By Tia Lyons
Staff Writer
EL DORADO — After a lengthy discussion Thursday, city officials and members of the El Dorado Planning and Zoning Commission agreed that there are no city rezoning issues standing in the way of two commercial development projects that are adjacent to each other.
The discussion also established a new protocol by which the city and planning and zoning commission will consider rezoning and variance issues in the future.
Construction has already begun for a new U.S Department of Veterans Affairs community-based outpatient clinic at 1702 N. West Ave., the site of the former County Market grocery store.
Robert Edmonds, director of public works, said the building permit was issued late last month for the project.
Dirt work commenced soon afterward, plumbing implements were installed, and crews were onsite Thursday pouring concrete for the base of the building.
Edmonds said plans include a 13-room clinic with an estimated construction value of $1.2 million.
Grove, Oklahoma-based SI Property Investments is building the clinic, having been awarded a federal bid for the project.
City officials noted Thursday that a building permit has not yet been issued for the proposed Fairfield Inn and Suites project, which calls for a four-story, 74-unit hotel on a 4.8-acre lot on Maple Hill, just off North West Avenue behind McDonald’s.
Both projects were expected to have come before the planning and zoning commission with rezoning and variance requests.
However, Edmonds, Mayor Frank Hash and several city aldermen agreed that neither of the properties needed to be rezoned because they are surrounded by commercial developments and have long been used for commercial purposes.
Michael Rogers, chairman of the planning and zoning commission, previously said that the property on which the new hotel will be built is split between C2 (general commercial) and R-1 (single family residential) zones.
On Thursday, Rogers explained that in such instances, the city zoning codes favor the stricter of the two zones, which would be R-1 in this case.
Commissioners noted that while commercial businesses surround the property on all sides, there are also residential properties west of the site.
Commissioner Netasha Williamson noted that a three-story house had sat on the property for decades.
“It was not used as commercial before because there were people in living in that house,” Williamson said.
City code enforcement officer Kirby Craig said the former owner of the house, which was one of the most enduring structures in the city, had rented out rooms and turned the property into a halfway house in later years.
The roof of the house was destroyed in 2004, and the house sat abandoned for years before it was razed in 2016 to make way for the hotel.
“That building came down, not with the intent to change the zone of the property. It’s intended use never changed,” Hash said.
Craig and Rogers said the hotel plans to erect a privacy wall because of the houses west of the site.
A business office is located immediately to the west of the property, and the rest of the properties in that direction are residential.
Alderman Vance Williamson expressed concern about the project being held up and possibly abandoned “if just one resident” in the area objects to the construction of the hotel.
When Netasha Williamson pointed out that the planning and zoning commission would have to vote on such a request, Williamson replied, “A lot of people wouldn’t want to deal with that. They’re not going to muddle through that. They’ll just go somewhere else.”
Netahsa Williamson and Commissioner Gavin Ballinger said the P&Z commission wanted to follow protocol for rezoning request and hold a public hearing to allow residents in the area an opportunity to voice their opinions.
Rogers said the city had not posted the necessary signage or sent letters to property owners in enough time, 15 days, to notify them of a public hearing.
Rogers also said the city’s zoning map does not match city zoning codes that regulate residential and commercial development.
For instance, in the area in which the VA facility is being built, Rogers said the zoning map cuts off the commercial zone just behind Papa Poblano’s, The area just west of Papa’s, where the facility will be located, is coded as residential.
“The zoning map is not to drawn to scale,” Edmonds said, adding that the spirit of the city’s zoning ordinance lends itself to commercial development if the frontage of the property is commercial and the rear property line aligns with the frontage.
“We’ve agreed that the map is trash. When businesses come in, we ought to make it easy for them,” Vance Williamson said.
Commissioner Janice Long, a local realtor who sold the property for the Fairfield Inn development, said the new property owner had expressed concern about potential zoning issues.
Rogers said he recently learned about an application that is available in the Department of Public Works and lays out how rezoning requests should be handled.
“I’ve never seen this before. This is my first time seeing this,” Rogers said. “We just want to make sure everything is done correctly, and that it’s brought before the (El Dorado City Council) correctly.”
Hash said the zoning ordnance and map are to be used as guides for the planning and zoning commission, and the commission should adjust accordingly as zoning issues arise.
“Should we adjust before we allow something or adjust retroactively?” Rogers asked.
Edmonds said he didn’t think the VA project “is a contentious item.”
Commissioners and city officials agreed that rezoning requests will first be presented to the Department of Public Works and the department will decide if the matter needs to be forwarded to the planning and zoning commission for further consideration.
Tia Lyons may be contacted at 870-862-6611 or by email at tlyons@ eldoradonews.com.