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boa_11 19 1973LITTLE ROCK BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT M I N U T E S NOVEMBER 19, 1973 MEMBERS PRESENT L. Dickson Flake, Vice Chairman S. Spencer Compton M. R. Godwin Walter E. Vroman MEMBERS ABSENT Lawrence S. Woolsey STAFF PRESENT Don R. Venhaus John L. Taylor Richard W. Wood W. Mike Dooley James C. Lawson, Jr. James P. Light, Jr. Dorothy Light OTHERS PRESENT F. Fulton, Gazette Reporter R. Armbrust, Democrat Reporter David Henry, City Attorney 2:00 P.M. There being a quorum present, the meeting was called to order by the vice chairman. A motion was made for approval of the minutes of the last meeting, which was seconded and passed. Action was taken on the following advertised items: Item No. 1 - Z-2777 Applicant: Henry Lienhart Location: 2800 West llth Street Description: Lots 5 & 6, Block 11, Roots & Coys Addition to Little Rock Present Classification:"B" Residence District Variance: Requests permission under the provisions of Sec. 43-22 (4)(D) of the Code of Ordinances to permit parking in a residential zone Staff Recommendation: The Staff recommends approval of this applica- tion provided the following stipulations are agreed upon and Little Rock Board of Adjustment Minutes November 19. 1973 2. accomplished within 120 days (corrections are to begin immediately however): (a) The salvaging and storage of non -operational vehicles is not allowed in a "J" Industrial District; therefore, such operations must be ceased. (b) Appianway St. between loth and llth Streets is damaged as a result of the continual parking of buses on the street. This damage must be repaired to the satisfaction of the Public Works Dept., and the parking of buses on streets must be ceased. (c) "ALL" parking areas now used by the applicant must be paved as required by the zoning ordinance. Effort should be made to save existing trees if possible. A 6 ft. screen of wood or masonry shall be installed and maintained on the north, south and west sides of the two lots under application. (d) The drainage ditch on the west side of the lots under appli- cation shall be cleaned out to the satisfaction of the Public Works Department. (e) Street improvements (curb, gutter, drainage, etc.) shall be installed on llth and on Appianway Streets bordering the lots under application. Mr. Henry Lienhart, the applicant, was present and stated that there were 20 buses parked on the property. It would be December before he could do very much to the property. He asked if blacktop surfacing would be satisfactory for the parking area and if he could put a cyclone fence with barbed wire on top for screening purposes. Mr. Venhaus said that blacktop surfacing would be satisfactory and he could start immediately on cleaning the ditch on the west side of the property and making repairs to the street. Also, the Staff pre- ferred a wooden fence, and barbed wire was restricted. There were no objectors present. A motion was made to approve the application as recommended by the Staff, which was seconded and passed. Item No. 2 - Z-2772 Applicant: Castle House Apartments, Inc. Location: 7311 Forbing Road Description: Long legal Present Classification:"E" Apartment District Variance: Requests a variance from the Rear Yard Setback provisions of Sec. 43-13 (2) of the Code of Ordinances to permit 5 ft. encroachment into rear yard (by carports) Staff Recommendation: The Staff recommends approval of this applica- tion provided the 20 ft. access easement shown on the approved Little Rock Board of Adjustment Minutes November 19. 1973 3. development plan is constructed in its entirety with this first phase of development to allow emergency access around the entire site, and provided that the proposed carports be constructed and maintained as overhead canopies only, not enclosed structures. Mr. Charles Brown was present to represent the applicant and stated that the Staff's recommendation was satisfactory to them. There were no objectors present. A motion was made to approve the application subject to the Staff's recommendation, which was seconded and passed. OTHER MATTERS Determination as to whether or not mini -warehouses (personal storage facilities) can be allowed in an "F" Commercial District under the provisions of Sec. 43-22 (4) (k) of the zoning ordinance "(k) a whole- sale business may be permitted by the board of zoning adjustment in an "F" commercial district provided such wholesale business is of a retail nature as determined by the board of zoning adjustment and where the business is wholly contained within a building or buildings, and is of the type not obnoxious or offensive by reason