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HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutesOctober 21, 2004 ITEM NC.: 4 FILE NO.: LU04-15-02 Name: Land Use Plan Amendment - Geyer Springs -West Planning District Location: North side Mabelvale West Road, half mile west of 1-30 Request: Office to Commercial and Low Density Residential Source: Charlie Best PROPOSAL/REQUEST- Land ROPOSAL/REQUEST: Land Use Plan amendment in the Geyer Springs -West Planning District from Office to Commercial and Low Density Residential. 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 Low Density Residential category accommodates a broad range of housing types including single family attached, single family detached, duplex, townhomes, 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 ten (10) dwelling units per acre. The applicant wishes to construct a fast food restaurant and other unspecified uses on the south portion of the property and single family homes on the rest of the property. STING LAND USE AND ZONING. The property is vacant, partially cleared of trees, and currently zoned 0-3 Office and is 20.99 acres ± in size. North of the property is a large industrial operation in an area zoned 1-2 Light Industrial District. Further north is additional 1-2 land hosting industrial operations. Northeast and east of the site is an area zoned R-2 Single Family District consisting of the River of Life Church at the northern end, and single family homes on large lots paralleling the site's eastern edge. The homes at the east vary in age and size ranging from early 1900's construction to larger 1970's era construction. About a quarter mile east of the site is a single family subdivision not accessible from the immediate area. East of the site and along Mabelvale West Road are parcels zoned 0- 3 General Office District occupied by a Jehovah Witness Freedom Hall, R-2 land with a Missionary Baptist Church, additional R-2 land with an in-house daycare operating under a CUP, undeveloped 0-3 and C-1 Neighborhood Commercial District, an 1-1 Industrial Park District for a chemical business, and vacant 1-1 land. Additionally there is a tract of undeveloped land paralleling the local creek zoned OS -Open Space. Immediately south is zoned C-3 General Commercial District partially developed with a Post Office and remaining mostly vacant. Diagonally southwest of the property is R-2 occupied by the Mabelvale Magnet Middle School, and further south and west is undeveloped 1-2 land. Also to the west are multiple vacant C-3 Commercial parcels and developed 1-2 along Otter Creek East Boulevard. West of the property is a large area of October 21, 2004 ITEM NO.: 4 (Cont.) FILE NO.: LU04-15-02 R-2 remaining mostly undeveloped, and 0-2 developed with the 30 -acre Southwest Regional Medical Center. FUTURE LAND USE PLAN AND RECENT AMENDMENT August 4, 2003, a change was made from Light Industrial to Commercial about three quarters of a mile northeast of the property at the southwest corner of 1-30 and Mabelvale Pike for proposed and future development. April 2, 2002, a change was made from Single Family to Public/Institutional about a half mile to the west at the southeast corner of Mann Road and Cochran Street to recognize existing conditions. On September 19, 2000, a change was made from Mixed to Commercial about one quarter of a mile east north of Mabelvale West and Mabelvale Main Street to recognize existing conditions and allow for future development. The applicant's property is shown as Office. To the north is Light Industrial and northeast of the property is Public / Institutional. Immediately east of the property is a strip of Park / Open space to recognize the floodplain along the adjacent creek. Further to the east is land shown as Single Family, Mixed, and Public / Institutional. Southeast and south of the property is shown as Mixed Commercial and Industrial. Also south and southeast of the property are Public/Institutional to recognize a Post Office and Magnet Middle School, and an area shown as Commercial. To the west of the property is land shown as Public / Institutional and Office. Northwest of the property is an area shown as Commercial fronting the 1-30 Frontage Road. MASTER STREET PLAN: Mabelvale West Road is shown as a Minor Arterial on the Master Street Plan. 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. This street may require dedication of right-of-way and may require street improvements. The Little Rock 2004 Master Street Plan shows the proposed South Loop, a Principal Arterial with special design guidelines, immediately adjacent to the western edge of the property. The development of the South Loop section adjacent to the applicant's property is not seen in the immediate future. Funding sources and design have not been identified. The section extending south from Mabelvale West Road to Alexander Road is funded and construction is anticipated to begin in 2006. Construction of this portion of the South Loop will create a two lane road with wide shoulders build to Principle Arterial standards. Existing or proposed Class I, II, or III bikeways are not in the immediate vicinity of the development. 