PEA RIDGE -- Three people expressed their desire to serve on the Planning Commission on Nov. 1 as commission members met two of them for the first time.
One of the people, Greg Pickens, served on the commission previously.
The commission members were asked to send their recommendations on whom to nominate individually to the mayor who is expected to recommend the City Council approve appointing one of them.
In addition to Pickens, who resigned when he moved out of town, were Jessica Grady and Samantha Flint.
Grady said she has lived in Pea Ridge since 2019 and works for the Planning Department for Little Flock. She has been the secretary for the Little Flock Planning Commission and has certification from the state for planning.
"I'm passionate about it," she said.
Flint said she has lived in Pea Ridge since 2017 and was born and raised in Bentonville.
"I have watched it grow. I love it," she said of Pea Ridge.
She said she likes the smaller sense of community available in Pea Ridge where "you're not just a number."
"I would love the opportunity to serve the community," Flint said. She said she has worked at Walmart for almost 10 years and has spent about five years in contracts administration. She said she is currently a real estate project manager.
"I sat in that seat just six months ago ... I worked with you guys three years," Pickens said. "I felt like we had a good cadence."
He said that he wants the opportunity again.
"We have to put a foot down, where sometimes it's not pretty. ... I've got two young kids growing up in Pea Ridge, and I want to be responsible in having a hand in it. My heart and passion is here. This is a long-term move for us. Hopefully, I can be a part of the team here," Pickens said.
Property owner Jack Johnson appeared before the commission for a lot split and apologized for missing the previous meeting, saying he had not been told he had to be present for the commission to consider his request. He said he bought the abandoned property at 1089 N. Davis St. in 2009 and wants to split the property into three lots to build on them.
"I'm not a developer. I have lived here 36 years," Johnson said.
Building official Tony Townsend said if the lot split is approved, the property would have to be rezoned R2 instead of R1 because of the size of the lots. It was explained that R2 allows smaller lots. His request was tabled.
In other business, the Planning Commission:
• Approved a home occupation request for Heather Kenney, 2311 Parnell St.
• Approved the large-scale development plan for Dollar General, Arkansas 94/South Harvey Wakefield.
And, as the Board of Adjustments, the panel approved a variance request for number of parking spaces for Dollar General and a variance request for curb requirements for Storage World.