Fayetteville planning staff on Wednesday forwarded the Larkside Improvement Plan, a proposal for 324 multifamily units on West Van Ash Drive, to the next stages of review while listing several technical conditions that must be addressed before final approvals.

Planning staffer Gretchen Harrison, the project planner, said she was "recommending that this project move forward for planning today," but listed civil, survey and elevation clarifications that must be resolved in subsequent submittals.

The project team, represented by Nate Bachelor and Kaiden Watkins of Kimley‑Horn, said they intend to split and dedicate the property and dedicate on‑site easements prior to building permits. Harrison and multiple reviewers asked the applicant to: show a signed boundary survey; dimension right‑of‑way widths from the center line; illustrate the 10‑foot and 25‑foot build‑to lines along Van Ash; and provide a phasing and resubmittal schedule.

City engineering reviewers and utilities staff requested confirmation of sanitary sewer and water‑meter sizing and placement. An engineering reviewer asked the team to confirm meter size and whether a four‑inch meter will be sufficient; the applicant said the plumbing engineer will confirm anticipated flows and proposed meter size. Staff also flagged a required maintenance access route to a 48‑inch sewer easement at the rear of the site and asked the applicant to preserve or provide an access route for maintenance.

Tree and landscape reviewers required dedication of any tree preservation easement prior to building permit sign‑off and asked for tree preservation fencing to be a minimum of 10 feet from trunks or at the drip line. Forestry also asked the applicant to include mitigation calculation screenshots from the city’s Excel mitigation tool and to avoid invasive species such as Euonymus on the planting list.

Parking and waste service details were also noted: planning staff calculated that roughly 24 motorcycle spaces will be required based on the vehicle parking totals shown; solid‑waste staff asked the applicant to show compactor specifications and precise dumpster/compactor placement. Planning additionally reminded the team that signage, HVAC locations and screening details will require later permitting and submittals.

Fire and building reviewers flagged access and occupancy issues tied to the project's scale. Clint with Fire told the applicant: "if you exceed 30 units, you have to have 2 points of access with the appropriate remoteness," and added that occupancy cannot be granted beyond what the access and fire‑safety infrastructure allow until required improvements are in place. Fire also noted that if structures are protected under a 13D sprinkling strategy (as outlined in city materials), some access exceptions may apply, but overall emergency access and infrastructure must be provided before additional certificates of occupancy can be issued.

The project will be forwarded for administrative large‑scale plan review and possible variances. Staff said several variances (for driveway curb radii and other items) may be required and that variance hearings could affect scheduling; applicants may choose to coordinate variance hearing dates so that approvals and the conditional approval letter align.

Next steps for the applicant are to submit revised civil and architectural plans addressing the items above, provide requested utility and tree protection documentation, and supply trash and parking details. Staff indicated the team may resubmit for the next review cycle once the requested clarifications and technical revisions are completed.

Less critical items — such as building material/color variation, placement of bike/motorcycle parking and final HVAC screening — were left for later submittals.

Speakers quoted in this article spoke during the Larkside Improvement Plan item at the June 18 tech plat meeting and are cited here from the meeting record.