FARMINGTON -- Farmington Planning Commission recently approved a large-scale development plan for a new law office on Main Street in Farmington.
John Everett, who has practiced law in Fayetteville since 1993, will move his office to the site northeast of the entrance to Twin Falls Drive on U.S. 62.
Everett said he shares a law office with two other attorneys and they are moving out to open their own practices. This left him with a space too large for one attorney.
The Farmington office will allow him to be closer to his home in Prairie Grove and closer to his farm, he said. Previously, Everett practiced law in Prairie Grove from 1974 to 1993.
The office will have 2,050 square feet and 10 parking spaces, according to the large-scale development plan. Everett is purchasing the land, about one acre, from Twin Falls Development. There will be two driveways into the office, one from Main Street and the other from West Twin Falls Drive.
As part of the plan, Judy Horne, a member of Farmington Planning Commission, asked builder Jerry Coyle to relocate the back driveway to save trees. After the meeting, Coyle said he hopes to save one of the larger, older trees.
In other action March 27, the Commission approved two other requests related to the law office proposal. Keith Marrs with Twin Falls Development asked to divide one commercial lot of frontage along U.S. Highway 62 into three lots and then asked to rezone two of the commercial lots to residential. The one commercial lot will be the law office.
Commissioners also approved another request from Marrs for a variance from curb and gutter on Jim Brooks Road.
In December 2016, the Commission approved a request to only require Marrs to install curb and gutter improvements on both sides of Jim Brooks Road for the length of the first lot on the road, instead of all five residential lots along the road.
Marrs returned to the Commission last week saying an estimate from Tomlinson Asphalt showed it would cost $56,000 for him to install curb and gutter as agreed upon in December.
"My appeal is for common sense in not making me pay $56,000," Marrs said.
He told them if installing the curb and gutter was a drainage or safety issue, he would be in favor of it. In addition, he said if he was developing a large subdivision, he could absorb the cost but cannot absorb it for four or five lots.
City Attorney Steve Tennant looked back at Planning Commission minutes from April 18, 2005, and these showed curb and gutter would be required if the developer owned both sides of the road. For some reason, the curb and gutter was not installed at that time and no one knew why, except possibly that it was outside the city limits then.
Tennant said the Commission could grant the variance if it wished. His one request, he said, was to make the record specific on why the Commission was agreeing to the variance request.
General News on 04/19/2017