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HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutesDecember 6, 2007 ITEM NO.: 1 FILE NO.: LU07-13-01 Name: Land Use Plan Amendment - 65th Street East Planning District Location: The west side of the 7000 block of Geyer Springs Road Request: Industrial to Commercial Source: Rollin Caristianos PROPOSAL/REQUEST: A Land Use Plan amendment in the 65th Street East Planning District from Industrial to Commercial. Commercial represents a broad range of retail and wholesale sales of products and general business activities. Commercial activities vary in type and scale, depending on the trade that they serve. The applicant is proposing to develop C-3 zoning uses. Prompted by this Land Use Amendment request, the Planning Staff expanded the area of review to include area the area immediately north and south of this application. It is thought that the additional area would make the boundaries more logical by taking in all of the C-3 Commercial zoned property to the north. EXISTING LAND USE AND ZONING: This amendment area is currently zoned C3 General Commercial, R2 Single Family and 1-2 Industrial. The 1-2 and R-2 portions are currently vacant. The C-3 has a doctor's office, a church, a Mexican restaurant, and five hair salons. The surrounding area is zoned as follows. West of this amendment site is vacant and zoned 1-2. To the west is also zoned C-3 along Arbor Cove and has multi family residences. North is zoned 1-2 and is occupied by Sears Home Central and Veriplas. The whole east side of Geyer Springs Road between Big Oak and Forbing is zoned C-3. This portion has several offices, a daycare, a vacant office, and a park area. South of the amendment site is zoned 0-1 and R-2 for single family residences along Meyerson Drive. FUTURE LAND USE PLAN AND RECENT AMENDMENTS: This area is currently shown as Industrial on the Future Land Use Plan. The surrounding area to the west and north is also shown as Industrial. To the east along Geyer Springs is shown as Commercial. South of this amendment area is shown as Suburban Office and Mixed Use. December 6, 2007 ITEM NO.: 1 (Cont. FILE NO.: LU07-13-01 There have not been any land use plan amendments in this area in the recent past. MASTER STREET PLAN.- Geyer LAN: Geyer Springs Road is shown as a Minor Arterial. 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. Entrances and exits should be limited to minimize negative effects of traffic and pedestrians on Geyer Springs since it is a Minor 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 routes in the immediate vicinity. PARKS: According to the Master Parks Plan, this location is within eight blocks of a city park. Wakefield Park is located east of this area. HISTORIC DISTRICTS: There are no city recognized historic districts that would be affected by this amendment. CITY RECOGNIZED NEIGHBORHOOD ACTION PLAN: The Geyer Springs/Wakefield Neighborhood Action Plan covers this area. The Zoning and Future Land Use Goal states: "Encourage down -zoning where appropriate and encourage new businesses that are neighborhood friendly. Utilize existing buildings before developing new commercial areas." ANALYSIS: The amendment area is currently zoned three different ways: C-3 General Commercial, R-2 Single Family, and 1-2 Light Industrial. This area is all shown as Industrial on the future land use plan and has been shown as such since at least 1992. The Industrial on the Future Land Use Plan continues west over to the railroad easement, south to Interstate 30, and north to 65th Street. This Industrial area covers approximately 150 acres of land and has been an industrial district with steady occupancy rates. This amendment proposes to change approximately 4.5 acres of land shown as Industrial on the Plan to Commercial for future development and to recognize the existing C-3 zoning. 2 December 6, 2007 ITEM NO.: 1 (Cont.) FILE NO.: LU07-13-01 This amendment would still leave ample amounts of Industrial shown on the Plan for this area and would only add 4.5 acres of Commercial, which is a relatively insignificant change. This area is still a viable location for Industrial uses due to its close proximity to University Avenue and Interstate 30, but it is also logical to have commercial uses fronting on Geyer Springs Road. A commercial corridor along Geyer Springs helps to separate the industrial uses on the west with the residential uses on the east. The amendment would make the west side of Geyer Springs Road more consistent with the existing land use pattern of Commercial frontage. This area is already zoned for non-residential uses (C-3 and 1-2) and the southern portion of the amendment area has been undeveloped for many years. The northern portion of this amendment is currently occupied by several office uses and multi family apartment buildings along Arbor Cove, which is all zoned C-3 General Commercial. Most of the surrounding area is developed as commercial, office or industrial to the west of Geyer Springs Road. Commercial zoning and uses line the east side of Geyer Springs Road from 65th Street south to Interstate 30. The massing and use of this application is very similar to that of the surrounding commercial and office uses along Geyer Springs Road. For this planning district, there has only been one commercial building permit issued in the year 2007 for the P.A.R.K. parking lot. There have been no industrial building permits issued in the year 2007. NEIGHBORHOOD COMMENTS: Notices were sent to the following neighborhood associations: Southwest Little Rock United for Progress, Geyer Springs and Wakefield. Staff has received one neutral comment from an area resident. STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS: Staff believes the change is appropriate. PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: (DECEMBER 6, 2007) The item was placed on consent agenda for approval. By a vote of 11 for, 0 against the consent agenda was approved. 3