HomeMy WebLinkAboutBoard of Directors itemsOFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER
LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS
BOARD OF DIRECTORS COMMUNICATION
DECEMBER 18, 2012 AGENDA
Subject Action Required Approved By
Approval of Land Use Plan
Amendment Ordinance
LU12-19-01 Resolution
Approval
Information Report
Submitted By:
Planning and Development Bruce Moore
SYNOPSIS
To approve Land Use Plan changes in the area along the
east side of Rahling Road between Kirk Road and Pebble
Beech Drive. (LU 12-19-01).
FISCAL IMPACT
none
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommended denial. The Little Rock Planning
Commission voted 7 for, 2 against with two absent to
approve the changes.
CITIZEN
The following Neighborhood Associations were contacted:
PARTICIPATION
Chenal Ridge POA and The Villages of Wellington.
No comments were received solely concerning the Future
Land Use Plan amendments.
BACKGROUND
This amendment area is 73 acres ± along Rahling Road of
undeveloped, hilly, wooded land with creeks. The land
slopes from hilltops on the east down to the creek that
parallels Rahling before rising again at Rahling Road.
There is currently a 28 -acre section of Residential Medium
Density shown for a portion of this site bordering Rahling
Road with the balance in Residential Low Density.
This amendment proposes to change the area to reflect
25 acres ± of Neighborhood Commercial, 13 acres of
Office, 8 ± acres of Park/Open Space, 20 acres of
Residential Medium Density, and the balance in
Residential Low Density.
1
BACKGROUND
CONTINUED
Staff is not supportive of the prospered changes to the
Future Land Use Plan. In summary, there is ample
undeveloped land in the vicinity that is classified as non-
residential to serve that area for the immediate future.
Second, an increase in intensity of Future Land Use
classifications for areas along Rahling Road will
exacerbate an already increasing traffic problem. Third,
stripping of Rahling with non-residential uses is not a
desirable land use plan approach. Fourth, the topography
of the land is not suited for the larger footprints of
non-residential uses.
2
I ORDINANCE NO.
2
3 AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND THE LAND USE PLAN
4 (16,222) ON THE EAST SIDE OF RAHLING ROAD
5 BETWEEN KIRK ROAD AND PEBBLE BEECH DRIVE
6 (LU12-19-01) AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES;
7
8 WHEREAS, the Little Rock Planning Commission has reviewed the package
9 of suggested changes and now recommends them for adoption.
10
11 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
12 OF THE CITY OF LITTLE ROCK:
13
14 SECTION 1. Part of the SEI/4 NW1/4 of T2N R13W Sec. 30, at the
15 southeast corner of Pebble Beech Drive and Rahling Road, the Land Use Plan is
16 changed from Residential Low Density to Park/Open Space.
17
18 SECTION 2. Part of the NEI/4 SWI/4 and SEI/4 NW1/4 of T2N R13W
19 Sec. 30 along the East side of Rahling Road south of the PK/OS in Section 1 and
20 generally to the east of the Neighborhood Commercial stated in Section 3 and
21 partially abutting the extension of Beckenham Drive on the north side of said
22 extension, the Land Use Plan is changed from Residential Low Density to Office.
23
24 SECTION 3. Part of the SWIA of T2N R13W Sec. 30 along the East side of
25 Rahling Road for approximately 2200 feet south of the Office stated in Section 2 for a
26 depth that ranges between 400 and 600' perpendicular to Rahling Road, the Land Use
27 Plan is changed from Residential Low Density and Residential Medium Density to
28 Neighborhood Commercial.
29
30 SECTION 4. Part of the SWIA of T2N R13W Sec. 30 and NW1/4 of T2N
31 R13W Sec. 31 along the East side of Rahling Road to the south and east of the
[Page 1 of 3]
I Neighborhood Commercial stated in Section 3, the Land Use Plan is changed from
2 Residential Low Density to Residential Medium Density
3
4 SECTION 5. Part of the SWIA of T2N R13W Sec. 30 and NW1/4 of T2N
5 R13W See. 31 commencing at the west line of the NW1/4 of Section 31 and to the
6 east and north east along Rahling Road, the Land Use Plan is changed from
7 Residential Low Density and Residential Medium Density to Park Open Space.
8
9 SECTION 6. Part of the NW1/4 of T2N R13W Sec. 31 generally east of
10 Rahling Road south of the Park/Open Space stated in Section 5, the Land Use Plan is
11 changed from Residential Medium Density to Residential Low Density.
