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Record of Proceedings

Bentonville Planning Commission Meeting - July 7, 2026

Planning Commission — Tuesday, July 7, 2026
BodyBentonville, Arkansas
SessionPlanning Commission
DateTuesday, July 7, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:25:08

Original source
Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

Speaker numbers apply only to this recording. Names come from transcript evidence. “Possibly” marks uncertain attribution.

Speaker 1

0:03

Fine.

Speaker 2

0:07

We'll call the uh technical review meeting to order.

0:11

Um

Unassigned speaker

0:13

first

Speaker 2

0:13

item on the agenda.

0:14

Does anyone have any questions or revisions to the minutes?

0:20

No.

0:21

Okay.

0:22

We'll move on to the uh consent agenda.

0:25

Any questions or discussion about the one item on the consent agenda?

0:31

No.

0:33

All right.

0:34

New business, we have one large scale, and then we have uh some easement vacations.

0:42

Um you want to give us a little summary of the plaza surgery center, see if anyone has any questions about that.

Speaker 3

0:50

Sure, it's a large scale development, uh, about an acre and a half

Unassigned speaker

0:55

at

Speaker 3

0:55

the northwest corner of Fountain and Plaza, the Plaza Surgery Center.

1:00

Uh, I believe this one is going to go septic for a little while while they're waiting to uh get some sewer

Speaker 4

1:06

on this

Speaker 3

1:07

project.

Speaker 4

1:10

And

Speaker 3

1:10

uh yeah, they have uh a request in for some 24 gauge metal panel and stuckle on the north and west elevations, these are the non-street facing sides.

Speaker 2

1:22

Yeah, anyone have any questions about

Unassigned speaker

1:26

that

Speaker 2

1:28

project?

Unassigned speaker

1:32

Uh

Speaker 5

1:33

I

Speaker 2

1:33

would like to be able to put them on for that.

1:38

All right, since it's uh new for us to see the easement vacations time, you want to kind

Unassigned speaker

1:43

of

Speaker 2

1:43

summarize those four?

Speaker 3

1:45

So this uh this comes out of table 7.2 and the newly adopted code.

1:50

So planning commission makes uh recommends approval before it goes to city council's uh public hearing.

1:58

And so these are already the hearing has already been set by city council, and so now it's your turn to chime in.

2:04

Since it's the first time we're looking at it, we put it under new business, but in the future we can throw it under consent if that's what the uh the commission would like to

Unassigned speaker

2:12

do.

Speaker 3

2:13

The first two are uh companion items for the Walmart campus, getting rid of some um right-of-way and laying down a uh utility easement over top of that, and the second two uh Jill Eric

Unassigned speaker

2:29

is

Speaker 3

2:29

maybe she'll show up at five.

2:31

She's purchased a couple of lots on Douglas.

2:35

There was uh a five-footer on both sides for a utility easement.

2:40

Um, and so her next step is to put in uh subdivision to make three lots out of

Speaker 6

2:46

two,

Speaker 3

2:46

and this would be right in the middle of the third one.

2:48

So she's trying to get rid of the

Unassigned speaker

2:52

utilities.

Speaker 2

2:53

Anyone have any questions about those easements or want to talk about those?

Speaker 1

2:57

No, I I do have one question.

2:59

I I like the idea.

3:00

I'm glad we do get a chance to look at

Unassigned speaker

3:02

them,

Speaker 1

3:03

but I do like the idea of moving into consent and unless any commissioner, and I'm talking about in the future going forward, unless any commissioner has any questions, we can pull it off.

3:15

But what what do we need?

3:16

What action do we need to take?

Speaker 7

3:20

Ultimately, the the public hearing process and the vote, all still done in accordance with state law.

3:27

Um, and ultimately council is the adopting body on those items.

3:31

We just thought within the new code for right-of-way vacations specifically, you're gonna start seeing property line adjustments running concurrently with them.

3:41

It made sense for these items to come.

3:43

Yeah, and it doesn't cost any additional time because it happens in the off week the council meetings anyway.

Speaker 4

3:50

Okay,

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Zoning And Land Use█████████████████████████████████████████████70%
Procedural███████11%
Public Safety█████8%
Community Engagement███5%
Public Engagement██3%
Engineering And Infrastructure█2%
Active Transportation█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Bentonville Planning Commission Meeting - July 7, 2026

The Bentonville Planning Commission met on July 7, 2026, beginning with a Technical Review session at 4:30 PM followed by a Public Hearing at 5:00 PM. The meeting addressed several zoning requests, a PUD amendment, and administrative items. Key actions included approval of a consent agenda, approval of a PUD amendment with conditions, approval of one rezoning, and tabling of three other rezoning requests due to notification issues.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved June 16, 2026 meeting minutes (6-0).
  • Approved consent agenda (6-0) consisting of: Property Line Adjustment (PLA26-0014, 4201 SW 2nd St), Plaza Surgery Center Large Scale Development (LSD26-0010, 701 SE Plaza Ave), four right-of-way and utility easement vacations (VAC25-0026 and VAC26-0027 for Walmart Campus Subdivision Ph 2, VAC26-0030 and VAC26-0031 for Hazel Park Subdivision lots 19 and 18), and Applejack II Townhomes Large Scale Development Extension (LSD25-0026/PP25-0005, 908 E Central).

