New state law ends some Fort Smith land use rules

Gov. Sarah Sanders on Tuesday (March 18) signed HB 1510 into law as Act 314 which limits how cities can regulate property use near city limits. The new law will end the City of Fort Smith’s extra-territorial jurisdiction (ETJ) polices.

The bill was sponsored by Rep. Justin Gonzales, R-Okolona, and Sen. Gary Stubblefield, R-Branch.

The bill repeals several sections of Arkansas code, and removes provisions that allowed cities of different sizes to extend their planning and zoning control into surrounding unincorporated county areas between one to three miles beyond city limits.

It repeals statutes that detailed how municipalities could administer planning ordinances, file jurisdiction boundaries, control land subdivision and enforce zoning regulations in areas outside their immediate city boundaries.

This change means that county planning boards will have exclusive jurisdiction over land use and development in unincorporated areas, and municipalities will be restricted to regulating only the land within their official city limits

Maggie Rice, Fort Smith deputy city administrator for planning and special projects, said the new law effectively abolishes Fort Smith’s ETJ.

“The city no longer provides any land use control, subdivision regulations, or future planning within our growth area,” Rice said.

The ETJ afforded Fort Smith residents on the southern edge of the city protection of private property values while affording the city protection over public investments in infrastructure, Rice said. Fort Smith is unique in that it has several unincorporated islands surrounded by city limits.

“These islands no longer have any zoning control,” Rice said.

Previous ETJ zoning and land use decisions by the Planning Commission and Board of Directors are nullified, she added. While the city has the ability to annex surrounded lands via ordinance, no annexation efforts are under consideration, she said.

“It is important to mention that Act 314 does not take effect until 90 days after the final day of (Arkansas’ legislative) session and any amendment to Fort Smith’s municipal code would not be presented until the act becomes effective,” Rice said.