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HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutesFebruary 20, 2003 ITEM NO.: H FILE NO.: LU03-24-01 Name: Land Use Plan Amendment - Sweet Home Planning District Location: East of Trust and Sanders Street Request: Single Family and Low Density Residential to Multi -family Source: Todd Rice, Vanadis Group PROPOSAL/REQUEST: Land Use Plan amendment in the Sweet Home Planning District from Single Family and Low Density Residential to Multi -family. The Multi -family category accommodates residential development of ten (10) to thirty-six (36) dwelling units per acre. Prompted by this Land Use Amendment request, the Planning Staff expanded the area' of review to include the property located at the northwest corner of Sanders Street and Southern Road. With this change the applicant's property would be linked to the area shown as Multi -family between Southern Road and Frazier Pike and between Sanders Street and Franklin Street. The property at the southwest corner of Frazier Pike and Sanders Street would remain shown as Mixed Use. EXISTING LAND USE AND ZONING: The applicant's property is currently vacant land zoned R-3 Single Family and is approximately 2.22± acres in size. The expanded area includes a pavilion on the campus of the Rivercrest Healthcare nursing home zoned C-3 located at the northwest corner of Southern and Sanders Streets. The College Station Community Resource Center is located in the northeast corner of the study area next to the College Station Post Office. The property to the north is zoned C-1 Neighborhood Commercial for a vacant liquor store located at the southwest corner of Frazier Pike and Sanders Street, and R-3 Single Family for a house located at the southeast corner of Frazier Pike and Sanders Street. A Post Office zoned C-3 is located northeast of the application area on the corner of Gray Street and Frazier Pike. The properties to the east, south, and west consist of single-family homes and vacant lots. The nursing home located on the north side of Southern Road west of Sanders Street is zoned MF -18 Multi -Family. A cemetery is located southeast of the application area at the end of Gray Street. FUTURE LAND USE PLAN AND RECENT AMENDMENTS: On November 16, 1999 multiple changes were made from Commercial, Multi -family, Park/Open Space, Public Institutional, Single Family and Agricultural to Low Density February 20, 2003 ITEM NO.: H (Cont. FILE NO.: LU03-24-01 Residential, Mixed Use, Public Institutional, Multi -family, Park/Open Space, and Single Family within a 1 mile radius of the applicant's property to reflect existing conditions throughout the neighborhood. The expanded area of review is shown as Low Density Residential and Single Family. The property to the north is shown as Mixed Use while the land to the east is shown as Low Density Residential and Single Family. The land to the south and west is shown as Single Family. The property on the north side of Southern Road to the west of Sanders Street is shown as Multi -family. MASTER STREET PLAN: Sanders Street, Southern Road, and Gray Street are all classified as local streets. Sanders Street, Southern Road, and Gray Street utilize open drainage�and will..need improvements in order to conform to Master Street Plan Standards. Frazier Pike, located Y 2 of a block to the north, is a two-lane road shown as a Minor Arterial that may be affected by increasing in traffic resulting from the development of the applicant's property but would not be subject to half street improvement. Currently the applicant's property is accessible from Sanders and Gray Street. Improvements would need to be made to both streets to meet the demands of increased traffic resulting from the development of the applicant's property if it is developed to Multi -family densities. The Master Street Plan does not show any bikeways that would be affected by development of the applicant's property. PARKS: The property in question is located about 2 blocks west of the College Station Elementary School. The Little Rock Park System Master Plan of 2001 recognizes public schools as facilities eligible for providing for the recreation needs within eight blocks of all Little Rock households as a part of the "Eight Block Strategy." HISTORIC DISTRICTS: There are no historic districts that would be affected by this amendment. CITY RECOGNIZED NEIGHBORHOOD ACTION PLAN: The property under review is not located in an area covered by a City of Little Rock recognized neighborhood action plan. While there is not a neighborhood action plan for the neighborhood recognized by the City of Little Rock, Planning staff worked with the College Station Community Redevelopment Coalition. The coalition reached a consensus on the issues to have 2 February 20, 2003 ITEM NO.: H (Cont. FILE NO.: LU03-24-01 the preservation and reinforcement of College Station as a residential neighborhood and to strengthen Frazier Pike as the community's commercial core. ANALYSIS: The applicant's property is located in the residential area south of Frazier Pike in the community of College Station. The core of the College Station community is located along Frazier Pike between Jones Street and 3-M Road. The College Station Elementary School, the largest non-residential feature of this community, serves as the anchor of the community at the east end. Any new uses developing in this area would need to respect the integrity of the school. At the west end, the non-residential uses centered on the Frazier Pike / 3-M Road intersection are commercial in nature where future business oriented non-residential developments are liable to take place. The application area is located near the center of the College Station Community between the two ends of the non-residential core. This change would increase the density of possible residential development south of Frazier Pike near the core of the College Station community. If the land use is changed to Multi -family, an arm of Multi -family will be created in an area characterized by a low density of Single Family development. Since a large number of the lots shown as Single Family are vacant, a change to Multi -family will be a substantial increase in residential density. However, the area east of Gray Street that would be available for future Single Family development is relatively small. The area shown as Public Institutional for the elementary school and the cemetery is not as likely to develop for other uses in the future. The small area to the east of Gray Street that would remain as Single Family would be separated from the residential area west of Sanders Street. The amount of vacant land that would remain shown as Single Family west of Sanders Street would still provide opportunity for such development to take place in the future. Any development that increases the density of residential uses in the area will need to respect the integrity of the less intense neighboring residential uses. Interaction between Multi -family uses and the other uses to the north may include an increase of traffic and an added demand on area infrastructure. Since most of the existing uses to the north are residential or institutional in character, the impact of a change to Multi -family will depend on the nature and scale of the specific developments in the area shown as Multi -family. A low intensity Multi -family development will impact the utility infrastructure network shared by neighboring businesses and residences, while a high intensity Multi -family development will also generate more traffic. A traditional Multi -family development of apartments would be an example of a high intensity Multi -family development that would create more demand on existing infrastructure. A non-traditional Multi -family development such as an assisted living complex would be an example of low intensity Multi -family. Such a development would generate less demand on existing infrastructure due to the lower volume of traffic generated and a lower average number of persons occupying each K February 20, 2003 ITEM NO.: H (Cont. NO.: LU03-24-01 unit. The way a Multi -family development is implemented will determine whether or not it is compatible with the single-family uses. A Multi -family use that is institutional in nature may be more compatible with neighboring Single Family and Public Institutional uses by functioning as a place of transition available to allow the mixing different age groups. NEIGHBORHOOD COMMENTS: Notices were sent to the following neighborhood associations: College Station Progressive League, and Granite Mountain Neighborhood Association. Staff has not received any comments from area residents at this time. STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS: Staff believes the change is not appropriate. A typical Multi -family development would not be appropriate in this location. PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: (February 6, 2003) The item was placed on the consent agenda for deferral to the February 20, 2003 Planning Commission meeting. A motion was made to approve the consent agenda and was approved with a vote of 10 ayes, 0 noes and 1 absent. PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: (February 20, 2003) The item was placed on the consent agenda for withdrawal. A motion was made to approve the consent agenda and was approved with a vote of 10 ayes, 0 noes and 1 absent. C!