Springdale council tables rezoning appeal for RV park expansion after neighborhood objections

The Springdale City Council on Jan. 14 voted to table an appeal by the owners of an existing RV park seeking to rezone a parcel on Highway 71 North from Agricultural District A-1 to Manufactured Home Park (MHP).

The move to table passed by roll call (7-0). Council members directed staff to prepare an ordinance amendment to allow RV parks as a permitted use in the C-2 commercial district and set a follow-up schedule that brings a public hearing before the Planning Commission in February and the council on Feb. 11.

The appeal came after a unanimous (9-0) denial at the December Planning Commission. Derek Gibson, speaking for the applicant group, said he “personally take[s] full responsibility for why we’re here tonight” and described the ownership group’s local experience operating RV parks and planned improvements including 50 additional RV slots, a bathhouse, an extra entrance, green space and detention ponds. Gibson told the council the owners prefer a rezoning to MHP because a conditional-use approval in A-1 would be tied to the current ownership and “complicates things” for potential future sale.

Patsy Christie, director of planning and community development, outlined options and zoning constraints and cautioned that rezoning to MHP would “open you up to everything else that’s allowed in that zone,” listing uses allowed in MHP (manufactured-home park, RV park, institutional, parking lot and certain recreational uses). Christie read a provision of the city code describing a process whereby “a conditional use may be changed to a use by right in the zoning district upon approval by the Planning Commission and the City Council,” meaning a conditional-use approval could later be converted to a permanent allowance at the property if the council and planning commission so decide.

Several council members and staff discussed alternative approaches: leave RV parks as a conditional use in A-1; rezone the parcel to C-2 and add an RV-park use (Use Unit 30) to C-2 as a permitted use; or create a limited commercial subset. Council and staff agreed that amending the C-2 permitted uses to include the RV-park supplemental regulations (Use Unit 30) would be the clearest path if the council wanted a permanent, transferable entitlement for an RV park.

Nearby resident Bernice Blake, whose backyard borders the property, urged the council to keep the denial in place and described safety and quality-of-life concerns, saying, “By allowing areas like this, these commercial businesses to expand into our neighborhoods…our safety starts to be placed in jeopardy,” and asserting the park had failed to meet several city standards on the existing, grandfathered portion.

Applicant representatives and staff replied that the proposed expansion would have to meet current design standards — including paved drives, pads/slabs, spacing and required screening from adjacent residential areas — and that drainage/detention improvements, new sidewalks and street upgrades on the north side of Morse Avenue would be part of the development plan.

After discussion, the applicant requested the appeal be tabled while staff drafts the ordinance amendment; the council voted to table the appeal to Feb. 11 and directed staff to publish and shepherd an amendment to add the RV park use as a permitted use in the C-2 zoning district, with related public hearings at the February Planning Commission meeting and a subsequent council hearing.

The applicant confirmed willingness to wait for the ordinance amendment and said the owners would continue to work with planning staff on required design standards for the new portion of the park.

The town staff timeline discussed: ordinance amendment public notice to run immediately to allow a Planning Commission public hearing on Feb. 4 and a potential council hearing on Feb. 11. Council members emphasized that a Planning Commission recommendation and public comment would still be required and that no rezoning or use change had been approved by tabling the appeal.

Next steps: staff will prepare an amendment to the C-2 permitted uses (adding Use Unit 30 — RV parks subject to the supplemental regulations), schedule the public hearing for the February Planning Commission meeting and return the matter to council on Feb. 11. The applicant’s appeal remains tabled in the meantime.