Board of Zoning Adjustment and Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

So.

Okay, it's 430 and it's time to call the August 10th Board of Zoning Adjustments meeting to order Call the roll, please Here Here Here Here Here Here And I think we do have a forum, so we're okay there. The next item on the agenda is consideration of the minutes from July 13th.

I make a motion we accept the minutes as presented.

Second. I have a second. All in favor of the minutes as presented, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Okay. All right, the first item, or the next item, is unfinished business, zoning variance 65626. Staff, please.

It's been withdrawn. It's been withdrawn. Well, yes.

Per the applicant's request, this item's been withdrawn, so we won't be hearing it today.

Okay. Do we need a motion or anything if it's withdrawn? Okay. All right, that's all the unfinished business. The next item is new business. We have a public hearing on zoning variance 202666104. Staff?

So the applicant is requesting a variance of the retaining wall placement requirements. The project in whole is associated with a seawall and dock construction that was approved by both the POA and the City in December of 2025. The scope includes two retaining walls that run a length of 71 feet near the rear property line for a total combined height of seven feet. I do have to mention a correction of seven feet rather than seven feet two inches in the report. The walls will be separated by a four-foot path and meets all terrace wall requirements as a single wall. Code does require that the wall be 1.5 times the height of the wall from the rear property line and would require a minimum of 10 feet eight inches. The wall in its current placement at its farthest point only reaches 9 feet 10 inches, and thus requires the variance staff finds that the lot steep topography, of course, is not of their actions, and a retaining wall would help provide reasonable access to their dock. The wall otherwise the. To meet the placement requirement, greater excavation of the slope would be required. Otherwise. The wall meets terracing and drainage requirements and keeps with the spirit and intent of the ordinance. If approved, the applicant should pursue an easement release with the ACC as well as obtaining a retaining wall permit with the city. There was no public comment at the time of this report and all legal notifications have been met. With the analysis, staff is recommending approval.

Okay, do any of the questions have questions of staff? Is the applicant here, and if you are, would you come up front and state your name? If you have anything you'd like to add to staff?

No, he's presented it pretty well. My name is Sean Singletary. Fort Eak and Tire Drive here in Bella Vista. We added construction back in February to for the seawall itself and the dock that it finished, which left remaining excavation in about an estimate around three feet behind the seawall itself that exposed pretty much the slope. And what we want to do is to be able to contain it and then have a safe ability to be able to access the dock from the house anyway. And that's the reason why I'm requesting this variance.

Okay, do any of the commissioners have questions of the applicant? No. Okay, if you'll take your seat, we'll have public hearing on it. This is an opportunity for the public to make any comments about this zoning variance, if there are. If you have any comments, please come forward and state your name, and we give you, what, five minutes? Okay. Okay, not seeing anything, then do anybody on the commission have questions of staff?

They also get another 10 minutes after the public hearing, the applicant does, to speak.

Even if there was no public hearing?

Yeah, so typically it goes staff, applicant, public hearing, applicant.

So if we had the public hearing, there was just no hearing to be had because no one said anything.

And you've closed the public hearing.

And you've closed it, so...

So what you're telling me is we want the applicant to come back up? If they want to. If they want to. I don't have anything to say for 10 minutes. OK. Then I would entertain a motion.

Make a motion to approve the very accessory question.

Motion by Lloyd. Second. Second. Call the roll, please. Yes, yes, yes Yes, yes, yes Okay You get with you get with staff afterwards they'll tell you what the next steps are and all that Okay, the next item under new business is a public hearing on zoning 20266615. Staff, please.

All right, thank you. This property is located in the northern area of Bella Vista and is lot 27, block 3 of the Kilmer subdivision. Zoning code 109-014C establishes the minimum setback requirements of the R1 low-density residential district. The applicant's requesting... a seven and a half foot side setback in lieu of the platted 15 foot setback along Liddell Lane in order to construct a single family home located at the corner of Allison Drive and Liddell Lane. The subject parcel's currently undisturbed in a double frontage lot with platted setbacks of 15 feet along both Allison Drive and Liddell Lane with a 10 foot between the neighboring property and this one. The lot's in elongated shape. Both streets curve around the parcel. And, um, the proposed septic design places the tank and leach field along the north and west property lines, leaving that Southeast corner for them to place the house. Um, that also leaves them with that 15 foot side setback that's platted along Liddell lane. So again, they're asking for the seven and a half foot side setback, which would meet our zoning code standards. Um, Staff finds a strict enforcement of the platted setback would cause an undue hardship due to the circumstances of this individual property. The additional platted setback distances for the lot isn't a result of the applicant's actions and granting of the variance would not conflict with the intent of this district. The subject parcels in a low density residential area per the future land use map and Allison Drive and Liddell Lane are both unclassified residential streets per the master street plan. They experience low to minimal traffic. No public comments have been received at this time. And then staff met all legal noticing requirements. And due to the analysis above, staff recommends approval of the variance request.

