GENTRY — City council, on Aug. 1, passed two ordinances on their third and final readings to amend the city's current laws on signs and on portable and accessory structures. The accessory structure and portable building ordinance was passed with an emergency clause, making it effective immediately. The sign ordinance goes into effect in 60 days after its first publication (elsewhere in this issue).
The sign ordinance removes content-based discrimination from Gentry's sign ordinance in an effort to prevent any litigation against the city for allowing some kinds of signs and not others based on the content of the signs rather than on the sign size, construction and location.
As a result of a Supreme Court ruling (Reed v. Town of Gilbert, Arizona), the ordinance amending Gentry code regarding signs and, particularly, yard-sale signs was recommended to the council by the Gentry Planning and Zoning Commission.
In a 2015 ruling, the United States Supreme Court ruled that municipalities could not discriminate in allowing or prohibiting signs based on the content of the signs. In order to comply with the ruling and not expose the city to lawsuits, the proposed amendment was brought to the council in June which was intended to fix the problem by repealing Gentry Code, Section 7.28.05, regulating yard- and garage-sale signs and amending Code, Section 14.04.09, to say that people who are legally permitted to display commercial or non-commercial signs on their properties may substitute noncommercial messages without discrimination in regard to content.
The change will again make it illegal to post garage sale signs on any city-owned property or right of way. The state already prohibits any non-state signs from being displayed in state right of ways, including at intersections, on utility poles or traffic signal posts. Signs may still be posted on private property but only with the property owner's permission.
Also passed on its third reading, and with an emergency clause, was an ordinance amending city code regulating the placement of accessory structures and portable buildings on one's property within the city. The ordinance was recommended to the council by the planning and zoning commission because of the number of variance requests made under the existing code.
The ordinance, which took effect immediately, allows property owners to place an unlimited number of accessory and portable buildings on the part of their parcel behind the front of the primary residence up to the use of 50 percent of the total parcel area for the residence and auxiliary structures. A 6-foot privacy fence would be required once the primary residence and auxiliary buildings exceed 30 percent of the square footage of the parcel.
The ordinance does not permit the structures to be closer than three feet to another structure and it adjusts rear and side setback distances, depending on the zoning, to no less than five feet from the side or rear property lines (A-1 is 25 feet, R1 is 10 feet and R2 is 7 feet. Setbacks in R-3, R4 and R0 are between 5 and 10 feet.). Portable structures, defined as not having a permanent foundation or being more than 120 square feet, may be placed no closer than five feet from the rear or side parcel lines in the proposed ordinance.
The proposed ordinance originally would have allowed portable buildings to be placed within three feet of rear and side parcel lines, but that was amended to a minimum of five feet in a compromise before the vote. Council member James Furgason suggested removing the provision allowing portable buildings to be closer to the side parcel lines than the setbacks for permanent auxiliary buildings because of concerns that portable buildings could become eyesores and cause drainage issues for neighbors, which would have made side-yard setbacks between five and 25 feet, depending on the zone.
Five feet was suggested since it is the current requirement in regard to the placement of portable buildings, and the proposed ordinance was amended to reflect the current five feet setback for portable buildings and adopted unanimously by the council.
The setback is measured from the parcel property line to the base of the building. An 18-inch roof overhang is allowed but, if the roof overhangs more than that, the additional inches are added to the setback distance for the building base to prevent drainage from damaging a neighbor's property or fence.
The emergency clause was passed because of the number of building permits waiting for approval involving the placement of auxiliary and portable buildings.
Also approved by the council was a resolution stating the city's willingness to consider a proposal from the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission for refunding a water system bond and refinancing it at a lower interest rate. The purpose of refunding the bond would be to save the city money by obtaining a lower interest rate and freeing up money for the ANRC to loan for other projects.
The resolution does not commit the city to accepting a proposal but only expresses the city's interest in pursuing the refinancing option.
The council also selected three professionals with which the mayor is authorized to negotiate a contract for services to explore options for refinancing other water bonds through the ANRC and the United States Department of Agriculture, or possibly all the city's bonds. The professionals selected were Stephens Inc., Crews and Associates and Raymond James. The mayor is authorized to negotiate a contract with one of the professionals selected but must begin with the first selection, then the second and finally the third.
Stephens Inc. was selected when the city was looking at refinancing two bonds with the USDA for the water system on the west side of Gentry. The city chose not to seek refinancing in 2013 because the savings would have been small at that time. Possible savings look much more promising now, with interest rates low.
The city currently has five water department loans. Two with the ANRC are deferred until December of 2017 and are not eligible for refunding at this time. Another two are with the USDA and could be refunded. One of the loans is small enough the city could budget for it and pay it off.
The total bonded debt of the city for the water system is approximately $3.4 million.
A resolution was passed authorizing the city to pay up to $80,000 for a paving project on SWEPCO Road and Taylor Orchard Road. The road repair and repaving project was from the intersection of SWEPCO Road and Pioneer Lane (next to the high school practice field) to the corner of Taylor Orchard and Marion Lee Roads (at the corner where the Gentry Fire Department substation is located). Benton County was doing the repair and paving work and the city of Gentry was to pay for materials for that portion of the roadway inside the city.
A portion of the road just west of Crowder Avenue and to the railroad overpass on Taylor Orchard Road is in the county and the county is paying for both materials and labor for work there.
The city's cost was estimated to be close to $73,000 for materials used inside the city. The amount is in the current city budget for road and street repair but was approved by the council for the project. The amount of $80,000 for materials was requested for the project so that there would be a little extra in case additional materials were needed to complete it.
Kevin Johnston, Gentry's mayor, called the project a bargain for the city since the county is providing the labor and equipment without charge to the city. He also said SWEPCO may contribute toward a portion of the costs since the street and road were heavily used during the retrofit project at the Flint Creek Power Plant.
The council approved a resolution to apply for a $15,000 Arkansas Rural Community Grant to build trails at the Flint Creek Nature Area. The city would have to match the grant with another $15,000 .
Johnston reported that the city had $50,000 in donations to build the nature trails at the Flint Creek Nature Area and would be putting the project out to bid soon. Johnston said $30,000 had been given by the Jack McKee Foundation and another $20,000 was pledged from Gentry United Way for the trails. If the city receives the grant, the city's matching portion could be met using existing funds given or pledged for the project.
Johnston said the trail would be asphalt and could be a part of a larger trail system being planned in the future to connect Gentry and Siloam Springs with paved trails. Sidewalks already extend south along Arkansas Highway 59 to near East Dawnhill Road.
The council also authorized the mayor to enter into a cooperative agreement with the Wayfinding Project for signs in the city directing people to the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport and to Siloam Springs from the airport but also pointing the way to selected locations in Gentry. The signs will be provided without charge to the city but the city then becomes responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the signs.
General News on 08/10/2016