Bentonville’s South Study Area: Staff backs low-density housing with small neighborhood centers
Date: Aug. 11, 2025 • From: Shelli Kerr, AICP, Comprehensive Planning Manager, in a memo to Mayor Stephanie Orman and City Council.
The short version
City staff say the South Study Area is best suited for low-density residential with a few small, rural-scale commercial nodes to serve nearby residents. Any growth hinges on extending utilities.
The area faces limited infrastructure (electric ends at Haxton Rd.; water stops at Philpot Rd.; sewer is only partly available in the west) and challenging topography (steep slopes, floodplain, karst).
Development pressure is rising: Osage Mills was recently rezoned A-1 → R-1, and 1,368 new homes are projected within a one-mile radius in the next 16 months, per Buffington Homes.
Why it matters
The Future Land Use Map (FLUM) adopted in February 2025 required a closer look at three focus areas, including the south. Shifting place types here could upend water and sewer projections unless offset elsewhere, so staff are urging a measured approach.
Complicating things: a large portion of the study area lies outside city limits, where recent state changes removed Bentonville’s regulatory authority—limiting the city’s leverage over county land.
Staff recommendations
Add “Neighborhood Centers” to the FLUM while keeping the Rural place type—think small, farm-to-table-scale services to cut driving for basics. (Policy change, not a rezoning by itself.)
Amend the UDC so the Rural place type clearly allows a mix of detached housing types (by matrix/place-type correlation). (Regulatory action.)
Create a new rural commercial zoning district—T2.2 Rural Node—with tailored bulk/area/use standards to implement those centers. (Regulatory action.)
Staff note that any new codes would go through formal adoption, won’t apply retroactively, and shouldn’t reduce property value or existing zoning rights.
Options on the table for Council
Do nothing: Keep the current FLUM; rely on the zoning code/alignment table for rural-scale growth.
Compact Growth scenario: Extend mixed neighborhoods slightly south to Philpott Rd. with a few east-side centers; staff warn of significant water/sewer impacts and increased sprawl/fiscal risk.
Balanced Growth scenario: Extend mixed neighborhoods across the entire south area with scattered centers—again with major infrastructure impacts versus the adopted FLUM.
