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HomeMy WebLinkAboutstaff reportMarch 11, 2010 ITEM NO.: 1 FILE NO.: LU10-18-01 Name: Land Use Plan Amendment — Ellis Mountain Planning District Location: north side of Pride Valley Road, west of Kanis Road Request: Residential Low Density to Office Source: Jim Hathaway, Whisenhunt Investments PROPOSAL/REQUEST: A Land Use Plan amendment in the Ellis Mountain Planning District from Residential Low Density to Office. Office represents a mixture of office related services. The applicant has also requested a rezoning from R-2 Single Family to 0-2 Office and Institutional District. EXISTING LAND USE AND ZONING.- The ONING: The property is vacant, undeveloped, and currently zoned R-2 Single Family. The amendment area is approximately 61 acres in size. To the north of this site is zoned R- 2 Single Family for floodway and Planned Commercial Development for a Kroger grocery store. There is another Planned Commercial Development to the northeast of this site with frontage along Kanis Road for a vacant nursery. South, east and west of this site are zoned R-2 Single Family and are developed with large lot residential houses. Some of these lots to the south are still undeveloped. To the southeast is zoned Planned Development Residential for single family houses. Just south of that is zoned R-2 with a Conditional Use Permit for Baker Elementary School. FUTURE LAND USE PLAN AND RECENT AMENDMENTS: January 1, 2008, Ordinance 19986 amended the area along the Champagnolle Drive extension on the west of the future extension of Rahling Road from Multi Family to Neighborhood Commercial and Community Shopping for future development. August 6, 2007, Ordinance 19798 amended the northwest corner of Chenal Parkway and Wellington Hills Drive from Mixed Office Commercial to Neighborhood Commercial for a Walgreens development. March 20, 2007, Ordinance 19722 amended several different sites in this vicinity. This was a City initiated amendment initiated due to concerns about a recent Land Use Plan Amendment on Kanis near Chenal Parkway. The changes were along Kanis Road from Multi Family to Single Family, Single Family to Neighborhood Commercial, Public Institutional to Suburban Office, and Multi Family to Commercial. June 27, 2006 a change was made from Office, Neighborhood Commercial and Low Density Residential to Mixed Office Commercial approximately one mile to the northeast of this amendment located east of Kirk Road and north of Chenal Parkway. The changes resulted from a Planned Commercial Development reclassification to allow for future development. This amendment site is shown as Residential Low Density on the Future Land Use Plan. The Residential Low Density extends west and south of this site. East of this site is shown as Residential Medium Density. The northern edge of the amendment area is all shown as Park/Open Space for existing floodway. The northwest corner of Kanis Road and Pride Valley Road is shown as Suburban Office. The southwest corner of Kanis and Pride Valley Road is shown as Public Institutional. There is a small area of Residential Medium Density between the Suburban Office and Public Institutional on the east and the Residential Low Density on the west of the amendment area. MASTER STREET PLAN: Pride Valley Road is a Collector on the Master Street Plan. A proposed Collector is shown along the western boundary of this property. The primary function of a Collector Street is to provide a connection from Local Streets to Arterials. These streets may require dedication of right-of-way and may require street improvements for entrances and exits to the site. BICYCLE PLAN: There are no bike routes shown for this area. PARKS: According to the Master Parks Plan, this area is within eight blocks of a park or open space. The Chenal Parkway park is located just north of this area, and Baker Elementary has a playground located south of this application. HISTORIC DISTRICTS: There are no city recognized historic districts that would be affected by this amendment. ANALYSIS: This area is located just outside of the city limits and is vacant and undeveloped. The applicant is proposing to change the future land use plan from Residential Low Density to Office to correspond with a rezoning request from R-2 Single Family to 0-2 Office and Institutional District. The Master Street Plan shows Kirk Road extending through this property as a Collector street to connect with Pride Valley Road, which is also shown as a Collector. With the extension of Kirk Road, traffic from the office development can be expected to move north along the new Kirk Road extension away from the residential area. Traffic would already be coming through this site from the residential areas to the south and west to get to existing and proposed commercial developments along Chenal Parkway. The Future Land Use Plan has shown this area as residential since the City of Little Rock began planning in the extraterritorial jurisdiction, but Pride Valley Road has not developed much in the last ten to twenty years. The majority of the residences along Pride Valley are situated on large lots with deep front yard setbacks. The newest development in this area is the Edswood Road residences that are located to the west of this proposed amendment. Only two of these lots would be located adjacent to the amendment site, and these lots are also large tract developments. The residential lots in the immediate vicinity are situated on large acreage lots and are not `urban' subdivisions. -S4walhese are I r bts, the im act from larger -o iae would not be -4he-sarne-as-in-a4ypasaa'ur-ban'--vdbdMsion. z Office is used in many parts of the city as a buffer between residential developments and more intense commercial type uses. An office park type development could serve as a transition in this area from the more intense, commercial uses on Chenal Parkway to the large lot residential uses along Pride Valley Road. Office uses, especially when coupled with the 0-2 zoning category, can complement a neighborhood very nicely as evidenced in the Riverdale area. 0-2 Office and Institutional District can be a good fit for the surrounding neighborhoods because 0-2 requires site plan review on all new developments. Site plan review can offer an added layer of protection for surrounding property owners because issues such as buffers, screening, building height and setbacks can be considered. Proper development of this site could work as a nice transition for the neighborhood along this Collector street and should have no adverse impact on the adjacent properties or the surrounding area. NEIGHBORHOOD COMMENTS: Notices were sent to the following neighborhood associations: Parkway Place and Coalition of West Little Rock. Staff has received no comments from area residents. The property under review is not located in an area covered by a City of Little Rock recognized neighborhood action plan. STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS: Staff believes the change is appropriate.