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HomeMy WebLinkAboutletter and emails on the applicationSouthwest Little Rock United for Progress 8013 Mabelvale Cutoff Road Mabelvale, Arkansas, 72103 501-568-4677 voice and 501-569-9895 fax March 12, 2003 To: Planning Commission Item: Re: 9219 Stagecoach Road — Land Use Amendment from Office to Commercial & PCD to allow an existing single-family structure to be converted for use as a restaurant The Southwest Little Rock United for Progress joins Otter Creek Property Owners Association and Alexander Road Neighborhood Association in supporting the Land Use Amendment at 9219 Stagecoach Road from Office to Commercial. Additional we support the PCD to allow an existing single- family structure to be converted & expanded for use as a restaurant. We all are looking forward to a new restaurant in the area. We also thank the property owner for taking the time and effort to meet with the Alexander Road Neighborhood Association & the Otter Creek Property Owners Association. Sincerely, J"R' 'J3 CV� Janet Berry President Southwest Little Rock United for Progress Neighborhood Assn. Little Rock February 3, 2003 Mr. Nate Townsend 4789 Hollyridge Cove Sherwood, AR 72120 Dear Mr. Townsend, RE: Rezoning of 9219 Stagecoach Road Thank you for notifying the Alexander Road Neighborhood Association of your plans to move into our area. As you know this area of Little Rock has the ability for ability to support your restaurant plus have draw from the surrounding counties. At.our January 21, 2003 meeting, the members present voted to not oppose your project providing everything can be worked out for the parking. Z noticed on the Little Rock Planning Agenda for this week you had asked for deferment until March 20, 2003. Everyone attending the meeting had been to Grandpa's Catfish House in North Little Rock and was familiar with your restaurant. We are looking forward to having your business in our area. Thank you for including us in your request for zoning changes. Sincerely, Elaine Mitchell Crouse, President Alexander Road Neighborhood Association Attachments Cc: Director Wyrick, Little Rock Board of Director — Ward 7 Janet Berry, President — Southwest Little Rock United for Progress Donna James - LittIe Rock Planning and Development P.O. Box 280 Alexander, AR 72002 James, Donna From: Veletta Smith[vsmith@ArkansasLegalServices.org] Sent: Monday, March 17, 2003 5:21 PM To: James, Donna Subject: Say No to Development at the Northwest Corner of Kanis and Bowman Good day Ms. James. I am writing to voice my concern about the proposed rezoning of property at the northwest corner -of Kanis and Bowman for commercial development. I am a resident of the Point West community and I have lived there for almost 10 years. Over the years I have seen the area change from trees and greenery which supported wild life to a concrete jungle which is congested with commercial development and horrid traffic. will not be able to attend the meeting tonight which has been set up with the developer and area residents, but I do want to say that I think another such development will lead residents to seek housing elsewhere and create more urban sprawl. Therefore, I encourage you to do whatever you can to make sure that this property and no other property in the area is rezoned for commercial use. After all, Arkansas is the natural state and if we should take whatever steps are necessary in order to preserve it. Respectfully, Veletta P. Smith 16 Point West Circle Little Rock, AR 72211 �W.� "LSF Io A to--( James, Donna From: ddaniel3918@cs.com Sent: Tuesday, March 18, 2003 10:46 AM To: James, Donna Subject: Rezoning of corner of Kanis & Bowman Donna James: I am against zoning the corner of Kanis & Bowman. My house backs up to Sam's and Walmart and you should here the noise going on at 5:00 a.m. over there. Trucks blowing there horns, big metal doors banging. It's enough! We don't need more of the same and more traffic in that area. There are plenty of empty buildings around or Lowe's can take over the old Wal-Mart when they build the new one. I am totally against this please help defeat it. Sincerely, Debbie Daniel 103 Point West Circle Little Rock, Ar 72211 501-221-0564 1 6 to ``i to A James, Donna From: Cindy Collie [colliecj@yahoo.com] Sent: Tuesday, March 18, 2003 10:40 AM To: James, Donna Subject: No on Rezoning at Kanis and Bowman Ms. James: As a resident of Parkway Place neighborhood, I would like to ask that you help defeat the rezoning request and proposed development at the northwest corner of Kanis and Bowman in West Little Rock. We already have a new commercial development in the Parkway Place neighborhood, bringing additional traffic into the neighborhood and possibly lowering our home values. I just bought my home in April of 2002, and already feel I need to consider moving out of the area. Please don't approve more commercial development in the area. If the development at Kanis and Bowman is approved, the traffic will become a nightmare. There are only two ways to get out of our neighborhood - Kanis and Chenal Parkway. If this commercial development goes in, traffic congestion will be worse. I spend most of my morning and evening commute simply trying to get in or out of West Little Rock. The traffic on 630 is not as bad. Traffic at Christmas time is like a parking lot at the intersection of Bowman and Chenal Parkway. What will it be like if you add approximately 2,500 cars a day to this area? We have several neighborhoods in West Little Rock "landlocked" by commercial development. That's what