of emission of odor, dust, smoke, gas or noise." The Staff recommends that such use may be allowed by the Board of Adjustment. Mr. Edward Lester was present regarding this matter and stated that his applicant felt that the jurisdiction issue should be dealt with first and then this particular application. Mr. Venhaus stated that Mr. Lester would definitely have to refer to his applicant's development plan. Should the Board decide that it does have jurisdiction over this particular issue, we do not feel that the development plan submitted has sufficient detail for the Staff to make a specific recommendation; therefore, it would be our recom- mendation to you that should you accept jurisdiction over the matter that we defer the case for 30 days to give them an opportunity to respond with a much more detailed development plan that we can deal with on a specific approval basis. Mr. Lester stated that the applicant first filed a rezoning petition for "I" Light Industrial which permits a standard warehouse. We do not have any separate category in the zoning ordinance for a personal storage type operation. This is a 5.5 acre tract now zoned "F" Com- mercial. They propose constructing a storage facility of 96,000 sq. ft. containing small rooms (the largest being 300 sq. ft.) to be used for rental purposes to persons for their personal belongings when they don't have enough storage room at home. Each separate storage area will have its own particular door and lock. There will be no loading Little Rock Board of Adjustment Minutes November 19, 1973 4. docks, simply curbs and garage type doors. There will be one entrance off Highway #10. There will be an office and an apartment for the manager. They will erect a 6 ft. high redwood fence across the rear of the property. There will be no heavy overhead lighting on the property. Mr. Bill Haught was present to represent the Bailey Corp., developers of Foxcroft Subdivision. He stated that his residence is a few feet from this proposed development and he opposes having this type of development visible from his back yard. He compared the proposal to existing mini -warehouses in other areas. These are large unsightly units which invite 24 hr. day traffic, noise, fumes, odors -- all of which will be adjacent to a nice residential area. Mr. Pete Hoover was present to represent the Watergate Apartments. He stated that his understanding of the zoning ordinance was that the applicant must show undue hardship before the Board can assume juris- diction. I don't believe the applicant has shown undue hardship. Even if undue hardship is shown, this Board can not grant the variance except when the granting of the variance is in keeping with the spirit and intent of the provisions of Sec. 43-22. The surrounding neighbor- hood is primarily zoned residential or multi -family with commercial zoning fronting on Cantrell Road. These commercial zones are support- ing the residential area away from Cantrell Road. I don't think that personal storage facilities are needed in this area. There are no commercial warehouses or storage facilities within at least two or three miles of the subject property. I believe that storage ware- houses should not be permitted under this "F" Commercial use. Mr. Don Jack was present to represent the Commercial National Bank property which lies about 800 ft. east cf the subject property. He stated that the bank's investment of $500.00 was based on the subject property being developed as indicated. They feel that the proposed usage would not be consistent with "F" Commercial zoning. Mr. Gene Hale was present to represent the Union National Bank and stated that they are planning to construct a new branch facility near this area. They feel that the proposal by the applicant is contrary and adverse to the zoning regulations. A motion was made that the Board of Adjustment does not have jurisdic- tion to permit this type of use in a "F" Commercial zone, which was seconded and passed. They recommended that the applicant pursue his rezoning petition with the Planning Commission if he wished to utilize subject property for proposed use. NEW MATTERS (CONTINUED Item No. 3 - Z-869-A Applicant: Leon P. Fields & Albert B. Corder by J. D. Toney Little Rock Board of Adjustment Minutes November 19. 