Applicant appeals Planning Commission denial for Heather Ridge mixed-use rezoning

Mark Rouse, the applicant, appealed a Planning Commission decision denying a master land use plan amendment and a rezoning at 53100 Heather Ridge during the Fort Smith Board of Directors study session on Jan. 28, 2025.

Deputy City Administrator Maggie Rice told the board that the applications cover a 43-acre site and would rezone 5.78 acres interior to the property to allow a mixed-use development while the remaining roughly 37 acres would remain mixed residential. Rice said the applicant submitted a traffic impact analysis that evaluated three intersections; the city engineering department reviewed and concurred with the analysis. One intersection would require installation of a three-way stop “in lieu of the existing one-way stop” once future traffic justified it, Rice said. She also said a neighborhood meeting on Dec. 31 drew three neighboring property owners who raised concerns about traffic, noise…