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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWrite-Up for MSP2022-01 FILE NO.: MSP 2022-01 NAME: Master Street Plan Amendment- College Station/Sweet Home District LOCATION: Frazier Pike, Roosevelt Road to Zeuber Road OWNER/AUTHORIZED AGENT: City Staff AREA: NA acres WARD: 1 PLANNING DISTRICT: 24 CENSUS TRACT: 40.01 BACKGROUND: A. PROPOSAL/REQUEST: Master Street Plan amendment in the College Station/Sweet Home Planning District to adopt an alternative design standard for Frazier Pike. This Alternative Design Standard is: Two 11-foot travel-lanes with sidewalks on each side of the roadway and no paved shoulders. The amendment area is from Roosevelt Road to Zeuber Road. B. EXISTING CONDITIONS/ZONING: Most of the land along the Frazier Pike corridor from Roosevelt Road to Zeuber Road is zoned R- 3, Single Family District. The developed land has single-family houses on it. There is a large area immediately south of Roosevelt Road which is vacant and wooded. Along the east-west portion of Frazier Pike, between Southern Street to Bankhead Drive, there are several parcels zoned C-1, Neighborhood Figure 1. Zoning FILE NO.: MSP 2022-01 (Cont.) 2 Commercial District with businesses. A large area zoned MF-18, Multi-family 18-units per acre District is on the south side of Frazier Pike, between Franklin and Sanders Streets. This is the former site of a rehabilitation center. The north side of this section of Frazier Pike has R-2, Single-Family District and R-3 zoned land with houses, from Franklin Street through College Station. Most of the south side of Frazier Pike is zoned AF, Agriculture and Forestry District between Jones Street and Zeuber Road. The frontage is primarily single-family houses with some vacant tracts. I-2, Light Industrial District zoning is in place along the north side of Frazier Pike, either side of Pratt Remmel Road. This land is currently vacant. The portion west of Pratt Remmel Road is wooded and the eastern portion is partially cleared C. NEIGHBORHOOD NOTIFICATIONS: Notices were sent to the following neighborhood association: College Station Progressive League. Letters were sent to the 169 property owners adjacent to the section of Frazier Pike being amended. At the time of writing, Staff had received several calls with questions from area residents or Neighborhood Associations. G. LAND USE PLAN/TRANSPORTATION: Land Use Plan: for the College Station community shows a business district along Frazier Pike from Southern Street to Bankhead Drive. Most of the frontage of Frazier Pike in the area is Commercial (C) or Mixed Use (MX). A large area of Residential High Density (RH) is shown along the southside of Frazier Pike from Franklin Street to near Sanders Street. To the east of the RH area is an area of Public Institutional (PI). The PI area is a ‘civic center’ area for the College Station community. The College Station community park is shown as Park/Open Space (PK/OS), on the north side of Frazier Pike, west of College Street. The north-south portion of Frazier Pike from Roosevelt Road to 3-M Road starts as Commercial (C) and Public Institutional (PI). The area is airport related The City’s Land Use Plan Map Figure 1. Land Use Plan Map FILE NO.: MSP 2022-01 (Cont.) 3 businesses and Clinton National Airport’s runway/taxi-way areas. To the south is the floodway/floodplain of Fourche Creek, shown as Park/Open Space (PK/OS). A large PK/OS area south of interstate 440 is the ‘clear zone’ for the airport runways. Residential Low Density (RL) is shown from approximately 35th Street to 39th Street. To the east of the commercial district, the Land Use Plan Map shows mostly Residential Low Density (RL) along Frazier Pike from Bankhead Drive to Apple Avenue. The lots along the roadway are primarily single-family or duplex structures. There are also one or two churches along this portion of Frazier Pike. College Station Elementary School is on the south side of Frazier Pike, between Bankhead Drive and Mt Nebo Street. The school area is shown as Public Institutional (PI) An area of Industrial (I) land use is shown either side of Pratt-Remmel Road on the north side of Frazier Pike. (This is on the eastern extreme of the amendment area). Master Street Plan: Frazier Pike is a Minor Arterial on the Master Street Plan. Minor Arterials provide the connections to and through an urban area. Their primary function is to provide short distance travel within the urbanized area. Since a Minor Arterial is designed to be a high-volume road, a minimum of 4 travel lanes with a 90-foot right-of-way and two sidewalks is required. Frazier Pike has not been improved to standard. It is a two-lane roadway without paved shoulders and open drainage. A couple blocks of Frazier Pike within College Station have paved shoulders. The eastern most section of Frazier Pike from near Pratt-Remmel Road to Zeuber Road has been improved to two-lanes with bike lanes and curbs. Frazier Pike is part