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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPC Action Letter - Recommended Approval as Submitted 042021April 8, 2021 ITEM NO.: C.1 FILE NO.: Z-9563 NAME: Rezoning from PID to C-4 LOCATION: Northwest corner of Interstate 30 and Scott Hamilton Drive DEVELOPER: Goodwill Industries of Arkansas, Inc. 7400 Scott Hamilton Drive, Suite 50 Little Rock, AR 72209 OWNER/AUTHORIZED AGENT: Goodwill Industries of Arkansas, Inc. – Owner Tim Daters/White-Daters and Associates – Agent SURVEYOR/ENGINEER: White-Daters and Associates 24 Rahling Circle Little Rock, AR 72223 AREA: 6.9 acres NUMBER OF LOTS: 1 FT. NEW STREET: 0 LF WARD: 2 PLANNING DISTRICT: 13 CENSUS TRACT: 20.02 CURRENT ZONING: PID VARIANCE/WAIVERS: None requested. A. PROPOSAL/REQUEST/APPLICANT’S STATEMENT: The applicant proposes to rezone the 6.9 acre property from “PID” Planned Industrial District to “C-4” Open Space District. The rezoning is proposed to allow future development of the site as a truck stop plaza. B. EXISTING CONDITIONS: The property is currently undeveloped and mostly grass covered. There is a scattering of trees on the site. The property is currently part of the larger Goodwill Industries of Arkansas overall facilities. April 8, 2021 ITEM NO.: C.1 (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-9563 2 C. NEIGHBORHOOD COMMENTS: All owners of property located within 200 feet of the site and all neighborhood associations registered with the City of Little Rock were notified of the public hearing. D. ENGINEERING COMMENTS: 1. Scott Hamilton Drive is classified on the Master Street Plan as a minor arterial. A dedication of right-of-way 45 feet from centerline will be required. E. UTILITIES/FIRE DEPARTMENT/PARKS/COUNTY PLANNING: Little Rock Water Reclamation Authority: Sewer main extension required with easements if new sewer service is required for this project. Entergy: No comments received. CenterPoint Energy: No comments. AT & T: No comments received. Central Arkansas Water: No comments received. Fire Department: Maintain Access: Fire Hydrants. Maintain fire apparatus access roads at fire hydrant locations as per Appendix D of the 2012 Arkansas Fire Prevention Code Vol. 1 Section D103.1 Access road width with a hydrant. Where a fire hydrant is located on a fire apparatus access road, the minimum road width shall be 26 feet, exclusive of shoulders. Grade Maintain fire apparatus access roads as per Appendix D of the 2012 Arkansas Fire Prevention Code Vol. 1 Section D103.2 Grade. Fire apparatus access roads shall not exceed 10 percent in grade except as approved by the fire chief. If the grade exceeds 10 percent, approval will be denied and the applicant must submit request to be reviewed by Fire Chief for Approval. Loading Maintain fire apparatus access road design as per Appendix D of the 2012 Arkansas Fire Prevention Code Vol. 1 Section D102.1 Access and loading. Facilities, buildings or portions of buildings hereafter constructed shall be April 8, 2021 ITEM NO.: C.1 (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-9563 3 accessible to fire department apparatus by way of an approved fire apparatus access road with an asphalt, concrete or other approved driving surface capable of supporting the imposed load of fire apparatus weighing at least 75,000 pounds. Commercial and Industrial Developments – 2 means of access. - Maintain fire apparatus access roads as per Appendix D of the 2012 Arkansas Fire Prevention Code Vol. 1 Section D104.1 Buildings exceeding three stories or 30 feet in height. Building or facilities exceeding 30 feet or three stories in height shall have at least two means of fire apparatus access for each structure. Section D104.2 Building exceeding 62,000 square feet in area. Buildings or facilities having a gross building area of more than 62,000 square feet shall be provide with two separate and approved fire apparatus access roads. Exception: Projects having a gross building area of up to 124,000 square feet that have a single approved fire apparatus access road when all building are equipped throughout with approved automatic sprinkler systems. D104.3 Remoteness. Where two fire apparatus access roads are required, they shall be placed a distance apart equal to not less than one half of the length of the maximum overall diagonal dimension of the lot or area to be served, measured in a straight line between accesses. 30’ Tall Buildings - Maintain aerial fire apparatus access roads as per Appendix D of the 2012 Arkansas Fire Prevention Code Vol. 1 Section D105.1 – D105.4 D105.1 Where Required. Where the vertical distance between the grade plane and the highest roof surface exceed 30’, approved aerial fire apparatus access roads shall be provided. For the purposes of this section the highest roof surfaces shall be determined by measurement to the eave of a pitched roof, the intersection of a roof to the exterior wall, or the top of the parapet walls, whichever is greater. D105.2 Width. Aerial fire apparatus access roads shall have a minimum unobstructed with of 26’, exclusive of shoulders, in the immediate vicinity of the building or portion thereof. D105.3 Proximity to building. At least one of the required access routes meeting this condition shall be located within a minimum of 15 feet and a maximum of 30 feet from the building, and shall be positioned parallel to one entire side of the building. The side of the building on which the aerial fire apparatus access road is positioned shall be approved by the fire code official. D105.4 Obstructions. Overhead utility and power lines shall not be located over the aerial fire apparatus access road or between the aerial fire apparatus road April 8, 2021 ITEM NO.: C.1 (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-9563 4 and the building. Other obstructions shall be permitted to be places with the approval of the fire code official. Parks and Recreation: No comments received. County Planning: No comments received. F. BUILDING CODES/LANDSCAPE: Building Code: No comments received. Landscape: No