Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Final plat permit sparks discussion on flooding
SILOAM SPRINGS — A final plat development led to a discussion April 11 about drainage and flooding during the Planning Commission meeting.
The final plat development permit is a correction for the first phase of the Mission Hills subdivision, according to planner Maegan Thomas.
Planning commissioners approved the permit in a vote of 6-0 with Commissioner Katie Rennard absent. The final plat will go to the city board on May 2.
“The request is to revise the previously approved final plat in order to correct a preexisting fence encroachment to the north of the subdivision,” Thomas said. “The previous final plat for this development was approved by the Board of Directors at the July 5, 2022, Board of Directors meeting.”
City staff recommended approval of the plat with one needed condition: The applicant shall file the plat with the Benton County Circuit Clerk’s office and provide one file copy to the city within 45 days of board acceptance of the plat, Thomas said.
HEAVY FLOODING
After Thomas made her presentation Planning Commission Chairman J.W. Smith asked if anyone in the audience wanted to comment on the plat. Clayton Taylor who lives near the subdivision spoke up.
Taylor said he is opposed to anything else being built there, including the Mission Hills subdivision, because of the flooding problems caused between Taylor’s home as well as two others at the corner of Country Club and Davidson roads.
A dry creek runs between the properties, and according to Taylor, the developers put two holding ponds to slow down rain, which aren’t doing their jobs.
“They’re not even slowing it down,” Taylor said. “It’s eroding out there. It’s already washed out my driveway.”
Taylor said approximately 75%-80% of the water that goes into the north holding pond flows down between his property and that of his neighbor’s.
The developer did come out and fix Taylor’s driveway, but it is starting to erode again, he said.
For the last two years, Taylor has spoken with the city, but nothing has been resolved, he said.
“It was a tiny little drainage thing,” Taylor said. “If we got a big enough rain once every three or five years, you’d have a little bit of a flooding problem there. Now, every single time we get rain … my property is flooded.”
City Engineer Kevin Moore spoke about the problem. He said the drainage was shifted to the north and that the ponds were oversize to control the peak flow. Moore also said the ponds were discharging between the homes.
“The drive was washed out on, I believe, more than one occasion,” Moore said. “The city coordinated with the developer to get that fixed. There are some other issues kind of right around that area, on Mr. Taylor’s property, that need to be addressed as well but not necessarily as part of this development.”
Taylor said the driveway was fixed but is starting to crack again. so the problem was not fixed.
“They put a Band-Aid on it,” Taylor said.
PLANNING COMMISSIONERS’ RESPONSES
Commissioner Isaac McKinney asked Moore if this was on the city or the developer. Moore said that may be a legal question. He also said it depends on the issues involved. The pond does meet all of the city’s requirements and discharge from that.
Moore said the developer had spoken to Taylor and told him the pond in size was for the 100-year storm and that Taylor would not see any water unless the region received that much rain, but that was not the case.
Commissioner Chris Salley asked if the problem is going to get better when more concrete is poured and houses are built? Moore’s response was to call the development process a “weird in-between.”
Moore went on to say that the homes have not been added and the grass has not been established yet so the in between where the water is hitting the clay dirt and running off directly into the pond and is what is mainly impacting the development.
Another hindrance has been that the developer waited too long to put the outlet structure in, Moore said.
“So since that point, my understanding is that that has improved some, though not to Mr. Taylor’s expectations,” Moore said.
Commissioner Tom Montgomery asked if Moore knew where the sediment is coming from. Moore said it is coming from the Mission Hills site.
“There’s a little bit of a gray area between protecting what runs off the edges of [the] site and actually protecting what runs off within [the] site,” Moore said. “… And that’s kind of an area that we’ve had some trouble enforcing.”
Smith asked if the water was going into the detention ponds and if they are holding the water.
Moore said the ponds are holding back the water with an outlet structure.
The ponds have a box with a narrow 4- or 6-inch opening and then a larger opening of the major storm events or if the opening is clogged, Moore said.
Moore also said based on the rains he witnessed when he went out there the ponds are functioning as designed. Smith asked City Attorney Jay Williams to answer the legal question.
Williams said it depends on once the project is in place as designed and all of the drainage structures are as designed.
“If they’re not working as designed,” Williams said, “if they don’t control the flow as was represented by the developer, we’re going to take a close look at that. And we generally hold the developer’s feet to the fire on something like that.”
Commissioner Ted Song asked if there was anything else the city could do for Taylor’s concern. Moore said staff is aware of the situation and will continue to have conversations with him until it is resolved.
The commissioners then voted to approve the permit.
BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT
The Board of Adjustment met to discuss a setback variance for 3299 U.S. 412 East. Senior Planner Ben Rhoads presented the variance as well as a significant development permit for the same property. There is an encroachment of approximately 3.72 feet in the 10-foot side setback, Rhoads said.
Burk Collins, the developer argues that due to the dimension of the building envelope they are seeking a hardship request necessary for the development requirements for the three planned tenants, according to a staff report prepared by Rhoads on March 14.
“So it’s important as one prime thing that the Board of Adjustment needs to rule on is if the proposed variance is unique to the property not frequently occurring in the zone district,” Rhoads said.
“In this case, what has been identified is the lack of width of the property compared to others for similar type uses.”
The building will house three national retailers: Five Below, Ross Dress for Less and T.J. Maxx and will be located in between Walmart and Lowe’s.
In a vote of 6- 0, with Rennard absent, the Board of Adjustment approved the variance.
The Board of Adjustment and Planning Commission also approved the following items:
• Significant development permit for the 3000 block of Cheri Whitlock Drive. This item will go before the city board on May 2.
• Significant development permit for 3299 U.S. 412 East. This item will go before the city board April 18.
• Tabling a significant development permit for 1611 Cheri Whitlock Drive. This item will be tabled to the May 9 Planning Commission meeting.
• Rezoning development permit for the 2000 block of East Tahlequah Street. This item will go before the city board on May 2.
• Tabling a rezoning development permit for the 2600 block of North Country Club Drive until the June 13 Planning Commission meeting.