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HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report for Z-8259-ANovember 18, 2021 ITEM NO.: 5 FILE NO.: Z-8259-A NAME: Baseline Road Shopping Center – PCD LOCATION: Southwest corner of Baseline Road and Reck Road DEVELOPER: Samer and Basima Thalji 138 Courts Lane Little Rock, AR 72223 OWNER/AUTHORIZED AGENT: Ron Woods Woods Group Architects 1401 Bishop Street Little Rock, AR 72202 (501) 372-2230 SURVEYOR/ENGINEER: N/A AREA: 5.09 acres NUMBER OF LOTS: 1 FT. NEW STREET: 0 LF WARD: 2 PLANNING DISTRICT: 14 CENSUS TRACT: 41.08 CURRENT ZONING: PCD/R-2 VARIANCE/WAIVERS: 1. Variance from Section 31.210 to allow (2) access drives to Reck Road. A. PROPOSAL/REQUEST/APPLICANT’S STATEMENT: The applicant proposes to rezone a 5.09-acre property from PCD/R-2 to PCD located at the Southwest corner of Baseline Road and Reck Road. The rezoning is to allow for a future commercial retail development with a main retail structure, two (2) quick serve restaurants, and a branch bank. November 18, 2021 ITEM NO.: 5 (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-8259-A 2 B. EXISTING CONDITIONS: The property is currently divided into two (2) tracts. with a majority of the property wooded. Tract # 1 is a 4.56-acre R-2 zoned undeveloped tract which is mostly wooded and is located on the south side of Baseline Road and west side of Reck Road. Tract # 2 is a PCD zoned developed lot located at the southwest corner intersection of Baseline Road and Reck Road with a vacant drive-in restaurant building. To the immediate south and west of the property is residential R-2 zoning. To the immediate north and east of the property is a mixture of residential and commercial zoning. 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. Revise plan to show one driveway on Baseline Road and Reck Road per Sec. 31.210. 2. Provide a Sketch Grading and Drainage Plan per Sec. 29.186(e). 3. Provide stormwater detention location. 4. Concern for left turn conflicts. Show curb cuts on North side of Baseline Road. 5. Baseline Road is classified on the Master Street Plan as a collector. A dedication of right of way 60 feet from centerline will be required. 6. Reck Road back of curb to centerline should measure 15.5 feet and should maintain 15.5 feet to Baseline. 7. Pedestrian connectivity from right-of-way to the development and between each of the developments. 8. No backing into service easements near Reck Road. Revise parking in this area. 9. At the timing of building permit, a Traffic Study shall be submitted for all proposed drive-thru restaurants to show there is adequate available queuing space. 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. FOG Analysis Required. November 18, 2021 ITEM NO.: 5 (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-8259-A 3 Entergy: No comment received. CenterPoint Energy: No comment received. AT & T: No comment received. Central Arkansas Water: No comment received. Fire Department: No comments received. Parks and Recreation: No comments received. County Planning: No comments received. F. BUILDING CODES/LANDSCAPE: Building Code: Landscape: 1. Any new site development must comply with the City’s minimal landscape and buffer ordinance requirements. 2. A land use buffer six (6) percent of the average width / depth of the lot will be required when an adjacent property has a dissimilar use of a more restrictive nature. The property to the west is zoned R-2. As a component of all land use buffer requirements, opaque screening, whether a fence or other device, a minimum of six (6) feet in height shall be required upon the property line side of the buffer. A minimum of seventy (70) percent of the land use buffer shall be undisturbed. In addition to the required screening, buffers are to be landscaped at the rate of one (1) tree and three (3) shrubs for every thirty (30) linear feet. Easements cannot count toward fulfilling this requirement. The plantings, existing and purposed, shall be provided within the landscape ordinance of the city, section 15-81. The west buffer is partially deficient. The property is approximately 535 feet in width. A minimum 31-foot buffer is required adjacent to the west property line. 3. Street buffers will be required at six (6) percent of the average depth of the lot. The minimum dimension shall be one-half (½) the full width requirement but in no case be less than nine (9) feet. The street buffer adjacent to the Reck Rd right-of-way is deficient. The property is approximately 535 feet in width. A minimum 31-foot buffer is required adjacent to the Reck Road right-of-way. November 18, 2021 ITEM NO.: 5 (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-8259-A 4 4. Screening requirements will need to be met for the vehicular use areas adjacent to street rights-of-way. Provide screening shrubs with an average linear spacing of not less at three (3) feet within the required landscape area. Provide trees with an average linear spacing of not less than thirty (30) feet. 5. A perimeter planting strip is required along any side of a vehicular use area that abuts adjoining property, or the right-of-way of any street. This strip shall be at least nine (9) feet wide. One (1) tree and three (3) shrubs or vines shall be planted for every thirty (30) linear feet of perimeter planting strip. 6. Building landscape areas shall be provided at the rate equivalent to planter strip three (3) feet wide along the vehicular use area. One (1) tree and four (4) shrubs shall be planted in the building landscape areas for each forty (40) linear feet of vehicular use area abutting the building. 7. Eight percent (8%) of the vehicular use area must be designated for green space; this green space needs to be evenly distributed throughout the parking area(s). The minimum size of an interior landscape area shall be one hundred fifty (150) square feet for developments with one hundred fifty (150) or fewer parking spaces. Interior islands must be a minimum seven and one half (7 1/2) feet in width. Trees shall be included in the interior landscape areas at the rate of one (1) tree for every twelve (12) parking spaces. 8. An automatic irrigation system to water landscaped areas shall be required for developments of one (1) acre or larger. 9. The development of two (2) acres or more requires the landscape plan to be stamped with the seal of a Registered Landscape Architect. 10. The City Beautiful Commission recommends preserving as many existing trees as feasible on this site. Credit toward fulfilling Landscape Ordinance requirements can be given when preserving trees of six (6) inch caliper or larger. G. TRANSPORTATION/PLANNING: Rock Region Metro: No comment. Planning Division: The request is in the Geyer Springs East District. The Land Use Plan shows Commercial (C) and Mixed Office Commercial (MOC) for the requested area. 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 Mixed Office Commercial (MOC) category provides for a mixture of office and commercial uses to occur. Acceptable uses are office or mixed office and commercial. A Planned Zoning District is required if the use is mixed office and commercial. The application is to rezone from PCD November 18, 2021 ITEM NO.: 5 (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-8259-A 5 (Planned Commercial Development) District and R-2 (Single Family District) to allow for the development of a retail shopping Center on the site. Surrounding the application area, the Land Use Plan shows Residential Commercial (C) to east (across Reck Road) and to the north (across Baseline Road) from the site. Public Institutional (PI) land use is shown to the northwest (across Baseline Road) east of the site. Mixed Office Commercial (MOC) is shown to the west along the southside of Baseline Road from the site. Residential Low Density (RL) use is show south of the site on the Land Use Plan. 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 uses north of Baseline are single-family houses with a carwash on the land. East of Reck Road are single-family houses and mobile homes with a commercial business further to the east. 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. The PI area is the location of a Methodist church. The Mixed Office Commercial (MOC) category provides for a mixture of office and commercial uses to occur. Acceptable uses are office or mixed office and commercial. A Planned Zoning District is required if the use is mixed office and commercial. There are two single-family houses and a retail center on this land to the west of the site. The Residential Low Density (RL) category provides for single family homes at densities not to exceed 6 dwelling units per acre. Such residential development is typically characterized by conventional single family homes but may also include patio or garden homes and cluster homes, provided that the density remain less than 6 units per acre. This land is a single-family subdivision with houses. Master Street Plan: To the north is Baseline Road and it is shown as a Principal Arterial on the Master Street Plan. To the west is Reck Road and it is shown as a Collector on the Master Street Plan. A Principal Arterial is to serve through traffic and to connect major traffic generators or activity centers within the urbanized area. Entrances and exits should be limited to minimize negative effects of traffic and pedestrians on Baseline Road since it is a Principal Arterial. The primary function of a Collector Road is to provide a connection from Local Streets to Arterials. These streets 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 Baseline Road. A Bike Lane provides a portion of the pavement for the sole use of bicycles. H. ANALYSIS: The applicant proposes to rezone the 5.09-acre property located at 4501 Baseline Road from “PCD” Planned Commercial District and “R-2” Residential to “PCD” November 18, 2021 ITEM NO.: 5 (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-8259-A 6 Planned Commercial District to allow a mixed retail commercial development. The proposed development will include four (4) buildings with two (2) quick serve restaurants, one (1) branch bank, and a large multi-unit retail building. The northeast corner at the Baseline Road and Reck Road intersection includes a vacant drive-in restaurant zoned PCD. The R-2 zoned remainder of the property borders Baseline Road to the north and Reck Road to the east is mostly wooded and undeveloped. The overall property is adjacent to residential areas to the south and west and a mix of commercial and residential to the north and east. The applicant is proposing a 29,650 square foot main retail building with (2) out parcel building to include a 2,510 square foot quick serve restaurant at the northwest corner and a 3,000 square foot quick serve restaurant at the southeast corner of the property with both structures having parking and drive-through lanes adjacent to each building. A third out parcel will be at the northeast corner of the property and includes a 3,500 square foot branch bank with parking and drive- through lanes. The development includes a main parking lot centrally located with 88 spaces to serve the main building, 15 parking spaces to serve the restaurant at the northwest corner, 6 parking spaces to serve the restaurant at the southeast corner, and 8 parking spaces to serve the branch bank at the northeast corner. The applicant also proposes an additional 33 parking spaces along the south perimeter and 16 spaces along the west perimeter of the development at the rear of the main building. The applicant is propsoing168 parking spaces for this development. A minimum of 160 spaces is typically required by the City’s Zoning Ordinance. Staff is not supportive of the parking layout due to the location of parking along south and west perimeter of development which limits size of service drive. The location of these spaces also poses a potential safety hazard to employees and customers as they are located behind the building and not visible from other areas of the site. The applicant is proposing three (3) access drives to the site; one (1) centrally located on the north side connecting to Baseline Road, one (1) centrally located on the east side connecting to Reck Road, and one (1) service drive on the southeast side connecting to Reck Road. Each of the centrally located access drives include 1 entry lane and 2 exit turn lanes which connect to internal streets or drives. The applicant proposes to have a one-way single lane service drive with access at Reck Road at the southeast corner of the property which includes pull-in parking spaces along the south and west borders of the site at the rear of main building. The drive terminates at the northwest corner of the development and connects to an internal street with divided lanes of traffic flow. November 18, 2021 ITEM NO.: 5 (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-8259-A 7 Staff does not support the service drive configuration due to potential customer and employee safety issues with the location of parking and traffic flow issues at the northwest intersection in relation to the proposed restaurant drive-through que, and the direct access connection to Reck Road which requires a variance for more than one access drive. A traffic study will be required to provide a study of the internal flow of streets, and que flow patterns for both the restaurant and bank drive-throughs. The applicant is proposing an internal access drive system with two (2) primary double laned, opposing traffic flow drives that join at a central intersection near the front of the main retail structure. The plan also shows an additional six (6) secondary double laned, opposing traffic flow drives that interconnect the primary drives. The primary access drives accept traffic flow from the secondary drives. There are 3 centrally located secondary drives that are double laned with opposing flows that have access to pull-in parking running north to south from Baseline Road to the main retail structure. Secondary drive 1 is a double lane opposing flow drive at the north perimeter leading to the branch bank and intersects with the outbound bank drive-through traffic flow. This double lane opposing flow drive continues south intersecting with the east/west primary drive then circles back around the bank parking lot to provide flow to the bank drive through que line. Secondary drive 2 is a double laned opposing flow drive that runs east/west along the south perimeter of the northwest corner restaurant and intersects both the drive-through que outbound traffic and one way service drive traffic. Staff does not support the proposed internal drive layout as submitted due to the intensity of the traffic flow with multi-directional lanes intersecting with drive through ques and perimeter streets. The drives switch from two way to one way at termination points without providing turn around options and allowing for traffic to cross the flow to access the pull-in parking spaces. The applicant is proposing one (1) dumpster located near the southwest corner to the project. The dumpster must be screened as per Section 36-523 of the City’s Zoning Ordinance. Staff is not supportive of this proposal due to the single dumpster location being too remote and undersized to adequately serve the main retail space, bank, and the quick serve restaurants. Staff suggests that each out parcel commercial use include an individual dumpster to serve each use. The applicant is proposing one (1) sign located along Baseline Road near the main entry of the development. All signage on the property must comply with Section 36-555 of the zoning ordinance. All site lighting proposed must be low level and directed away from adjacent properties. The applicant notes that the hours of operation for development will be 8:00 am to 10:00 pm daily. November 18, 2021 ITEM NO.: 5 (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-8259-A 8 The applicant provided a partial drainage plan within the site plan. The drainage plan shows the runoff proceeding northwest towards a collection area bordering Baseline Road. The plan shows the additional runoff flows to the west and south of the main structure with a collection area along the west perimeter of the property. The flow pattern to the south will flow towards existing developed properties with possible impact. Staff does not support the drainage or retention plan and requires a finalized drainage plan and analysis which complies with all codes and manuals be submitted prior to issue of building permit. The applicant is proposing landscaping buffers along the Baseline Road and Reck Road perimeters which must meet the required minimums of (6) percent of the average depth of the lot. Screening requirements will need to be met for vehicular use areas adjacent to street rights-of-way per the city ordinance. Staff is supportive of the overall concept and agrees that this type of development would be beneficial to the area. However, staff is not supportive of several aspects of the proposed site development plan, as noted in the next paragraph. Staff is not supportive of the plan as submitted due to the following issues.  Internal drive plan has conflicting traffic flows that allow for traffic to intersect at outbound lanes of drive-throughs or dead ends at one-way drives without turnaround options.  Traffic study is required for analysis of impact to connection to city streets and internal flow.  Dumpsters are not centrally located or adequate in number to provide sufficient services to the needs of the restaurants and retail spaces.  Reck Road has more than one (1) access connection which requires a variance or waiver request.  Parking space locations are not centralized for use and security of customers and employees.  Service drive at south and west of development needs to be a double laned opposing flow drive without public parking, or connection to Reck Road.  Drainage plan is incomplete and needs additional analysis of water flow on site to reduce impact on adjacent properties.  Bank and restaurant drive-through que lines do not provide proper stacking areas and directly intersect secondary drives with opposing traffic flow. November 18, 2021 ITEM NO.: 5 (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-8259-A 9  Landscape and buffering plan needs additional analysis to conform to ordinance. I. STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends denial of the requested PCD zoning, as filed.