Saturday May 21st, 2022 -

Popular Stories :

Each May, thousands of Arkansans, both young and old, make their way across a stage to celebrate a major achievement in life – college graduation.
As the traditional start of the nation’s summer vacation season is expected to kick off on the upcoming Memorial Day holiday with a post-pandemic boost in travel, gas prices are slowly ratcheting back up to near record levels due to $100-plus barrel crude oil.
In a move that caught state housing advocates off guard, Gov. Asa Hutchinson said last month he is sending back millions of dollars in unused COVID-19 rental assistance to the federal government as the state’s employment levels and economic fortunes return to pre-pandemic norms.
The University of Arkansas at Little Rock has chosen Joshua Silverstein, Noureen Siraj, and John Kirk as the 2022 winners of the Faculty Excellence Awards. This is the highest honor UA Little Rock awards its faculty members.
Although the Arkansas and U.S. jobless rates have declined to an all time low levels in the first two months of 2022, there are still a large swath of workers who are quitting their jobs or not returning to the workforce more than two years after the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Only three months after he took office in 2015, Gov. Asa Hutchinson made what he considers one of his most important early administration hires when he convinced a young Floridian to be his chief job recruiter.
The University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UA Little Rock) has joined an inaugural network of academic partners across the country to work with the U.S. Cyber Command, one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), to provide research, educational, and partnership opportunities in the field of cybersecurity.
Arkansas Chief Justice Dan Kemp and members of the state Supreme Court on Feb. 25 held an informal topping out ceremony for the expansion of the Justice building complex on the north side of the State Capitol.
In every sense of the word, James Sullivan is an unqualified American success story.

Type: MAUNOT
Party: Ordinance No. 1061
County: Pulaski
Attorney/Contact: Tina Timmons

