In April 2023, Planning Commission Chair Susan Harman raised the possibility of building houses on smaller lots. She suggested adopting a floor-area ratio to determine the maximum size of a house on a lot smaller than the city’s 10,000-square-foot minimum.
Last week, sitting as the Board of Zoning Adjustment in a special meeting, commissioners took a big step in that direction as they granted a variance to build a 1,600-sq. ft. house on a 3,200-sq. ft. lot. Adam Wilmot had been expected to appear by Zoom at the March 12 commission meeting, but a connection was not established. Because sale of the property depended on approval of the application, commissioners called a special meeting April 2. They noted at the outset that no negative responses had come back from neighbors notified of the variance request, and no one objected during public comments.
Wilmot, attending through Zoom, was asked about purchasing adjacent undeveloped lots, currently owned by the city. He had considered that, he said, but even if the city offered the properties for sale he would have to compete against other sealed bids. “We don’t know if that would be a viable option,” he said.
The proposed house would be a single story, built over a garage. The lot lies between Anderson and Dickey Sts. In response to a question, Wilmot said he had checked with the city about availability of utilities. Harman said Wilmot would need to submit a detailed application before cutting trees, and he said he had already discussed that with Kyle Palmer, the city’s director of Planning and Community Development.
Wilmot thanked commissioners for arranging a special meeting, saying the groundbreaking may still come two or three years in the future. “We look forward to building in Eureka Springs,” he said.
All four current commissioners voted in favor of the variance. The commission currently has a bare quorum. Joshua Dugan and Peter Graham have recently resigned, and Susan Gruning now serves on the city council.