Council Continues Talks On New Zone For Zero-Lot Lines

FARMINGTON -- Farmington City Council decided to wait one more month before deciding on a new zoning district that allows zero-lot lines for single family homes.

The Council last week unanimously voted to place the ordinance on second reading after Mayor Ernie Penn and two others spoke in favor of the new residential zone, saying it would give Farmington more options for housing.

Last month, the Council voted 5-2 to place it on first reading.

The ordinance would create an R-3 zone, which allows a zero-lot line on one side of a house and requires a 10-foot setback on the other side. Lot sizes would be a minimum of 5,400 square feet, with a maximum of eight units per acre.

The ordinance will be considered for third reading and adoption at the Council's Oct. 9 meeting.

Penn opened the discussion saying he believes an R-3 zone in the appropriate place with the appropriate layout would be an asset for Farmington.

Jay Moore, a member of Farmington Planning Commission, explained to aldermen why the Commission recommended the new zone and answered questions about the ordinance.

"The reason we considered it and the reason I think it's a good idea is that we would like to have more than one or two options for Farmington," Moore said.

He pointed out duplexes that have gone up in the last 10-20 years in Farmington are not desirable and said he thinks smaller houses with zero lot lines might encourage more home ownership, rather than rental property.

"If someone wants to put in a zero-lot line development, we can at least consider it," Moore said. "The point is we like the idea...that's why we considered adding the zero lot line zone."

Penn noted people are downsizing and many retired people and young couples are interested in smaller homes with smaller yards to maintain.

"I think this gives our community another choice."

Builder Tom Sims with Trademark Homes told Council members an R-3 zone would be good for the city of Farmington. As an example, Sims said a five-acre development would probably have about 23 homes. Sims has built developments with zero-lot lines in other cities in Northwest Arkansas, including Fayetteville and Bentonville.

Land costs and development costs are driving up the price of homes, Sims said. He said Farmington needs houses that cost in the $200,000 to $225,000 range and an R-3 zone gives the option of building new homes at those prices.

Some of the concerns expressed by Council members were the high density of zero lot line developments, how the houses would look on the outside and whether the houses would become rental property.

Council member Diane Bryant said she would like to see a park in an R-3 subdivision and also wanted the houses to look nice.

"Appearance is a problem with me," Bryant said. "I would like for a certain percentage of the house to have brick on it."

Council member Keith Lipford said the argument that other cities in the region allow zero lot lines did not sway him.

"There's a reason I moved to Farmington," he said. "I don't want to be like Fayetteville or Rogers. Right now, I'm not sure where zero lot lines fit here."

Sims said developers and the city of Farmington could work hand-in-hand on the subdivisions. For Fayetteville, he said he has to show what the houses are going to look like.

City Business Manager Melissa McCarville reminded the Council the city was not recommending that any specific areas be rezoned to R-3. A request to rezone an area to R-3 would have to go through the Planning Commission and then be approved by the City Council. If an area was rezoned to R-3, a proposed development would have to go through the city's process to get a subdivision approved.

"This is another tool in the toolbox," McCarville said.

General News on 09/20/2017