Blake Jorgenson was available as the applicant. Mayor Jordan: Would the applicant like to speak for the council? Jonathan Curth: Mayor, I'm not seeing him online so he may not be present. Council Member Harvey had not heard any comments in regard to the request. She described the area and believed it would be good for development. She would be in support of the item. Council Member Jones stated he was familiar with the area and would be in support. Council Member Hertzberg believed she would support the item. She stated she would have appreciated if the applicant had been present at the meeting. Council Member Harvey moved to suspend the rules and go to the second reading. Council Member Jones seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion passed unanimously. City Attorney Kit Williams read the ordinance. Council Member Harvey moved to suspend the rules and go to the third and final reading. Council Member Jones seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion passed unanimously. City Attorney Kit Williams read the ordinance. Council Member Harvey stated the applicant may have been at the meeting earlier and left. She wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt because he had been in many meetings many times. Mayor Jordan asked shall the ordinance pass. Upon roll call the ordinance passed unanimously. 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www.fayetteville-ar.gov City Council Meeting Minutes February 21, 2023 Page 23 of 27 Ordinance 6643 as Recorded in the office of the City Clerk RZN 22-055 (N. Bob Younkin Dr. & W. Bishop Dr./Legacy Ventures NWA): An ordinance to rezone that property described in rezoning petition RZN 22-055 located at North Bob Younkin Drive and West Bishop Drive in Ward 3 for approximately 7.76 acres from R-O, Residential - Office to CS, Community Services and RMF-24, Residential Multi -Family, 24 units per acre. City Attorney Kit Williams read the ordinance. Jonathan Curth, Development Services Director gave a brief description of the ordinance. He stated staff found the request to be compatible and spoke of the mixed land uses in the area. He stated staff found the request to be complimentary of the future land use plan and found the area to be an' appropriate infill location to allow for additional housing opportunities. He stated staff had not received public comment but there were six people who spoke at the Planning Commission with a range of concerns. He stated staff recommended in favor of the request and the Planning Commission felt similarly and forwarded the request to council. He stated Tim Brisiel was available as the applicant for the item. Tim Brisiel, Applicant thanked Jonathan Curth and staff for the assistance on the item. He stated the rezone would help facilitate in the construction of a mixed -use, diverse and slightly dense multi -family community in that area. He gave a brief description of the plans for the units. He felt that the request was in line with the 2040 Plan and affordability. Council Member Berna: Have you got any form of design in process yet? Tim Brisiel: We don't have a formal concept plan yet, we wanted to make sure we had the rezoning approval to do so before we would launch the full-scale concept plan. It will be one and two story units. A five story unit is not conducive to a 55 plus aged community. Mayor Jordan: We have to be a little careful about talking about the projects, is that correct Kit? City Attorney Kit Williams explained that since the item was a zoning decision, they were not supposed to talk about how it would be developed. He stated that whatever the applicant stated would not be enforceable unless there was a Bill of Assurance or it was a Planned Zoning District. Council Member Berna appreciated the City Attorney for clarifying. He asked the question because the residents of the area felt there was secrecy about what the project was. Tim Brisiel stated he understood and that secrecy was not their motivation, it was an economic decision to save money since they didn't know the outcome of the rezoning would be. He briefly explained the zoning and how their intention was to be creative in the layout for the community. Council Member Hertzberg appreciated that the applicant kept in mind the older population when considering the development. 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www.fayetteville-ar.gov City Council Meeting Minutes February 21, 2023 Page 24 of 27 Council Member Wiederkehr found the request supportable. Council Member Bunch talked with the same citizen that Council Member Berna did and stated he wasn't opposed to the development, he just wanted to know what it was going to be. She described the property and the tree canopy. She believed the area could be developed nicely. Council Member Berna stated the intent of the surrounding property owners was not to prevent development, they just wanted to know more about the situation. He offered to facilitate a meeting between the applicant and the neighbors. He would like to hold the item on the current reading. Council Member Bunch agreed. Mayor Jordan appreciated the applicant sharing what could be developed in the zone. Council Member Bunch explained how a drawing at this stage would be conceptual. Council Member Berna moved to suspend the rules and go to the second reading. Council Member Bunch seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion passed unanimously. City Attorney Kit Williams read the ordinance. This ordinance was left on the Second Reading. VAC 22-019 (2231 W. Markham Rd/Markham Hospitality): An ordinance to approve VAC 22-019 for property located at 2231 West Markham Road in Ward 4 to vacate a portion of a utility easement. City Attorney Kit Williams read the ordinance. Jonathan Curth, Development Services Director gave a description of the ordinance. He stated staff received all appropriate consents from the franchise utilities that had a right to the easement and was recommending in favor of the request. He stated Jay Young was present as applicant. Jay Young, Applicant stated the item had been approved as part of the Large Scale Development. He stated they would have a contractor starting the correct procedure to begin the process of removing and relocating the water line so that it would complete the conditions of approval. Council Member Harvey moved to suspend the rules and go to the second reading. Council Member Jones seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion passed unanimously. City Attorney Kit Williams read the ordinance. Council Member Harvey moved to suspend the rules and go to the third and final reading. Council Member Jones seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion passed unanimously. 