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HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutesDecember 4, 2003 ITEM NO.: 24 FILE NO.: LU03-09-04 Name: Land Use Plan Amendment - 1-630 Planning District Location: 1100 S. Van Buren Street Request: Single Family to Office Source: Pat McGetrick, McGetrick & McGetrick PROPOSAL / REQUEST: Land Use Plan amendment in the 1-630 Planning District from Single Family to Office. The Office category represents services provided directly to consumers (e.g., legal, financial, medical) as well as general offices, which support more basic economic activities. Prompted by this Land Use Amendment request, the Planning Staff expanded the area of review to include the south side of W. 11th Street from Harrison Street to the area shown as Park / Open Space along Jonesboro Drive and would double the area currently shown as office on the north side of W. 12th Street. EXISTING LAND USE AND ZONING: The property is a house currently zoned R-2 Single Family and is about 0.15 acres t in size. The property in the expanded area consists of houses zoned R-3 Single Family while the area to the north consists of the same. The area east of the study area is a strip of land zoned PR Parks and Recreation for the south entrance to War Memorial Park. Medical offices zoned 0-3 General Office occupy the lots to the south of the study area. The medical clinics to the southwest at the intersection of W. 12th and Harrison Street are zoned C-3 General Commercial. The vacant land zoned 0-3 General Office sits west of the expanded area. FUTURE LAND USE PLAN AND RECENT AMENDMENTS: On March 5, 2002 a change was made from Commercial and Office to Mixed Use at University and Markham Street about 1 mile northwest of the expanded area to recognize existing conditions. On July 17, 2001 a change was made from Single Family to Park / Open Space at Oak Forest Park about 1/3 of a mile southwest of the applicant's property to recognize existing conditions. December 4, 2003 SUBDIVISION ITEM NO.: 24(Cont.)FILE NO.: LU03-09-04 On April 20, 1999 a change was made from Single Family to Public Institutional in the 1700 block of Pine Street about 1 mile southeast of the amendment property to recognize existing conditions. On April 20, 1999 a change was made from Single Family to Mixed Use along W- 12 th Street west of Woodrow Street starting about 1 mile east of the property in question to recognize existing conditions. On April 20, 1999 a change was made from Single Family to Mixed Use on the south side of W. 11th Street between Lewis and Elm Street about 1/3 of a mile east of the amendment area to recognize existing conditions. On April 20, 1999 a change was made from Single Family to Mixed Use on W. 18th Street at Pine Street more than 3/ of a mile southeast of the study area to recognize existing conditions. On April 20, 1999 a change was made from Single Family to Mixed Use on W. 20th Street at Pine Street about 1 mile scutheast of the applicant's property to recognize existing conditions. On April 20, 1999 a change was made from Single Family to Mixed Use on W. 23`d Street at Cedar Street about 1 mile southeast of the amendment property to recognize existing conditions. The applicant's property and the expanded area are shown as Single Family on the Future Land Use Plan. The property north of the study area is shown as Single Family. The property east of the study area is shown as Park / Open Space. The property south of the study area is shown as Office. The property west of the study area is shown as Mixed Use. MASTER STREET PLAN: Van Buren and W. 11 th Street are classified as standard residential streets and are built to standard. There are no bikeways shown that would be affected by this amendment. PARKS: The Little Rock Parks and Recreation Master Plan of 2001 shows a portion of War Memorial Park is located a block east of the application area along Jonesboro Drive to serve as the park entrance. The plan describes War Memorial Park as providing special facilities such as the zoo, fitness center, and a golf course designed to serve the entire city. This amendment is not likely to affect the large facilities at War Memorial Park. 2 December 4, 2003 SUBDIVISION ITEM NO.: 24 (Cont.) FILE NO.: LU03-09-04 HISTORIC DISTRICTS: There are no 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 Oak Forest Area Neighborhood Action Plan "A Guide to Achieve Our Vision". The Housing objectives states to "Encourage more home ownership" and to "Enhance and maintain all housing stock". This action would remove housing stock. ANALYSIS - The applicant's property is located on the edge of a fragile neighborhood. The Single Family currently shown recognizes the houses along both sides of W. 11th Street between Van Buren and Harrison Streets and establishes the boundary between residential and non-residential uses half -way between W. 11th and W. 12th Streets. The properties on both sides of W. 11th Street are oriented toward the street. Although conflictinhg uses are located next to each other, the houses along the south side of W. 11t Street and the non-residential uses along W. 12th Street face opposite directions. This application would allow conflicting residential and non-residential uses to face each other along W. 11th Street. Office developments locating in the amendment area could be oriented towards, and accessed from, W. 11th Street. This change would introduce intense uses fronting a residential area. Since the Office category allows intense office uses, the traffic on W. 11th Street would be increased during business hours. The residential design standards for west W. 11th Street and Van Buren Streets are intended to accommodate 2,500 vehicles per day. The Office category is broad enough to allow uses that could generate more traffic than intended for residential streets. Any Office development along the south side of W. 11th Street would need to be designed in a way that would account for possible increases in traffic. A change to Office would also challenge the residential integrity of the neighborhood through the possible introduction of uses that might not have limited hours of operation. While many office uses would be limited to business hours, it is conceivable for certain types of office uses to have auxiliary operations such as 24-hour ATM machines. Any office development along the south side of W. 11th Street would need to respect the residential integrity of the neighborhood by limiting the amount of light and noise that could have a negative impact on neighboring residences. December 4, 2003 SUBDIVISION ITEM NO.: H (Cont.) FILE NO.: LU03-08-01 NEIGHBORHOOD COMMENTS: Notices were sent to the following neighborhood associations: Community Outreach Neighborhood Organization, Capitol Hill Neighborhood Association, Central High Neighborhood Association, East of Broadway Neighborhood Association, Meadowbrook Neighborhood Association, MLK Neighborhood Association, Quapaw Quarter Neighborhood Crime Watch Assoc., South End Neighborhood Association, South End Neighborhood Developers, and Wright Avenue Neighborhood Association. Staff has received no comments from area residents. STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS: The applicant has requested a deferral of six weeks on this item. Staff supports this request for deferral. PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: (October 16, 2003) The item was placed on the consent agenda for deferral to the December 4, 2003 Planning Commission meeting. A motion was made to approve the consent agenda and was approved with a vote of 9 ayes, 0 noes and 2 absent. 4