Planning Commission Minutes December 5, 2017City of Van Buren, Arkansas
Municipal Annex
111 North 12'h Street • Van Buren, Arkansas 72956
PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES
December 5, 2017
The Van Buren Planning Commission held its monthly meeting on Tuesday, December 5, 2017 at
5:30 P.M., in the City Council Room of the Municipal Complex.
Members Present — Chairman Andy Dibble, Vice Chairman Philip Bagby, Mark Evans, Tiffany
Webster, John Symonds, Jay White and Jason Myers. Others Present Joseph Hurst, Planning
Director, Julie Copple, Planning Commission Secretary, David Martin, City Building Inspector,
Stanley Clark, City Fire Marshall, Devin Bell, Jimmy Bell Real Estate, James Schneider and Tony
Anderson, Anderson Surveying.
The first item on the agenda was to approve the minutes from the previous meeting. A motion was
made by Jason Myers and seconded by John Symonds to approve the minutes. The motion was
approved unanimously.
Vice Chairman Philip Bagby chaired the meeting because Chairman Dibble was unable to at the
moment. Agenda was changed to move item #8 to #2, Preliminary Plat, Habitat Addition, Lots 1-5,
Anderson Surveying. Tony Anderson addressed the commission describing the Habitat Addition
lots and the plans. Chairman Dibble asked the city fire department if any issues. Stanley stated
another fire hydrant needed to be added. Joe Hurst asked ifTony met with the water utility and
Tony had not.. Andy asked about the access and it was decided to allow city staff to gather the
remaining specifics before the final plat was submitted. A motion was made by John Symonds and
seconded by Jason Myers to accept preliminary plat with easement documentation and other
specifics to be handled by city staff before final plat is submitted. The motion was approved
unanimously.
Next item on the agenda was the tabled Variance#9-2017, James Schneider, 3006 Pointer Trail East,
Van Buren. Mr. Schneider was requesting a variance to the fencing ordinance for his front yard
fence to increase from 3' to 6'. The variance was tabled last month to allow time for Mr. Schneider
to obtain approval from the fire and police departments. City building inspector, David Martin,
spoke with the police chief and stated they were concerned about not seeing over the Eft fence. A
motion was made by Jason Myers and seconded by Andy Dibble to deny variance. The motion was
4-2 in favor of the denial.
The next item on the agenda was a public hearing on Variance#10-2017, Abernathy Properties,
LLC, Dan Abernathy, 1709 Hidden Valley St, Van Buren. Mr. Abernathy was requesting a variance
on the sidewalk ordinance since there were no connecting sidewalk system in the vicinity of this
home. A motion was made by John Symonds and seconded by Mark Evans to approve the variance.
The motion was approved unanimously.
Next item on the agenda was for a public hearing on Variance#11-2017, Abernathy Properties,
LLC, Dan Abernathy, 2219 Durango, Van Buren. Mr. Abernathy was requesting a variance on the
sidewalk ordinance since there were no connecting sidewalk system in the vicinity of these homes.
A motion was made by Jay White and seconded by Tiffany Webster to approve the variance. The
motion was approved unanimously.
The next item was a public heating on Variance#12-2017, VED Construction, Minesh Patel, La
Quinta Inn, North 6s' Street, Van Buren. The variance was requesting a height variance to the city
ordinance from 35' to 68' to build a 4 story hotel. Jason Myers asked the City Fire Marshall Stanley
Clark if their ladder trucks could reach that height, and was affirmed it would not be a problem. A
motion was made by Jason Myers and seconded by Jay White to approve the height variance. The
motion was approved unanimously.
Next item on the agenda was for a public hearing on Rezone application#8-2017, TPC Partners,
LLC, represented by Devin Bell, Jimmy Bell Real Estate. The rezone request is from R-3 to C-2.
Mr. Bell stated Firstar Bank will be purchasing the property with plans on building a Bank Branch.
The current zoning doesn't allow for a bank building to be constructed so they are asking for it to be
rezoned to C-2 to allow for the construction of the bank. A motion was made by Andy Dibble and
seconded by Mark Evans to approve the rezone. The motion was approved unanimously.
The next item was a public hearing on amending the permitted and conditional use legend that
would classify churches in residential and commercial zones. Joe Hurst stated the majority of out
current churches are in commercial zones and operate more like a commercial uses than residential
uses. We would like to update the permitted and conditional use legend since it now only allows
churches in certain residential zones. Mr. Hurst suggested that C-2 could permit churches by right,
then other zones could be conditional uses. Mark Evans stated that Fort Smith requires all churches
to have a conditional use permit in all zones, so being consistent across the board and making all
zones conditional made sense. A motion was made by Mark Evans and seconded by John
Symonds to modify the legend and make it a conditional use for churches in all zones. The motion
was approved unanimously.
A motion was made by Jason Myers and seconded by Jay White to adjourn the meeting.
Dibble, Chairman
Joe Hurst, Planning Director