Bentonville City Council last week approved a change aimed at accelerating the process of getting new homes on the market by shortening construction time — a move that could save developers time and money, potentially easing pressure from the city’s rising home prices.

The new ordinance establishes a process for issuing building permits to developers prior to final plat approval, allowing them to start construction on residential units sooner. Over time, this could lead to more units on the market — one strategy that can be used to address the lack of available housing in Bentonville.

“The final plat is having all the infrastructure and the roads finished, the landscaping in and everything,” Ryan Trenholm, land development manager at Buffington Homes, said. 

“And with your final plat, you have a checklist of things — you have to get all your bonds in place, you have to get your POA documents in,” Lindsey Bell, also with Buffington Homes, said. “You could be working on all that stuff while you start construction on homes.”

Bob David, owner of Thrilled Home Builders, said the new ordinance is a great move for developers.

“It adds some much-needed flexibility to the process and can shave months off development timelines,” he said. “That means homes can get to market faster, which is especially important given the housing demand in Bentonville. It’s a smart, practical step forward.”

City Council member Bill Burckart, who is also a developer, brought the proposal to the Council in January and worked with city staff to create the finalized version of the ordinance that was passed April 8. 

Burckart was a member of Bentonville’s Housing Affordability Workgroup, which released its final report in January 2023, identifying recommendations the City of Bentonville could implement to encourage more affordable housing. One of its recommendations was to find ways to reduce development times on homes.

Burckart said this ordinance was a start to getting more of the workgroup’s recommendations passed at City Council. He estimates this change will save builders about three to four months in the development process. 

“Simply put, we only have so much production capability. If we can reduce that cycle time, then the existing capacity of production can produce more units year over year,” Burckart said.

With current interest rates, saving three or four months could save some developers hundreds of thousands of dollars, Burckart said.

Also passed at the April 8 City Council meeting was an ordinance that will allow the creation of a new Construction Board of Appeals that developers can consult after their project goes through the Planning Commission approval process.

The board will consist of three members and will include a registered architect or engineer, a member of the building trades industry, and a member of Planning Commission, according to the ordinance.

Council member Burckart also brought this ordinance to the table. He said it was an opportunity to create a board of experts that developers could turn to if they encounter policy disputes, conflicting recommendations, or differing interpretations of codes during construction. 

“Given the population size and increased construction activity, it is now appropriate to create a separate Board of Appeals for construction-related regulations,” the ordinance states.