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Z-5653 Staff AnalysisMarch 9, 1993 ITEM NO.: E Z_ Owner: Applicant: Location: Request: Purpose: Size: Existing Use: Stephens Group, Inc. Stephens Group by Rick Freeling East Capitol, East 4th, Commerce and I-30 Rezone from HDR to GB and Site Plan Review Downtown Branch for the U.S. Post Office 4.9 acres Vacant SURROUNDING LAND USE AND ZONING North - Multifamily and Industrial, zoned PD and GB South - Single -Family, Office, Commercial and Trapnall Hall, zoned HDR and GB East - I-30 Right -of -Way, no zoning West - Office, zoned GB STAFF ANALYSIS The property in question is located in the part of the City that has a separate zoning ordinance and different classifications. The ordinance was adopted through the Central Little Rock Urban Renewal project (the CLR area) in 1972. To rezone to GB General Business in the CLR area, three requirements have to be met and they are: a. The land covers either a minimum area of 45,000 square feet or one-half of city block exclusive of any alley. b. The area is adjacent to, not diagonal from, the General Business District. C. Site development plans are submitted to the Planning Commission. Therefore, the Commission must endorse the GB rezoning and approve the site plan before the item can be forwarded on to the Board of Directors for final action. The site is over four acres and existing GB is found on three sides. March 9, 1993 ITEM NO.: E Z-5653(Cont.) The site includes two full blocks and a portion of a third block on the east side. Sherman Street, which is scheduled to be closed, divides the two blocks at this time. The property is vacant. In the past, some of the land was used for a motel. The proposed improvements consist of one single story building, approximately 30,000 square feet in size, and parking areas. The submitted site plan shows 185 parking spaces and areas for landscaping, which are somewhat deficient in terms of the ordinance requirements. Zoning of the surrounding neighborhoods is HDR (High Density Residential), GB, PRD and PD (Planned Development). East of I-30, the CLR boundary, the existing zoning is C-3, I-2 and I-3. Land use is more diverse than the zoning and includes single family, multifamily, office, commercial, a motel, industrial and Trapnall Hall, a historically significant structure. There are also some undeveloped lots and vacant buildings in the immediate area. East Capitol appears to be the boundary between the residential and nonresidential uses, with a majority of the residential uses found south of East Capitol. Rezoning the 4 plus acres to GB does not seem to be the real issue with this request. The site is almost surrounded by existing GB zoning, and the property's location does lend itself to some type of nonresidential classification. The Downtown Plan shows the east block as part of a commercial area and the West block for multifamily use. The potential problem that this proposed reclassification raises is the site plan and the necessary approval as part of the rezoning action. Any development on the land under consideration must be sensitive to the East Capitol Avenue block face, especially the south side which is the MacArthur Park Historic District. Directly across East Capitol is Trapnall Hall, a historical and important building in the city. Also, between Sherman and Ferry is the location of one of the oldest single family residences in the city, the Walters -Curran -Bell house. Therefore, compatibility with the Historic District becomes a very important factor in determining that the appropriateness of the site plan. Because of the historical character of the neighborhood, any structure or development on the property cannot dominate the south side of the street and must be sensitive to East Capitol's uniqueness. Scale and massing are critical components of any plan proposed for a site adjacent to a historic district. Other design elements that are important to the area are landscaping and layout (location) of the parking. E March 9, 1993 ITEM NO.: E Z-5653 Cont. At this time, staff feels that the submitted site plan does not adequately address many of the issues raised, and we cannot support the site plan as it is currently drawn. In addition to the lack of detailed information on the plan, there are some serious design concerns such as the parking spaces that faces East Capitol that need to be resolved. To properly review the development and potential impacts on the neighborhood, the following should be addressed or provided on a more detailed site plan. 1. Building orientation to East Capitol 2. Landscaping 3. Location and layout of parking, especially the spaces that face East Capitol. 4. Elevations ENGINEERING COMMENTS Engineering requests that the applicant look into the possibility of closing Ferry Street on the east side of the project. