Bentonville City Council on Tuesday rejected an appeal from a developer, effectively killing plans for six two-story townhome units on the corner of Northwest 7th and C streets in downtown Bentonville.

Ten residents who live nearby spoke against the proposed NW 7th St. Townhomes project. Comments revolved around drainage issues in an area already prone to flooding, increased traffic and parking on a narrow street, and whether the project fit within the scope of neighboring single-family homes.

In August, the Planning Commission unanimously denied the proposal, with multiple commissioners saying the project was not a good fit for the character of the neighborhood.  

The property is currently zoned as downtown medium-density residential, which allows for this type of development. 

In a notice of appeal, Project Manager Daniel Cole of Sand Creek Engineering & Land Surveying cites the Bentonville Community Plan, published in 2018, which identifies “three townhouse developments which are nearly identical to this proposed development” as appropriate design examples.

“They are remarkably similar to what the city has set forth as what you’re desiring to have inside these zoning districts as is,” Cole said during the meeting.

“This project is a six-townhome development,” added Max Deitchler, an attorney representing the project. “We’re not talking about 150 units on one acre of land. This is exactly the type of project envisioned by the DN2 zoning within the city.”

The Schuber Family Trust owns the property and was the developer for the project. 

Council voted against the appeal 6-1, with Beckie Seba voting in favor. 

“I understand that you don’t want a townhome in your backyard, nobody does,” Seba said. “But the plan is to densify downtown, and if we decide, OK, this one corner of downtown doesn’t have to get densified, then we throw that all out.”

Council member Gayatri Agnew was absent.

City Council unanimously approved a $497,708 agreement with Progressive Trail Design for trail repairs from the May 26 storms, plus taxes. The money will come from the city’s general fund, and will be submitted to FEMA for an anticipated 75% reimbursement.

In a memo to City Council, Parks and Recreation Deputy Director Josh Stacey stated that although the city’s debris removal contractor and the Parks and Recreation maintenance team have worked to reopen the majority of trails, 24 sections of trail in Slaughter Pen “remain in need of major repair that requires a qualified trail building company to complete.”

The trail work is expected to take three to four months to complete.

The Parks and Recreation department has committed 4,500 hours to cleaning up parks, with additional support from third parties and volunteers, said Councilman Bill Burckart. 

“It’s not that they’re not trying to get to them. It’s sheer lack of labor,” he said. “It’s not as simple as just removing the trees. You have to make the trail safe. And so that’s what this is really about.”

Council unanimously approved an agreement with Halff Engineering to handle the design for utility adjustments needed for ARDOT’s Highway 102 widening project for the amount of $828,569.65. 

According to the submitted resolution, the City received notice from ARDOT in March to prepare utility adjustment plans associated with the improvements. This project affects several city water and sewer lines, requiring relocation along the highway corridor. A portion of the engineering fees will be reimbursed by ARDOT as determined by the reimbursement ratio.

City Council unanimously approved two ordinances of rezoning from low-density single-family residential to downtown medium-density residential. The locations that will be rezoned include 105 NW 6th St. and 504 NW A St. The Planning Commission had previously voted 6-0 recommending approval.

In all, Council voted on over 20 items.