Property Owners File Lawsuit Over Variance Denials
Last updated Monday, May 7, 2007 8:47 PM CDT in News
By Steve Caraway
The Morning News
SPRINGDALE -- A long battle over a proposed business at what will be one of the busiest intersections in Springdale has resulted in a lawsuit.
Julie and Louis Knight filed a Benton County lawsuit May 2, saying the city's denial of three variance requests was unreasonable and should be overturned.
The Knights own the property at 4500 N. Thompson St., at the northwest corner of Thompson and Jackson Avenue in Springdale.
The suit, filed by the Knights' attorney Stephen Lisle, asked for compensation for making the property impossible to use. The denied variances included waiving the distance from the intersection to the property driveways.
"We asked to keep the driveways where they have always been," said Lisle. "It was obvious we were making a futile effort."
The junction with Thompson will become a major intersection after the northern east-west traffic corridor project extends Wagon Wheel Road. The design for the northern corridor calls for a five-lane road extending west to the Wagon Wheel exit at Interstate 540.
"This will be a very busy intersection," said Patsy Christie, city director of Planning and Community Development. "It would not be safe to leave the driveways where they are now. They are about 10 feet from the corner."
The building sat unoccupied for a long time before the Knights purchased the property. The structure was probably built while the lot was in the unincorporated section of Benton County, Christie said.
The owners applied for a permit to renovate the building in 2005, then asked for a certificate of occupancy. The Planning Department denied the request, alleging the building had never been occupied and needed to go through large-scale development.
The owners appealed the decision to the Springdale Planning Commission, which upheld the planning office's decision. Before an appeal came to the City Council, Lisle provided proof the building had been occupied.
An affidavit stated a business was in the building in 2002 and a city directory stated Lincoln Marine operated at the address in 1998.
When the property became part of Springdale, the business would have been accepted as a conditional use, according to Ernest Cate, assistant city attorney.
The conditional use expired, according to Cate, since the building was not occupied for six months or more. Major development rules would not apply, but zoning regulations would.
The lot is not big enough to move the driveways 150 feet from the intersection, the city's requirement, Lisle said.
The Planning Commission would have been favorable to moving the driveways as far from the corner as possible, Christie said.
"They made no attempt to move the driveways," she said.
There was no way to know if the commission would have approved moving the drives, Lisle said.
The lawsuit has been assigned to Benton County Circuit Judge Tom Keith.
A hearing to set a trial date will come after the city replies to the case.
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For a Better Springdale wrote on May 7, 2007 9:46 PM:
Really wrote on May 7, 2007 9:52 PM:
Nice attorney wrote on May 7, 2007 10:01 PM:
Get real wrote on May 8, 2007 8:08 AM:
Dean wrote on May 8, 2007 5:22 PM:
Not already registered?
milton wrote on May 7, 2007 9:37 PM: