CBC 10-01-2015MEETING NOTICE
October 1, 2015
THE CITY BEAUTIFUL COMMISSION WILL HOLD ITS REGULAR MEETING AT 1 1:30 A.M. ON THURSDAY
October 1, 2015, AT CURRAN HALL, 615 E. CAPITOL AVENUE
AGENDA
CALL TO ORDER: Ed Peek
ROLL CALL: Tracy Spillman
APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES: September 3, 2015
VARIANCE REQUESTS: ITEM NO. 1, C.B.C. 641- NEW MATTERS
TREASURER'S REPORT:
EXPENSES REPORT WALLY
COMMITTEE REPORT: UPDATES
■ COMMUNITY PROJECTS
o CITY HALL SOUTH YARD STEVE,
ASHLEY
CARRIE
BOB
■ PUBLIC RELATIONS CHRIS HANCOCK
CHRIS MORGAN
• KLRB (UPDATE) (4th Wed / Noon)
WALLY
■ ADOPT -A -STREET COORDINATORS
WALLY
• EYE OF THE BEHOLDER
CARRIE, ED, WALLY
■ LANDSCAPE AWARDS
STEVE
• TREE FUNDS
STEVE
• CITY BEAUTIFUL EXHIBIT
CHRIS HANCOCK
■ OTHER CITIES
CHRIS MORGAN
NEW BUSINESS:
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
• NEXT MEETING - Thursday, November 5, 2015
■ Adopt A Street Pickup - To be decided
ADJOURNMENT
October 01, 2015
ITEM NO. 1 C.S.C. 641- NEW MATTERS
Applicant: Jordan Draper,
Kimley Horn
❑eve
Ashbury Automotive Arkansas
Dealership Holdings LLC
Agent
Jordan Draper
Address: 4621 Colonel Glenn Plaza Drive
Description: NE corner of Colonel Glenn
Road and Colonel Glenn Plaza
Drive
ORDINANCE REQUIRMENTS:
Chapter 15, Sec. 15-95. Screening requirements.
The grading and landscaping of a site shall be accomplished in such a way as to visually screen
the vehicular use area and certain other activities external to buildings on the site from the
street and adjacent more restrictive land uses:
(4) Species and spacing requirements. Screening standards are intended to apply during all seasons
of the year. A minimum of fifty (50) percent of the trees and a minimum of seventy-five (75)
percent of the shrubs to be used for screening purposes shall be evergreen varieties. Maximum
spacing's of fifteen (15) feet for trees and three (3) feet for shrubs should normally be utilized in
order to provide continuous full screening of the view.
Chapter 15, Sec. 15-96. Perimeter planting strips.
(a) A perimeter planting strip is required along any side of a vehicular use area that abuts adjoining
property or the right-of-way of any street, highway or freeway. This strip shall be at least nine
(9) feet wide.
(b) Trees shall be planted with an average linear spacing of not less than thirty (30) feet within the
required landscape or buffer area. Three (3) shrubs or vines for every thirty (30) linear feet shall
be planted in the perimeter planting strip. Massing is permitted as long as trees are spaced not
more than one hundred (100) linear feet apart including width of driveway.
L1!TLC ROCK
CITY BEAUTIFUL
C0MMIsS10N
The City Beautiful Commission held its regular meeting at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday,
October 1, 2015, at Curran Hall, 615 E. Capitol Avenue. Chairman Ed Peek called the meeting to
order.
MEMBERS PRESENT:
MEMBERS ABSENT:
Ed Peek
Steve Homeyer
Chris Hancock
Wally Loveless
Chris Morgan
Becca Webb
Two Open Positions
Jordan Thomas
Bob Winchester
Carrie Young
ALSO PRESENT: Beth Carpenter, City Attorney's Office
Dana Carney, Zoning and Subdivision Manager, Department of
Planning and Development, City of Little Rock.
APPROVAL OF THE SEPTEMBER 3, 2015 MINUTES:
Chairman Peek entertained a motion to approve the September 3, 2015 Minutes. Commissioner
Young made note of one needed correction. A motion was Evade and seconded to approve the
minutes, as corrected. The motion was approved by unanimous vote.
Variance Request: CBC Case # 6414621 Colonel Glenn Plaza Drive
FINDINGS:
On October 16, 2014 (file no. Z-3371-YY) the Planning Commission approved a conditional use
permit to allow for the development of an automobile dealership on this vacant, C-2 zoned, 5.2
acre lot. The development will consist of a 42,000 square foot building which will contain a
showroom floor, office spaces, and a service center.
Access to the site will be via a single driveway off of Colonel Glenn Plaza Drive. The site will
contain paved parking for 358 vehicles to be used for customers, employees and vehicle display.
A portion of the parking on the west and east sides has been designed as stacked vehicle display
with 2 to 3 rows stacked behind the other. An additional paved display area with an
unconventional parking layout is indicated at the southern point of the site. Staff is not opposed
to the arrangement of parking in these areas since they will be used for vehicle display and
inventory parking, not in and out employee or customer usage.
Bollard type fencing is proposed around the site. The required 30 foot buffer on Colonel Glenn
Road ranges from 19.5 feet to as much as 40 +/- feet at the intersection. The buffer on Colonel
Glenn Plaza Drive ranges from 20 - 25 feet with two small points where it is reduced to 15 feet.
Staff is satisfied with the perimeter buffers.
Building and site plans were filed for permit review in January 2015. The building permit was
denied in part due to the landscape plan not meeting all of the code requirements. Specifically,
the trees and shrubs were omitted from the north perimeter planting strip, the shrubs required for
screening the vehicular use area from the Colonel Glenn Road right-of-way had exceeded the
spacing requirement of a maxima n three (3) feet, and the required square footage for the interior
parking and building landscape areas was insufficient.
At the northern perimeter there is approximately five (500) linear feet of vehicular use area that
abuts adjoining property and a perimeter planting strip that exceeds the nine (9) foot minimum.
A retaining wall approximately fifteen (15) feet in height is located on the subject property and
additional retaining wall approximately fifteen (15) feet in height is located within the adjacent
properties perimeter landscape strip. Plant material required for this area includes trees a
minimum of two (2) inches in caliper spaced an average of not less than thirty (30) linear feet.
Additionally, three (3) shrubs or vines a minimum of eighteen (18) inches in height at installation
are also to be provided for every thirty (30) linear feet of perimeter planting strip. A total of
seventeen (17) trees and fifty (50) shrubs would be required for this area.
A revised plan was resubmitted in March 2015 that met or exceeded the landscape requirements
that were noted during the initial review process and a building permit was approved.
The applicant has since requested the screening shrubs be eliminated between the street right-of-
way and the inventory display area at the southwest corner of the site and be replaced with
groundcover. The applicant has stated that this area will be used for public viewing of the
inventory and not for parking. In addition a request has been made to waive the required
seventeen (17) trees and fifty (50) shrubs that are to be located in the north landscape perimeter
planting strip. The applicant has stated that there are two fifteen (15) foot retaining walls located
within this area that will provide screening for the subject property and from its northern
neighbor. All other areas have remained unchanged from the March 2015 approved plan.
Adequate space for the required north perimeter landscape exist. An approximate nine (9) feet in
width terrace area is provided between the top of the retaining wall and the north property line.
In addition the adjacent property has provided the required landscape at the bottom of the
retaining wall located on their property and the shared property line of this terrace. The total
terrace area spanning both properties is approximately twenty (24) feet in width.
In the past staff has been supportive of allowing groups of shrub material between car dealership
display areas and the street right-of-ways in lieu of the continuous evergreen shrub screen as
required by the ordinance. Examples of this treatment can be found at other auto dealers within
close proximity of this site. However, in no instance has the substitution of low ground cover
been allowed to replace all of the shrubs that are required between the street right-of-way and the
interior vehicular use area.
STAFF RECOM MNDATION:
Staff recommends denial of this request.
CITY BEAUTIFUL COMMISSION ACTION:
At the request of the applicant the commissioners voted to defer Case #641 to the September 03,
2015 meeting. The applicant was not present at the September meeting and again the
commissioners voted to defer the case to the October 01, 2015 meeting.
The applicant has since revised the landscape plan. As originally requested these revisions
include removing the required (17) trees and fifty (50) shrubs that are to be located in the north
landscape perimeter planting strip. This revision replaces the required shrub material with one
thousand and forty-two (1,042) one (1) gallon Asian Jasmine groundcover plants placed twenty-
four (24) inches on center. In addition seven (7) of the required seventeen (17) trees are shown
relocated to the east perimeter planting strip. The applicant has requested that a donation to the
TREE fund be accepted in lieu of installing the remaining ten (10) trees elsewhere on site.
As part of this revised plan the screening shrubs between the street right-of-way and the
inventory display area at the southwest corner of the site have included. However, these do not
provide a continuous screen as required by the ordinance and are grouped together to provide site
lines to the inventory. This treatment has been utilized and been allowable for other automobile
dealerships in close proximity to this site.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Staff is supportive of the revised plan and this request.
CITY BEAUTIFUL COMMISSION ACTION: OCT. 1 2015:
Jordan Draper was present representing the application. Staff presented the revised application and
a recommendation of approval. Mr. Draper added no additional comments. In response to a
question from Commissioner Homeyer, Mr. Draper stated the terraced area (where the Asian
Jasmine groundcover is proposed) would be irrigated as required by the code. There was no further
discussion. A motion was made to approve the variance request, as amended, subject to the
applicant making a contribution to the T.R.E.E. fund for ten (10) trees. The motion was seconded
and approved by unanimous vote.
TREASURER'S REPORT:
Expense Report:
Commissioner Loveless stated:
That there had been no changes.
COMMITTEE REPORTS: LPDATES:
Community Pro'ects
City Hall South Yard:
Commissioner Homeyer stated:
• He had nothing new to report. He explained the proposed project to the newer
commissioners.
Public Relations:
Commissioner Hancock stated there had been good response to the Commission's Facebook page.
KLRB:
Commissioner Loveless stated he had stepped down as KLRB representative. Commissioner
Thomas stated he had made contact with KLRB as CBC's replacement and was scheduled to
receive minutes and to attend the October meeting.
Adopt -A -Street:
■ The commissioners discuss dates for a cleanup. It was decided that the next cleanup would
be Saturday October 3, 2015 at 8:00 am.
Eye of the Beholder:
Commissioner Young stated there had been no new nominations. In response to a question
from Commissioner Loveless, Commissioner Young stated she would contact staff
member Tracy Spillman to make sure all nominations and recognitions were up to date. .
Landscape Awards:
Commissioner Homeyer stated the award presentation was scheduled for the October 20, 2015
Board of Directors' meeting. Chairman Peek stated he had attempted contact with the winners and
was following up with a letter. Commissioner Hancock stated he would contact Tipton and Hurst
Florist for presentation roses for that evening. Commissioner Homeyer showed copies of the hand-
out from last year's presentation. Commissioner Thomas stated he would prepare the new ones for
October 20. During the following discussion, it was determined that Commissioner Homeyer had
the yard signs for the award recipients, Chairman Peek was doing the award posters and the
commissioners would meet with the recipients in the City Hall rotunda at 5:30 on the 20t". Staff
member Spillman is to prepare the power point presentation for that evening in the following order
(1) US Pizza Heights (2) Southwest Power Pool (3) Oley Rooker Library.
T.R.E.E Fund:
Commissioner Homeyer stated he had an updated list from staff. Staff member Carney stated there
was $34, 004.92 in the T.R.E.E. fund, not including the contribution required as a result of today's
variance approval. Mr. Carney stated he would ask Mr. Spillman to forward the spread sheet to
the commissioners. Commissioner Young asked if staff could provide a total dollar amount for the
funds that are available in Ward 1.
City Beautiful Exhibit:
Commissioner Hancock stated there was nothing new to report.
Other Cities Committee:
Commissioner Morgan was not present and there was no report.
NEW BUSINESS:
Chairman Peek stated nominations for new officers needed to be made, with the election
to be at the November meeting. The following nominations were made.
Chairman: Ed Peek
Vice -Chairman: Steve Homeyer
Treasurer: Jordan Thomas
Commissioner Winchester stated he had spoken with a representative of the Urban Forestry
Council and that organization was to meet in October to discuss the possibility of
participating in a joint booth at the 2016 garden Show. He stated he would report back to
the commission and it was possible that a member of the Urban Forestry Council could
come to the commission's November 2015 meeting.
ANOUNCEMENTS:
■ That the next Adopt -A -Street will be Saturday October 3, 2015 at 8:00 am
The next meeting will be November 5, 2015
ADJOURNMENT:
A motion was made, seconded and approved to adjourn. The meeting was adjourned at 12:09 pm
LITTLE ROCK CITY BEAUTIFUL COMMISSIOM
DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT - 723 WEST MARKHAM - LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS 72201
PHONE: 501 371-4864 FAX: 501 371-6863 E-MAIL: DSPILI.MAMtt-bLIT-TLiROCK.OBG
WEBSITE: WWW.LRCITYBEAUTIFULCOMMISSION.ORG