Over the past few months, City of Bentonville planning staff have been looking into historic preservation options for the downtown square and surrounding areas.

Currently, there are no protections in place to stop historic buildings from being demolished or renovated in Bentonville.

According to the planning staff’s research, the community at large wants to:

Based on that feedback, three tools for historic preservation were identified: overlay districts, a National Register district, and a Historic District Commission.

These options may sound similar, but they differ significantly in how much they restrict remodeling and demolition of historic buildings.

Historic preservation has already been discussed at several City Council meetings this year, and it will likely come up again, though the timeline is unclear. The City Council could decide to move forward with one, none, or multiple options.

Here’s a breakdown of the options identified by city staff:

The city is overhauling its zoning rules, and two proposed “overlay districts” designed for downtown are already written into the draft code. It’s likely they’ll become law sometime this year.

Overlay districts add additional requirements on top of existing zoning rules.

Downtown Center Overlay (commercial areas):

Downtown Neighborhood Overlay (residential areas):

The National Park Service maintains the National Register of Historic Places, the official list of the nation’s historic places worthy of preservation.

It’s more common to hear that an individual building — for example, Old High Middle School — is on the register. But entire groups of buildings can also be added.

In fact, Bentonville already has two districts on the National Register: the Bentonville Third Street Historic District and the Bentonville West Central Avenue District. Both only contain residences, but a new district could include commercial parts of downtown.

This designation does not provide new protections against demolition. It does, however, carry reputational weight and makes property owners eligible for federal tax credits and grants that can help offset the cost of maintaining older buildings.

According to planning department notes, if this path were chosen, the city would serve as a facilitator, while local property owners would need to organize and lead the effort.

State law allows for the creation of a “Historic District Commission.” Rogers and Fayetteville have formed these commissions.

Of the options being considered, this is the most aggressive. It would involve a close review of what makes parts of downtown “historic,” the adoption of detailed design rules, and the creation of a new committee to review construction projects.

Such a commission would be able to block or approve additions, demolitions, new construction, signage, streetscape features, rehabilitation and restoration projects, and even paint color changes on buildings, according to the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program.

While some residents have asked for stricter building height limits downtown, the city’s planning director said any substantial change would need to be approached with caution.

Most of the area around the square was rezoned as either Downtown Core or Downtown Edge in 2009.

Downtown Core zoning allows for a maximum height of 80 feet, or roughly five to seven stories. On the map above, this district appears in the lightest pink.

The surrounding darker pink ring is Downtown Edge, which allows building heights up to 50 feet, or about three to four stories.

New height restrictions could trigger litigation due to reduced development potential, City Planning Director Tyler Overstreet told the City Council in August.

“If I was entitled to build something at six stories, and then you tell me I can only build it three stories, I can immediately say you’ve reduced my development potentiality by that three-story difference,” Overstreet said.

He said that in some cases, new restrictions could amount to “takings,” which could require the city to compensate developers for lost development potential.

At the meeting, several City Council members asked legal and planning staff for further analysis on what options might be available to restrict building heights.

“I certainly think we should go to the fullest extent that the law would allow,” Council Member Cindy Acree said. “If we actually embrace the value of historic preservation, we’re going to have to jump in. We can’t just keep kicking this can down the road and then say it’s too late.”

Council Member Aubrey Patterson expressed a similar view.

“I think we owe it to the residents of Bentonville to explore this, see what’s within the law, and go from there, because we know it’s something that’s important to a lot of people in this city,” Patterson said. “We don’t want to take away property rights, we don’t want to do anything that would get the city in trouble, but we do need to explore what we can to at least protect the style so it doesn’t turn into modern, metal buildings.”