Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

I'm going to call the planning commission meeting uh for November 24th, 2025 to order. Can everyone please stand for the prayer?

Most gracious heavenly father, thank you for this beautiful day. I ask that you be with each of us as we do your will and we make decisions in a very honest and leading way. Lord, please be with us when we leave. And I thank you for today. Amen. Amen. All right. Pledge. I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Thank you, Britney. Can we get a roll call, please? Helen Hwitt present. Alex Wowski here. Jack BS here. Butch Price here. Artbrook here. Aaron Mixon here. And Tara Chandler.

Okay. Next, we're going to move on to approval of prior meeting minutes. First, I'm going to talk about the October 27th regular meeting minutes. Uh, if there are any notes or comments, I'd entertain them now. If not, I'll entertain a motion to approve as written. Second. All those in favor? Any opposed? Okay. And then next, we'll have the uh special planning m meeting that we had on November 3rd. Um, and if there aren't any notes, I'll entertain a motion to approve those. Second. All those in favor?

Any opposed? Okay. We do not have any old business. So, let's move into new business. We have a variance request for the length of the culde-sac at Copper Moon Estates uh from Nick Hester. Do you want to come up and give us a little info on it? Yeah. So, this was the the original plans that we submitted a few years back. I guess it just kind of got past everybody. It was something that was uh it was designed by craft and toll and and I guess it just it got past everybody. So we're a little bit further than than the required uh distance and just want to get a variance on that. I mean it's already in it's it's already been approved. It's just something that slipped through the cracks. So

all right. U Mr. Meadows told us at in the staff meeting, do you want to come up and say what it just that it's a couple hundred feet longer than our ordinance, but it's already in and was approved.

Yeah, this was done by the zoning ordinance that we've had in effect through the rest of this year, which allows up to 750 ft. Um, it's 900 and some change, 926, I think, something like that. Uh so it's uh it's a little bit further than what would allow. It's but it's because when we put it in in three different phases, we never really added the length to the previous phases. We looked at each phase individually and we just never caught uh the that it was over 750 ft. So it's in uh it's plenty wide. It's got an adequate turnaround. It's it's everything we'd want to do. And he's going to have uh continuation of the subdivision that he's already got the first two phases in. This is the third and final phase of that subdivision. So staff recommended approval

with the varant to me. Uh any questions from the board? So is so just the length of it has changed. Nothing else has changed. Correct. Correct. Move to approve. Second. Second. All those in favor. Any opposed? Okay. Variance passes. Let's move on to the phase three final plat. Um, and it's the same uh image that we were looking at. Uh, like they said, everything is the same. Um, other than what we just approved. So, I'd entertain a motion to approve that as well. Make a motion. Second. All those in favor?

Any oppose? Okay, that passes as well. All right, let's move on to Moon Road Subdivision. And this is a preliminary plat. Um, so this is actually not going to have a culde-sac though, right? It's going to continue on. That's correct. We'll we'll go ahead and finish it on through uh where that little sliver of land is. It'll go between those I can't read it from here, but where the culde-sac is, it'll go between Yeah. 11 and 10. It'll continue through all the way to that little strip right there. So, it'll it'll continue through. It'll be a full loop and we'll loop the the water line as well. So staff have any comment on this?

Uh so we'll have the two entrance exits instead of one. All right. Move to approve. Okay. Second. All those in favor? I. Any opposed? Okay. The preliminary plat for that is approved with the change to the road. Um, and then we have a notice of discontinuation of remaining development phases for the long edition on Markham Street and the tapping fees being refunded. Uh, mayor or anyone want to come up and do we need to make any kind of motion or is this just an information for us?

I'll go ahead and do a motion just accept the u discontinuation. Okay. All right. So move. Okay. Okay. All those in favor to accept it. I. Any oppose? Okay, that passes. Now, uh, we have the planning commission ordinance from the mayor. Moving right along.

I love it. I love it. Um, anyway, I pass out to all y'all this evening. It's the uh ordinance that we passed in 2021 amending ordinance W 193, which was the originating ordinance putting this commission in place. this the company bylaws have not been updated since 1993. It's time with the new UDO coming into effect. It's time we take a look at this. So, I ask you just a read ahead, just take it home with you, read through it, we'll talk about it next month with some suggestions and we'll move forward from there.

Okay. All right. Thank you. Okay, that concludes our new business. Uh, I have something I'd like to talk about um that is something that's becoming an issue across the country, which is um AI data centers. Um, I would like to propose that the planning commission consider um a a motion to prevent the data center from coming in here for at least three years until further studies done on it through the country. Um, I do have more information. And I'd like to bring that next month for y'all to look at. Um, but just keep that in mind that uh data centers are being built. They're eating up a lot of water. Water is already an issue in Ward. So, I think it would be a good idea to make sure that we don't have one built here.

AI data center. You do? Okay. That's just my idea that I'd like to bring to the board. I don't think you can do that. I can't. Okay. I don't think you can unilaterally say without council action for sure. Well, yeah, I'd like the planning board to consider it and then but even that even AI data data center here would be far unlikely because we don't have a large um power grid. Okay. Power station near us. Okay. That's what's keeping crypto mining away from us is we don't have a power station near us, which is good. But did we pass something that zoned crypto mining out? It did. And I that's what I was considering. Yeah, we might we might take a look at that. But uh I think just unilarly say 3 years

right but certainly we can uh explore that okay from a city standpoint. So we'll do that. Okay. I'll bring more information on it as well as far as what I got a question real quick. Is the AI data center as has as many decibels as the other that we discussed. It is loud but it's not from what I've heard it's not as loud as crypto mining for sure. resource subject. Okay. Right. Yeah. The company I work for, we we build data centers and they're they're a lot quieter than what a crypto mining operation, but the city of Ward, we could not support correct the power grid nor the square footage needed to build a data center. Okay.

West Memphis. That's good to know. Their small ones are over 30,000 square foot. Okay. Their big operations and Okay. If those guys come, you will know it. They're they're not a joke, right? Yeah. Old I mean Amazon building. True. True. Uh but the bottom line is the city of Ward doesn't have the water resource. Lonelook White Power, you know, water system does not have the water system to support that. Okay. Well, that's good for us then. That makes me feel better. All right. Thank you guys. Um I'll go ahead and go over announcements. Uh December 7th is our Christmas parade. Isn't it at 2 pm? 4 p.m.

4 p.m. Uh, and then December 16th is the next city council meeting at 6:30. Uh, December 22nd is our next planning commission meeting at 6:30 here. And then this 25th through the 26th, city offices will be closed for Christmas. Um, and if anyone else has anything they'd like to add. Yes. Okay. Did you get my little note email that I sent to you and the mayor? Yes. that you'd like to continue your term. Yes.

Yeah. Um Butch and my uh terms are both up at the end of December of this year. Uh Butch will be renewing, but I will not. I'm not going to be on the planning commission anymore due to personal family issues that I need to deal with. So, I appreciate everyone and uh I enjoy being a part of this. If we don't have a meeting in December, uh I hope everyone has a good holiday. So, so sometime next year, this group will have to put a a uh posting out for a new member. and also elect a new chairperson. Right. Yeah. So, all right y'all. Well, if uh there isn't anything else, I'd entertain a motion to adjurnn. Motion moved. Second. All those in favor? I Okay. Thank you.