Little Rock board rejects request to convert 4909 Kavanaugh into short-term rental

The Little Rock Board of Directors voted Jan. 20 to reject a rezoning and short-term rental application for 4909 Kavanaugh Boulevard after residents said the change would undermine a long-established single-family neighborhood.

Michael Pierce, the applicant, told the board he sought a short-term rental permit for the property and that the Planning Commission had previously denied the application. "It was taken to the planning commission, and denied there with a vote of 5 yeses, of the 7 commissioners that were present at that time," Pierce said, and he asked the board to grant the permit to expand lodging options in the Heights and Hillcrest area. He said the house would have a maximum occupancy of six people and that parties would be banned.

Multiple neighbors urged denial. "Placing an STR-2-PD-C in an established neighborhood is contrary to the concept of a viable community," said Susan Colford, who identified herself as a resident of nearby P Street and said she had lived in the neighborhood for 28 years. Sherry Henderson, who said she has lived on Cantrell Road for 46 years, submitted a petition with 80 signatures and photos she said show the close proximity of homes to 4909 Kavanaugh. Vincent Henderson raised practical concerns about a shared driveway and easements between 4909 and 4911 Kavanaugh and questioned how zoning could be applied to a shared driveway.

Board members then took a voice vote after the public comment period. The motion failed when the nays carried and the board did not approve the rezoning or short-term rental permit for 4909 Kavanaugh.

The decision leaves in place the property's current zoning and preserves, for now, the single-family residential character cited by neighbors. The board did not provide a roll-call tally in the record; the outcome was recorded as a failed motion by voice vote.