Polk approves equestrian village rezoning

By Leah Justice

leah.justice@tryondailybulletin.com

New construction on 29 acres of the Tryon International Equestrian Center (TIEC) will not be referred to as the Tryon Village as initially named.

The Polk County Board of Commissioners met Monday, Nov. 16 and heard comments during a public hearing regarding rezoning the property, mostly in opposition of the initial name of the property.

Commissioners unanimously approved the rezoning, as well as an amendment to the development agreement for White Oak during the meeting.

Sharon Decker, senior vice president for strategic initiatives for TIEC, told the Bulletin following the meeting that placing a name on the equestrian village was simply because in applying for the rezoning it had to be called something. Decker said an official name has not been chosen and she is speaking with people in the community to help decide what it should be called. Decker said she has heard the concerns and is listening to suggestions.

During the public hearing, some residents expressed concern over changed setbacks for the construction and the increased building height allotment from 50 ft. to 60 ft.

Corey Lancaster brought a PowerPoint® presentation and said the public hearing should be used as a time to explain what is proposed and give the community time to absorb and provide feedback and there should be no vote on Monday.

Lancaster disagreed with the 15 ft. road setback from the previous 25 ft. road setback, saying TIEC already has 1,000 acres with less restrictions than any other zoning district in the county. Lancaster also said there are no other parking decks in Polk County so the county does not have “code” for decks. He said the county treats parking decks like an accessory building or a shed when “it is a parking deck.” According to Lancaster, Polk should put the decision on hold and re-evaluate a parking deck on whether or not to allow them and decide on issues such as height, lighting and setbacks.

Some residents said the tallest ladder on a fire truck in the county is 30 ft. so a 60 ft. building could be an issue regarding fire safety.

“The community should not have to bear the tax burden to properly protect structures that are 50 percent taller than anywhere else in the county,” Lancaster said. “TIEC should be required to provide the equipment and personnel for this much like an airport does with crash trucks for their special needs.”

Bill McRae mentioned Polk County being a rural county.

McRae said he lives in the country because it is rural and mentioned the village adding to light pollution.

“We’re turning our beautiful countryside into an urban area,” McRae said.

Dee Black said if she lived in Pea Ridge or Mill Spring, which is where TIEC is located, she would be very proud of that fact and questioned why they are proposing to name it Tryon Village.

Myrna Viehman said she and her husband have a real estate office and have lived in what they call the Village of Tryon for 40 years. She said she objects to TIEC using the name Tryon and believes it’s confusing for the public. Viehman said TIEC is clearly in White Oak Township where the old White Oak Plantation was located. She said White Oak deserves to be kept in the name somehow. Viehman also mentioned she and her family moved here from Orlando, Florida and saw Disney come in and explode everywhere. Her suggestion for a name was possibly “Wellington North.” Viehman also said what a lot of people don’t know is the equestrian center has created downtown Pea Ridge.

Julia C. Williams said she was born and raised in Tryon, is very proud of her town and has great concerns with the overall picture. She said the requests are all the things that go into creating a new town. Williams said she has concerns over the impact on county services and has concerns about the naming. She said including the name Tryon creates confusion particularly for people coming from out of the area.

Linda Lee Reynolds said TIEC wants to call this the Village of Tryon, but “We have a Tryon and we do not need another one.”

Donald Edwards said the development is in his front yard and the traffic is like Virginia Beach. He said during events he has to go five miles out of his way to get to U.S. 74 and he’s almost run over people or been run over himself. Edwards said the setbacks need to stay at 25 ft. and the height needs to stay at 50 ft.

“The longest ladder we have on a fire truck is 30 ft. long,” Edwards said. “What are they going to do, provide us a ladder truck?”

Edwards said the last time he spoke on the development he asked the county to wait and commissioners pushed it through.

“Don’t push anything through,” Edwards said. “You’re changing the county.”

Michael Veatch said this phase of the development has been discussed and agreed upon already with two exceptions. He said the point about the fire truck and the ladder is a good point, however. Veatch said he is neighbors with TIEC and everything they’ve said they were going to do they done as far as he can tell.

“If there are problems, they seem to correct them immediately,” said Veatch. “I don’t see any major problems with this. So far as I can tell they are living up to all their promises.”

Polk County Planner Cathy Ruth introduced the rezoning request and reviewed maps of the proposed development, including a 175-room hotel, a sports complex, condominiums, retail, a restaurant and tourist area. The two main changes in the new zoning was the request to increase the 50 ft. maximum building height to 60 ft. and requesting a front setback in one section from 25 ft. t 15 ft. Ruth said they will have to be able to meet water and sewer requirements and submit plans to the county and the fire marshal.

Commissioner chairman Tom Pack asked who owns adjacent property. Pack said really there’s only one property that will be affected by the new setback requirements. Ruth said there are only two parcels in the area in question that are not owned by TIEC.

Commissioner Ray Gasperson said the setback is really just a setback change from the road.

Gasperson also asked if the parking areas will be below ground. Officials answered that just one level of parking will be above ground for the condominiums and another parking garage will be underground as well with one level above ground.

Construction of the hotel is scheduled to be in the 2016/2017 timeframe with this phase of development being complete within the next 24-36 months. Construction is scheduled to begin after the first of the year.