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HomeMy WebLinkAboutpc_04 21 1987LITTLE ROCK PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTE RECORD APRIL 21, 1987 1:00 P.M. I. Roll Call and Finding of a Quorum A quorum was present. II. Approval of the March 10, 1987, Minutes The minutes of the March 10, 1987, meeting were approved. III. Members Present: Members Absent: Fred Perkins Rose Collins Richard Massie Walter Riddick Betty Sipes John Schlereth William Ketcher Jerilyn Nicholson David Jones Bill Rector Dorothy Arnett IV. City Attorney: Stephen Giles April 21, 1987 PLANNING HEARING Item No. 1 - Deferred - Amendment to the I -430 Land_ Use Plan - Autumn Road Area NAME: City of Little Rock LOCATION: Autumn Road at the Rock Creek Parkway REQUEST: Amend I -430 District Land Use Plan along the Rock Creek Parkway west of Shackleford Road and east of Bowman Road. STAFF REPORT: An amendment to the I -430 Plan was discussed recently in conjunction with a rezoning request in the Autumn Road area north of the Rock Creek Parkway. The office rezoning request generated a discussion of whether there would be an Autumn Road intersection with the Rock Creek Parkway. The determination was made that there would be an intersection, and an amendment to the Master Street Plan was approved to create the intersection. The adopted I -430 Plan (see attached drawing) showed the area north of the Rock Creek Parkway as single family. The single family designation was based primarily on the Master Street Plan which classified Autumn Road as a residential street with a cul -de -sac before it reached the parkway. Now that Autumn Road has been designated as a collector which intersects with the Parkway, more intense uses are plausible. In the December 11, 1986, meeting of the staff with the Birchwood residents, various land use options were discussed. The residents seemed to favor option 1 (see attached). Option 1 calls for an office classification north of the parkway and a mixed single family /multifamily designation south of the parkway. Additional commercial is also indicated at the Autumn Road and parkway intersection. Option 2 (see drawing) calls for multifamily north of the parkway and office south of the parkway. The residents did not want multifamily adjacent to their area. They felt office would make a better neighbor. April 21, 1987 PLANNING HEARING Item No. 1 - Continued STAFF RECOMMENDATION: To amend the I -430 Land Use District Plan to incorporate Option 1 as described in the drawing. The staff believes that Option 1 is a more realistic land use plan for that corridor which is primarily office in nature at this point. The plan also recommends that a Master Street Plan amendment be made that will extend an east /west collector from Bowman and that will connect to Autumn Road. PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: Jim Lawson presented the staff recommendation. After discussion, the Commission deferred action on this item. Staff was instructed to look at single family and office use in the Autumn Road area and to gather traffic information. This item was deferred until the Planning Commission meeting on Tuesday, April 21. PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: (4- 21 -87) Jim Lawson began a discussion with a presentation of their recommended plan amendment. He reminded the Commission that this item was deferred from the March 10 meeting when the Planning Commission directed the staff to do further review and come back with a firm recommedation. Jim explained to the Commission that he met with some of the neighbors in the area and that they preferred a single family /multifamily designation north and south of Hermitage Road. They felt that this was preferable to an office designation. Jim stated that by showing residential around Hermitage a residential corridor could be developed to the west. The property to the west of Bowman is currently zoned "MF -12" and "MF -18." Two of the neighbors, Mary Laurie, and Charles Lord, spoke in support of the staff's recommendation. Ms. Laurie presented a petition urging the acceptance of the staff's recommendation. She noted that the multifamily designation around Hermitage provided a logical transition from office to the east to the single family west of Bowman Road. The Commission discussed the plan amendment. Commissioner Jones felt the area should be monitored to determine when it should become nonresidential. Commissioner Massie was also concerned about the livability of this area with the proposed arterial constructions. David Werling, President of NOBLE, supported the plan amendment stating that the April 21, 1987 PLANNING HEARING Item No. 1 - Continued residential character should be preserved. He urged that the City go slowly in planning more office in this particular corridor. Commissioner Schlereth asked about the new east /west collector shown on the plan. Jim Lawson stated that he felt it was necessary. He noted that the collector idea originated from working with the Birchwood neighborhood. They stated that this collector might discourage traffic through the neighborhood. Commissioner Schlereth stated his concern that the landowners be notified of a Master Street Plan change involving an additional street of this type. Jim Lawson stated that at the time of the street plan change, the landowners would be notified. After some more discussion, the Commission recommended to the Board of Directors adoption of the plan change to the I -430 District Plan. The vote was: 10 ayes, 0 noes and 1 absent. April 21, 