comments. G. TRANSPORTATION/PLANNING: Rock Region Metro: No comments. Planning Division: The request is in the 65th Street East Planning District. The Land Use Plan shows Industrial (I) for the requested area. The Industrial category encompasses a wide variety of manufacturing, warehousing research and development, processing, and industry related office and service activities. Industrial development typically occurs on an individual tract basis rather than according to an overall development plan. The application is to change the property from PID (Planned Industrial Development) District to C-4 (Open Display Commercial District) to allow for the future development of commercial uses on the site. There is an accompanying Land Use Plan amendment for this site to change the classification to Commercial (C). Surrounding the application area, the Land Use Plan shows Industrial (I) to the west, east and north. Commercial (C) is shown on the Plan south of Interstate 30 at the southwest corner of the interchange with Scott Hamilton Road. Public Institutional (PI) is shown on the Plan for the southeast corner of this interchange. There is Industrial (I) use shown to the south, east and west of the PI and C areas. The Industrial (I) category encompasses a wide variety of manufacturing, warehousing research and development, processing, and industry related office and service activities. Industrial development typically occurs on an individual tract basis rather than according to an overall development plan. This land has several warehouse and industrial uses. Some of the structures are vacant. This is the southern portion of the 65th Industrial Park, developed several decades ago. The Industrial south of Interstate 30 is the Arkansas Electric Coop, several office warehouses, a mini-warehouse development and vacant tracts, as well as smaller heavy commercial/light industrial uses. The Commercial (C) category includes a broad range of retail and wholesale sales of products, personal and professional services, and general business activities. Commercial activities vary in type and scale, depending on the trade area that they serve. The Commercial area consists April 8, 2021 ITEM NO.: C.1 (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-9563 5 of a convenience store with gas pumps and two motels. The Public Institutional (PI) category includes public and quasi-public facilities that provide a variety of services to the community such as schools, libraries, fire stations, churches, utility substations, and hospitals. This area is the location of the Metropolitan High School, part of the Little Rock School District. Master Street Plan: To the east is Scott Hamilton Drive and it is a Minor Arterial on the Master Street Plan. To the south is Interstate 30 and it is shown as a Freeway on the Master Street Plan. 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 Scott Hamilton Drive since it is a Minor Arterial. Freeways are intended to serve through long distance trips, they are always designed as full access control roads (no direct access). This street may require dedication of right-of-way and may require street improvements for entrances and exits to the site. Bicycle Plan: There is a Class II Bike Route shown on Scott Hamilton Drive. A Bike Lane provides a portion of the pavement for the sole use of bicycles. H. ANALYSIS: Goodwill Industries of Arkansas, Inc., owner of the 6.9 acre property located at the northwest corner of Interstate 30 and Scott Hamilton Drive, is requesting that the property be rezoned from “PID” Planned Industrial District to “C-4” Open Display District. The property is currently undeveloped and partially tree covered. The property is part of the Goodwill Industries of Arkansas – The Excel Center – PID, which was approved by the Planning Commission on November 3, 2016 and the City Board of Directors on December 6, 2016 (Ordinance No. 21,334). The rezoning is proposed to allow for the development of a truck stop/plaza. The property is located in an area of industrial zoning (I-2 and PID) between I-30 and West 65th Street. There is a mixture of industrial and heavy commercial uses in this area. There is a mixture of industrial, commercial and institutional uses and zoning to the south across I-30. Single family residences are located west of the Goodwill Industries development. The City’s Future Land Use Plan designates this property as “I” Industrial. A Land Use Plan Amendment from “I” Industrial to “C” Commercial is a separate item on this agenda. Staff is supportive of the requested C-4 zoning. Staff views the request as reasonable. The property is located at the corner of an interstate and a minor arterial roadway, with a high volume of interstate traffic. Staff believes it April 8, 2021 ITEM NO.: C.1 (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-9563 6 appropriate to create a commercial corner at this location for the development of a truck stop. Several properties at the southwest corner of I-30 and Scott Hamilton Drive are zoned commercial (C-3 and C-4) and contain commercial uses. This area is also shown as “C” Commercial on the City’s Future Land Use Plan. Staff believes that the requested C-4 zoning will have no adverse impact on the surrounding properties or the general area. I. STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends approval of the requested C-4 rezoning. PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: (MARCH 11, 2021) The applicant was not present. There were no persons registered in attendance. Staff informed the Commission that the applicant submitted a letter to staff on February 22, 2021 requesting this application to be deferred to the April 8, 2021 Planning Commission Agenda. Staff supported the deferral request. There was no further discussion. The item was placed on the Consent Agenda and deferred as recommended by staff. The vote was 11 ayes, 0 nays and 0 absent. PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: (APRIL 8, 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 9 ayes, 0 nays, 0 absent,1 abstention (Vogel), and 1 open position.