Okay. Does anybody on the commission have questions of staff? If the applicant is here, would you please come forward and state your name? And if you have anything you want to add, now's your chance.

That was well said. I wouldn't add anything to that. He does a really good job. Thank you.

State your name, please.

And address, please. My name is Kevin Nembhard. Kevin Nembhard.

Okay.

And address.

And address. Home address, business address? I'm from Bentonville. Address 1204 Southwest Westbury Police, Bentonville. That's my home address. And my business address is 1202 Northeast McLean Road, Bentonville as well.

Do you have any comments you want to add to what the staff said?

What I've said? Nothing to add.

Okay. Any of the commissioners have questions of the applicant?

I do. Is this a custom-designed home, or is it an off-the-shelf floor plan?

It's a more spec one.

So it wasn't designed with this lot in mind?

Was the house was designed with a lot in mind we designed for that lot Thank you If you take your seat we'll have a public hearing on the issue, thank you, Doug All right now is the opportunity for anybody in the audience to come up and make comments regarding this project Seeing none, does the applicant want to make any further comments?

No, sir.

Okay. Thank you. I would entertain a motion.

I make a motion to approve zoning variance 66150.

I have a motion. Second. Second. Lloyd, call the roll, please.

Forrest?

Yes.

Portillo?

Yes.

Lloyd? Yes. Sedberry?

No.

Yes. Okay, that means the variance is approved. Is that right?

I thought we needed five for a variance.

That's what I was just getting ready to ask.

I believe it's five for a waiver.

A waiver. Yeah, it's a variance.

I think this is where it's getting confused. I think waivers are the only thing we require, five.

So we're good.

It just requires a quorum for variance.

So we're okay with the approval? I'm still looking. Give our attorney a minute or two. I think that's correct, but as soon as I say it, I want to make sure I know what I'm talking about.

So it's a favorable majority vote of the BCA.

Yeah. Okay, then the variance is approved. If you'll get with staff and they'll tell you what the next steps are. Okay. The next item on the agenda is open discussion. Do we have anything for open discussion?

Not at this time.

Okay, then. The next, well, the Planning Commission will start immediately after this. The next Board of Zoning Adjustments is, I don't see the date for that.

The only announcement we have is that the Planning Commission will happen immediately upon the adjournment of this meeting.

Well, I made that, so we are adjourned.

And then we need a moment to set up the recorder.

Okay, we will call to order the August 10th meeting of the Bella Vista Planning Commission regular meeting. Please call the roll.

Ellis. Barner.

Here.

Klesson. Sedberry.

Here.

Portillo.

Here.

Forrest.

Here.

Lloyd. Here.

All right, the next item on the agenda is the consideration of minutes from our last meeting.

Move the minutes pass as presented.

Second. We have a motion and a second to approve the meetings. All in favor of the meetings say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Okay. Next item on the agenda is the public input and this is a point, the place where citizens can make comments to the Planning Commission with anything that's not on the agenda. So if anybody has any comments they want to make, now's the time to come forward and do that. Okay, we'll close the public input. We don't have any unfinished business. New business is their calendar adjustment. Staff? Staff?

So staff is proposing to move our work session on October 1st to Monday the 28th at 4 30 p.m. There is a conflict with our annual meeting so all the professional staff will be at the annual Arkansas planning meeting that we have every year. This is the first time it's fallen on a work session like this but there may be some items that need discussed by professional staff. We have a pretty busy agenda this coming cycle for Cycle 9 or the September meeting. So in anticipation of that, and it just typically picks up in the fall anyway after the hot summer months are over. However, if it ends up not being busy, we can just cancel it like we did with the last two. But just having a backup plan in place, especially after speaking with our chairman about it, we wanted to be proactive on that.

Any of the commissioners have questions or staff about this? All I would ask is, assuming we approve it, that you send us an email so that I can change my calendar at home.

Absolutely.

Okay. Do I have a motion to change that, make that adjustment?

So moved.

Motion by Sedberry, second by? Portillo. Okay. Call the roll, please.

Forrest?

Yes.

Portillo?

Yes.

Boyd?

Yes.

Sudbury?

Yes.

Barnard?

Yes. Okay, that change is made. All right, next item is committee reports. Do we have any?

None at this time.

Do we have any open discussion at this time?

Staff does not. Staff does not.

Okay. All right, announcements. The City Council work session will be August 17th at 6 p.m. City Council meeting. City Council regular meeting will be August 24th at 6 p.m. The next Planning Commission work session will be Thursday, September 3rd at 4.30, and the Board of Zoning Adjustment meeting will be on Monday, September 14th at 4.30, directly followed by the Planning Commission. With that, we are adjourned.