1987 PLANNING HEARING Item No. 2 - Amendment to the East River Island Plan NAME: City of Little Rock LOCATION: East Little Rock (Vicinity of Airport) REQUEST: To look at possible amendments to the plan to keep it current and viable. STAFF REPORT: The East River Island Plan was adopted by the City Board of Directors on April 17, 1984, by Ordinance No. 14,647. The plan called for a variety of uses from single family to industrial. Since the adoption of the plan, there has been one major change in the area which should be dealt with in the plan. This change was the conversion of a large pecan orchard (shown as single family) to an industrial park. This site accomodates the UPS Distribution Center as well as space for future indistrial uses. This development also facilitated the closing of the existing Fourche Dam Pike and the construction of a new Fourche Dam Pike which intersects with Lindsey Road. A recent request for industrial rezoning at 7008 Fourche Dam Pike from "R -2" to "I -2" has brought the East River Island Plan up for future scrutiny. As a result of this rezoning request, the Planning Commission has asked that the staff do an in -depth review of the plan. STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Staff began a review of the East River Island Plan including site visits as well as investigations of future changes which might affect land use. One change which will dramatically affect the area is the proposed purchase of land for the Fourche, Corps of Engineers project. The purchase could be as much as 250 feet from the centerline of the creek. This 500 -foot corridor could possibly eliminate commercial as well as other uses in the area. April 21, 1987 PLANNING HEARING Item No. 2 - Continued Staff recommends that the Planning Commission not take action on any plan amendments until the decision has been made on the width of the Fourche purchase. The Public Works Department is presently working on those calculations. The staff recommends the East River Island Plan amendments be deferred until the July 14, 1987, Planning Hearing. PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: Jim Lawson gave a brief presentation supporting the deferral of this item to July 14, 1987. Jim stated that the City is in the process of looking at acquiring land in this area for the Fourche Project. The total land area could be 250 feet measured from the centerline of Fourche Creek. This amount of land area would have an impact on the Land Use Plan for the area and Jim felt that the Commission should defer the issue until the acquisition is resolved. The Planning Commission then voted to defer the amendment to the East River Plan until their July 14, 1987, Planning hearing. The vote was 10 ayes, 0 noes and 1 absent. DATE: April 21, 1987 PLANNING HEARING ITEM NO. - Spacing of Curb Cuts on Arterial Streets NAME: City of Little Rock LOCATION: Arterial Streets Within the City's Planning Jurisdiction REQUEST: Review of Curb Cut Spacing for Commercial /Office Subdivisions on Arterial Streets STAFF REPORT: At a recent Planning Commission meeting, staff was requested to review the curb cut spacing requirements for commercial /office subdivisions on arterial streets. Presently, the subdivision regulations provide that curb cuts shall be spaced at least 300 ft. apart and no closer than 100 ft. from the right -of -way of an intersecting street. Staff reviewed these spacing standards with the City Engineer and the Traffic Engineer to determine whether or not the standards should be revised. After discussing a number of different development scenarios, the engineering and planning staffs agreed that the present 300 ft. spacing and 100 ft. distance from an intersecting street should not be changed. However, it was recognized that these standards could not be met by all developments. Both engineering and planning staff members agreed that they would support variances for individual applications involving certain situations. The engineering staff will present at the Planning Commission meeting actual development situations and indicate how the standards should be applied and where variances are appropriate. Staff is of the opinion that variances should not be routinely granted, but should be granted where clearly needed to allow reasonable use of a parcel. A variance procedure is needed because the drafting of separate regulations to cover every possible scenario of development would be extremely difficult, if not possible. STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends that the provisions of the Subdivision Regulations relating to spacing of curb cuts be retained as currently written. PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: Gary Greeson explained the staff recommendation, and Henk Koornstra reviewed the way curb cuts have been handled for the following streets, locations, or developments: Markham and Bowman, the I -630 West Extension, Maumelle Boulevard, Parkway Place Drive (commercial subdivision), Rock Creek Parkway /West Markham, Razorback Square, Cantrell and Rodney Parham, Corporate Hill Subdivision, Riverfront Drive /Cantrell, and Bowman Road at Mara Lynn. Gary Greeson indicated that staff would tend to support appropriate variances required for redevelopment projects and developments involving fast food restaurants, car washes and mini - marts. He also noted that Public Works considered a driveway system with one way in and one way out as the equivalent of one curb cut. No action was taken by the Commission, since no action was required. Chairperson Secretary Date