12
13 SECTION 7. Severability. In the event any title, section, paragraph, item,
14 sentence, clause, phrase, or word of this ordinance is declared or adjudged to be
15 invalid or unconstitutional, such declaration or adjudication shall not affect the
16 remaining portions of the ordinance which shall remain in full force and effect as if
17 the portion so declared or adjudged invalid or unconstitutional was not originally a
18 part of the ordinance.
19
20 SECTION 8. Repealer. All laws, ordinances, resolutions, or parts of the
21 same that are inconsistent with the provisions of this ordinance are hereby repealed to
22 the extent of such inconsistency.
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[Page 2 of 31
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PASSED:
ATTEST:
City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
City Attorney
H
H
APPROVED:
Mayor
[Page 3 of 3]
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Land Use Plan Amendment
Case: LU 12-19-01 N
Location: East Side of Rahling Road,
South of Pebble Beach Road
Ward: 5
PD: 19 0 250 500 1,000 Feet
CT: 42.19
TRS: T2N R13W30
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Area Zoning
Case: LU 12-19-01 N
Location: East Side of Rahling Road,
South of Pebble Beach Road
Ward: 5
0 250 500 1,000 Feet
PD: 19
CT: 42.19
TRS: T2N R13W30
FILE NO.: LU12-19-01
Name: Land Use Plan Amendment — Chenal Planning District
Location: Rahling Road east side south of Pebble Beach Road
Request: Amendment to change from Residential Low Density and
Residential Medium Density to Office, Neighborhood Commercial,
Residential Medium Density, Residential Low Density and Park
Open Space
Source: Tim Daters, White-Daters & Associates
PROPOSAL/REQUEST:
A Land Use Plan amendment in the Chenal Planning District from Residential
Low Density and Residential Medium Density to Office, Neighborhood
Commercial, Residential Medium Density, Residential Low Density and Park
Open Space. The applicant has also filed a large rezoning for this site and a
Master Street Plan amendment for this site. The applicant is proposing these
changes to allow for commercial uses, office uses, medium density residential
which would accommodate six to twelve units per acre, and some open space.
Residential Low Density (RL) provides for single family homes at densities not to
exceed 6 dwelling units per acre. Such residential development is typically
characterized by conventional single family homes, but may also include patio or
garden homes and cluster homes, provided that the density remain less than
6 units per acre.
Residential Medium Density (RM) accommodates a broad range of housing
types including single family attached, single family detached, duplex, town
homes, multi -family and patio or garden homes. Any combination of these and
possibly other housing types may fall in this category provided that the density is
between six (6) and twelve (12) dwelling units per acre.
Office (0) represents services provided directly to consumers (e.g., legal,
financial, medical) as well as general offices which support more basic economic
activities.
Neighborhood Commercial (NC) includes limited small-scale commercial
development in close proximity to a neighborhood, providing goods and services
to that neighborhood market area.
Park/Open Space (PK/OS) includes all public parks, recreation facilities,
greenbelts, flood plains, and other designated open space and recreational land.
FILE NO.: LU12-19-01 Cont.)
EXISTING LAND USE AND ZONING:
The property is currently zoned MF18, Multi Family (27± acres) with the balance
in R2 Single Family zoning. To the north, east and south on the east side of
Rahling, it is zoned R-2 Single Family and includes both vacant wooded land and
single family houses. To the southwest on the east side of Rahling, there is a
mixture of multifamily MF -6, MF -18, Neighborhood Commercial C-1 and General
Office 0-3 zoning. On the west side of Rahling, there are large areas of Open
Space OS zoning, Multifamily MF -12 along Rahling Road with the balance in
single-family R-2 property that is mostly vacant wooded land.
FUTURE LAND USE PLAN AND RECENT AMENDMEN
The Future Land Use Plan shows Residential Low Density and Residential
Medium Density for this property. Surrounding the application area is Residential
Low Density to the east and northeast; Residential High Density, Mixed Use and
Neighborhood Commercial to the southeast; and Park/Open Space and
Residential Low Density to the west and northwest.
