Citizens oppose new development of Midway area

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The Baxter County Quorum Court heard some appeals from the Baxter County Planning Commission and heard speakers supporting a land use management ordinance which will be considered at the December meeting.

A packed audience of people opposing the two proposed developments in the Midway area stayed for most of the nearly four-hour long meeting, which ended shortly before 10 p.m.

The court voted to table an appeal from a Planning Board denial of a sketch plat for The Cedars of Mountain Home off County Road 15. The proposal would develop 17 single-family homes on approximately seven acres. Voting to table the matter were Steve Litty, David Lemoine, Joshua Davis, Ed Toscano, Wade Robson and Mickey Pendergrass. Voting against tabling the request were Kevin Bodenhamer, Charlie Hooper and Lynn Lasky. Dick House abstained, saying he had some business with one of the presenters, and Eddie White was not present. White was attending out-of-town training for his job with the Mountain Home Fire Department.

The court voted to deny the second appeal from a board refusal to accept a sketch plat.

“(Jack Martin) has complied with Baxter County subdivision regulations,” Ethredge said. “If we have rules and he follows the rules, he should be allowed to move forward.”

“This body, the Quorum Court, is not in a position of doing all the detail work that has been done by the administrative body assigned to do that, which is the Planning Board,” Toscano said right before the vote to uphold the Planning Board decision and deny the request.

Voting in favor of the motion were Toscano, Bodenhamer, Hooper, Lasky, Lemoine, Litty, Pendergrass and Robson. House abstained again. After the meeting, he said he had a similar matter which would be going before the board in the future.

An ordinance prohibiting the discharge of firearms within subdivisions with lot sizes of less than two acres in unincorporated areas of the county was pulled from the agenda.

A motion was made to reconsider the land-use ordinance which was voted down at October’s Quorum Court meeting. The Environmental Committee made some minor changes in it at a meeting last month before deciding to send it to the court for another vote.

County Attorney Ron Kincade said the motion Tuesday was only to vote on whether to consider the ordinance and not a vote on the ordinance. Kincade also said the ordinance should go through the three readings required by law, since it was defeated at the last court meeting. The justices could suspend the rules and have all three readings during one meeting if they chose, he said.

Everything in the proposed ordinance is already state law, Hall said.

The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality can respond to complaints only, while this would force developers to get permits ahead of time, giving the Planning Board a chance to look at the proposed development and, if the development does not comply with erosion control, a stop-work order could be made.

Voting in favor of reconsidering the proposed ordinance were Davis, Hooper, Lasky, Lemoine, Litty, and Toscano. Voting against were Bodenhamer, House, Pendergrass and Robson.

Lasky said a number of people had traveled a great distance to speak on the proposed ordinance and asked that they be heard.

Among speakers in support of the ordinance were Gene Dunaway, president of Friends of the North Fork and White Rivers Inc.; Mike Armstrong, chief of fisheries for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission; Kim Fuller of ADEQ; James Smith of the Norfork Planning Commission; Leon Alexander, who read a letter from Cotter Mayor David McNair stating Cotter had adopted ADEQ regulations as part of the city’s ordinance; and AGFC Director Scott Henderson, who sent an e-mail.

Alexander raised the issue about sediment runoff into the river from Overlook Estates in the Norfork Area which led to the ADEQ stepping in and enforcing regulations.

In other action, the justices approved an ordinance to have Hall purchase the building where Juvenile Services Department is housed on Bomber Boulevard for a price of $255,000, with House abstaining. House’s real estate company was involved in the process.

Present for the meeting were justices Charlie Hooper, Mickey Pendergrass, Ed Toscano, David Lemoine, Dick House, Wade Robson, Kevin Bodenhamer, Lynn Lasky, Steve Litty and Joshua Davis, along with County Judge Dan Hall. Absent was Justice Eddie White, who was out of town for training in his job with the Mountain Home Fire Department.

By ARMANDO RIOS, The Baxter Bulletin

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