Benton County public information sessions will be held to inform the public of changes to the Planning Ordinance.
The meetings are to allow the public to voice any concern or make suggestion they may have regarding the proposed changes.
Public Information sessions for the Draft Ordinance are scheduled from 5:30 p.m. - 8 p.m. to seek comments from the public on the following dates:
◊Wednesday, Sept. 11 - County Quorum Court Meeting Room, 215 E. Central Ave., 3rd floor, Suite 324
◊Thursday, Sept. 12 - NEBCO, 14639 S. Wimpy Jones Rd., Garfi eld
◊Monday, Sept. 16 - Billy V.
Hall Senior Center, 1870 Limekiln Road, Gravette
Visit the website at www.bentoncountyar.gov for more information.
Introduction/Project Overview
The Benton County Planning Board and staff have been working on a comprehensive rewrite of the Planning Regulations which are also known as the “Blue Book” or its more formal title “The Regulations, Standards, and Specifi cations for the Subdivision, Conveyance, Development, and Improvement of Unincorporated Land in Benton County, Arkansas.” As the PowerPoint presentation we developed to introduce the project indicates (see link to presentation under Reports and Presentations at left), this eff ort began several years ago and became a comprehensive rewrite project as staff and members of the board noted that many more challenges were evident than was fi rst thought.
Over the past year, staff has worked closely with board members to draft a revised setof chapters based on the following goals:
◊Address structural problems: Staff noted that the existing planning regulations were poorly organized and structured. Therefore, the new draft regulations offer a more efi - cient and logical organizational structure that we hope is easier to use and understand.
◊Fix glaring problems and shortcomings: Key problem areas identified were unreasonable lot split and tract split provisions, a burdensome “one size fits all” commercial site plan process called “Large Scale Development” that needs to be overhauled, subdivision provisions spread out over nine separate chapters, and other glaring omissions and contradictions that needed to be addressed.
We believe the draft successfully corrects these issues.
◊Clarify process and procedure: The new draft is arguablya document that establishes the procedures that applicants need to follow in a much more clear and concise manner. The application materials that applicants need to provide is spelled out in better detail and more reasonably aligned with the type of application used.
The Benton County website has been created so that Benton County citizens and other stakeholders can, using the content links and be able to follow the progress of the project, learn about the timeline, fi nd valuable links to resources, read reports, learn when meetings will be taking place, and other resources.
Project Resources
The website is a great resource but, If you can’t fi nd an answer to your question or can’t find what you are looking for, contact the Planning Ofi ce at 271-1003 or email planning staff members.
Community, Pages 6 on 09/11/2013