In May 2009, A Land Use Plan amendment from Low Density Residential and
Single Family to Multi Family, Commercial, Office, Single Family and Park/Open
Space was withdrawn from the Board of Directors agenda by the applicant on
this same site. (Classification names of Residential uses changed since this
application. The comparable categories are Residential Medium Density and
Residential Low Density.)
On August 15, 2006, an area was amended at the eastern intersection of
LaGrande and Rahling Roads from Multi Family to Mixed Office Commercial to
allow for future development.
On June 17, 2003, changes from Office, Multifamily, and Single Family to
Multifamily and Low Density Residential located northeast of Chenal Parkway
around Rahling Road were made to reflect new zoning in the area for future
development.
MASTER STREET PLAN:
Rahling Road is shown as a Minor Arterial north of Kanis Road. A Minor Arterial
provides connections to and through an urban area and their primary function is
to provide short distance travel within the urbanized area. Entrances and exits
should be limited to minimize negative effects of traffic and pedestrians on
Rahling since it is a Minor Arterial. Wellington Plantation Drive and Beckenham
Drive are both shown as proposed Collectors through this site and intersecting
with Rahling Road. The primary function of a Collector Street is to provide a
2
FILE NO.: LU12-19-01 (Cont.
connection from Local Streets to Arterials. These three streets may require
dedication of right-of-way and may require street improvements for entrances
and exits to the site.
Ordinance 17,183 dated May 7, 1996, provided for the deferred widening of
Rahling Road to the four -lane with median section as prescribed by the Master
Street Plan. This widening is to be triggered by the daily traffic count exceeding
12,000 cars. Currently, Rahling Road has 13,371 trips per day as counted by the
City of Little Rock Public Works Traffic Engineering. The Traffic Study by Peters
and Associates and the traffic numbers from Metroplan also show traffic counts
in excess of 12,000. This widening of the roadway is a separate discussion and
is not linked with this Land Use Plan Amendment.
There is an associated Master Street Plan Amendment on this agenda to remove
the Collector classification of Wellington Plantation Drive for the un -built section
of the roadway.
BICYCLE PLAN:
A Class I bike route is shown along Rahling Road. A Class I bikeway is built
separate from or alongside a road. Additional paving and right of way may be
required. That Class I route has been built from Kirk Road northward along
Rahling Road for the frontage of this site.
PARKS:
According to the Master Parks Plan, half of the amendment area is within eight
blocks of a park. The northern half of this amendment site is not within eight
blocks according to the Parks Plan, although the west side of Rahling Road is
zoned for Open Space and is used for a walking trail.
HISTORIC DISTRICTS:
There are no city recognized historic districts that would be affected by this
amendment.
ANALYSIS:
This amendment area is 73 acres ± along Rahling Road of undeveloped, hilly,
wooded land with creeks. The land slopes from hilltops on the east down to the
creek that parallels Rahling before rising again at Rahling Road. There is
currently a 28 -acre section of Residential Medium Density shown for a portion of
this site bordering Rahling Road with the balance in Residential Low Density.
This amendment proposes to change the area to reflect 25 acres ± of
3
FILE NO.: LU12-19-01 Cont.
Neighborhood Commercial, 13 acres ± of Office, 8 ± acres of Park/Open Space,
1 ± acres of Residential Low Density, and 20 acres ± of Residential Medium
Density.
Rahling Road provides the link between the major commercial centers of Chenal
Parkway with Cantrell Road/Taylor Loop to the north. Rahling Road was at one
time called the West Loop and/or the Outer Loop. South of Kanis Road, Rahling
becomes a Principal Arterial. This road will eventually traverse from Cantrell
Road southward to the County Line Road at 1-30 as a principal north -south
roadway. When the Land Use Plan and zoning for the Chenal (Deltic) ownership
and surrounding areas was approved in the mid-1980s, a major office and
commercial center was proposed at and near the intersection of what is now
Chenal Parkway and Rahling Road. This general area has been seen as the
community or regional shopping and employment center of western Little Rock.
In addition, Rahling Road now connects with Kanis Road to the south. The
general area has been growing almost continually over the past twenty years in
selected spots. Many single-family subdivisions have been built during this time
both to the east and to the south of this area.
