GENTRY -- Sidewalks and swinging signs were on the Gentry Planning and Zoning Commission agenda for Thursday night.
David McNair, Gentry's public works director, recommended that new subdivisions include sidewalks down one side of the street so that a complete sidewalk be built down each street and the city not be left with the cost of building sidewalks in the gaps left by vacant lots or lots on which no homes are built. He said builders would be responsible to repair sidewalks broken or damaged during home construction.
Planning commission members discussed requirements for subdivisions and suggested additional study be done so that the city's requirements are not so high as to keep developers from choosing to put in housing developments in Gentry. Among items discussed were sidewalk requirements and street widths.
Commission members agreed the sidewalk issue was more complex than just requiring completed sidewalks in subdivisions and planned to take more time to compare Gentry's requirements to those of other cities of similar size in northwest Arkansas and to consider how best to develop a plan which would both attract developers and also provide needed infrastructure for the residents of Gentry.
Additional work to clarify language in a proposed ordinance which would allow swinging signs and fixed signs which extend out at an approximate 90-degree angle from a business building front will be done before the proposed ordinance is brought back for approval by the commission and a recommendation to the city council for passage.
The proposed ordinance would allow Gentry businesses to hang swinging signs of up to eight square feet with a limit of one per business entrance and allow corner businesses to have an additional sign on the side street. The signs would be required to have a clearance of 80 inches or more from the ground or sidewalk and could not extend over the roadway.
Also proposed is to allow fixed signs of the same size to extend out from the building but require clearance from the ground or sidewalk be a minimum of eight feet.
Also discussed were zoning requirements and possible changes to zoning for property in the 100 block of South Nelson Avenue and on S. First Street to allow modification to a residence there. Changes from the current industrial zoning to residential were discussed but the commission thought it would be best if the property owners in the area petition for the rezoning which best suits their needs.
Several homes are located in the industrial zone and any changes to the external footprint of the homes, such as building an attached garage or a home addition, are not permitted in an industrial zone since the existence of the homes was grandfathered in. Changes could be allowed in a residential zone.
General News on 09/21/2016