Key Milestone in Sight as Plan Bentonville Wraps Up Phase One

Future Land Use Map inches towards adoption; final comments encouraged

On Tuesday, October 29, the Bentonville community is invited to share final thoughts on the city’s proposed Future Land Use Map, kicking off six weeks of consideration and review by all manner of stakeholders, the process steering committee, the Planning Commission and, ultimately, City Council.

Join us at 5pm in Bentonville City Hall Council Chambers, 305 SW A Street.

It’s the culmination of a year-long process exploring our collective priorities and aspirations, and then fine-tuning growth models best suited to accommodating them. Throughout, residents have participated in all kinds of ways to make the recommendations reflective of and responsive to the Bentonville community.

Now, as we enter Phase One’s final stretch, we make our final appeal: What, if any, perspective is missing? What final thoughts do you have? You can review all the relevant content — including descriptions of the land use categories and the draft Future Land Use Map — at the StoryMap link:

Don’t miss this opportunity to put some finer points on Bentonville’s future growth plans. Please make plans to join us.

Dig Deeper: A practical approach to growth

At the heart of the proposed Future Land Use Map are two key ideas: organizing land use by character rather than just use; and acknowledging that not all patterns of development are equal. Some perform better than others, particularly as it relates to the city’s financial, environmental, social, and quality of life ambitions.

The conventional approach that currently governs Bentonville land development separates different aspects of our lives by use — where we live, or shop, or work, or recreate. This creates a sense of predictability about what uses will someday emerge on individual properties, but beyond that it’s not a very precise tool for achieving broader community goals — like financial sustainability or choices in how we’re able to get around or creating neighborhoods where diverse community can flourish. 

The Plan Bentonville process has instead been looking at what we call ‘place types’. Think of it as growth planning that looks not just at the where but also the what. What type of environments — from rural to suburban to downtown — will result from the inevitable development we’ll experience in the coming decades, and how can we govern that development for maximum community benefit, choice and opportunity? 

A big part of the discussions along the way have surrounded the idea that different models of development perform differently. Some are tax-positive financially, meaning they result in greater revenue for the city than what they take out in terms of infrastructure, city services, etc. Others are tax-negative, in the sense that their costs exceed their revenue, though they may still deliver community value in other ways. What’s important is that the community ultimately includes a balance of both, ensuring a net-positive balance sheet overall. 

This is true for other factors as well. Some types consume less land or result in places where walking or biking become more viable options for getting around. Or where job opportunities across the employment spectrum are easily accessible. Or where a greater range of housing types allow for more people of different circumstances to find a home that fits their needs. 

A Broad and Inclusive Process

Launch of www.planbentonville.com in the fall of 2023 marked the start of what’s since become the most extensive community-wide planning process in Bentonville history, with over 11,000 unique visitors to the project website viewing 35,000 pages of news and information.

Throughout the process, the Bentonville community was tasked with sharing input and insights, assessing ideas, and providing feedback to help fine-tune emerging proposals.

Opportunities were promoted across all city communications channels, including banners, flyers and posters, emails, newsletters, press releases, promotional give-aways, and tens of thousands of views on social media.

From surveys and stakeholder interviews to pop-ups and open houses, one-on-one interactions with city staff to online reviews of work-in-progress, the Bentonville community came out, eager to contribute to a process that will better channel the growth pressure we’ve all felt, particularly now and in the recent past.

During 18 hours of one-on-one interviews, 15 hours of community meetings, 22 hours of pop-ups, and 15 hours on one-on-one interactions with staff, nearly 1,400 people turned out to contribute. 2,100 more completed surveys. And nearly 1,200 people helped fine-tune the draft Future Land Use Map with nuanced perspectives on individual parcels.

Participation reflected a wide diversity of Bentonville residents sharing all manner of viewpoints: lifelong residents, new residents, elected officials, Planning Commission, State Representatives, County Judge, Board of Adjustments, affordable housing advocates and providers, schools administration, Walmart Active Mobility, small entrepreneurs, builders/developers, banks, grassroots conservatives, social services, the local Indian community, accessibility advocates, and Downtown area neighbors.

Taken collectively, these contributions were instrumental in shaping the Future Land Use Map currently under consideration.

Stay Engaged

Over the next two months there’ll be six public meetings contributing to the Future Land Use Map’s ultimate adoption. We encourage you to familiarize yourself with the schedule, join in, and help us better wrangle the forces of change that come with being a thriving, desirable community.