BACK TO ITS ROOTS

Rogers’ railway history informs blueprint for modern development.

BY LINDSAY SOUTHWICK

More than 100,000 people from all over the country have moved to Northwest Arkansas since 2010, largely thanks to vendor migration to Walmart. But while the retail giant is one reason people have moved in, it isn’t the only reason they stay: Here, newcomers to the Ozarks plateau find recreation and arts offerings comparable to anywhere else in the nation.

The town of Rogers, settled in the 19th century as a railroad shipping point for apples, is illustrative of growth in Benton (and Washington) counties. Its charming historic downtown just east of Interstate 49, with brick-laid streets, antique stores and other shops and restaurants, has a quaint appeal amidst a bustling city whose population has tripled in the past 30 years.

“There’s no question this part of the state is experiencing a boom,” said John McCurdy, director of community development for the city of Rogers. “It has for some time. Booms are an opportunity. The question isn’t whether we need to plan for growth, it’s how.”

Rogers is revamping, starting with an update to its Comprehensive Growth Map (CGM), a blueprint guiding future development decisions. Rogers’ CGM paved the way for rezoning in the downtown area in 2015 and expanding to the greater area of Rogers in 2018.

The updated zoning is “building value throughout Rogers,” said Susan Henderson, the principal at PlaceMakers LLC, who has partnered with Rogers on its development plan. “It will serve two important roles: to assure protection in areas like established neighborhoods where change is a threat, but also [to] bring lots of opportunity to areas that are commercial or mixed-use.”

Henderson and McCurdy provided a history lesson in the role of zoning in city planning. Zoning falls into one of two categories: use-based and form-based. Used-based zoning restricts where and how commercial, industrial and residential areas are located. Form-based focuses on design and what is envisioned for the area at large.

Zoning practices in the United States date back to the early 20th century when, at the end of the industrial revolution, urbanization was on the rise. It made sense to separate the industrial parts of the city from where people lived to reduce congestion and protect people from pollution. Fast-forward a few decades, with the widening access to automobiles, and the suburbs were born, pushing residential areas to the edges of town. That left downtown areas struggling and more cars on the road commuting to workplaces. While this kind of zoning still has its place (think airports, industrial manufacturing plants and agriculture), over the decades there has been a shift to a more multifunctional, form-based zoning. Now planners want to bring people back into urban areas where they can get from their home to work, shop and play without needing a car. In addition to minimizing traffic, formbased zoning can energize a city and build community.

And that’s exactly what you’ll see in Rogers. The original boundary of the historic district included a cluster of commercial three-story buildings. Not only are they architecturally beautiful, they’re also functional. Originally, the first floor would commonly be used as commercial space, the second floor for office space and the third for residences. The recent adoption of form-based zoning has Rogers using many of its buildings in the way for which they were originally intended. In some ways, as Rogers expands, the more akin it is to how it was before.

“We’re lucky here in Rogers because there is so much existing infrastructure we can use and build upon,” McCurdy said. “We’re making decisions with future and existing residents in mind. We’ve prioritized affordable and equitable housing by developing a range of housing types, but we also have left established, residential neighborhoods as they are because they’re still working for people. It’s all about finding the balance.”

A native of Rogers, McCurdy has a vested interest in seeing the development plan succeed. The retired Air Force pilot, who holds a degree in engineering and a master’s degree in strategic planning, spent the last four years of his service in construction management, working in the U.S. and in the Middle East. When he was ready to retire from the Air Force six years ago he could have moved anywhere, but chose to move back to his hometown.

“I saw what was happening in Rogers and was so impressed,” he said. “I wanted to be a part of it. I wanted to help if I could.”

Thanks to his past experience, McCurdy knows what it takes to create more diverse and resilient communities.

“John is a visionary when it comes to building a better Rogers and thinks very strategically about the best ways to achieve that goal,” Henderson said. “There’s a culture of collaboration and customer service [with the development team] that is fabulous and encourages us to believe this code will be effectively administered.”

The project hasn’t gone without its challenges. People can feel uneasy about potential change, fearing it could negatively impact the value of their largest asset, their home. Henderson considers it part of the job to help people see what zoning facilitates and to be transparent in their process. “Local insights always make for better codes,” she said.

“We’re not in the business of making things worse,” McCurdy joked. “I think residents have largely seen how they are benefiting from the changes we’ve made and I like to think we’ve done a good job at listening to them when they have concerns. In that way, it’s a team effort in every aspect.”

The dedication of McCurdy, his team and partners (who also include DPZ CoDesign and Garver engineering of North Little Rock) to involve the community, listen to their concerns and address them accordingly has meant there is little public resistance to the plan.

Urbanization is a key driving force behind how cities go about zoning their communities. Building cities around the use of cars doesn’t make as much sense as it once did. Developing communities around people instead seems to be the wave of the future, and Rogers is proof that the concept can work.