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Gocio Rezoning (716 Jefferson St): Approximately 8 residents spoke in opposition, including Dave Burris (603 Jefferson St, representing neighbors), Robin Edwards, Tina Franklin, Amy Lang (711 Jefferson St), Todd Elkins (on behalf of mother), Mary Line (708 Jefferson St), Mark Porter (337 Chris View Dr), Joe Delacruz (adjacent property), and Anna Bryan (Bogle Park Neighborhood Association). They cited concerns about neighborhood character, traffic, drainage, safety, and lack of a development plan. Another speaker, John Gosho (online, family member of property owner), spoke in support, stating T4.1 fits the city's plan.
  • SNUG Properties Rezoning (1108 Royal Dr): Josh Settlement and his wife spoke in support of development but urged a lower T3 zone and noted lack of pedestrian infrastructure.
  • J & M Capital Ventures Rezoning (4001-4104 SW Pawhuska St): One neighbor (Paula Hart and Bob) expressed concerns about notification errors and potential property value impacts.

Discussion Items

  • Laurel Canyon PUD Amendment (PUD25-0002): Proposed change to increase non-residential space to 3,700 sq ft and reduce parking ratio from 160 to 130. Staff recommended a shared parking agreement as a condition. Approved 6-0.
  • Michael Koenitz-Hudac Rezoning (RZ26-0030, 1201/1203 SW I St): Rezoning from T2.1 Rural to T5.2 Town Center High (Standard Review) to conform with land use map. Approved 6-0.
  • Gocio Rezoning (RZ26-0031): Originally advertised for T4.2, applicant amended to T4.1 during meeting. Extensive public comment. Discussion revealed that the public hearing notice listed an incorrect meeting location, causing confusion. Applicant moved to table for proper re-notice. Commission voted to table 6-0.
  • SNUG Properties Rezoning (RZ26-0032): Staff recommended T3 zone instead of requested T4.1. Public comment raised walkability concerns. Applicant agreed to explore T3 options with staff. Commission voted to table 6-0.
  • J & M Capital Ventures Rezoning (RZ26-0033): Applicant sought T3.2 to accommodate single-family homes on shallow lots. Due to notification issues (neighbors went to wrong location), commission voted to table 6-0, requiring re-notification.

Key Outcomes

  • Consent agenda approved (6-0).
  • Laurel Canyon PUD amendment approved (6-0) with condition of shared parking agreement.
  • Michael Koenitz-Hudac rezoning approved (6-0).
  • Gocio rezoning tabled (6-0) for re-notification with correct location; applicant to re-notice for T4.1 and may consider restrictive covenant.
  • SNUG Properties rezoning tabled (6-0) for applicant to consult with staff on suitable T zone.
  • J & M Capital Ventures rezoning tabled (6-0) for re-notification.
  • Meeting adjourned after all items.

Meeting Transcript

Fine. We'll call the uh technical review meeting to order. Um first item on the agenda. Does anyone have any questions or revisions to the minutes? No. Okay. We'll move on to the uh consent agenda. Any questions or discussion about the one item on the consent agenda? No. All right. New business, we have one large scale, and then we have uh some easement vacations. Um you want to give us a little summary of the plaza surgery center, see if anyone has any questions about that. Sure, it's a large scale development, uh, about an acre and a half at the northwest corner of Fountain and Plaza, the Plaza Surgery Center. Uh, I believe this one is going to go septic for a little while while they're waiting to uh get some sewer on this project. And uh yeah, they have uh a request in for some 24 gauge metal panel and stuckle on the north and west elevations, these are the non-street facing sides. Yeah, anyone have any questions about that project? Uh I would like to be able to put them on for that. All right, since it's uh new for us to see the easement vacations time, you want to kind of summarize those four? So this uh this comes out of table 7.2 and the newly adopted code. So planning commission makes uh recommends approval before it goes to city council's uh public hearing. And so these are already the hearing has already been set by city council, and so now it's your turn to chime in. Since it's the first time we're looking at it, we put it under new business, but in the future we can throw it under consent if that's what the uh the commission would like to do. The first two are uh companion items for the Walmart campus, getting rid of some um right-of-way and laying down a uh utility easement over top of that, and the second two uh Jill Eric is maybe she'll show up at five. She's purchased a couple of lots on Douglas. There was uh a five-footer on both sides for a utility easement. Um, and so her next step is to put in uh subdivision to make three lots out of two, and this would be right in the middle of the third one. So she's trying to get rid of the utilities. Anyone have any questions about those easements or want to talk about those? No, I I do have one question. I I like the idea. I'm glad we do get a chance to look at

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