Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutesMarch 25, 2004 ITEM NO.: 12 FILE NO.: LU04-16-01 Name: Land Use Plan Amendment - Otter Creek Planning District Location: East side of Stagecoach Road 1600 feet north of Otter Creek Parkway Request: Public Institutional to Commercial Source: Joe White, White - Daters & Associates PROPOSAL/REQUEST: Land Use Plan amendment in the Otter Creek Planning District from Public Institutional to Commercial. The Commercial category includes a broad range of retail and wholesale sales of products, personal and professional services, and general business activities. Commercial activities vary in type and scale, depending on the trade area that they serve. The applicant wishes to develop the property for general commercial uses. Prompted by this Land Use Amendment request, the Planning Staff expanded the area of review to include the area between the applicant's property and Branch Creek shown as Public Institutional. This expansion would establish defined boundaries for the amendment area with the church serving as the north boundary and the creek serving as the south boundary. EXISTING LAND USE AND ZONING: The property is vacant land currently zoned R-2 Single Family and is 1.94 acres t in size. The property to the north is zoned R-2 with a Conditional Use Permit for a church. All of the property to the east and south is vacant land zoned R-2. The land across the street to the west consists of large lot single-family homes zoned R-2. FUTURE LAND USE PLAN AND RECENT AMENDMENTS: On May 16, 2000, multiple changes were made from Mixed Commercial Industrial, Commercial, Single Family, and Industrial to Mixed Office Commercial, Commercial, Suburban Office, Services Trades District, Park / Open Space, Public Institutional, and Mixed Use along both sides of Stagecoach, Baseline, and Otter Creek Roads within a 1 mile radius of the applicant's property to recognize existing conditions. March 25, 2004 ITEM NO.: 12 (Cont.) FILE NO.: LU04-16-01 The applicant's property is shown as Public Institutional on the Future Land Use Plan. The neighboring properties to the north and south are shown as Public Institutional. A large area of Park / Open Space is shown to the east to recognize the 100 year flood plain of Fourche and Branch Creeks. The PK/OS shown for Branch Creek wraps around to the south of the study area and crosses Stagecoach Road. The land along the west side of Stagecoach Road is shown as Mixed Use. MASTER STREET PLAN: Stagecoach Road is shown as a Minor Arterial that is built to the Master Street Plan standards of a four -lane Minor Arterial with Bike Lanes. A Class II Bikeway is shown on Stagecoach Road from Brodie Creek to County Line Road. Development of the study area may introduce a number of curb cuts along the east side of the Stagecoach Road right-of-way. PARKS: The Little Rock Parks and Recreation Master Plan of 2001 show the 100 -year flood plain of Fourche Creek as a Potential Greenbelt. Development of the study area will need to respect the integrity of the drainage system located in the 100 - year flood plain of Fourche Creek as well as the integrity of the Potential Greenbelt shown in the Master Plan of 2001. HISTORIC DISTRICTS: There are no city recognized historic districts that would be affected by this amendment. City Recognized Neighborhood Action Plan: The applicant's property lies in the area covered by the Otter Creek / Crystal Valley Neighborhood Action Plan. The plan lists an objective, which recommends limiting commercial and office development in the "heart" of the planning area (located on Stagecoach Road between Baseline and Otter Creek Roads) to that, which serves the neighborhood (C-1 uses). In addition, the first objective supports placing the more intense uses on the periphery of the study area. This application is located inside the "heart" of the study area as described by the neighborhood action plan. 2 March 25, 2004 ITEM NO.: 12 Cont. FILE NO.: LU04-16-01 ANALYSIS: The back of the applicant's property abuts the Fourche Creek 100 -year floodplain. The area shown as Park/Open Space that corresponds with the boundary of the 100 -year flood plain will create a boundary that will restrict development at the rear of the property. Future access to the property will also likely be limited to traffic on Stagecoach Road due to the flood plain. Future development of the neighboring property shown as Park/Open Space located in the 100 -year floodplain should be limited in scope. Future development of the applicant's property should take place in a manner that preserves the integrity of the natural environment characteristic of the land to the east. The development potential of the land along the west side of Stagecoach Road shown as Mixed Use is not limited by the presence of a flood plain, except for where Stagecoach Road crosses Branch Creek. Although Single Family is shown further to the west of Stagecoach Road, the residential areas are protected by the requirement of Planned Zoning Districts in areas shown as Mixed Use. Areas developed with single family housing are likely to remain as residential developments, with houses facing side streets intersecting Stagecoach Road. However, the majority of Commercial uses located on Stagecoach Road between Baseline and Otter Creek Roads have developed on the west side of Stagecoach Road. The properties on the east side of Stagecoach shown as Office are not required to develop using the PZD process. The properties shown as Public Institutional developed for non-residential uses consist of church developed within the guidelines of the Conditional Use Permit process, which allows for review to guard against negative impacts on neighboring development. Most of the land shown as Public Institutional along the east side of Stagecoach Road is developed with church, which are compatible with Office uses. Most of the land along the east side of Stagecoach Road between the nodes of Commercial at the intersections of Baseline Road and Otter Creek Parkway is shown as either Public Institutional or Office, providing the east side of the road with a consistency of compatibility in land use shown. A change to Commercial on the east side of Stagecoach Road would not only increase the intensity of development in the area but would allow non-residential uses without the review required by the PZD process. A change to Commercial would also allow developments to located across the street from existing residential areas. The Mixed Use shown on the west side of Stagecoach Road allows for a stricter review process to protect the integrity of the residential areas 3 March 25, 2004 ITEM NO.: 12 (Cont.) FILE NO.: LU04-16-01 to the west. A change to Commercial would increase the intensity of uses in an area where a stricter review process would also be desirable to protect the environmental integrity of the vacant land to the east. With the exception of the two churches and three houses on the east side of Stagecoach Road, much the east side of the road remains vacant and undeveloped. This change would open the east side of Stagecoach Road to the possibility of continuous commercial strip development. Currently, the PK/OS shown for Branch Creek serves as the boundary between the more intense uses along Stagecoach Road at Otter Creek Parkway and the less intense uses to the north. A change to Commercial would increase the intensity of development in an area of low intensity. NEIGHBORHOOD COMMENTS: Notices were sent to the following neighborhood associations: SW Little Rock UP, WCLR Coalition of Neighborhoods, Meyer Lane Neighborhood Association, Alexander Road Neighborhood Association, Otter Creek Homeowners Association, Quail Run Neighborhood Association, Rolling Pines Neighborhood Association, and Crystal Valley Property Owners Association. Staff has not received any comments from area residents or neighborhood associations. STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS: Staff believes the change is not appropriate. Although the east side of Stagecoach Road at this location has not developed for residential uses, staff believes that office developments would be more in character with the existing development pattern than retail uses. PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: (MARCH 25, 2004) The item was placed on the consent agenda for withdrawal. A motion was made to waive the by-laws for a five-day notice to defer prior to the Planning Commission meeting. That motion was made and approved with a vote of 10 ayes, 0 noes, and 1 absent. The item was withdrawn with a vote of 10 ayes, 0 noes, and 1 absent. E