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www.fayetteville-ar.gov City Council Meeting Minutes February 21, 2023 Page 25 of 27 City Attorney Kit Williams read the ordinance. Mayor Jordan asked shall the ordinance pass. Upon roll call the ordinance passed unanimously. Ordinance 6644 as Recorded in the office of the City Clerk VAC 22-028 (East Sain Street./Trails at the Creek): An ordinance to approve VAC 22-028 for property located at 1074 East Sain Street in Ward 3 to vacate a portion of utility easement and a portion of a grading easement. City Attorney Kit Williams read the ordinance. Jonathan Curth, Development Services Director gave a description of the ordinance. He stated staff received the required consents from all franchise utilities. He explained how the vacation approval was subject to the grading permits approval and if the project did not move forward staff did not want the easements to be relinquished until a future project came through. He stated the Utility Department wanted to maintain easement coverage for a sanitary sewer line to the south of the area. He spoke of a $127,500.00 reimbursement for the grading easement that the city purchased for the extension. He noted Jorge Du Quesne was available as the representative. Jorge Du Quesne, Applicant explained how they were trying to get a grade permit for an apartment complex. He stated they were asking for a utility easement vacation and grading easement vacation. Council Member Harvey moved to suspend the rules and go to the second reading. Council Member Berna seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion passed unanimously. City Attorney Kit Williams read the ordinance. Council Member Harvey moved to suspend the rules and go to the third and final reading. Council Member Berna seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion passed unanimously. City Attorney Kit Williams read the ordinance. City Attorney Kit Williams noted the vacation was unusual because the city was getting it's money back for what we bought the property for. Mayor Jordan asked shall the ordinance pass. Upon roll call the ordinance passed unanimously. Ordinance 6645 as Recorded in the office of the City Clerk 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www.fayetteville-ar.gov City Council Meeting Minutes February 21, 2023 Page 26 of 27 VAC 22-029 (1074 E. Sain St/The Trails on the Creek): An ordinance to approve VAC 22-029 for property located at 1074 East Sain Street in Ward 3 to vacate a portion of street right-of-way. City Attorney Kit Williams read the ordinance. Jonathan Curth, Development Services Director gave a description of the ordinance. He stated staff recommended approval with the conditions that Mr. Williams outlined but also two additional pieces; one to accommodate the two standard bus shelters and also to transfer the land at the southeast corner of the roundabout to the city. He stated the item had received no public comment and that it went to the Planning Commission where it was forwarded on their consent agenda. City Attorney Kit Williams: Jonathan, you want Conditions 5 and 6 as stated with the two bus stops for Condition number 5 to this? Jonathan Curth: Yes, and then a sixth one that the large scale development shall provide an executed deed to the city transferring that piece of property I showed on the screen. City Attorney Kit Williams: So, we need an amendment to that and you'll send me that wording in the morning, right? Mayor Jordan: So, in the amendment we're going to add another bus stop? City Attorney Kit Williams: Yes, two bus stops. That's number five. Jonathan Curth explained that the developer shall install two bus shelters and shall provide an executed deed to the city transferring the property at the southeast corner of the roundabout. Council Member Hertzberg moved to amend the ordinance to match what the Development Services Director read. Council Member Turk seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion passed unanimously. Jonathan Curth noted the applicant was available. Jorge Du Quesne, Applicant briefly described the property and stated they understood the conditions and were amendable to accepting all of the conditions as requested by planning staff. Council Member Harvey moved to suspend the rules and go to the second reading. Council Member Turk seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion passed unanimously. City Attorney Kit Williams read the ordinance. Council Member Harvey moved to suspend the rules and go to the third and final reading. Council Member Turk seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion passed unanimously. City Attorney Kit Williams read the ordinance. 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www.fayetteville-ar.gov City Council Meeting Minutes February 21, 2023 Page 27 of 27 Mayor Jordan asked shall the ordinance pass. Upon roll call the ordinance passed unanimously. Ordinance 6646 as Recorded in the office of the City Clerk Announcements: Susan Norton, Chief of Staff stated there was one more week before the Environmental Stewardship Award nominations were closed. Council Member Wiederkehr stated the Chancellor of the University of Arkansas would be speaking at the library and encouraged everyone to attend. Council Member Bunch stated Friday would be the deadline to turn in applications for volunteer boards and committees and Planning Commission. Council Member Harvey stated there would be a Ward 1 meeting on March 2nd at 6:00 p.m. City Council A enda Session Presentations: 71B Corridor Study Implementation Update. Update on ARPA Childcare Assistance, Paul Becker and Yolanda Fields. City Council Tour: None Ad'ournment: 9:40 p.m_ ,`E�r�r rRF r,�f 7 r Kara Paxton, City erk Treasurer p'- E • 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www.fayetteville-ar.gov