While much of this area is planned for Residential Low Density use, the Land
Use Plan has also allotted areas for other residential development types as well
as non-residential development. Along Rahling Road, there are currently
17 acres of undeveloped Residential High Density to the north of the site and
28 acres of undeveloped Residential Medium Density on the site. Residential
Medium Density provides an option other than Single Family detached for future
development. The Plan classifications and zoning have been in place for
approximately two decades along this stretch of Rahling Road.
The areas shown as Office on the Land Use Plan and zoned for office have been
developed south of Rahling, but approximately 86 acres to the north of Rahling
have yet to be developed. There are 17 acres of land classified as
Neighborhood Commercial on the Land Use Plan to the southwest of this
application that are zoned C-1 and are vacant.
Rahling Road is not currently constructed to full Master Street Plan standard for
the entire length of the project area. Traffic counts on the road have been
steadily increasing over time while the property sits undeveloped. The traffic
count has now been triggered to fulfill the agreement of Ordinance 17,183 of
1996 for the developer to widen the roadway. (See Master Street Plan section
above for further details.) As development of this section of Little Rock continues
and based on the current Land Use Plan, Rahling Road volumes should reach
Arterial design numbers in the next few years. The Master Street Plan states
that a four lane with a median or a five lane street should be able to carry
18,000 vehicles per day. Over that number, congestion and delay will result.
With the development of the site with the proposed higher intensity Land Use
Classifications, those traffic numbers would increase even quicker and with more
intensity. The traffic study provided by the applicant, projects numbers in excess
►,,
FILE NO.: LU12-19-01 (Cont.)
of 18,000. Placing non-residential uses along Rahling Road will typically result in
multiple curb cuts as opposed to lower number of cuts required for Residential
Medium Density developments. Entrances and exits should be limited to
minimize negative effects of traffic and pedestrians on Rahling since it is a Minor
Arterial.
The definition of Neighborhood Commercial (NC) states: "The neighborhood
commercial category includes limited small-scale commercial development in
close proximity to a neighborhood, providing goods and services to that
neighborhood market area." When concentrating the non-residential areas and
higher density residential at the intersections of the Collectors and Rahling Road
with entrances should be off the collectors to reduce the entrances and exits on
the Arterial. This would give the neighborhoods access to the non-residential
uses without accessing the arterial system of the area and thereby may reduce
some of the traffic burden off Rahling Road.
This application is proposing to add 13 acres ± of Office and 25 acres ± of
Neighborhood Commercial, as stated above. This area of Little Rock still has
about 86 acres of undeveloped Office within a mile of this application and
approximately 36 acres of undeveloped Commercial and Neighborhood
Commercial along Rahling Road just west of this application area that is
undeveloped. In addition, there are 46 acres of Mixed Office Commercial on
Wellington Hills Road just south of Immannuel Baptist Church that is vacant. The
most recent commercial development was the permitting of the Promenade at
Chenal center in 2007. The development that has occurred in areas shown as
Commercial and Office areas as shown on the Land Use Plan occurred more
than five years ago. The areas shown as Neighborhood Commercial nearest to
the site remain undeveloped.
The existing Commercial and Office areas shown on the Land Use Plan is part of
a large 'node' around the Chenal Parkway-Rahling Road intersection and
includes intersections of these roads with Kanis Road, Kirk Road and Wellington
Boulevard (all of which are Arterials). In summary, there are ample areas
already classified on the Land Use Plan for the non-residential uses that are
vacant and available for development.
The Rahling Road corridor has been planned to be residential with various
densities of residential proposed on the Plan and also zoned accordingly. There
has already been some intensification of land use and zoning along Rahling
Road in the Kirk Road and Chenal Valley Drive area. The City does discourage
'stripping' or lining of Arterials with commercial uses and concentrating such uses
in 'nodes'. The proposed amendment would add more non-residential uses
(Neighborhood Commercial, Office) north along Rahling Road. The shape of the
non-residential along Rahling Road encourages a more 'strip' type of
development fronting Rahling Road, rather than an area of non-residential
development. This would amount to stripping the Rahling Road with
non-residential uses or at best, introducing a new node of non-residential. Also,
6
FILE NO.: LU12-19-01 (Cont.
the typical development pattern for the Neighborhood Commercial use would be
for multiple access points on Rahling Road with greater turning movements
reducing the carrying capacity for Rahling Road. Commercial uses also have a
larger footprint than typical homes in the area.
