FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The red signs along College Avenue are part of an effort to rezone land along the 71B corridor for mixed-use developments.
"The rezoning effort is to really put those plans into action so that folks can have an easier ability to be able to live in an area where they can meet all of their service needs, to go to a grocery store, to go to work, to take care of, you know, all of their life within a 15 to 20 minute, walkable and bikeable area," Fayetteville City Council member for Ward 2 Sarah Moore said.
The 71B corridor, which runs through Ward 1, has previously only been zoned for commercial use. After council members approved the creation of a new zoning district for what is being called the Urban Corridor Plan at the last city council meeting, zoning has been expanded to include mixed-use developments.
"This will open up mixed-use, so you'll be able to have commercial on the bottom floors. You'll be able to have residential above or you could just do commercial," Ward 1 council member Bob Stafford said. "It's not going to force anybody to do anything. any existing business that's there is not going to have to change anything at all."
Stafford believes it will relieve pressure off of existing neighborhoods.
"Right now, we've been having to cram all this growth into our existing neighborhoods by allowing growth on the 71B corridor, by allowing residential on the 71B corridor, which has traditionally been a car-centric, auto-centric, commercial-only zoning," Stafford said. "We're going to be able to create new neighborhoods as we turn into a city."
Moore tried to propose an ordinance that would change short-term rentals from a permitted use to a conditional use based on feedback from residents. She said residents don't think those should exist in the middle of the housing crisis.
"My effort to put the amendment forward was recognizing that we are in a housing crisis and that if we want to increase housing stock along this corridor, that every one of those housing units should be available for long-term residents," Moore said.
Council members, including Stafford, voted against that amendment. He said he wants short-term rentals out of the existing residential neighborhoods.
"We've already reached our city-wide cap of 475, but as those licenses transfer, as they open up and the waiting list opens up, we would rather have those along the 71B corridor," Stafford said.
With population growth continuing to climb, rezoning is just one strategy the city is working toward.
"Being able to open up that entire stretch for housing is incredibly important as we try to work towards the goal of closing those gaps across all those areas that residents have said is so important," Moore said.
The city council is set to vote on the full rezoning proposal at its next meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 1.
Watch 5NEWS on YouTube.
Download the 5NEWS app on your smartphone:
Stream 5NEWS 24/7 on the 5+ app: How to watch the 5+ app on your streaming device
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email KFSMDigitalTeam@tegna.com and detail which story you're referring to.