2 October 21, 2004 ITEM NO.: 4 (Cont.) FILE NO.: LU04-15-02 PARKS. The property is about a quarter mile west of Pinedale Cove Park, a five acre neighborhood park featuring a playground and picnic area. However, accessibility is limited to this park do to the street patterns in the adjacent area. Walking distance to the park from the site is over one mile. Morehart Park is located about a half mile to the southeast of the site and is a 43 acres Community park with a variety of amenities including basketball and tennis courts, baseball fields, a pavilion, playground, picnic areas, and restrooms. Due to the street patterns in the area walking access to this park is just under a mile. The Little Rock Parks and Recreation Master Plan of 2001 show a "potential greenbelt" along the flood plain of the creek adjacent to the property's eastern edge. Development of the study area will need to respect the integrity of the drainage system located in the 100 -year flood plain of the creek as well as the integrity of the "potential greenbelt" shown in the plan. The applicants addition of residential will be able to utilize the existing greenbelt keeping it consistent with the Parks Master Plan 8 -block strategy. 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 Chicot West / 1-30 South Neighborhood Action Plan. The Infrastructure goal is to "have an adequate infrastructure network, including roadways and drainage systems, within the area, which is designed, and works to produce a safe and attractive neighborhood environment." The plan listed several objectives to support this goal: "Provide sidewalks on major roads near schools and "Construct the proposed South Loop." Since this development is adjacent to the proposed south loop and kitty corner to a junior high school additional infrastructure improvements such as sidewalks may be required. Furthermore, the Traffic and Transportation Goal is to "Ensure safe and efficient movement of traffic in, around, and through the area," with an action statement: "Install a caution light on Mabelvale West and Mabelvale Jr. High." The additional traffic added to Mabelvale West by the addition of R-2 and C-4 may warrant this type of traffic mitigation. The Housing and Neighborhood Revitalization goal indicates a desire for "new single-family growth." Several housing objective related to this case is to "Encourage the construction of new single family housing. Site built homes are preferable to manufactured homes," and "Concentrate development efforts in the more urbanized northern portion of the study area." The action statement, "Encourage the City of Little Rock to provide incentives to spur private investment in the single-family residential 3 October 21, 2004 ITEM NO.: 4 (Cont.) FILE NO.: LU04-15-02 market," indicates a high desire for new single family housing in the area. Development of single property homes on this site would be consistent with the housing aspect of the neighborhood action plan. The Economic Development goal states: "Provide a mixed commercial/residential environment that will promote the safety, attractiveness, and value of the area while creating a competitive and adaptable economic climate that encourages investment and diversity of employment opportunities." Several objectives are relative to this case: 1) Attract better restaurants. (There is a need for sit-down restaurants.) 2) Attract neighborhood oriented businesses. 3) Attract a grocery store to the area." The change to Commercial could be utilized for these types of businesses. ANALYSIS: The area is developed in both the rural and urban context. Various properties alongside Mabelvale West Road have developed with intense uses while other properties have lower intensity uses or remain vacant. In the area new construction has been minimal. Within the last five years new development has occurred about a half mile east on Mabelvale West Road in the Commercial area adjacent to the Mabelvale town center for a car wash. However, recently completed is the area is the a new Interstate 30, Mabelvale West Road, and Otter Creek Road Interchange about a half mile to the west which could serve as a catalyst for new development in the area. The City of Little Rock Public Works has noted that land east of the applicant's property will facilitate the proposed "South Loop," consistent with the City of Little Rock 2004 Master Street Plan. The City has purchased the right of way on both sides of Mabelvale West Road at the proposed intersection and has a long term goal of securing additional land to the north. The design guidelines for the South Loop will have it intersecting with 1-430 less than a half mile northwest of the development. Special design guidelines for this Principal Arterial have been adopted to regulate construction of the South Loop that will limit access to development adjacent to it (City of Little Rock Ordinance # 17,183) and create an elevated roadway alongside part of the applicant's property. Presently the City has some property set aside for the portion of the South Loop between Mabelvale West Road and 1-430 and lacks funding for further land acquisition, design, and construction for this segment of the proposed South Loop. The design of the South Loop from Mabelvale West Road south to Alexander Road is anticipated to be complete in 2005 with construction beginning in 2006. This section of the South Loop will be designed to Principal Arterial Standards and be constructed as a two-lane road with wide shoulders. An elevated crossing is anticipated at the nearby railroad tracks possibly making this a preferred route for area residents, and could also absorb traffic from nearby Alexander Road since an elevated crossing