CBC_06 07 2018LITTLE ROCK
CITY BEAUTIFUL
COM M IssION
The City Beautiful Commission held its regular meeting at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday,
June 07, 2018, at Curran Hall, 615 E. Capitol Avenue. Commissioner, Bobby Cushman called the
meeting to order.
MEMBERS PRESENT:
MEMBERS ABSENT
ALSO PRESENT:
BJ Sanders -Woods
Bobby Cushman
Michael Harvey
Melissa Henshaw
Steve Homeyer
Justin Blagg
Janet Wilson
Wally Loveless
Michael Mason
Ed Peek
Bob Winchester
Beth Carpenter, City Attorney's Office
Dana Carney, Zoning and Subdivision Manager, Department of
Planning and Development, City of Little Rock.
D. Tracy Spillman, Plans Development Administrator, Department
of Planning and Development, City of Little Rock.
APPROVAL OF THE MAY MEETING MINUTES:
Commissioner Cushman entertained a motion to approve the May 2018 Minutes.
Motion: Commissioner Winchester made a motion that the May 03, 2018 Minutes be approved.
Second: Commissioner Mason seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.
VARIANCE REQUEST: CBC CASE 659, CGI, 11701 W. 3611 Street
Variance Requested:
To allow a reduction in the required screening that abuts a land use of a more restrictive nature.
FINDINGS:
The 0-3 zoned property located at 11701 W. 36th Street is occupied by a one story office building
located within the south half of the property. The property is located on the south side of W. 36th
Street, between I -430 and Bowman Road, and is comprised of 2.04 acres. A paved driveway from
W. 36th Street is located near the center of the property. The driveway leads to a new parking lot
on the east side of the building. A concrete driveway extends from the south side of the parking
lot to the rear of the office building. The existing building is 2,574 square feet in area.
The applicant proposes to construct a 6,220 square foot addition (one- story) to the rear (south) of
the existing office building. A 292 square foot lobby addition will be constructed at the front of
the building. A new driveway from W. 36th Street will be located at the northeast corner of the
property. The new driveway will extend along the east side of the property line at the southwest
corner of the property. The driveway will extend to the rear of the existing building and proposed
addition. A new paved parking area with 34 spaces will be located on the north side of the building.
As originally presented to Staff the proposed driveway was located 8.5 feet to over 30 feet back
from the east side of the property line, and was shown to be 3.5 feet to five (5) feet back from the
rear (south) property line. The proposed driveway and parking was shown located two (2) feet to
eleven (11) feet from the west property line. The City's Zoning Ordinance requires a land use
buffer six (6) percent the width/depth of the lot or 12.85 feet along the east and west property lines,
and 24.9 feet along the rear (south) property line. In all instances these buffers are required to be
no less than nine (9) feet in width.
Variances to reduce the buffer widths to less than the Zoning Ordinance requirements were heard
by the Board of Adjustment (BOA) on May 21St. Staff was supportive of the reduction of the
buffers along the east, west, and south property lines based on the fact that the surrounding
properties are designated MOC (Mixed Office Commercial) on the City's Future Land Use Plan
and will likely be redeveloped in the future. Additionally, large portions of the adjacent properties,
where the reduced buffers are proposed, are mostly undeveloped and tree covered. Staff questioned
if there was adequate area along the east, west, and south property lines to provide a minimum
nine (9) foot buffer and requested the applicant amend the plan accordingly. The applicant revised
the plan and no perimeter buffer /landscape strip is now shown to be less than nine (9) feet in width
and within the minimum requirements the landscape code. The BOA voted unanimously to
approve the request and no further action concerning the perimeter widths is required.
With the original CBC variance application the applicant also requested that a portion of the
required screening not be installed on approximately the first 100 feet (first '/4 of the front /north)
of this lot on the east and west property lines. Other than the relocation of the driveway no new
work will be undertaken in this area. In addition, no new building or parking construction will go
unscreened from the neighboring properties. The applicant feels that a rigid fence or evergreen
screen would detract from the natural flowing greenspace along W. 36th Street. At the present the
property does not provide screening adjacent the existing residential properties in the first '/4 of
this development to the east and west and most of the remainder of the adjacent properties are
screened with exiting natural vegetation on the existing fence line.
STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS:
Staff is supportive of the elimination of up to 1/4 of the screening on the east and west property
lines at the north end of the property to maintain the current flow of greenspace from one property
to the other.
Presentation:
The applicant, Mr. Chad Young of WD &D Architects was present to address any specific
questions. Mr. Young briefly summarized the proposed development and what he hoped to
accomplish by requesting the screening variance.
There were no additional questions from the commissioners.
Chairman Sanders -Woods entertained a motion to approve the variance.
Motion: Commissioner Winchester made a motion that the variance be approved as recommended
by Staff.
Second: Commissioner Henshaw seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.
VARIANCE REQUEST: CBC CASE 660, District at Midtown, 600 South University
VARIANCE REQUESTED
To allow the perimeter planting strip adjacent I -630 frontage to be less than the required thirty (30)
foot width.
To allow interior landscape islands less than 150 square feet to count toward the interior landscape
area.
To allow the interior landscape requirements to be less than 8% (but not less than 6 %) on some
individual sites.
FINDINGS:
The site located at 600 South University currently includes the vacant Sears building, Auto Center,
and a vacant medical office building. Both properties were purchased by the developer and
rezoning has been requested to allow the development of the site with multiple buildings and lots.