will happen to Point West and Parkway Place if development is continued. Noise and lights become a problem. This will bring more people in and around our neighborhoods, creating safety issues. As a single woman, my safety is important and would like to think my home is my haven. But with commercial development just down the street, my safety is threatened. There are many commercial buildings standing empty in the West Little Rock area - specifically the Mega Market and Service Merchandise space on Markham. Why can't these be utilized? Please vote no on the rezoning of the northwest corner of Kanis and Bowman. Thank you for your time and attention to this matter. Sincerely, Cindy Collie Parkway Place resident 14206 Parkside Dr. Little Rock, AR 72211 501-224-5250 home 501-364-4424 work colliecj@yahoo.com Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Platinum - Watch CBS' NCAA March Madness, live on your desktop! http://platinum.yahoo.com 1 Page 1 of 1 James, Donna From: Donna Dickson [donnad7522@sbcglobal.net] Sent: Wednesday, March 19, 2003 6:46 AM To: James, Donna Subject: Rezoning West LR for Lowe's I'm against another mega store around the corner from my house! I already hear enough traffic from Sam's, and Walmart. Why can't they take the shopping center on Markham, where Mega Market used to be? Donna Dickson 128 Point West Cir. Little Rock, AR 72211 3/19/2003 to'k l®.1 03/19/09 WED 18:54 FAX 5019056878 March 17, 2003 Little Rock Planning Commission c% Mr. Tim Lawson, Director of Flanning and Development Little Rock, AR 72201 Dear Mr. Lawson, I would like to comrrrimicate my concerns to you and to the Little Rock Planning Commission members about a proposed rezoning and development at the corner of Kanis and Bowman Roads. I have lived in the Point West Phase 1 area since 1992. 1 was attracted to that neighborhood originally because it was afford" and was surrounded by wooded areas and was very quiet. Within months of moving into my new home, Wal-Mart built a new store adjacent to a residential area, then came Sam's Club, them Chenal Buick and a host of other businesses. The qualities that attracted me to this neigWfhood are now all but gone. The last reaming relatively quiet properties are now being proposed for development into a Lowe's store, restaurant, and strip mall. Several people who live in the area met with Mr. Dickson Flake this evening. He explained where the store and mall would be placed, road widening, etc. I appreciated that information from him and the opportunity to hear for myself the proposal. However, my concerns are not allayed. Noise: Already I hear noise by 5:00 a.m. from Sam's and Viral Mart with semi trucks pulling in and honking, dumpsters being emptied, warning signals from vehicles backing up, etc. If I am home on Saturdays, I clearly hear salespeople getting paged to take phone calls at the Buick car dealership on Chenal Parkway. I am strongly opposed to any new development that will increase the noise level in my neighborhood, especially a large store where trucks will be pulling in off of Kanis Road and driving right under the neighborhood. I believe that we have been subjected to enough noise pollution already. Traffic: I have heard the plans as presented by Mr. Flake to widen part of Kanis and install new traffic signals. My understanding about city planning; that has been done in the last couple of years is that Kanis Road is supposed to remain a `greenway', ifthat is the correct term I support that endeavor. I do not believe widening Kanis Road to 5 lanes is in the spirit of that determination to keep it a `greenway', nor is it by allowing rezoning of two parcels of that land to from `office' to `commercial'. If the proposed development were to take place, I know Kars to the west would be even more heavily traveled than it is now. People will also out through Point West and Atkins to get back to Chenal and Markham, rather than dealing with all the traffic at ChenaMowmanKwa . I strongly oppose that as well. Kanis is not designed for that kind of traffic. It is hilly and narrow with ditches on both sides of the road. It is already hard to turn left from my [a 002 03/19/03 LVED 13:54 FAX 5019056878 neighborhood onto Kanis--certain times of the day, nearly impossible. People get impatient while sitting at that intersection and make dangerous mistakes as a result of their frustration. I can see this only becoming worse with the proposed development. To summarize, I strongly oppose this proposed development. I ask you to consider the residents of the area in your decision on this proposed development. I am not opposed to business and to growth, but believe it should be plarmed for the quality of h* for everyone involved. 1 do not relieve the answer to every development is to bulldoze the area, stack a bunch of brown blocks on top of each other, plant a few Bradford pear trees and call it a success. once we destroy our natural resources, we cannot get them back again. We all live in this city together and need to be smart about developing and understand the impacts of it. I would also encourage Lowe's to look at using existing empty commercial properties rather than seeking to build. Debbie Love 74 Point West Circle Little Rock, AR 72211 li� 003 Page 1 of 2 James, Donna From: Henderson Penny - phende [Penny. Henderson@acxiom.com] Sent: Thursday, March 20, 2003 9:11 AM To: James, Donna Subject: Lowe's Store Opinion To whom it may concern, My name is Penny Henderson and I am a resident the Point West Community. I strongly oppose to the construction of the proposed Lowe's