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Staff supports the GB reclassification, however, we are withholding a formal recommendation on the site plan until a more complete plan is submitted. SUBDIVISION COMMITTEE COMMENT: (JANUARY 7, 1993) The applicant, Rick Freeling, was present. Staff reviewed the request and discussed some of the concerns raised by the site plan. They included: Compatibility with the Historic District to the south - Lack of a detailed landscaping plan - Location and layout of parking - Need for building elevations - The possibility of closing Ferry Street Rick Freeling addressed some of the concerns and said that the Post Office officials are sensitive to the location and the historic neighborhood. Mr. Freeling said the final 3 March 9, 1993 ITEM NO.: E-5653 Cont. design has not been started because the Post Office has not selected an architect for the project. Mr. Freeling offered some additional comments and said the Post Office will try to meet with the city staff to work out the problems. The committee members present agreed with the staff's concerns and said the site plan needs to be redesigned. The item was then forwarded on to the full Commission PLANNING COMMISSIONACTION: (JANUARY 26, 1993) (Items No. 20 and 22 were discussed together.) The applicant, Rick Freeling, was present. There were several interested individuals in attendance. Mr. Freeling discussed the site plan issue and said there are problems with developing a complete site plan at this time. He made some additional comments and pointed out to the Commission that the interior space could not be changed. Marilyn Nemeth, representing the U.S. Postal Service, discussed the site plan and reviewed the design process. Ms. Nemeth described the layout of the site and said the Postal Service is willing to work with everybody, including the Historic District Commission and the Quapaw Quarter Association. At this point, the Sherman Street issue was discussed. Representatives of the Fire Department voice their opposition to the closing of Sherman Street. (See Item No. 22 for additional comments.) Cheryl Nichols, Quapaw Quarter Association, reviewed the Association's involvement with the proposed project. After some additional comments, Ms. Nichols asked that the issue be deferred. Ruth Bell, League of Women Voters, said there could be problems with approving the rezoning without a proper site plan. Ms. Bell indicated that the project needed to be tied down and a site plan needs to be approved. Ms. Bell reminded the Commission that location in question is the eastern gate to the city. Marilyn Nemeth spoke again and said the Postal Service has kept promises in the past. Ms. Nemeth also discussed projects in other cities. There was additional discussion about various issues. 4 March 9, 1993 ITEM NO.: E z-5653 (Cont. A motion was made to defer the item to the March 9, 1993 meeting. The motion was approved by a vote of 10 ayes, 0 nays and 1 absent. SUBDIVISION COMMITTEE COMMENT: (FEBRUARY 18, 1993) The applicant, Rick Freeling, was present. There were also two representatives of the U.S. Postal Service in attendance. Staff reported that the plan has been revised and the changes include: A brick wall around the employee and loading areas. Relocating a parking area from the East Capitol side to the East Fourth side. - Removing the driveway on the Commerce Street side. There was a lengthy discussion about the revised plan. Staff indicated that they were more comfortable with the new plan, and that it addresses most of the issues raised earlier. Staff did express some reservations about the lack of an access point on Commerce, and said that Traffic Engineering was concerned about the proposed wall and the possibility of creating blind corners. Staff also asked that an effort be made to screen the mail boxes that have been moved to the East Capitol side. Rick Freeling and the postal service officials responded to some of the comments made by staff and the Committee members. They felt that a driveway to Commerce could be added and something could be done about screening the boxes on East Capitol. Bob Brown, Plans Review Specialist, commented on the landscaping requirements for the project. Engineering reported that sidewalk improvements will be required at the time of the building permit or the first phase of construction. After some additional comments, the item was forwarded to the full Commission. PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: (MARCH 9, 1993) The applicant, Rick Freeling, was present. There were several other interested persons in attendance. 