There are multi -story office buildings located to the north of this site and the Doctors Building at
the intersection of South University Avenue and Midtown Avenue. Arkansas Specialty Surgery
Center is located at the intersection of McKinley Street and Midtown Avenue. There is very little
interior landscaping and very little buffering around the perimeters of this site.
The proposal for this new development includes a substantial amount of new landscaping and
buffer areas totaling an estimated 24.5% of the redevelopment area. Some of these areas include
decorative architectural features to help create an integrated "district" feel to the project named
The District in Midtown.
This development will include interior "private drives" to provide access to all of the properties
while the orientation of many of the buildings will be towards the freeway for visibility. Pedestrian
accessibility is likewise provided internally to all of the building locations. The development will
be divided into a number of separately platted parcels. The site plan indicates lots ranging from
0.90 -acres to 7.27 -acres which the applicant has indicated will be sold or leased.
On May 17, the Planning Commission reviewed and voted unanimously to recommend approval
of the request (Z- 8278 -A) for rezoning and variances from the Land Alteration Ordinance to allow
grading without a building permit, and to allow retaining wall heights to exceed the typical
maximum height of 15 -feet. In addition a variance was requested and granted from the Zoning
Ordinance to allow a reduced street buffer along South University Avenue to be reduced from a
50 -foot average to 14 -feet as indicated on the site plan.
The perimeter planting strip adjacent to I -630 would typically require a 30 -foot buffer along the
freeway frontage. To allow for adequate circulation, parking, and landscape the applicant is
requesting that this 30 -foot planting strip be reduced to 20 -feet. All plant material that is required
to be associated with this planting strip will be installed within the reduced landscape area.
Due to the parking requirements based on the square footage of the proposed buildings the
applicant is also requesting that not all of the individual sites be required to provide the eight (8 %)
percent interior landscape area. The applicant has indicated that both parking and interior
landscape requirements cannot be met on all of the sites but in no case will any individual site
contain less than six (6 %) percent interior landscape space. It is also requested that any interior
softscape areas less than 150 square feet to be allowed to count towards the overall interior total.
STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS:
Staff feels that variance request are reasonable and is supportive of the reduction I -630 perimeter
planting strip to no less than a minimum of 20 -feet in width. In addition Staff is also supportive of
accepting landscape areas of less than 150 square feet to be counted towards the overall interior
landscape calculations and also allowing the interior greenspace to be no less than six (6 %) for
some of the individual parcels with the contingency that all landscape materials be installed in the
buffer or in the individual development areas.
Presentation:
The applicant Mr. Robert Brown of DCI (Design Consultants Inc.) and the Owner's attorney,
Mr. Cliff McKinney were present to address any specific questions from the commissioners.
Mr. Brown further summarized the project, the existing conditions, and the history of the site.
Commissioner Winchester inquired if there had been any complaints or concerns from the
surrounding neighbors.
Mr. Brown stated that at the Planning Commission meeting only one neighbor concerned about
bike trails had requested further information.
The commissioner's discussed and directed further questions to Mr. Brown's attention concerning
traffic, parking, pedestrian access to and from the site, proposed usage of the out parcels, and the
buffer adjacent to the residential zoned property to the west.
Mr. Brown elaborated on all of these inquires to the commissioner's satisfaction and there were
no additional questions.
Chairman Sanders -Woods entertained a motion to approve the variance.
Motion: Commissioner Peek made a motion that the variance be approved as recommended by
Staff.
Second: Commissioner Cushman seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.
TREASURER'S REPORT:
Expense Report:
Commissioner Cushman provided a printed Treasury Report to each of the commissioners. He
also stated that there had been $0.35 interest for the month of May and that current balance is
$404.35.
COMMITTEE REPORTS, UPDATES:
Community Proiects
City Hall South Yard:
In the absence of Commissioner Homeyer there was no new report.
Public Relations
In the absence of Commissioner Blagg there was no new report.
Commissioner Henshaw stated that there was nothing new to report.
Adopt -A- Street:
Commissioner Loveless stated that the last pickup was successful.
Commissioner Loveless also noted that the next pickup should be scheduled for July. The
commissioners generally discussed possible dates.
Eye of the Beholder:
Commissioner Loveless stated that he had finished printing the new nomination cards and had sent
them to the other commissioners via US Mail.
Landscape Awards:
In the absence of Commissioner Homeyer there was no new report.
T.R.E.E Fund:
In the absence of Commissioner Homeyer there was no new report.
City Beautiful Exhibit:
Commissioner Loveless stated that he had nothing new to report.
NEW BUSINESS:
The commissioners discussed moving next month's regularly scheduled meeting to the second
Thursday of the month. It was later verified that July 12, 2018 had already been chosen and voted
on with the approved 2018 calendar. No new action was required.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
The next regularly scheduled meeting will be Thursday, July 12, 2018, at 11:30 am.
The next Adopt -A- Street pickup will be decided at the July meeting.
ADJOURNMENT:
Chairman Sanders -Woods entertained a motion to adjourn.
Motion: Commissioner Peek made a motion to adjourn.
Second: Commissioner Cushman seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.
The meeting was adjourned at 12:21 pm.
LITTLE ROCK CITY BEAUTIFUL COMMISSION
DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT - 723 WEST MARKHAM - LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS 72201
PHONE: 501371-4864 FAX: 501371-6863 E -MAIL: DSPILLMANna,LITTLEROCK.GOV