FORT SMITH, Ark. — The Fort Smith City Planning Commission said "no" tonight to a plan to regulate what can and can't be built near the Fort Smith Airport.
It all has to do with the new foreign pilot training center at the 188th. Some of those who attended the meeting on May 14 didn't have anything good to say about the district. The planning commission agreed, saying it needs more work, voting 4-3-1.
"I do think the planning commission did the right thing by voting it down tonight. I would like to see the directors take this ordinance proposal and piecemeal it out for separate votes, instead of throwing one nasty, in my personal opinion, poorly written package together," said Stephen Wright, Commander for the 8845 VFW post in Fort Smith.
Wright says he does support the new 188th mission, but the planning that has been laid out just doesn't add up.
"It doesn't make sense operationally, there's no safety concerns that come along with it. They mentioned a group that did a study on the impact or the necessity of it that nobody's heard of. And again, they just didn't have the answers for a lot of stuff," Wright said.
Some residents, including Rocky Walker, the President of the Greater Fort Smith Association of Home Builders, says he believes that while there are some down sides to the overlay district, the positives are way bigger.
"There's always negatives with every positive, you just hope the positives outweigh the negatives. Okay. And I believe they will, because it's such a huge impact on our area. So, you know, people are going to be upset with this. There's no doubt there's because it's a change. But folks are always a little skeptical of change. But I think once they get here and we get used to it, I think everybody will get on board and be excited," Walker said.
While many people are complaining about a potential noise issue, Wright says he knows it's the sound that comes with freedom in our country.
"The sound of freedom isn't always pleasant. But that's the price we pay for our freedom. America is safer because of the F-35 program. America is safer because of our United States Air Force. America is safer because of our foreign allies that we have over here. And the Arkansas economy is going to do much better because of all these programs that we're bringing into the Fort Smith area," Wright said.
Even though the commission voted against the plan, it will still go before the city board of directors early next month.
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