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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZ-9712 - 8312 Colonel Glenn Rd - Staff Rpt File No.: Z-9712 Owner: Odistene and Waymon Fuller Applicant: Ron Bene’ Woods / Wood’s Group Architects Inc Address: 8312 Colonel Glenn Rd Legal Description: The East 1/3 of Lot 16 and all of Lots 17 and 18 and the South ½ of the alley now closed by Little Rock Ordinance Number 12,836 filed in Deed Book 1263, Page 100 lying North of and adjacent to the E1/2 of Lot 16, and all of Lots 17, and 18, Block 4, Pike Addition to the City of Little Rock Pulaski County, Arkansas Zoned: C-3 Variance Requested: A variance is requested from the area provisions of Section 36-301 to allow a building addition with a reduced rear and side yard setback. A variance is requested from the parking regulations of Sec. 36-502 to allow a reduced number of parking spaces required for a commercial / restaurant development. Justification: The applicant’s justification is presented as per the attached letter. Present Use: Vacant Proposed Use: Restaurant / Retail STAFF REPORT A. