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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZ-9554 PC Final Action Notice 031521Department of Planning and Development Planning 723 West Markham Street Little Rock, Arkansas 72201-1334 Development Phone: (501)371-4790 Fax: (501)371-4546 Building Codes March 15, 2021 Ms. Robbie Rosenbaum, PA Quattlebaum, Grooms and Tull l 11 Center Street, Suite 1900 Little Rock, Arkansas 72201 Re: File No. Z-9554 Immerse Arkansas Group Care Facility - Special Use Permit; 3201 Mary Street Dear Ms. Rosenbaum: This is to advise you that in connection with your request concerning the above referenced file number the following action was taken by the Planning Commission at its meeting on March 11, 2021: X Approved with conditions. Recommended approval with conditions. Recommended approval as submitted. Denied your request as submitted. Deferred to the Other: Meeting. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at (501) 371-4792. Respectfully, Monte Moore Development Administrator March 11, 2021 ITEM NO.: 2 FILE NO.: Z-9554 NAME: Immerse Arkansas Group Care Facility — Special Use Permit LOCATION: 3201 Mary Street DEVELOPER: Immerse Arkansas P.O. Box 45385 Little Rock, AR 72214-5385 OWNER/AUTHORIZED AGENT: Robbi Rosenbaum Quattlebaum, Grooms and Tull 111 Center Street, Suite 1900 Little Rock, AR 72201 SURVEYOR/ENGINEER: N/A AREA: Approximately 0.636 acre NUMBER OF LOTS: 1 WARD: 1 CURRENT ZONING PLANNING DISTRICT: 9 R-3 VARIANCE/WAIVERS: None requested. A. PROPOSAUREQUEST/APPLICANT'S STATEMENT: FT. NEW STREET: 0 LF CENSUS TRACT: 19 The applicant is requesting approval of a special use permit to allow a group care facility to be operated within a future building located on the R-3 zoned property at 3201 Mary Street. B. EXISTING CONDITIONS: The property contains a one-story frame church building which has existed on the site for a number of years. A concrete parking pad is located on the north side of the church building. March 11, 2021 ITEM NO.: 2 (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-9554 Cs 0 E F G H NEIGHBORHOOD COMMENTS: All owners of property located within 200 feet of the site and 16 surrounding neighborhood associations were notified of the public hearing. ENGINEERING COMMENTS: No comments. UTILITIES/FIRE DEPARTMENT/PARKS/COUNTY PLANNING: Little Rock Water Reclamation Authoritv Entergy: No comments received. CenterPoint Energy: No comments. AT & T: No comments received. Sewer available to this site. Central Arkansas Water: No comments received. Fire Department: No comments received. Parks and Recreation: No comments received. County Planning: No comments received. BUILDING CODES/LANDSCAPE: Building Code: No comments received. Landscape: No comments. TRANSPORTATION/PLANNING. Rock Region Metro: No comments received. Planning Division: No comments. ANALYSIS: The applicant, Immerse Arkansas, is requesting approval of a special use permit to allow a group care facility to be operated within a future building located on the R-3 zoned property at 3201 Mary Street. The property is located at the northeast corner of Mary Street and Lucie Avenue, immediately north of the Kaufman Lumber Company facilities. The property contains a one-story frame church building which has existed on the site for a number of years. A small concrete parking pad is located on the north side of the existing church building. A narrow 2 March 11, 2021 ITEM NO.: 2 (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-9554 paved drive is located within the Lucie Avenue right-of-way, along the south property line. The property is located in an area which contains a mixture of zoning and uses. The Kaufman Lumber Company facilities (zoned C-4 and 1-2) are located south and east of the subject property. A contractor's maintenance yard is located on the 1-2 zoned property immediately to the north, with single family residences (zoned R-3) located further north. The Islamic Center of Little Rock mixed use development is located on the R-3 zoned property across Mary Street to the west. A large multifamily complex (zoned PD-R) is located to the southwest. The applicant provided the following information with respect to the proposed group care facility (the term "shelter" used by the applicant): "Immerse purchased the Property in November 2020 and hopes to open a youth shelter thereon. By opening this youth shelter, Immerse hopes to (1) use its experience, expertise, and deep knowledge of the needs of youth to build and provide safe, stable, immediate housing for youth; (2) serve the Little Rock community with a shelter tailored to the unique needs of youth who have experienced childhood abuse and neglect, aged out of foster care, and experienced homelessness; and (3) enhance the continuum of integrated support Immerse offers. A new youth shelter in this neighborhood is needed, as many central Arkansas shelters have closed or limited their populations to exclude the youth population. Additionally, current adult shelters in central Arkansas do not operate in a way that is trauma -informed and youth -friendly and do not practice positive youth development. With this in mind, the proposed shelter will house up to twelve youth residents (aged eighteen and up) at any given time, with a target length of stay at twenty-one days. At least one adult staff member will be on site at all times, though staff members will not live at the Property. During the residents' stays, Immerse plans to: (1) connect them with basic resources and provide immediate safety; (2) expose them to positive, supportive adults and begin the pathway toward mentorship; (3) connect them to longer -term housing options through other Immerse programs, host homes, partners, and rental opportunities; and (4) engage them in programming to increase their employment and educational potential." 