Grocery Store A No-Go In Mixed Use Area
Forest Hills Developers Hoped For Neighborhood Market
Last updated Monday, April 14, 2008 8:59 PM CDT in News
By Dan Craft
THE MORNING NEWS
FAYETTEVILLE -- The economic needs of a big-box store don't mesh with Fayetteville's vision of mixed-use developments, a divided Planning Commission decided Monday.
A Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market can't be integrated into a mixed-use development that combines residential and commercial uses, the commission decided.
The Forest Hills proposal for a development off Wedington Drive in western Fayetteville needed five votes to pass. With two commissioners absent and two more recusing from the discussion, a single "no" vote was enough to sink the proposal.
"There's a serious lack of cohesion throughout the project," said Matthew Cabe, the lone dissenting vote.
Several commissioners expressed concern that the housing aspects of the project were segregated, with condos in a separate area from townhomes, and both separated from houses. The biggest snag, however, was the amount of pavement the proposed Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market would create. Several commissioners thought the parking required for such a big store hurt the walkability and connectivity of the area.
"For this project to be successful, we've got to have the Neighborhood Market. It's the anchor for this project, and you simply have to have parking with a grocery store," said John Alford, managing partner with Forest Hill Partners. "This development tries to meet most, if not all, of the city's 2025 plan, but it's very difficult to incorporate a 40,000-square-foot store into a development like this and still meet the economic requirements of that store."
The project was presented as a planned zoning district, where a custom zoning is established for a specific project. Forest Hills was planned with 206,000 square feet of commercial space -- 40,000 of that in the Neighborhood Market -- and 600 dwelling units. It would have been developed in four phases over the next 10 years.
The separation between the commercial areas and the different types of housing would have been better presented as individual rezoning requests, said Jeremy Pate, director of long-range planning.
Sean Trumbo, the commission chairman, recused from the vote before discussion started. Commissioner James Graves recused after discovering that Wal-Mart was a partner in the development, as his law firm has represented the retailer, creating a conflict of interest.
With commissioners Jill Anthes and Christine Myres absent, acting chairman Audy Lack asked Alford twice whether he would like the proposal tabled until more commissioners could be present. Alford requested a vote both times.
Alford has the option to appeal the commission's denial to the City Council.
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Fayetteville wrote on Apr 16, 2008 12:37 PM:
Since this is how these people are treated, the city should just eliminate them from the budget and add more dog catchers and what not. "