of the arterial network with Roosevelt Road, Zeuber Road, and Fourche Dam Pike. They move vehicles around and through the southeast section of Little Rock and Pulaski County (the Clinton National Airport and Little Rock River Port area). Figure 3. Master Street Plan FILE NO.: MSP 2022-01 (Cont.) 4 Bicycle Plan: The Master Street Plan shows a Class II Bike Lane proposed on Frazier Pike. Class II Bike Lanes consist of a paved area on both sides of a roadway with a painted stripe separating the bikeway from motor vehicle traffic. These routes may either be a smooth paved shoulder or a section of the paved roadway. Class II Bike Lanes require minimal construction and are likely to be located on higher volume and speed roadways. There is no existing bicycle infrastructure along Frazier Pike. PARKS: There are no city recognized parks in the immediate vicinity. Pulaski County has developed a park in College Station. The park is along the northside of Frazier Pike, between Southern and College Streets. Historic Preservation Plan: There are no city recognized historic districts in the vicinity of this amendment. H. ANALYSIS: Frazier Pike was the ‘highway’ south and east from Little Rock along the Arkansas River. From Little Rock the roadway travels south to College Station. Then after passing through the community, the roadway moved east to the Arkansas River. Following the River to the south, Frazier Pike turns west (north of Fourche Bayou). The roadway continues west as Asher Street to State Highway 365 at Wrightsville. The alignment functions to move vehicles from and to Little Rock and Wrightsville via College Station. It serves a large rural/agricultural area of Pulaski County. Frazier Pike is outside of the City Limits from Fourche Creek south and west until one gets to College Station Elementary. The first 850 feet or so south of Roosevelt Road is within Little Rock. Then the last (eastern) three-quarters of a mile of Frazier Pike is also within Little Rock. The middle section (just less than a mile and a quarter) through the ‘business and civic center’ of College Station is un-incorporated Pulaski County. Over the last thirty to forty years the Little Rock Port Industrial area has developed east of College Station. Interstate 440 was built to service the airport and port areas as well as to move vehicles and goods east across the Arkansas River. These modifications have altered the circulation pattern in the vicinity of College Station. A portion of Frazier Pike through the Port Industrial Park was also closed/abandoned. FILE NO.: MSP 2022-01 (Cont.) 5 There have not been any significant improvements made to Frazier Pike from Roosevelt Road to Bankhead Drive. East of Zeuber Road, the roadway design standard (through the Port Industrial Park) has been modified. A two-lane section with paved shoulders is the standard within the Port Industrial Park. In more recent years with the growth of industrial uses just east of College Station, truck traffic within College Station is becoming an issue. Trucks apparently are existing Interstate 530 at Dixon Road and traversing through the College Station Community. In addition, truck traffic is using the Bankhead Drive/National Airport exist on Interstate 440 and accessing the port area through College Station. Frazier Pike is not constructed to adequately support large freight truck traffic. The City of Little Rock is working on ways to redirect this truck traffic away and around the College Station community. A part of this effort is to amend the Master Street Plan to include an ‘alternative’ design standard for Frazier Pike. This alternative standard is “two 11-foot travel-lanes with sidewalks on each side and no paved shoulders”. I. STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends approval to add an ‘Alternative Design Standard’ of ‘two 11-foot travel-lanes with sidewalks on both sides and no paved shoulders’ for the section of Frazier Pike from Roosevelt Road to Zeuber Road. PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: (SEPTEMBER 8, 2022) Walter Malone, Planning Staff, reviewed the Analysis section of the Staff report with the Commission. Mr. Austin Porter Junior, College Station Progressive League, stated if he could address the Commission for a quick statement. He stated the Progressive League was in support of this. Chairman Vogel stated their support was noted. Ms. Carolyn Ward was called. Ms. Ward indicated she was in support and did not wish to speak. Mr. Brian Day, Little Rock Port Authority, stated they were in support and was only here if there were any questions. Glesther Keown was called by Chairman Vogel in opposition. Ms. Keown stated she was in support of this item. Mr. Vogel asked if there were any questions. With none, a motion was made to approve the Master Street Plan amendment to add an Alternative Design Standard for Frazier Pike from Roosevelt Road to Zeuber Road. By a vote of 9 for 0 against, 1 absent and 1 vacancy the motion was approved.