67 March 9, 1993 ITEM NO.: E Z-565 (Cont.) Jim Lawson, Director of Neighborhoods and Planning, spoke and said that Item E has been an issue that both the Planning Commission and staff have been involved in for sometime. Mr. Lawson then presented the staff's position and recommended approval of the rezoning request with some conditions attached, and then distributed a letter from Mayor Jim Dailey, dated February 4, 1993, to the U.S. Postal Service. Mr. Lawson then continued and said the staff's concern is that, even though quite a few of the details on the post -office site have been worked out, there is not a hard and fast site plan done at this point. He then reviewed the post office's position on doing the site plan and referred to paragraph 2 in Mayor Dailey's correspondence, which listed specific design issues. Mr. Lawson recommended that the rezoning be approved with the condition that the rezoning not be sent on to the Board of Directors until the site plan has been approved by the staff. Mr. Lawson then described what the final site plan should include and that it conforms to what the various parties have discussed. Charles Nickerson, interim City Manager, then addressed the Planning Commission and said the City has been working with the applicant on the site in question. Mr. Nickerson said the key issues, as noted in the Mayor's letter, involve proper design, building material, siding, height and massing. He said a number of those things are what would make this site truly compatible with the ceremonial nature of Capitol Avenue. Mr. Nickerson then described a conversation with Rick Freeling, representing the owners, and a postal service official about the City's concerns in working out the final details. Mr. Nickerson said the City would be willing to go forward, from a staff's standpoint, with a favorable recommendation given the attention to those details that were outlined in the Mayor's letter of February 4, and then further amplified by Cheryl Nichols' letter of March 1, 1993. Mr. Nickerson said the City would like to get a specific letter of commitment from the postal service that they were in agreement to respond to those issues and build those concerns into the development of the project. Mr. Nickerson said the postal service is unable to make any commitments, but an agreement was reached that prior to the April 6, 1993 Board of Directors meeting. Jack See, the project architect, the Postal Service, Rick Freeling, the City, the Quapaw Quarter Association and Mayor Dailey would sit down and try to hammer through the issues. Mr. Nickerson said the Postal Service is willing to cooperate and work with the City, but it is unclear as to how far they can go. Mr. Nickerson said that he is attempting to structure the process to get specific agreements in written form as to exactly what the commitments relate to. �l March 9, 1993 ITEM NO.: E Z-5653 (Cont. Rick Freeling, representing the owners of the property, spoke and presented a quick review of the issues. Mr. Freeling said that owners have an agreement with the postal facility that money would be spent on project to do planning if Sherman Street and the alley closures were approved by the Board of Directors, and the zoning of the property is changed to GB contingent upon approval of the site plan and have the plan approved by the Planning Commission and the Board of Directors. At that point, the Postal Service could waive enough rules to allow them to purchase the property. Mr. Freeling then said that the Postal Service has selected an architectural firm, Wittenberg Deloney and Davidson. Mr. Freeling made comments about the architects and said they know what they are doing. Mr. Freeling said the postal facility has agreed to these things and is ready to proceed under those guidelines. Mr. Freeling then told the Commission that he just found out about 45 minutes before the meeting that this is not the recommendation that the staff is making, even though all the parties have met for hours and have talked about all the issues. Mr. Freeling said the Postal Service is willing to work with everybody, but they ask that the issue not be dragged out anymore. Mr. Freeling concluded by saying that the Fire Department is now happy with the street issue, and requested that he be given more notice if any other problems come up. Commissioner Jerilyn Nicholson then spoke and told Mr. Freeling that if there was a site plan, the issue would have been moved right on through. Rick Freeling responded to Commissioner Nicholson's comments. There was some discussion about the status of the Postal _Service. Rick Freeling spoke again and said that he has tried to come up with a compromise, that is somewhat in between the City and the Postal Service to keep everybody happy and get the deal worked out. Mr. Freeling said the property is in a good location and would probably stimulate some other development in the area. Chairman Brad Walker spoke and tried to characterize where he thought the issue was. Chairman Walker said he did not believe that the site plan is a new issue and the nature of the structure is not a new issue, and it has been around since the request was filed. Chairman Walker then discussed the various aspects of the project, and said the street closure had been approved by the Planning Commission. He went on to say that the Commission was possibly prepared to say that the footprint/site plan may be fine, however, the 7 March 9, 1993 ITEM NO.: E Z-5653 Cont. City would hold the building permit until the facade is approved. Chairman Walker