City Grants Waiver for Driveway Access on Steep Forest Hills Blvd Lot

The Bella Vista Planning Commission has approved a waiver allowing a property owner at 24 York Circle to construct a driveway that requires backing into Forest Hills Boulevard—something normally prohibited due to safety concerns.

In this case, the steep topography of the lot left few design alternatives. The property backs up to Forest Hills Blvd, a heavily used road, and standard driveway alignment wasn’t feasible without extensive and costly grading. The city reviewed the request and determined that visibility at the site was acceptable and that traffic speeds in the immediate area were low enough to warrant the exception.

While the city typically discourages backing into public streets for safety reasons, especially on busy or curved roads, officials noted that this waiver was a rare case driven by Bella Vista’s natural terrain and design challenges in hillside development.

This decision highlights the city’s case-by-case approach to balancing development with public safety, especially in areas where natural geography plays a major role in limiting construction flexibility.