Springdale council tables ordinance to allow RV parks as a permitted use in C‑2, asks staff for updated standards in 90 days

SPRINGDALE, Ark. — The Springdale City Council on Feb. 11 unanimously voted to table an ordinance that would make recreational vehicle (RV) parks a permitted use in the city’s C‑2 general commercial zoning district and directed planning staff to prepare updated design and operational standards in roughly 90 days.

The tabling motion followed an extended planning‑department presentation and a council discussion about whether allowing RV parks as a use by right in C‑2 would expose residential areas to uses the city has not yet standardized. Patsy Christie, the city’s director of planning and community development, told the council the city’s supplemental standards for RV parks “haven’t been updated since I’ve been here,” and that the current rules are “pretty sketchy” on screening, street widths, lighting and other site requirements.

Christie recommended delaying any change until staff rewrites the standards and holds the required public hearing. “I need about 90 days to make sure we look through all the aspects,” she said, describing the need to decide whether to create a standalone RV‑park district or strengthen supplemental standards for existing districts.

City Attorney Ernest Cate advised the council on the distinction between a conditional use and a use by right, noting that a conditional use is granted to a specific applicant at a specific site and can be revoked if conditions are violated, while a permitted use by right carries different permanence and transferability implications. Several council members said they preferred to update standards before changing allowed uses; one councilmember proposed tabling the ordinance and including the supplemental‑standards update in the same ordinance package when it returns.

The motion to table was made and seconded; the roll call vote was recorded as carries 8‑0. Council direction: planning staff will draft updated supplemental standards (or a standalone RV‑park use unit) and return to council after public notice and hearing, with staff estimating about 90 days to complete the work.

The council and staff also discussed interim options such as a short moratorium while standards are updated, and whether changes should apply citywide or be limited to a specific new district. Christie outlined existing elements that appear in the current code for mobile‑home/park uses (which the council can revise), including the existing minimum park area and lot/siting requirements as written now; she emphasized those provisions have not been reviewed in decades.

The tabling action does not change the status of pending conditional‑use applications already filed under the city’s A‑1 or MHP rules; those applications remain subject to the city’s current conditional‑use review process unless the council takes separate action.