asked Mr. Freeling if that condition could be added and made some comments about a vote on the matter. Rick Freeling spoke again and said that the postal people have indicated that they will design the building once they have purchased the property. Mr. Freeling said that he did not think there would be a problem with meeting with all the interested parties. He then suggested that the Planning Commission zone the site subject to the site plan review or the interested parties getting together to address the project's basic concept. Jim Lawson spoke and clarified one issue. Mr. Lawson said that the staff wants the site plan issue resolved prior to the rezoning going to the Board of Directors, which is in conflict with what Mr. Freeling wants. Mr. Lawson said that once the property is rezoned, that is the end of it because the post office does not get a building permit. There was a discussion about building permits and the postal service. Stephen Giles, Deputy City Attorney, offered comments about the rezoning and site plan review. Mr. Giles said that it was his understanding that the site plan would be handled before it got to the Board of Directors. Jim Lawson said that if the site plan is not resolved before the Board meeting, then he would ask the Board to remove the item from their agenda. At this point, there were some comments made about the PUD process. There was a long discussion about various issues associated with this request, including the possibility of requiring a building permit. Rick Freeling again asked the Commission to approve the rezoning and if the site plan does not satisfy everybody, then the issue would be taken off the Board's agenda. Charles Nickerson addressed the Commission and said the Mayor's letter is general in nature. Mr. Nickerson said the March 1 letter from Cheryl Nichols is much more specific in terms of looking at project. Mr. Nickerson said the March 1 letter details the kinds of issues that the City wants resolved before the City could recommend the project for approval. 3 March 9, 1993 ITEM NO.: E Z-5653 (Cont. ) -- A motion was then made to approve the GB zoning, and that further responsibility of site plan review, types of construction, landscaping and all things that go into the development be passed to the staff and City Board of Directors. The motion was seconded. Ruth Bell, representing FUTURE - Little Rock Steering Committee, said the committee approved a resolution and asked that it be presented to the Commission. Ms. Bell said FUTURE - Little Rock is concerned with this end of Capitol Avenue because it one of the major ways people enter the city, and a rather important component of the final report deals with impact of the city on visitors. She also said that the City is already spending money on improving the appearance of Capitol Avenue. Ms. Bell then read the FUTURE - Little Rock Resolution. "On Monday, March 8, 1993, the FUTURE - Little Rock Steering Committee approved a motion opposing the current application by the U.S. Post Office for rezoning of the property located in the Quapaw Quarter until such time as a plan of development that is compatible with surrounding neighborhood is submitted and approved by Quapaw Quarter Association. FUTURE - Little Rock believes that the integrity of the historic character of downtown is vital to the economic growth of Little Rock." Ms. Bell went to say that if the City has some final approval on the appearance of the building before it loses control to the post office, then FUTURE - Little Rock would be satisfied. Cheryl Nichols, representing the Quapaw Quarter Association, stated that the FUTURE - Little Rock Steering Committee adopted the resolution without the Quapaw Quarter Association's knowledge, and the Association had nothing to do with it. Ms. Nichols then offered her support for the staff's compromise to work out the problems because the development is a complicated issue. She said that the Quapaw Quarter Association would like to see the project enhance the entry way and be sensitive to the historic district to the south. Ms. Nichols asked that the staff's recommendation be followed. Commissioner Ron Woods then made some comments about the architects and the design process. Commissioner Jerilyn Nicholson also made some comments. Rick Freeling said that he has no problems with the motion before the Commission. Kathy Wells, vice President for the Downtown Neighborhood Association, said that the group strongly supports the staff's position and concerns. 9 March 9, 1993 ITEM NO.: E Z-5653 Cont. The motion was then read by the staff and there was some discussion. At this point, the March 1, 1993 letter from Cheryl Nichols, Quapaw Quarter Association, was included in the motion. There were additional comments before the vote was taken. The Planning Commission then voted on the motion. The vote was 10 ayes, 0 nays and 1 absent in support of the motion. (Note: The letters from Mayor Jim Dailey and Cheryl Nichols are included in the minute record.) 10