Future Forward: Meet a Bentonville City Planner

Get to Know Tyler Overstreet, AICP

• Where are you from?

  I grew up in Joplin, Missouri.

• Where did you go to school?

  I received my Bachelor’s in Political Science from Missouri Southern State University and my Master in Public Administration and a Graduate Certificate in Community Planning from the University of Illinois – Springfield.

• How long have you been working in planning?

  I have been working in planning for 10 years in August. I started my career with the City of Joplin, Missouri as a Planner in 2014, and then joined the City of Bentonville in 2017.

• How did you get into city planning?

  Local government has always been an interest of mine, even dating back to my time on the Constitution Team in high school. Being from Joplin, I witnessed the power of volunteer efforts and community planning in the aftermath of the 2011 tornado (which happened to be the day I graduated high school). I watched my hometown come together as we rebuilt after tragedy, which I found to be particularly inspiring.

  Fast forward to my senior year of college at MSSU, and I remember sitting down for an interview with the City Manager of Joplin, Sam Anselm, for an internship with the City Manager’s Office. After speaking with me, learning a little bit more about my coursework and interests, Sam told me that he thought city planning would be a good fit for me. I then met with the Planning Director, Troy Bolander, who gave me my first shot as an intern, and later, my first planning job with the city. I fell in love with the work, and I haven’t looked back since.

  I guess you could say planning found me, and I have Troy and Sam to thank for that.

• What is one project you are proud of?

  It’s hard to pick one, but I’ve always enjoyed seeing projects from the earliest conception come to fruition in the real world. Our team has the opportunity to see projects go from a site plan on a napkin all the way through to construction and completion. On my first day on the job in Bentonville, I had the opportunity to do the first round of plan review on the Momentary and being blown away by what I was looking at.

  Since then, I’ve had the opportunity to review Crystal Flats, Town Branch, the new Walmart Home Office Campus, the Ledger, and numerous other projects that are now real and occupied. I find it incredibly rewarding knowing the effort and collaboration required on the front end of projects, and seeing our citizens enjoying them on a daily basis.

• In your own words, what does being a planner mean?

  Being a planner is about shaping how our cities grow and evolve to make sure that there are great places to live, work, and recreate. More than that, it’s about being an effective communicator and facilitator as you interact with communities, businesses, and other staff members to ensure that everyone’s needs are met and that the city grows in a smart and sustainable way. It’s about making our cities better for everyone who lives there, now and in the future.

  Anyone can be a planner. If you care about the community you live in, if you communicate with your neighbors about the type of city you want to live in, and if you take action to make it happen, you’re a planner.

• What is the biggest challenge you face at your job?

  The biggest challenge I fact at my job is shared by much of Northwest Arkansas, growth. The rapid pace of growth we are seeing in Bentonville requires teamwork and collaboration among staff, stakeholders, and our broader community, but it’s not too late. We can plan for thoughtful growth, we can solve our infrastructure challenges, and we can ensure that Bentonville is the best place possible, but it takes all of us. I see my department’s job as being the connection between land use, transportation, infrastructure, and livability, and I hope that’s apparent from our work to date on Plan Bentonville.

• What are some things your department is working on that we should be aware of?

  Plan Bentonville is one of the biggest projects we’ve ever taken on. We just launched our draft Future Land Use Map which walks our citizens through Place Types and provides opportunity for comment on a parcel-by-parcel level. We are proud of the amount of conversations and engagement we’ve had to date and hope it can continue through the rest of the project. Our project website is www.planbentonville.com and the draft FLUM can be accessed here.

• What is one thing you would like to see happen in NWA in the next 20 years?

  In the next 20 years, I really hope Northwest Arkansas can grow in a way that’s both smart and thoughtful. We’ve been seeing a lot of growth recently, which is exciting, but it’s crucial that we manage it carefully, so we don’t lose what makes this region special. Each city here has its own unique vibe and character, and that’s something I love about Northwest Arkansas. Whether it’s the gameday atmosphere and nightlife in Fayetteville, outdoor recreation and the arts in Bentonville, or the natural beauty all around us, these are things we shouldn’t sacrifice as we grow. I think it’s important that as we expand, we find ways to preserve and even enhance these local identities. That way, as our region grows, we’re not just becoming bigger, but we’re also becoming even more enriched culturally, socially, and economically.

  Our tagline for the Plan Bentonville project is: “Promote what we want. Preserve what we love,” which is a powerful message that I think can apply more broadly to NWA. We need to promote the type of growth and development we want to see, while also preserving what we love about our communities.

• What is one thing you would like everyone to know about city planning?

  There’s no better place in the world to be a city planner than right here, right now, in Northwest Arkansas (or more specifically, Bentonville).