A City 12-Step Program for Aspen Ridge

If ever there were a wake-up call for intervention with the City of Fayetteville's development addiction, it is the FUBAR Aspen Ridge non-development hangover in south Fayetteville. A brief summary of the current state of mismanagement and irresponsible development is covered in an article by Marsha Melnichak in today's Northwest Arkansas Times, and a more comprehensive documentation and discussion of the developers' debacle is available on Aubrey Shepherd's Aubunique Blog.

The Mayor and City Council need to turn to the higher power of the people and enroll in the following 12-Step Program to Recovery.

1. Admit that Fayetteville has a problem, that we were powerless over our addiction to growth and developers’ false promises, and that our civic planning life had become unmanageable.
2. Apologize to all residents in neighborhoods we had harmed and be willing to make direct amends to citizens wherever possible. This is especially important for Mayor Coody who participated in the public relations festivities and praised the developers of Aspen Ridge.
3. Defeat the proposed ordinance repealing and replacing Ordinance No. 4971, extending the expiration date for R-PZD 04-1307 (Aspen Ridge) to June 29, 2008.
4. Take immediate remedial steps to stop erosion, run off, and siltation, including but not limited to correcting the improper structural work of the developers; replacing the topsoil; and replanting with native grass, shrubs, and trees.
5. Contract with Audubon Arkansas for stream restoration and protection of Town Branch Creek.
6. File a lien on the entire property for all costs associated with Steps 4 and 5.
7. Adopt a storm water impact fee for all future construction in the city.
8. Require a performance bond on all future permits for Planned Zoning Districts, Subdivisions, multistory buildings, and strip malls.
9. Reject any and all future applications from the developers involved in Aspen Ridge.
10. Send a summary report on all actions regarding Aspen Ridge and the developers to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality.
11. Send a summary report on all actions regarding Aspen Ridge and the developers to all member cities of the Arkansas Municipal League and the US Council of Mayors.
12. Send a summary report on all actions regarding Aspen Ridge and the developers to the state and national Better Business Bureau.