Shopping Center planned

A shopping center is planned in front of Summit Meadows east of the boulevard o◊Slack Street;

residents of the subdivision object to a commercial venture there.

Evan Niehues, an engineer for Bates and Associates Inc., presented plans to Pea Ridge Planning Commission members at a tech review meeting Thursday, Nov. 7, for Pat Tobin, developer. City building o◊cial Tony Townsend also gave planners a letter from Jason Dunn, a resident of Summit Meadows, opposing to the development. The letter was signed by several other residents.

“It was zoned commercial before the first lot was sold,” Townsend reminded planners.

“It’s been signed commercial for years,” Jerry Burton, planner, said, referring to real estate signs noting the two lots on eitherside of the entrance boulevard as commercial.

Niehues said he did not draw the plans but was familiar with them. Planners and city department heads questioned Niehues about lighting for the parking lot, about drainage, parking and design.

There is a berm there designed to shield the residential area from the commercial area, M.J. Hensley, planner, said.

“It’s not tall enough to shield, just separate,” Townsend said, adding that there were evergreens there but they didn’t make it through the drought last year.

“I would like to see a buffer zone,” Zach Hoyt, planner, said.

Niehues said Tobin has tentatively said a dentist o◊ce might be in the building. There are two buildings of 5,650-square feet shown on the plans, each of which may be subdivided into fi ve o◊ces.

Other issues discussedwere a second entrance/ exit requested by Fire Chief Frank Rizzio, sewer connections, highway approval for entrance onto Arkansas Highway 72 (Slack Street) and landscaping.

The engineer said it was possible the development would be constructed in two phases with one building constructed fi rst, and the other, later. Planners said that would require a separate meeting and approval for the second building if the two are constructed at di◊erent times.

City requirements state the plans must be submitted - or resubmitted - to the city building o◊cial by a certain date to be included on the agenda for the Planning Commission meeting, which is set for Dec. 3.

“If it drastically changes, we’ll have to put it o◊to the January meeting,” Townsend told the engineer. “It’s like a di◊erent submittal because of the phases.”