Springdale council adopts downtown housing and parking addendum; density bonus proposed to support workforce units

Springdale City Council on Oct. 28 adopted an addendum to the city’s 2022 downtown master plan that outlines a development and parking strategy for the southeast quadrant of downtown, including a recommended workforce‑attainable housing density bonus and shared parking infrastructure.

Sharon Tromberg, director of planning and community development, introduced the presentation and asked H3 to summarize their findings. Tim, a consultant with H3, said the study ‘‘was born out of a desire, to make sure that the city is planning for, how to deal with the increasing development pressure for residential development in downtown.’’ H3 proposed a development program of roughly 2,950–3,276 new units (about 3,100 in the preferred program) by 2040, with two‑thirds of units in multifamily buildings and one‑third in townhomes, small multiplexes and accessory dwelling units.

The study identified infrastructure priorities the consultants described as essential to realizing the development potential: two public/private shared parking garages (preliminarily about 425 spaces each), several street extensions to reconnect the grid, and sidewalk/streetscape improvements. H3 estimated structured parking costs near $33,000 per stall and said public funding or public‑private partnerships would likely be required for large garages.

H3 also recommended a workforce attainable housing density bonus. Under the recommendation, projects that commit to a minimum percentage (25–30%) of workforce attainable units over a 20‑year period could be granted an additional story in the NC‑2 (neighborhood center) district, allowing four‑story buildings where the base code limits three stories now. Tim said the proposal is ‘‘one potential option’’ to make the market pencil for both market‑rate and workforce units.

Public commenters pressed the council on near‑term parking. Melinda Mason, a downtown resident, said a newly opened mixed‑use building on Holcomb has ‘‘8 apartments and…4 designated parking spaces’’ and described overflow into nearby angle parking. Paxton Roberts, executive director of the Downtown Springdale Alliance, urged adoption of the study to ‘‘get ahead of future parking issues’’ and to preserve housing choices for workers and long‑time residents.

Council discussion focused on how to fund parking structures, whether to change code heights or rely on a density bonus, lighting and safety for off‑site parking, and the assumed parking ratios (H3 said multifamily may rely on shared parking and used 0.5 spaces per unit as a code minimum in the highest‑density districts while the development plan assumes 0.73–0.86 spaces per unit overall).

Councilmember motioned and seconded a resolution to attach the addendum to the downtown master plan; the motion carried 7–1. The council directed staff to continue drafting form‑based code amendments and implementation steps (including parking operations and financing options) for later consideration.

The addendum and subsequent code changes do not immediately change zoning or authorize construction; they are planning guidance and recommended regulatory updates. Staff said upcoming code amendments and ordinance language would be returned to the council for formal action.

The presentation and public comments underscored two themes that recurred through Q&A: parking operations and safety for off‑site parking, and maintaining or creating workforce‑attainable units while keeping projects financially feasible for developers.

The council’s adoption attaches the H3 addendum to the downtown master plan; specific code and financing actions will follow as separate items.