Fort Smith Planning Commission & BZA Meeting - May 12, 2026
Fort Smith Planning Commission & Board of Zoning Adjustment Meeting - May 12, 2026
The Fort Smith Planning Commission and Board of Zoning Adjustment met on May 12, 2026, to consider several land use items, including plats, rezonings, conditional uses, variances, and a UDO amendment. The meeting began with roll call: Commissioners present included Vicky Newton (absent), David Taylor (absent), Jackson Mendenhall, Sean McCaffrey, and others. Commissioner Jackson Mendenhall was officially welcomed as a new member. All votes were recorded and acted upon.
Consent Calendar
- The minutes from the April 14, 2026 meeting were approved by unanimous vote.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No members of the public spoke in favor or opposition for any of the agenda items; all items were approved without public testimony.
Discussion Items
- Items 1 & 2: Preliminary and Final Plat for Anna Hills (5.25 acres at Bramble Bray and Wellington Way) — Staff presented a conventional plat to consolidate four parcels into three, with portions conveyed to adjacent lots and a portion reserved for future access drive or public right-of-way. The property is zoned RS2. Both plats were approved unanimously (6-0).
- Item 3: Preliminary Plat for Anna Lynn Subdivision (8.25 acres at R.A. Young Jr. Drive and Wells Lake Road) — A proposed cul-de-sac with 18 lots (80-ft widths) and one detention pond. The development includes sidewalk connections to Veterans Avenue and a temporary revocable license for an island median. Approved 6-0 (one abstention).
- Items 4 & 5: Master Land Use Plan Amendment and Rezoning (5421 Free Ferry Boulevard) — The applicant requested withdrawal of both items. The commission voted unanimously (7-0) to accept the withdrawal.
- Items 6 & 7: Variance and Conditional Use for Harvest Time Tabernacle (3105 Grinnell Avenue and adjacent parcels) — Variance to allow 158.6 sq ft of directional signs (total 206.6 sq ft) and 97 additional parking spaces on a 94,000+ sq ft church site in RM3 zone. Variance approved 6-0; conditional use approved 6-0 with conditions (compliance with development plan, platting, lighting, privacy fence).
- Item 8: Conditional Use for Canterbury Family LLLP (1700 Rogers Avenue) — To operate a 2,710 sq ft event center in units B and C of an existing shopping center (C2 zone). Approved 6-0 with staff conditions.
- Items 9 & 10: Conditional Use and Variance for TDS Properties LLC (7820 & 7900 Dallas Street) — Conditional use for a 1,454 sq ft building addition and off-site gravel parking lot (35 spaces) for a dermatology clinic; variance to increase max parking from 62 to 93 spaces and reduce drive aisle width from 24 ft to 15 ft. Both approved 6-0 with conditions.
- Item 11: UDO Amendment for Child Care Family Homes — To comply with Arkansas Act 60 (2023), replacing "daycare home 12 or less" with "child care family home," allowing operation as accessory residential use with pickup/drop-off on driveway. Approved 6-0.
Key Outcomes
- All plats, conditional uses, variances, and the UDO amendment were approved as presented or with staff-recommended conditions.
- Withdrawals for items 4 and 5 were accepted unanimously.
- The meeting adjourned without opposition.
Meeting Transcript
Check, check. Alright, uh good evening, everyone, and welcome to the May twelfth regular meeting 2026 of the Fort Smith Planning Commission and Board of Zoning Adjustment. I'd ask everybody to please stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance. All right, I'll ask for a roll call of the Commissioners this evening, please. Vicky. Are managed doing it? Okay. Here. David Taylor. Absent. Jackson Mendenhall. Sean McCaffrey. Here. Alright, I would uh ask if the uh commissioners have an opportunity to review the minutes from the April 14, 2026 meeting, and if you have a acceptable ask for a motion to approve. Second. All those in favor? Any opposed? All right. All right, I'll ask for uh staff comments and procedures for tonight's meeting. Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the May twelfth, twenty twenty six planning commission meeting. The planning commission is comprised of a group of volunteers appointed by the mayor who offer diverse expertise and perspectives guiding the development and growth of Fort Smith. This evening the planning commission will be reviewing the following items Platz, rezoning, master land use plan amendment, UDO amendments, and conditional use requests. The planning commission's actions this evening of the on the PLATs and conditional use requests will require a majority vote of those members present in voting and will be final unless an interested party appeals the decision of the planning commission to the city board of directors. The master land use plan amendments, rezonings, and UDO amendments, if receiving approval of the planning commission with a required minimum of five yes votes, will be also be presented to the city board of directors for their review at their June 2nd meeting at 6 p.m., which is located in this building, one oh one North Second Street. Appeals will be presented to the City Board of Directors at a future study session again, located here in the blue line. The Board of Zoning Adjustment, which consists of members from the Planning Commission will also be reviewing zoning variance requests this evening. The action of the Board of Zoning Adjustment will be final unless appealed to a court of jurisdiction. All right, thank you, Maggie. Uh before we begin, I'd like to uh officially welcome Mr. Jackson Mendehall as our newest planning commission member. Welcome Jackson. And uh with that, we'll move forward with the uh first two items of preliminary plat and final plot at uh the Anna Hills. Hi, Commissioners, good to see you. Uh items one and two are uh a plat of currently platted property that uh comprises five and a quarter acres, and this is a fairly uh conventional uh action that has taken place since the uh abandonment of Fiona Hills, but this one has a little bit of a twist. Uh Tyler, could we see the colored there we go? We go. And so um today on this property there are four parcels of land, and when this plat is finalized, there will be three parcels of land. So walking us through the stage uh stages of this. Uh what you see in yellow and the dark green rectangle adjacent to the yellow is presently a lot, uh 1261 of Fianna Hills. Well, that lot, portions of that lot will be conveyed to the two adjacent properties, uh lot 488A and lot 487A on the corner, and then the uh dark green portion will be reserved for future development, likely to be either an access drive or possibly even public right-of-way to serve the light green portion, which is not going to be in the near time in the near future uh developed, but is reserved for future development. But the action that is at hand that this plat will make possible is the conveyance of those two yellow triangles to the adjacent properties. Um this is at the corner of Bramble Bray and Wellington Way and Fianna Hills. Uh five and a quarter acres, as I said. Um this is property that is currently uh zoned RS2, and all of the proposed subdivisions that we're looking at as a component of this plat uh fall within the area and bulk regulations of our UDO. And if you have questions, I'm glad to answer them. Right. Um is there anyone here to speak in favor of this application this evening? Yeah, is there anyone in opposition this evening? Right. All right.
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