The Rotary Club invited Wade Phillips, the City’s COO/City Engineer, to share information about ongoing projects and issues impacting planning and zoning.
After a brief presentation about what’s going on with the Public Works Department and ongoing projects, much of the discussion was about legislation at the 95th General Assembly in Little Rock. Several bills that have either passed or have been filed have the potential to limit local authority at the city and county levels. One of the more concerning bills currently being considered would effectively eliminate zoning districts reserved for only single-family homes by allowing duplexes, triplexes, and quadplexes anywhere single-family homes are allowed. That would include the conversion of existing single-family homes in established neighborhoods to multi-family housing up to a quadplex.