Fayetteville, UA Pay $150K For Common Sense Advice

Northwest Arkansas

by Talk Business & Politics ([email protected]) January 1, 2009 12:00 am 67 views 

Leave it to the City of Fayetteville to spend $150,000 to learn things most anyone could have told them for free.

OK, so the University of Arkansas split the cost with Fayetteville, but wasting money is nothing new for institutions of higher learning.

The city recently released the results of a study performed by Eva Klein & Associates assessing Fayetteville’s economic needs.

Among the findings? Fayetteville should try to keep the Walton Arts Center from migrating to Benton County, keep pushing sustainability and, oh, promote itself.

Wow. That’s pretty insightful for $150,000. Just imagine how much deeper it will be if the city/UA cough up another $150,000 like Ms. Klein requested for “Phase II.” We suppose the next phase might include an opinion on the City Council’s recent decision to allow residents to keep chickens inside the city limits.

But what really caught our eye was this paraphrased quote from Klein reported in the Northwest Arkansas Times:

“Klein said less council interaction with the development process and more responsibility on the Planning Commission level would simplify it and allow developments that follow all the city’s guidelines and mesh with its future planning to go through without being held up at the council because one individual is against the development.”

We hope that mayor-elect Lioneld Jordan will take Klein’s advice given how often he’s opposed developments that have cleared the grueling Planning Commission process.

The way we see it, Fayetteville has ordinances governing tree preservation, hillside protection, stormwater management, sign size and a 2025 Master Plan. If a developer can comply with the reams of red tape to the satisfaction of city planners, a few vocal citizens shouldn’t necessarily be able to derail projects that meet the city’s many requirements.

If the Klein study can get the Fayetteville City Council to stop impeding progress and make the city an easier place to do business, it may be money well spent.