HomeMy WebLinkAboutZ-9618 - Staff ReportOCTOBER 21, 2021
ITEM NO. 6 Z-9618
1
File No.: Z-9618
Owner: South Bowman LLC
Attn: Nico Marin
Applicant: Robert Kempkes
Address: 101 S Bowman Road
Description: Lot 1, Erwin Addition to the City of Little Rock, Pulaski County
Arkansas
Zoned: C-3
Variance(s) Requested: The parking provisions of Section 36-502 to permit the
renovation of commercial use to restaurant and expansion of
an outdoor eating area without providing additional parking.
Justification: The applicant’s justification is presented as per the attached
letter dated September 07, 2021.
Present Use: C-3, Bank
Proposed Use: C-3, Restaurant
STAFF REPORT
A. Planning and Development Civil Engineering Comments:
No Comment.
B. Buffering and Landscape Comments:
No Comment.
C. Building Codes Comments:
No Comment.
D. Staff Analysis:
The C-3 zoned property is located at the southeast corner of Bowman Rd and West
Markham Street. The property is occupied by a 16,055 square foot, two-story
masonry building originally developed in 2006 as a bank, office, and restaurant
property. Vehicular access is provided on both Bowman Rd and Markham St. Most
of the parking is located on the north, south, and east sides of the building A drive
aisle and 2-parking spaces are located between the west side of building and
property line. The immediate surrounding properties fronting Bowman and Markham
are zoned commercial or R-2 and occupied by a large retail strip center, restaurants,
OCTOBER 21, 2021
ITEM NO. 6 Z-9618
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dive-thru bank, and open space. The adjacent east properties are occupied by a
convenience store on the southwest corner of Markham and Alamo Dr and single-
family residences that front Alamo Dr.
Restaurant uses require 1 parking space for every 100 square feet while the office /
institutional uses require 1 parking space for every 500 square feet. The building is
divided with 4,110 square feet of restaurant space, and 11,945 square feet of office
space. As the development exist 67 parking spaces are required to meet the
minimum code requirements, 72 parking spaces are provided.
The applicant is proposing to renovate 3,849 square feet of the existing office area
for additional restaurant use and provide another 612 square feet of outdoor eating
area. The proposed restaurant spaces will occupy 8,571 square feet with the
balance of the 7,484 square feet remaining as office or common space. The
renovations will require an additional 29 onsite parking spaces.
The applicant is proposing to renovate the south end parking area and close the
existing bank drive-thru to provide the outdoor eating area. This will create an
additional 7 on-site parking spaces. In addition, the applicant has provided a lease
agreement to occupy up to 10 spaces of the strip shopping center across Bowman
Rd to the west. The additional parking spaces will leave the development deficient
of 12 parking spaces.
Sec. 36-502(b)(3)(c) States, “Restaurants (and similar establishments serving food
and beverages), 1.0 space for each one hundred (100) square feet of gross floor
area.” The applicant is requesting that the offsite parking lease agreement be
honored to partially compensate the additional onsite parking and that the remaining
12 required parking spaces be waived.
Based on the analysis above, Staff believes the subject proposal is in keeping with
the character and scale of the neighborhood and views the variance request as
reasonable.
E. Staff Recommendation:
Staff recommends approval of the requested parking reduction subject to the
following conditions:
1. A lease agreement is maintained for additional parking for a minimum of 10 off
street parking spaces.
.