Warehouse on Kanis and Bowman. We attempted to discuss with Mr.. Flake about the following and failed to get enough evidence to make me believe this is the best location for a Lowe's Store. . The increased traffic and congestion the development will cause in an area that is already very busy The increased noise levels from the 24-hour operation The effects that their plans to clear cut the area and level the hill will have on the area (noise levels, appearance, topography and drainage) There has been no thought to the impact on the wildlife in the area. there is a detention area next to Sam's that will be modified (although they couldn't tell me how) which will impact the wildlife. I trust that the Planning Commission will vote what will be a good decision for the citizens near the Kanis and Bowman and vote AGAINST the rezoning of this area. Penny R. Henderson Solutions and Product Organization Legal (501) 342-1049 ph (501) 342-4547 fax LIT2104-8 The information contained in this communication is confidential, is intended only for the use of the recipient named above, and may be legally privileged. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution, or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please re -send this communication to the sender and delete the original message or any copy of it from your 3/20/2003 Page 2 of 2 computer system. Thank You. 3/20/2003 James, Donna From: Jeremy Henderson [Jeremy@heathcott.com] Sent: Thursday, March 20, 2003 8:59 AM To: James, Donna Subject: Lowe's Store Opinion Hello, My name is Jeremy Henderson, I am a resident of 9 Elkrun Cove (501) 221-9128, and I am opposed to the construction of the proposed Lowe's Warehouse on Kanis and Bowman. Reasons for my opposition.- 1. pposition:1. Residents in the area already experience congested traffic. Dickson Flake was not successful in selling us on the idea that a new intersection would remedy this existing problem. 2. The traffic study we read stated that traffic in the area was congested only during the morning and evening (which is a nightmare to travel Kanis due to the layout, i.e. the blind hill just passed Point West Drive) adding a 116,000 s.f. warehouse would cause havoc during other times including the weekend. 3. There is no reason to build a building of that size right next to a residential area. A gas station, retail shops, or a restaurant would not generate the amount of traffic volume that a Lowe's would. The Little Rock area has plenty of available property sites (currently unoccupied) that are suitable for a building of that size and the developer should explore other options other than in our backyard. As I told Mr. Flake, I am not opposed to having a Lowe's. I AM opposed to having a Lowe's in my backyard. I trust that the Planning Commission will vote what will be a good decision for the citizens near the Kanis and Bowman and vote AGAINST the rezoning of this area. Thank you for your time and attention. Jeremy Henderson 1 Comments on the rezoning of property at Kanis and Bowman James, Donna From: Sent: To: Jennifer Wilson [Jennifer.Wilson@cjrw.com] Thursday, March 20, 2003 7:48 AM James, Donna Subject: Comments on the rezoning of property at Kanis and Bowman Donna, Please forward these comments to the appropriate parties. Page 1 of 2 I am a resident of Timber Ridge, and I am against the re zoning request of the 20+ acres at the corner of Kanis and Bowman. I am not against development. My husband and I moved into the area 3 years ago because of it's convenient location to stores like WalMart and Target. But, but we actually chose our house because of the natural backyard. We back up to Wal-Mart and Sams, and we enjoy not having any other homes behind us. We love the greenbelt that is home to at least 30 species of birds including a hawk as well as several families of rabbits and turtles. I am against the re -zoning request because it will denude the entire property area, strip the hillside, push it to the street and not only change the look but the topography and drainage of our area. I am against the re -zoning request because it will add thousands of vehicles to the area, an area that is already congested on a weekday, not to mention a weekend. Unless the entire Kanis and Bowman corridor is expanded to 4 lanes to accommodate the added traffic, this is an unacceptable request. Expanded lanes in front of the development will do little or no good for the traffic that will use alternative routes (Colonel Glen to Bowman or Kanis from Shackleford or Chenal) to reach the development. We'll just in up in the same situation that we faced with Hermitage Road and Wa�Mart. People used the road because it was a short cut, even though it was an inadequate and unsafe corridor, to the point that the city was forced to improve it. I am against the re -zoning request because I don't believe the developer's acoustic studies that say this 116,000 square -foot, 24-7 operation along with the two added retail spaces will add no marked noise to the area, especially since all the trees that buffer the sound will be gone. I am against the re -zoning request because I don't think it's safe to have deliveries coming to the back of the store by -way of a back entrance off of Kanis. Again, this is a bad intersection that we would only make worse. Also, this forces some of the loudest noise to the back of the development, directly behind (albeit below) the subdivision. I am against the re -zoning request because the developers can't tell me what's going to happen the the detention area (wetlands) next to Sams, and that is a major attraction for wildlife in the area. When this was brought up with the developer, he couldn't tell me what (if anything) was being done for the wildlife to mitigate for this change. As a member of Audubon Society and Arbor Day Foundation, this is not an adequate response. 