3 March 11, 2021 ITEM NO.: 2 (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-9554 The applicant plans to remove the existing church building from the property and construct a new building to house the group care facility. Although Immerse Arkansas has not created building plans as of this date, the applicant notes that the newly constructed building will comply with all building codes requirements. The development of the site must also comply with all ordinance criteria including, but not limited to the following: ■ Minimum building setbacks from all property lines ■ Maximum building height • Required parking ■ Minimum buffer and landscape requirements The proposed building must also comply with the minimum area requirements as found in Sections 8-406 (a) and (b) of the code. Section 8-406 (a) of the City's Building and Building Regulations Ordinance (minimum area per dwelling unit) requires 150 square feet for the first occupant and 100 square feet for each additional occupant. Section 8-406 (b) (minimum area per bedroom) requires 70 square feet for the first occupant and 50 square feet for each additional occupant. The applicant notes that each bedroom within the facility will be occupied by two (2) individuals. There will be one (1) full bathroom for each bedroom, with each bathroom located on the floor of the bedroom it serves. As noted above, the proposed facility will have a maximum of 12 residents. The applicant notes that the maximum length of stay will be 45 days, with most residents existing within two (2) weeks. The facility will be staffed at all times with up to eight (8) staff members during the day and one (1) staff member at night. With respect to transportation and support services, the applicant provided the following information: "The Property is located within walking distance of several bus stops, including ones at the intersection of Asher Avenue and Mary Street (two blocks from the Property) and Asher Avenue and Fair Park Boulevard (four blocks from the Property). The Property is within walking distance of CAT routes #14 (Rosedale), #16 (UA-Little Rock), #17 (Mabelvale/Downtown), and #22 (University Avenue/Mabelvale). Importantly, the Property is four blocks away from the Immerse headquarters, which will provide many needed support services to shelter residents. At the Immerse headquarters, shelter residents will find healthy snacks and meals, mentoring, life coaching and life skills classes, job search and placement, tutoring, counseling and group therapy, art classes, a computer lab, and more. Between the 2 March 11, 2021 ITEM NO.: 2 (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-9554 services offered at the shelter and those offered at the headquarters, residents will find almost everything they need in the same neighborhood." The proposed group care facility for up to 12 residents will require a minimum of six (6) off-street parking spaces as per Section 36-502 of the code. The applicant notes that a dumpster will be located on the site. The dumpster area must be screened as per Section 36-523 (d) of the code. Any site lighting must be low level and directed away from adjacent properties. The applicant notes that there will be signage to identify the building, traffic flow and parking. The applicant notes that none of the signage will be lit or larger than what is typical for this type of building. Staff recommends that all signage conform with the office standards as found in Section 36-553 of the code. The applicant submitted a copy of the bill of assurance for C. O. Brack Addition, which the subject property is within. The bill of assurance was recorded in 1912 and is not completely legible. It likely contains no restriction on the use of property. According to an area survey, there are no other similar living facilities within 1,500 feet of this property. Section 36-54 (e) (4) of the code defines a neighborhood area as being within 1,500 feet of a subject property with respect to spacing/separation considerations. The applicant provided responses and additional information to all issues raised during staffs review of the application. To staffs knowledge, there are no outstanding issues. The applicant is requesting no variances with the proposed special use permit. Staff is supportive of the requested special use permit to allow a group care facility to be located within a new building at 3201 Mary Street. Staff views the request as reasonable. The property is located on the outer edge of a large, older single family neighborhood, and is surrounded by uses and zoning which are more intense than single family residential. The subject property should prove to be a very good location for the proposed group care facility use. The proposed use should have no adverse impact on the surrounding properties. STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends approval of the requested special use permit, subject to compliance with the comments and conditions outlined in the staff analysis of the agenda staff report. 5 March 11, 2021 ITEM NO.: 2 (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-9554 PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: (MARCH 11, 2021) The applicant was present. There were no persons present registered in support or opposition. Staff presented the item and a recommendation of approval as outlined in the "staff recommendation" above. There was no further discussion. The item was placed on the Consent Agenda and approved as recommended by staff, including all staff comments and conditions. The vote was 11 ayes, 0 nays and 0 absent.