Bentonville posts proposed Community Code changes affecting future projects
BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Bentonville has posted proposed amendments to its new Community Code that could affect parking calculations, building height, airport-related approvals, signs and landscaping for some future projects.
The document is still draft legislation. The ordinance number, passage date and approval fields are blank, and Bentonville’s official code-amendment page lists the Community Code changes under “Proposed,” separately from the recently adopted code.
Draft follows rollout of new code
Bentonville City Council adopted the Community Code on April 14, 2026. The city said developers could opt into the code beginning May 14, with the code becoming mandatory for new projects on June 13. Development Services administers the code for rezonings, variances, subdivisions and other development reviews.
The city also held a second Code School developers forum on July 17 at the Bentonville Public Library. The event description said the sessions cover zoning updates, development standards and approval processes for developers, architects, engineers, planners and design professionals. The available materials do not establish that the forum produced these specific amendments or consensus among attendees.
Parking rules would add reduction options
The proposed amendments would keep a minimum-parking framework but add several ways applicants could reduce the required number of spaces.
An applicant could submit a parking study prepared by a licensed professional instead of relying on the listed parking minimums, subject to Planning Commission approval. The draft also would allow reductions for sites with reasonable access to the Northwest Arkansas Razorback Greenway or the loop trail identified in the Connecting Bentonville Master Plan.
Under the draft, trail access within one-eighth of a mile would produce a 20% reduction, while access within one-quarter mile would produce a 10% reduction. Sites with reasonable access to a premium transit stop could receive larger reductions: no required parking within one-eighth mile, a 50% reduction within one-quarter mile and a 25% reduction within one-half mile.
Other proposed reductions include up to 10% for additional bicycle parking and up to 10% for tree preservation. Shared parking could also be used when spaces serve uses on the same site or in the same shared facility, follow the Urban Land Institute’s Shared Parking Handbook and are covered by an agreement acceptable to city staff.
In T5 and T6 districts, the draft would exempt the first 3,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space from the parking table. It also would not apply the table to existing structures undergoing a change of use in those districts.
Height and site transitions
The proposal would increase the maximum height for parking structures from 35 to 40 feet in the T5.1 Town Center Low district and from 70 to 96 feet in the T6 Urban Center district.
It also would revise height-transition rules near residential and other zoning districts. The draft text would limit some development next to an R-1 district to the R-1 maximum height within 50 feet, while allowing additional stories or feet farther from the boundary in specified zoning combinations.
The proposal also addresses maximum setbacks when utility or access easements extend deeper than the setback, steep grades and off-site temporary contractor yards, staging areas or stockpiles associated with allowed construction. The document’s easement language contains draft formatting that should be checked in any revised ordinance before applicants rely on a final measurement.
Airport-area projects would face specific reviews
For property within the proposed Bentonville Municipal Airport Overlay provisions, the draft would establish height and land-use requirements tied to airport approach, transitional, horizontal and conical zones.
The draft says structures generally could not exceed 50 feet above ground unless the Federal Aviation Administration issues a determination of no hazard to air navigation. Applicants would have to file FAA Form 7460-1, and the FAA determination would be required before city approval.
Residential and other noise-sensitive uses would have to include soundproofing designed to reduce indoor noise by at least 30 decibels, documentation explaining the sound reduction, a recorded avigation easement and notice to current and future owners about overflight activity and potential aircraft noise.
Signs and landscaping
For a development with more than one building, business or establishment, the draft would require a common signage plan before sign permits are issued. The plan would show sign locations, materials, lighting, sizes and a standardized visual theme. The requirement would continue to apply to buildings, businesses and establishments within a related project even if the properties were later subdivided.
Proposed landscaping changes address utility conflicts, drainage, tree clustering and maintenance. Required trees could be clustered instead of evenly spaced if the project still provides the required total number. The draft also would restrict plantings near overhead and underground utilities, transformers, junction boxes and fire hydrants, while allowing tree locations to be adjusted with director approval when utilities or preserved vegetation create conflicts.
The draft would prohibit species identified as invasive by the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission and would set minimum planting sizes, including a 2.5-inch caliper and six-foot height for shade trees. It also would require property owners to maintain required on-site trees and landscaping in a healthy, weed-free condition.
Next formal step remains unclear
Bentonville’s public-meetings calendar lists a combined Committee of the Whole and City Council meeting for Aug. 11, 2026, at 6 p.m. The calendar entry does not identify the proposed Community Code amendments as an agenda item, so it does not confirm a hearing or vote on the draft.
Builders, developers and residents should monitor Bentonville Planning and City Council materials for a formal hearing, revised ordinance language and any eventual action. Applicability would depend on the zoning district, project type, location and review stage. Until the city adopts the amendments, they do not change current law.
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