3/20/2003 lD t& l Comments on the rezoning of property at Kanis and Bowman Page 2 of 2 I am against the request because they also can't tell me where the water that drains into the detention area from Sams and Wal-Mart will go when they have their development complete at their specified elevation. They also can't explain how the transition from the Lowe's elevation and the Sam's elevation will be handled. I am against this re -zoning because, even though we have Wal-Mart and Sams in our area, we are still a residential and small office area, and that's the way city planners intended for this area to develop. We are not set up to handle the additional development in the area, and if Lowe's comes, others surely will follow. I believe it is the responsibility of the planning board to direct development to areas that will benefit the businesses as well as those that they serve, not placing one over the other. This is not such an area. The Colonel Glen area, which is quickly developing, has great access from the highway and is not in the middle of residential areas would be an appropriate alternative. If for whatever reason this re zoning request is approved, I ask that a condition of the approval be added. The developer should be required to notify residents within a Smile radius of a monthly or quarterly public progress meeting that they will be responsible for hosting and leading. The developer should be required to report on their progress to the residents and answer any questions or address issues that develop throughout the construction process. This would not be a construction status meeting, but it would address specific issues such as erosion control as the hillside is being stripped and leveled, noise and trash control during construction, traffic interruption plans, how they are going to make such a marked cut in the land when Wal-Mart couldn't, etc. With this being a planned commercial development request, there are certain guidelines that they will have to meet, and the residents should be kept abreast of the status of those. There should also be an immediate penalty if the guidelines are not followed. Thank you for the opportunity to submit these comments. If you have any questions, you can reach me at the following number. Jennifer Wilson Public Relations Account Executive Cranford Johnson Robinson Woods (501) 975-7258 3/20/2003 James, Donna From: Jill Rowen Ber@aristotle.net] Sent: Thursday, March 20, 2003 6:55 AM To: James, Donna Subject: Lowes I do not wish to see a Lowe's go in in my neighborhood. Please help stop this act. Thank you, Jill Rowen Point West resident 1 James, Donna From: Caindb@aol.com Sent: Thursday, March 20, 2003 1:59 AM To: James, Donna Subject: Don"t Rezone Kanis & Bowman Ms. James; I am a new homeowner in the Point West subdivision of West Little Rock. I did not know about the March 17 meeting with the developer of the northwest corner of Kanis and Bowman, but do wish to express my views on the matter. I purchased my new home just one month ago. My son and 9 -year-old granddaughter will live there. I chose this home because it was in a quiet neighborhood; one that I felt would be a safe place for my granddaughter to play and ride her bicycle. If Lowe's and a strip shopping center go in at Kanis and Bowman, I fear that traffic will greatly increase in my neighborhood since it is within a few hundred feet of the proposed development. It is already difficult to get out on Kanis from the entrance to Point West. Even though Wal-Mart and Sam's border this subdivision, entrances and traffic patterns there do not seem to affect our neighborhood since they do not exit onto Kanis. A huge box type store would also attract more foot traffic through the neighborhood as well, and I would have safety concerns for both myself and my granddaughter. I am also concerned about the noise and lights this development would cause. Right now the neighborhood is rather quiet, and we can enjoy being outside. I am not opposed to development on this corner. The office zoning it has now is acceptable to me. Offices generally do not create noise or a great deal of traffic. Also, these are usually not open in the evenings and on weekends when most families are home. There seem to be many other available buildings and areas that are already zoned commercial and could be redeveloped. Please don't allow "progress" to destroy another family neighborhood. Little Rock is a great place to live - let's keep it that way. Please consider voting no to the rezoning of the Kanis/Bowman corner for the families of my neighborhood. Thanks for your consideration. Diana Cain 10 Woodhill Drive Little Rock, AR 72211 (501) 224-1591 Home (501) 975-3438 Work 1 ",,,k-, � o �1 t 0J - l James, Donna From: Dave McGough [Dave.McGough@cjrw.com] Sent: Wecinesday, March 19, 2003 5:59 PM To: James, Donna Subject: Lowe's in West Little Rock Obviously nobody has driven through the Bowman/Kanis intersection during peak hours. We're going to need an overpass or six lanes if Lowe's comes in. Why not somewhere along I-430, there seems to be plenty of development room there. Please think long and hard about this. Traffic is already horrendous at that intersection. ------------ Dave McGough PR Account Executive CJRW 501-975-8322 Dave.McGough@cjrw.com 1 W� vJ` `�) � to,