PC Minutes 08-06-2024City of Van Buren, Arkansas
Planning Department
1003 Broadway •Van Buren, Arkansas 72956
PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES
August 06, 2024
1. Call To Order. The Van Buren Planning Commission held its monthly meeting on
Tuesday, August 06, 2024, at 5:30 P.M. The meeting was held at the Van Buren Municipal
Complex in the City Council Chambers.
2. Roll Call. The following Commissioners were present: Vice -Chairman Philip Bagby, Jared
Clark, Missy Hefner, Jason Myers, Mason Shirey, Jay White, and Nathan Wilson. Commissioners
Mark Evans and Tiffany Webster were absent. City Staff present were Planning Director Wally
Bailey, City Inspector David Martin, Commission Secretary Jennifer Willoughby, VBMU
Director Steve Dufresne and VBMU Operations Superintendent Chris Coombes.
3. Approval Of Minutes From July 02, 2024. A motion to approve was made by
Commissioner Jay White and seconded by Commissioner Jason Myers. The motion was approved
unanimously.
4. Discussion Concerning Revisions To The Current Building Permit Fee Schedule.
After continued discussions between staff and the commission, it is believed that the best course
for amending our building permit fee schedule is to use a hybrid methodology similar to what both
Fort Smith and Alma have implemented. That methodology would mean using 3% of the cost of
construction for Commercial Building Permit fees and 2% of the cost of construction for
Residential Building Permit fees, To summarize, Mr. Bailey plans to gather the following
information to bring back to the Commission: find someone to do appraisals for new construction
cost, use City of Alma's permit fee system to find similar scenarios/examples to present, and show
examples of raised inspection fees.
5. Discussion Concerning Revision Of The Mobile Food Truck Vending Ordinance. The
Planning Department has received many questions related to the mobile food trucks. Some of the
issues include: the zoning districts where food trucks are allowed., setback requirements, the 120-
day time restriction, the lack of provision that will allow a food truck court outside of Downtown.
Some solutions mentioned include: adding mobile vending to Industrial Districts, adding the
ability to revoke mobile vending licenses., and allowing an annual permit that would include
possibility to add multiple locations to permit. Food truck courts need to have standards and need
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to be added to the zoning ordinance to allow for application of Conditional Use Permit. Mr. Bailey
will put together more information to update the mobile food truck vending ordinance and present
it to the commission.
6. Old/New Business.
7. Adjourn. A motion to adjourn was made by Commissioner Jason Myers and seconded by
Commissioner Mason Shirey. The motion was approved unanimously.
Mark Evans, Chairman
Wally Bailey, Planning irec o
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