HomeMy WebLinkAboutZ-9540-A - 406 E 17th Street - BOA Staff ReportFile No.: Z-9540-A
Owner: JC Tread Not, LLC
Applicant: John Gairhan
Address: 406 East 17th Street
Description: East 45 feet of Lot 6, Block 52, Original City of Little Rock, Pulaski County, Arkansas.
Zoned: R-4
Variance Requested: A variance is requested from the Area provisions of Section 36-256 to allow reduced front and rear yard setbacks in an R-4 district.
Justification: The applicant’s justification is presented in an attached letter.
Present Use: Vacant/undeveloped
Proposed Use: Single-Family Residential
STAFF REPORT
Planning and Development Civil Engineering Comments:
No Comments.
B. Buffering and Landscape Comments:
No Comments.
C. Building Codes Comments:
No Comments.
D. Staff Analysis:
This R-4 zoned property is a 45’ wide by 50’ deep “lot of record,” reflected in a warranty deed recorded in 1935, and the 406 E. 17th Street address of record is evidenced in the 1939
Sanborn Fire Insurance maps of Little Rock. All adjacent properties and much of the surrounding area is zoned R-4 (two-family). The subject site lies within the Central City Overlay
District. The property is undeveloped, except for an existing small storage shed intended for removal, an existing curb cut to be demolished and relocated, and existing fencing to be
removed and replaced.
The applicant proposes to construct a single-family home with an attached one-car covered carport at the rear of the structure. The sketch provided indicates that the lot is 50-feet
in depth and 45-feet in width. The required 25-foot front and rear setback lines would render this lot unbuildable, and the developer is requesting variances to reduce the front yard
setback to 8-feet and rear yard setback to 5-feet. The side yard setbacks will exceed the minimum requirement of 4.5- feet and be maintained at 5-feet on both the east and west sides
of the property. Off-street parking and the carport will be located in the back of the home with access from the alley adjacent to the east property line.
Section 36-256(d)(1) states, “There shall be a front yard having a depth of not less than twenty-five (25) feet.” Section 36-256(d)(3) states, “There shall be a rear yard having a depth
of not less than twenty-five (25) feet.” Section 36-155 states [in order
to be granted a variance,] “The property owner must show to the Board of Adjustment the subject property is so restricted that the buildable area is not sufficient for reasonable construction.”
Therefore, the applicant requests that the front yard setback be reduced to 8-feet and the rear yard setback be reduced to 5-feet to allow for the construction of a small single-family
residence.
This applicant proposes to add affordable housing stock and utilize existing infra-structure to increase residential density and home occupancy in an area often characterized by vacant
and/or marginally maintained properties. The proposed 8-foot setback will be compatible with the adjacent side yard setback of newly renovated 1623 Rock Street, adjacent to the west.
Strict application of the standard front and rear setback requirement will render the 50-foot-deep lot undevelopable as a residential site, and staff views the setback reduction request
as reasonable and appropriate.
The existing curb cut would be replaced with an appropriately located driveway serving the proposed home and carport. The proposed carport location will facilitate a second car parked
in the driveway, in front of the carport, yet clear of the 17th Street sidewalk. The proposed home will face south, directly across 17th Street from the Scholastic Academy parking lot,
and staff believes the allowance to park in the driveway is appropriate.
Staff Recommendation:
Staff recommends approval of the front and rear yard setback variances as per the above staff analysis and attached site plan, subject to a building permit being obtained for all construction,
with the following conditions:
The existing curb cut shall be removed, curb and gutter repaired or replaced as
necessary, and the new driveway apron and driveway.
Compliance with all other requirements of the Central City Design Overlay
District.