will provide faster movement from Saline County to Interstate 30. With the completion of the South Loop from Mabelvale West Road to Alexander Road additional area traffic will be likely. At the present time 15 acres ± of land zoned Commercial exists at the southeast intersection of the proposed South Loop and Mabelvale West Road. This land is also shown on the Land Use Plan as Mixed Commercial and Industrial. Furthermore, less than one tenth of a mile west is an El October 21, 2004 ITEM NO.: 4 (Cont.) FILE NO.: LU04-15-02 additional 10 acres ± zoned C-3 and partially shown as Commercial. At this time both areas remain mostly vacant with the exception of a Post Office at the corner of Mabelvale West Road and the proposed South Loop. The Land Use Plan shows the northern half of Mabelvale West Road as Mixed and Public Institutional Offices with the southern half Commercial and Public Institutional. Adding Commercial to this area could create commercial strip development alongside Mabelvale West Road near the South Loop intersection jeopardizing pedestrian and traffic flow while conflicting with adjacent Public/Institutional and Mixed Uses. Furthermore, the Mixed Use designation makes developments utilize a Planned Zoning District process bringing all development to both staff and public review minimizing any negative design impacts. Immediately southwest of the property is the Mabelvale Magnet Middle School, which serves over 600 students between the sixth and eight grades, and to the east and west of the site are multiple churches. The introduction of a Commercial area adjacent to several churches and a large school could lead to uses of conflicting interests. Generally, the Planning Staff's philosophy is to separate uses of low and high intensity with uses of medium intensities and not place Commercial adjacent to areas shown as Public/Institutional or Single Family. In this area the current Land Use Plan has created a Park Open Space buffer that separates the Single Family at the east from the current Office area. Office is considered a medium intensity use and protects the existing Single Family from the nearby Commercial and Light Industrial, while also not jeopardizing the adjacent Mabelvale Magnet Middle School. Furthermore, properties fronting Mabelvale West Road in the immediate area have been identified primarily as Mixed Use and Public/Institutional to minimize contrasting intensities, recognize existing densities, and provide a buffer from the Mixed Commercial Industrial on Mabelvale West Road's south side. A Residential use immediately adjacent to Light Industrial is a Land Use practice that is not commonly accepted by the Planning Staff. However, the applicant has asked for a change to Low Density Residential, which is a higher intensity use than the traditional Single Family area nearby. The Low Density Residential area would also be immediately adjacent to the proposed Commercial adjacent to Mabelvale West Road. The Commercial category could lead to intense future uses that might not be compatible with adjacent homeowners, and the nearby middle school. Recently nearby homeowners in the area shown as Single Family to the east have voiced objection about activities in the Industrial area to the property's north. Placing Low Density Residential immediately adjacent to what some locals call a nuisance would lead to more complaints both because of their close proximity and the addition of residents. Furthermore, the future construction of the South Loop will be adjacent to this development and will surround three sides of this development with noisy higher intensity uses. In the Mabelvale West area, there are numerous properties both zoned and shown as Commercial that could facilitate the type of development the applicant is requesting. 5 October 21, 2004 ITEM NO.: 4 (Cont.) FILL NO,: LU04-15-42 NEIGHBORHOOD COMMENTS: Notices were sent to the following neighborhood associations: Oxford Valley Homeowners Association, Yorkwood Neighborhood Association, West Baseline Neighborhood Association, Cloverdale Neighborhood Association, Pinedale Neighborhood Association, Santa Monica Neighborhood Association, Allendale Neighborhood Association, Town & Country Estates Neighborhood Association, Shiloh Homeowners Association, Chicot Neighborhood Association, Rob Roy Way Neighborhood Association, Legion Hut Neighborhood Association, Mavis Circle Neighborhood Association, and Deer Meadow Neighborhood Association. Staff has received one neutral comment from an area resident. STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS: Staff believes the change is not appropriate because of the surrounding Industrial and Public/Institutional uses and the availability of undeveloped Commercial land in the area. PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: (OCTOBER 21, 2004) Staff informed the Commission that the applicant submitted a letter requesting that the application be withdrawn, without prejudice. Staff supported the withdrawal request. With a vote of 9 ayes, 0 nays and 2 absent, the Commission voted to waive their bylaws and accept the withdrawal request less than five (5) days prior to the public hearing. The Chairman placed the item before the Commission for inclusion within the Consent Agenda for withdrawal. A motion to that effect was made. The motion passed by a vote of 9 ayes, 0 nays and 2 absent. The application was withdrawn, without prejudice. A