1973 5. Location: 8300 Cantrell Road Description: Long legal Present Classification:"F" Commercial District Variance: Requests permission under the provisions of Sec. 43-22 (4) (k) of the Code of Ordinances to permit location of personal storage com- partments in "F" zone No action was taken on this matter, due to Board action on previous issue. Item No. 4 - Z-2382-B Applicant: Bakewell Corporation Location: 5500 & .5600 West 65th Street Description: Lot 1, James C. Menifee Addition to Little Rock Present Classification:"I" Light Industrial & "A" One -family District Variance: Requests permission under the provisions of Sec. 43-22 (4) (D) of the Code of Ordinances to permit parking lot in a residential zone Staff Recommendation: The Staff recommends approval of this application provided the following stipulations are agreed upon and provided: (a) The 50 ft. strip of land under consideration was not rezoned with the remainder of the tract in an effort to retain the natural - growth as a screen against the residential properties to the south. If this area is to be used for parking, a survey locating all trees within this area larger than 6 in. in diameter should be provided and the parking and drives should be so arranged as to retain all of those trees. (b) Applicant to provide the Staff with a detailed site development plan showing the area of office and warehouse uses, and dimensions of all parking areas and stalls. All drives, turning radii, etc, to meet Industrial Subdivision regulations. (c) All parking and drive areas to be paved and landscaped as required by the zoning ordinance. A 6 ft. opaque wooden or masonry screen is to be installed and maintained where parking and drive areas abut residential zoned properties. (d) No access to Woodson Road to be permitted. Mr. John Lane was present to represent the applicant. He said that hasically they were in agreement with the ideas of the Staff recom- mendation. In reference to Item (a), I would like for this to be changed to read "save as many trees as possible" because this is a very densely wooded area. (d) We feel that it is important to have access off of Woodson Road. It is imperative that the back be as attractive as the front. This development is for people who are look- ing for high quality office space and warehouse. Mr. Compton asked if there would be any way to keep the trucks out of the adjacent residential neighborhood. Little Rock Board of Adjustment Minutes November 19, 1973 6, Mr. Lane replied that they could put signs up saying that all trucks return to 65th Street. There were no objectors present. A motion was made that this application be approved as recommded by the Staff with the exception that an access onto Woodson Road be allowed if its nature is approved by the Staff, retain all the trees that are larger than 6 inches in diameter except where the Staff specifically waives areas where they are not necessarily needed, and all truck traffic to be off of 65th Street. Motion passed. Item No. 5 - Z-2779 Applicant: Nealsie Calloway Location: 2012 Brown Street Description: Lot 1, Block 21, Chesterfield Square Addition Present Classification:"B" Residence District Variance: Requests a variance from the Yard Setback pro- visions of Sec. 43-12 of the Code of Ordinances to permit addition to non -conforming structure Staff Recommendation: The Staff recommends approval of this applica- tion as the proposed addition meets yard requirements. To not allow reasonable use of this structure and at the same time not be able to cause its removal can only lead to continued deterioration. The applicant, Nealsie Calloway, was present and stated that he wanted to build two more rooms on the front of the house because there was not room toward the back. There were no objectors present. A motion was made to approve the application, which was seconded and passed. CONDITIONAL USE PUMITS Item No. 1 - �-2665-A Applicant: W. C. Swaffer Location: 523 East Capitol Avenue Description: Lot 523, Trapnell Block Stevenson Addition to Little Rock Present Classification:"HR" High Density Residential District Variance: Requests permission under the provisions of Sec. 43-37 of the Code of Ordinances to permit office building in "HR" High Density Residential zone Staff Recommendation: The Staff recommends approval of this applica- tion provided the following stipulations are agreed upon and Little Rock Board of Adjustment Minutes November 19, 1973 7. accomplished: (a) The trees on the west side of Sherman Street are saved. (New curb should not be required, and the sidewalk should be reconstructed so as to allow additional room for the trees). Mr. John Robinson was present to represent the applicant and stated that they were in agreement with the Staff's recommendation regarding the saving of trees. There were no objectors present. A motion was made that the application be approved as recommended by the Staff, which was seconded and passed. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 3:40 p.m. Don R. Venhaus, Secretary L. Dickson Flake, Vice Chairman