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Residents urge Washington County to enforce fire and health rules at Eagle Crest Recovery site
Summary
Multiple residents told the Quorum Court they are concerned Eagle Crest Recovery, an inpatient substance‑use treatment facility, has operated without required fire sprinklers and adequate septic approvals and urged the court to uphold conditional‑use permitting and wait for an attorney‑general opinion before acting.
Several residents used the citizen‑comment period to press the Quorum Court to uphold conditional‑use permitting and insist on fire‑safety and health‑department compliance for Eagle Crest Recovery, which neighbors and commenters described as operating as a commercial inpatient treatment facility in a rural zone.
Charles McKinney told the court federal law does not prohibit a county from requiring a conditional‑use permit (CUP) for a commercial treatment facility and argued Eagle Crest is a commercial operation, not a single‑family home. “No provision of federal law requires classification of Eagle Crest as a single family home or gives it an exemption from CUP procedures,” McKinney said. He urged the court to uphold the CUP requirement and have Eagle Crest come into compliance.
Mary McKinney and other nearby residents raised public‑safety concerns tied to a recent ISO rating downgrade for the Nob Hill Fire Department and said the facility was operating without required fire sprinklers and with an inadequate water supply. “Voting in favor of repealing this CUP is willful disregard of known risk,” Mary McKinney told the court, urging the justices to wait for an Arkansas attorney‑general opinion before making a decision.
Stacy Bennett, who referenced licensing documents, said Eagle Crest had previously received a six‑month Arkansas Department of Human Services license for up to 15 beds and that state and international fire code require R‑2 sprinkler systems for 16 or more beds. Bennett said the facility had represented it would install sprinklers if required but that required septic testing and DEQ approvals remained incomplete.
Speakers urged the court to distinguish inpatient commercial treatment centers from small group homes and to enforce health‑ and fire‑code requirements rather than repeal CUP oversight. No formal action on Eagle Crest was taken during the meeting; the subject was raised during public comment and will be addressed through the county’s permitting and enforcement processes.
