Did you know?
In 1972, the Washington County Quorum Court, under the authority granted by the State of Arkansas, formed the Washington County Planning Board.
Purpose of the Planning Board
The primary responsibility of the Planning Board is to promote public interest in planning, prepare plans, ordinances, and receive and make recommendations on public and private proposals regarding development and land planning matters for the consideration of the Quorum Court. If the recommended ordinances are adopted by the Quorum Court, the Planning Board is responsible for administering them. The Planning Board, therefore, reviews land development proposals in the county to ensure they comply with the requirements specified in the adopted ordinances (AR Code § 14-17-205).
(Read more about the board here.)
At the September Regular Quorum Court Meeting on Thursday, Sept. 19, a number of Washington County residents spoke in opposition of the “The Freedom and Property Preservation Zoning Act of Washington County” and how it’s been presented to the public.
Click here to review the Proposed Zoning Ordinance.
Listen to a few of those comments below. (Watch the entire Quorum Court meeting here.)
These comments made by Washington County residents are right on the money and reinforces the role of the planning board. Often times, we see executive leadership take the ball and run with it, and then those appointed are tasked with carrying out a job and never informed of their duties and responsibilities. Those appointed will at times simply become “Yes men/women” to the executive board, rather than carrying out the duty that the statute originally conceived.
Review this Arkansas statute, and reference it as need be.
Arkansas Code Title 14. Local Government § 14-17-206. Purpose and content of county plan
- (a) The county plan shall be made with the general purpose of guiding and accomplishing a coordinated, efficient, and economic development of the county, or part thereof. In accordance with one (1) or more of the following criteria, the plan shall seek to best promote the health, safety, convenience, prosperity, and welfare of the people of the county.
- (b) Each county plan shall reflect the county’s development policies and shall contain a statement of the objectives and principles sought to be embodied therein. Each plan, with the accompanying maps, charts, and descriptive matter, may make recommendations, among other things, as to:
- (1) The conservation of natural resources;
- (2) The protection of areas of environmental concern;
- (3) The development of land subject to flooding;
- (4) The provision of adequate recreation, education, and community facilities, including water, sewer, solid waste, and drainage improvements;
- (5) The development of transportation facilities, housing development, and redevelopment;
- (6) The consideration of school district boundaries; and
- (7) Other matters which are logically related to or form an integral part of a long-term plan for orderly development and redevelopment of the county.
- (c)
- (1) Areas of critical environmental concern include, among other things, aquifers and aquifer recharge areas, soils poorly suited to development, floodplains, wetlands, prime agricultural and forestlands, the natural habitat of rare or endangered species, areas with unique ecosystems, or areas recommended for protection in the Arkansas natural areas plan. Plans for these areas shall give consideration to protective mechanisms which seek to regulate activities or development in the areas.
- (2) These mechanisms may include establishment of special zoning districts, adoption and enforcement of building codes, acquisition of easements or land through capital expenditures programming, and specialized development policies. Where appropriate, county management activities for areas of critical environmental concern shall involve cooperative agreements with interested state and federal agencies.
- (d) In the preparation of all plans for the county or part of a county, the county planning board shall:
- (1) Provide that plans are consistent with state plans and other related regional, county, and municipal plans, and school district boundaries in order to avoid inconvenience and economic waste and to assure a coordinated and harmonious development of the county, region, and state; and
- (2) Notify by first-class mail the boards of directors of all school districts affected by a plan sufficiently in advance to allow representatives of all affected school districts to submit comments on any proposed plan.
Arkansas Code Title 14. Local Government § 14-17-209. Zoning ordinance–Board of zoning adjustment
(a)
-
- (1) The county planning board shall have authority to prepare, or to cause to be prepared, a zoning ordinance for all or part of the unincorporated area of the county, which ordinance shall include both a map and a text.
- (2) The zoning ordinance may regulate:
- (A) The location, height, bulk, number of stories, and the size of building;
- (B) Open space;
- (C) Lot coverage;
- (D) Density and distribution of population; and
- (E) The uses of land, buildings, and structures.
- (3) The zoning ordinance may require off-street parking and loading.
- (4) The zoning ordinance may provide for districts of compatible uses, for large-scale unified development, for the control and elimination of uses not in conformance with provisions of the ordinance, and for such other matters as are necessary to the health, safety, and general welfare of the county.
- (5) The zoning ordinance shall designate districts or zones of such shape, size, or characteristics as deemed advisable for all, or part, of the unincorporated area of the county.
- (6) The regulations imposed within each district or zone shall be uniform throughout the district or zone.
- (7) The zoning ordinance shall allow and regulate home-based work as provided in § 14-1-106.
- (b) The determination of zones shall be consistent with any officially adopted plans for the area to be zoned. In the development of zoning districts and their boundaries, due consideration shall be given to the adopted plans of municipal planning commissions for extraterritorial planning areas.
- (c) The zoning ordinance shall be observed through denial of the issuance of building permits and use permits.
- (d) It shall be unlawful to erect, construct, reconstruct, alter, maintain, or use any land, building, or structure in violation of any ordinance of the county quorum court.
- (e) The zoning ordinance shall provide for a board of zoning adjustment which shall be formed in either of the following ways:
- (1) A minimum of three (3) residents of the county may be appointed to the board of zoning adjustment; or
- (2) The planning board as a whole may sit as the board of zoning adjustment.
- (f) Whenever a separate board of zoning adjustment is established, appointments, length of term, vacancies, removal, and compensation shall be the same as for the county planning board.
- (g) The board of zoning adjustment shall have the following functions:
- (1) To hear appeals from administrative decisions with respect to the enforcement and application of the ordinance and affirm or reverse, in whole or part, the administrative decisions; and
- (2) To hear requests for variances from the literal provisions of the zoning ordinance in instances where strict enforcement of the zoning ordinance would cause undue hardship due to circumstances unique to the individual property under consideration and to grant such variances only when it is demonstrated that such action will be in keeping with the spirit and intent of the provisions of the zoning ordinance. The board of zoning adjustment may impose conditions in the granting of a variance to ensure compliance and to protect adjacent property.
- (h) The board of zoning adjustment shall not permit, as a variance, any use in a zone that is not permitted under the ordinance.
- (i)
- (1) Decisions of the board of zoning adjustment in respect to subsections (a)-(h) of this section shall be subject to appeal only to a court of record having jurisdiction.
- (2)
- (A) However, a county quorum court may elect to act as a board of administrative appeal prior to an appeal to a court of record from a decision of the board of zoning adjustment.
- (B) The county judge shall be the chair of the board of administrative appeal but shall vote only in the event of a tie.
- (C) The county quorum court shall determine the number of quorum court members who shall sit on the board of administrative appeal.
- (3) Any appeal concerning roads shall be appealed directly to circuit court.
Amended by Act 2021, No. 659,§ 2, eff. 7/28/2021.
Acts 1977, No. 422, § 7.0; A.S.A. 1947, § 17-1113; Acts 2007, No. 565, § 2.