BE IT ENACTED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF MAUMELLE, COUNTY OF PULASKI, STATE OF ARKANSAS, AN ORDINANCE TO BE ENTITLED: ORDINANCE NO. 1061- AN ORDINANCE AMENDING MULTIPLE SECTIONS OF THE MAUMELLE CITY CODE TO CHANGE THE METHODS OF NOTIFICATION OF REAL PROPERTY USE CHANGES AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. WHEREAS, various sections of Chapter 94 of the Maumelle City Code create differing notification and advertising requirements for differing changes to the use of real property; and WHEREAS, these differing requirements can create confusion for applicants and cause errors that effect the timeliness of public hearings; and WHEREAS, the City Council wishes to create consistent procedures that will result in citizens having more opportunity to give input on proposed changes in the use of real property; and WHEREAS, the Council finds it to be in the best interest of the citizens of the City of Maumelle to amend the advertising and notification requirements discussed below; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF MAUMELLE, ARKANSAS, AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 94 of the Maumelle City Code, Zoning Regulations; Article I, In General; Section 94-9, Application for amendment; is hereby amended as follows: Sec. 94-9. – Application for amendment. An application for amendment may be initiated by the city council, the planning commission, the mayor, or the mayor's designee, or by one or more owners or lessees of land affected by a proposed amendment. Such application must be filed with the Planning and Permits office, with a copy to the city clerk's office, 14 or more days prior to the date of the next regularly scheduled planning commission meeting. The city clerk will set the date for a public hearing on the proposed amendment with concurrence of the chairman of the planning commission.
SECTION 2. Chapter 94 of the Maumelle City Code, Zoning Regulations; Article I, In General; Section 94-10, Procedure for amendment; is hereby amended as follows: Sec. 94-10. - Procedure for amendment. Upon filing an application for amendment with the Planning and Permits office, with a copy to the city clerk's office, this chapter may be amended by the following procedures:
(1) The planning commission shall hold a public hearing on the proposed amendment stated in the application not less than 15 days after notice of such hearing has been published in a newspaper of general circulation in the city. The notice shall be published at the applicant's expense and shall give the time and place of the proposed hearing and the proposed changes. The applicant shall inform all owners of land, by certified letter, return receipt requested, specifying the place of the hearing and the proposed change. The applicant shall notify owners of all lands which lie within 300 feet of the land for which the zoning change is requested of the time, date and place of the public hearing and the proposed change in zoning designation. The applicant shall provide this notification by one of the following methods:
a. Certified letter, return receipt requested;
b. Petition, provided to and signed by all such owners of land;
c. First class mail, with certificate of mailing. All proof of notification, including return receipts, a copy of the petition, or certificates of mailing with and a copy of the letter, shall be furnished to the planning commission in care of the city clerk Planning and Permits office at least five days prior to the public hearing.
(2) Planning staff shall post or have posted signs on the property proposed for a change in zoning for the purpose of providing general notice to the public of the proposed changes.
a. The signs will be displayed on the property on a post not less than 15 days prior to the date of the public hearing.
b. The sign, which shall be supplied by the Planning and Permits office, shall be displayed to be prominent and in full view of passing motorists and pedestrians. Signs shall be 48 inches by 48 inches in size.
c. All such signs posted shall be maintained by planning staff so that the signs remain visible and readable until the conclusion of the subject public hearing, or to the final conclusion of the resolution of the request. Subject signs shall be removed from the property by planning staff within five days of the concluding action.
(3) The amendment, as presented or modified by the action following the public hearing, shall be voted on by the planning commission.
(4) Following such vote, the planning commission shall certify its recommendations to the city council.
(5) The city council may return the proposed amendment to the planning commission for further study, or by majority vote adopt by ordinance the proposal as submitted by the planning commission.
(6) If the planning commission disapproves the proposed amendment, the proponent may appeal to the city council, which shall review the action and may approve the proposed amendment only by not less than three-fourths vote of all the members. Such appeal shall be made via the city clerk Planning and Permits office, which shall transmit one copy to the planning commission, which will prepare and transmit a report to the applicant, stating why the proposed amendment was disapproved. The city clerk shall also be provided a copy of the appeal.
(7) Should the proposal be adopted by the city council, the amendment ordinance shall be filed with the office of the city clerk.
SECTION 3. Chapter 94 of the Maumelle City Code, Zoning Regulations; Article II, Administration and Enforcement; Division 3, Conditional Use Review, Site Plan Review and Accessory Use Permits; Section 94-94, Submission requirements; is hereby amended as follows: Sec. 94-94. - Submission requirements. The submission requirements (except the letters to abutting property owners) for a conditional use shall be the same as for the rezoning of any lot, parcel or tract of land, in that a public hearing, advertisement, and nearby property owner notification are is required. Each application shall include a site plan that includes those items listed in section 94-101.
SECTION 4. Chapter 94 of the Maumelle City Code, Zoning Regulations; Article III, Districts and District Regulations; Division 5, Planned Unit Development; Section 94-451, Application review procedure, PRD, PCD; paragraphs a-c are hereby amended as follows: Sec. 94-451. - Application review procedure, PRD, PCD.
(a) Generally. The planned unit development application procedure shall consist of three phases:
(1) A preapplication conference with the city planning and permits department and the director of the department of public safety, subsequently referred to as the staff;
(2) A preliminary development plan reviewed by the planning commission and the city council; and
(3) Final development plan and plat approved as a whole or in phases by the planning commission and staff following its review for compatibility with the preliminary plan. The final development plan and plat shall be approved prior to the issuance of any building permits within any portion of the planned unit development.
(b) Preapplication conference.
(1) Before submitting an application for any planned unit development, the landowner or his authorized agent shall confer with the staff in order to become familiar with the planned unit development review process.
(2) The applicant will inform the staff about the location, the provision of access, the utility requirements, the intended use of land and structures, and timing of construction.
(3) The staff will inform the applicant of city policies regarding access and utilities, and of any perceived potential problems that might arise in execution of the PRD or PCD.
(4) After the preapplication conference, the proposed development may be heard before the planning commission as an informational item.
(c) Preliminary development plan review. An applicant seeking the planned unit development of property shall submit to the staff a preliminary development plan and all the necessary fees at the time of the filing. The preliminary development plan will be reviewed by staff and any affected city departments, and their recommendations shall be forwarded to the planning commission. A public hearing for the preliminary plan shall be set not later than 60 days after filing. The submission and notification requirements for a preliminary development plan shall be the same as for the rezoning of any lot, parcel, or tract of land, in that a public hearing, advertisement, and notification of landowners within 300 feet of the affected property shall be required. and shall be legally advertised at least one time in a newspaper of general circulation in the city 15 days before the meeting. At the public hearing before the planning commission, the applicant and interested citizens will have the opportunity to discuss the merits of the planned unit development proposal. The planning commission will assess the proposal in light of regulation guidelines and will take action after weighing the recommendations of the staff, the developer's presentation, and the community's response. The commission shall approve, grant approval conditioned on specified modifications, or disapprove the planned unit development proposal. The applicant will receive written notification of the action taken by the planning commission within ten days of the meeting date.
SECTION 5. (Do not codify). Codification. It is the intention of the City Council of the City of Maumelle that the provisions of this Ordinance shall become and be made a part of the City Code of the City of Maumelle, Arkansas.
SECTION 6. (Do not codify). Repealer. All other ordinances or resolutions or parts of ordinances or resolutions in conflict herewith are hereby repealed to the extent of the conflict.
SECTION 7. (Do not codify). Severability. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, section or other portion of this ordinance is found to be unconstitutional, invalid, or inoperative by a court of competent jurisdiction, such findings shall not affect the validity of the remainder of these sections, nor shall any proceeding invalidating any portion of any section operate to affect any portion of the remainder of said sections not specifically attacked in said proceeding.
APPROVED this 2nd day of May, 2022.
DR1T- 05/10/22

PRINT