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HomeMy WebLinkAboutstaff report March 12, 2020 ITEM NO.: 1 FILE NO.: LU 20-15-01 Name: Land Use Plan Amendment – Geyer Springs West Planning District Location: 10217 Chicot Rd Request: SO & RL to NC & PK/OS Source: Mark Hicks, Attorney at Law PROPOSAL / REQUEST: Land Use Plan amendment in the Geyer Springs West Planning District from SO (Suburban Office) & RL (Residential Low) to NC (Neighborhood Commercial) and PK/OS (Park Open Space). Neighborhood Commercial (NC) category 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. EXISTING LAND USE AND ZONING: The property is currently undeveloped and wooded zoned R-2, Single Family District and is 5 acres ± in size. To the north are R-2 zoned lots with single family houses on them except the two lots adjacent to Chicot Road which are vacant. To the south there is C-3 (General Commercial District) with a convenience store with gas pumps and car wash and east along Mabelvale Cutoff Road is a mini- warehouse development. To the east is R-2 and currently vacant. To the west, across, Chicot Road is mostly C-3 between Rebecca Drive and Mabelvale Cutoff Road. The property at the north-west corner of Chicot Road & Mabelvale Cutoff Road is a Family Dollar. Along Chicot Road to the north of this are a Bail Bond business, a bakery shop, a restaurant, and a tire shop. FUTURE LAND USE PLAN AND RECENT AMENDMENTS: The property is currently shown as SO (Suburban Office) and RL (Residential Low Density) on the Plan. It is vacant and wooded and 5 acres ± in size. North of the property is SO, along Chicot Road at Vega Drive, and RL to the northeast with single family homes on it. South is shown as Commercial with a convenience store with gas pumps and carwash, with a mini-warehouse development further east along Mabelvale Cutoff. East is shown as RL and it is currently undeveloped. West across Chicot Road is shown as Commercial on the Plan as a commercial strip along Chicot Road from Mabelvale Cutoff to Rebecca Drive. The following commercial uses are in this commercial strip: a dollar store, a bail bond, a restaurant and a tire shop. August 6, 2013, a change was made from RH (Residential High Density) to RL (Residential Low Density) south east of subject area, south of Mabelvale Cutoff. MASTER STREET PLAN: Chicot Road is shown as a Principal Arterial on the Plan. The primary function of a Principal Arterial is to serve through traffic and to connect major traffic generators or activity centers within urbanized areas. Entrances and exits should be limited to minimize negative effects of traffic and pedestrians on Chicot Road since it is a Principal Arterial. This street 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 lanes/paths/routes shown on the Plan in the immediate vicinity. PARKS: There is a city park 0.7 miles to the northeast of subject area. HISTORIC DISTRICTS: There are no city recognized historic districts that would be affected by this amendment. ANALYSIS: The property requesting the Land Use Plan change is northeast of intersection of Chicot Road and Mabelvale Cutoff. It is currently shown as Suburban Office (SO) and Residential Low Density (RL) on Land Use Plan, vacant and wooded. The request is to amend +5 acres of SO and RL to Neighborhood Commercial (NC) with a 20-foot wide strip along the north of the property as Park Open Space (PK/OS). The site is part of a large Residential Low Density area to the north and east of the subject area. There is also an underutilized, partially developed Commercial (C) area southwest of the amendment area at this intersection. To the southwest and northwest of this intersection along Mabelvale Cutoff on both sides are shown as Mixed Uses (MX) with single families on it. To the north along east side of Chicot Road is shown as Suburban Office (SO) to Vega Drive, and shown as a Commercial (C) along west side of Chicot Road northwest of the same intersection. The applicant has asked to amend the Land Use Plan for their property to Neighborhood Commercial (NC). This is a new Land Use Classification in the immediate vicinity. NC category includes limited small scale commercial development in close proximity to a neighborhood, providing goods and services to that neighborhood market area. To the north of the subject property are prominently Residential Low Density (RL) use with single family homes on it, except the properties adjacent to Chicot Road south of Milford Drive. They are currently undeveloped Suburban Office. This SO use continues as a strip along Chicot Road north to Vega Drive. To the east of the property is shown as RL on the Plan and currently undeveloped. Prominent commercial area is around the Mabelvale Cutoff/Chicot Road intersection. The northwest quadrant of the intersection, along Chicot Road to Rebecca Drive is a commercial strip and currently there are a Family Dollar, a Bond Bail business, a restaurant, and a tire shop on it. There is an available +2.3 acres of undeveloped Commercial land in this strip. To the west of this commercial strip along Mabelvale Cutoff is shown as Mixed Use on the Plan and mostly SF homes on it. To the northeast of the same intersection is Commercial on the Plan. There is a convenience store with gas pumps and car wash along Chicot Road and further east is mini-warehouse development . These uses are directly south of the amendment area. Between these two use areas, there is a +1.5 acre undeveloped commercial lot. To the east of these commercial lands are mostly single family homes along Mabelvale Cutoff on RL shown land. In addition to these SF homes there is a church on two lots shown as PI (Public Institution). To the southeast of the same intersection is a strip of commercial land with a vacant commercial lot, another dollar store, and then a vacant commercial lot on it. There is +3 acres of available undeveloped Commercial land in this commercial strip. To the east of this commercial area are single family homes on RL shown land along Mabelvale Cutoff. To the southwest of the same intersection is shown as Commercial on the Plan. It is mostly vacant and there is an unoccupied/vacant commercial building, previously a dairy shop. There are two churches on the two lots of PI to the south of this mostly vacant commercial land. To the west of this vacant commercial land is shown as a Mixed Use strip along south of Mabelvale Cutoff to Legion Hut Road. There is +1.7 acres of undeveloped Commercial land at this quadrant of the intersection. The total Commercial Land Use is +22 acres at the intersection and +9 acres of it is vacant. That means 60% percent of the Commercial land in the immediate vicinity is occupied and 40% percent of the commercial land is vacant. The applicant has revised the application to include a 20-foot sprit along the north boundary of the property. This is intended to help buffer the existing homes along Milford Drive from any future commercial uses of this property. The houses have existed for decades with this site being wood land in their backyards shown as future single-family development on the City’s Plan. The available RL in the immediate vicinity is +10 acres to the east, +10 acres to the south of the amendment area, south of Mabelvale Cutoff. The loss of RL use from the subject area on Plan is +4 acres. For the last five years, between 2015 and 2019, only four new residential buildings were constructed (SFs) within a half mile radius of the amendment property. There was no non-residential new building construction within the same radius of the subject property during last five years. NEIGHBORHOOD COMMENTS: Notices were sent to the following neighborhood associations: Chicot, Legion Hut, and West Baseline. Staff has received no comments from area residents. STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS: Staff believes the change is appropriate.