Fort Smith Comprehensive Plan update moving closer to a Board vote

The Fort Smith Board of Directors received an update on the effort to update the city's comprehensive plan that has been underway since last year. Senior Associate Silvia Vargas of consulting firm Wallace Roberts & Todd said the comprehensive plan update was scheduled for completion later this year.

"We are in the process of getting the policy framework completed. Yesterday, we had a meeting with the (Comprehensive Plan) Steering Committee in which they reviewed the first completed draft of what we call the policy framework. They're taking it all into review more carefully, getting feedback from them and in a couple of weeks, we will be starting to put flesh on the bones of that framework and adding all the other pieces that will be a part of the comprehensive plan."

Brian Traylor, also of WRT, said the policy framework contained four sources — retaining and enhancing community character and quality of life; promoting sound growth and development; growing and diversifying the economy; and uniting people, institutions and government.

"The Steering Committee has approved in its current format the policy framework. They spent the last two months going through each policy, each goal, each action and its based off of four sources," he said.

Within the frame work are seven different focuses that Traylor said would work together to move the four policy framework sources forward.

Following are excerpts from Traylor's discussion with the Board on each of the seven focus areas included within the policy framework:
• Future land use: "It's about creating more livable and walkable centers, understanding the growth and that residential development and commercial development happen consistently, and taking the time to prioritize different centers."

• Economic development: "One of the issues is the growth trends that we identified is fairly monotonous … or (has a) lack of diversity. So one of the key things also with the economic base is (it needs to be) diversified, as well. Maintain the manufacturing economic base, but look at more information and connections with the university to get a little more cutting edge (economic development."

• Housing and neighborhoods: "Balancing the preservation of the existing neighborhoods — there's a lot of great neighborhoods in the city. … There's talk of maintaining those neighborhoods and protecting them, but also identifying new opportunities for redevelopment and infill."

• Community and character design: "Improving aesthetics. I know the city is already doing that with beautification and this is just to try to reinforce that, but also look at identifying or promoting more of a community for the city as a whole but also there's a language in the policy framework talking about neighborhood identities and trying to bring about that identity within communities in different parts of the city."

• Transportation and infrastructure: "Maintain and enhance is the theme of this. The city has been addressing access issues, but there's always room for improvement and not just for vehicular traffic, but to make places more walkable, more bikeable."

• Public facilities and services: "I think the Future Fort Smith community engagement process that's been going on for the last year is sort of setting the stage for a different type of dialogue between residents and maybe more of a community-based vision and maintaining that connection between what the city's doing and what the plans are and relating that back to the city through things like FutureFortSmith.com and the community forums that we've been taking on."

• Natural and cultural resources: "Talking about how the environment can play a role for parks and recreation, but also as an environmental and natural resource and in terms of infrastructure for the city in terms of green infrastructure throughout the city."

Steering Committee Co-Chair Galen Hunter said the committee is still at work even though much of its work is drawing to a close.

"Some of them got combined together, a lot of them reach across different goals that we do and we'll make sure we've got them slotted in the right places. We're still looking at some actions that will go with these and how we track those actions so that we know that the plan's successful."

Vargas said it is her intent to have a final version of the comprehensive plan update available for a vote of the Board of Directors before the end of the year. (Link here for a PDF – large file – of the working document.)

In other business, the Board received an update on a planned $2.8 million Riverview Hope Campus to be built at 301 S. E St., southwest of the heart of downtown Fort Smith. Debbie Everly, director of homeless programs at Riverview, said the proposed center would initially be able to house up to 75 individuals and would feature on-site medical clinics and continuing adult education provided by the Fort Smith School District.

A capital campaign is underway, Everly said, with Kansas City, Mo.-based Hartsook Companies working with the group as a fundraising consultant.

The project is expected to receive a $225,000 bridge loan from the Fort Smith Housing Authority, as well as a five-year, $500,000 bridge loan from First National Bank of Fort Smith to help get the project off the ground once pledges are in-hand, according to Fort Smith Housing Authority Executive Director Ken Pyle.

The Board also discussed creation of a beautification commission and will vote on its formation and appointments to the commission at future regular meetings of the Board.