This parcel is approximately 73 acres along Rahling Road of undeveloped, hilly,
wooded land with creeks. The land slopes from hilltops on the east down to the
creek that parallels Rahling before rising again at Rahling Road. In addition to
the streams that parallel Rahling Road on the west side, there are three streams
that run perpendicular to the Rahling road that bisect the site. Rahling Road
basically runs in the bottom of the valley between the hilltops and drains the area
before emptying into the Hickory Creek that parallels Hinson Road.
This parcel has four hilltops with elevations ranging from 468' — 640'. Just
outside the parcel is the hilltop near Beckenham Drive that is at 804' with the
mountainside at 714' when it enters the property. Near the southern boundary,
there is a hilltop with an elevation of 640'. In laymen's terms, the site rises from
the lowest point to the highest the equivalent of a 30 story building. There is a
stream that parallels Rahling Road with elevations of 512' (the adjacent roadway
being 38' higher) at the southern end and elevations of 402' (the adjacent
roadway being 6' higher) at the northern end near Pebble Beach. The east/west
sections through the site roughly parallel to Rahling Road have slopes from
12-20%.
Non-residential land uses are typically on flatter land, or land that has been
flattened, simply because of the larger footprints of buildings and parking lots.
This site has grades similar to Chenal Ridge to the north, Belle Point to the
southeast, and others (Bellegarde Drive, Varennes Court and Champagnolle
Court). Those developments averaged 19% for their steepest slopes which is
comparable or slightly steeper than these slopes. In summary, land that is
steeper is more suitable to development with smaller footprints because of less
grading required. This land, with its existing grades, is more suitable for smaller
footprint development, which could be Low and Medium Density Residential.
Staff is not supportive of the prospered changes to the Future Land Use Plan. In
summary, there is ample undeveloped land in the vicinity that is classified as
non-residential to serve that area for the immediate future. Second, an increase
in intensity of Future Land Use classifications for areas along Rahling Road will
exacerbate an already increasing traffic problem. Third, stripping of Rahling with
non-residential uses is not a desirable land use plan approach. Fourth, the
topography of the land is not suited for the larger footprints of non-residential
uses.
R
FILE NO.: LU12-19-01 (Cont.
NEIGHBORHOOD COMMENTS:
Notices were sent to the following neighborhood associations: Chenal Ridge
POA and The Villages of Wellington. Staff has received on contact requesting
information on the request.
STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS:
Staff believes the change is not appropriate.
PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION:
(NOVEMBER 29, 2012)
Brian Minyard, Staff, made a brief presentation for the item. Bill Spivey and Tim
Daters spoke in favor of the applications covering points such as the history of
the previous actions in front of the Planning Commission on the site and how that
they had been working with the neighborhood groups on this proposed plan
change. Ernie Peters spoke concerning the traffic numbers in relation to the
Land Use Plan changes and stated that the roadways would be able to handle
the additional traffic. Larry Grace, of Villages of Wellington, spoke in favor of the
applications with the increased buffer between their houses and the multi family
development.
Several persons, Bryan Meldrum, Wanda Crow, Ron Sheffield, Manish Joshi,
Hari Eswaran, and Casey Neece spoke in opposition to all of the proposed
changes including the Future Land Use Plan amendment.
Dana Gaddy, Linda Williams, Pao Teng Tsai, and Bud Laumer spoke in
opposition to the Future Land Use Plan amendment but focused on the removal
of Beckenham from the Master Street Plan which was not on the proposal.
Ruth Bell, Pulaski County League of Women voters, spoke against the items.
She encouraged proper planning and warned the commission of tinkering with
the plan with unintended consequences later.
Bill Spivey spoke and informed the commission that these items in front of the
commission were a result of the conversations that were held with the two
neighborhood groups that were initiated by those neighborhood groups. He
continued that if the area could have been built as single family, it would have
been developed years ago. He commented that it was a tough piece of property
to develop and that the current plan was superior to what was proposed earlier.
A motion was made to approve the item and seconded. The motion passed with
a vote of 7 ayes, 2 noes and 2 absent.
7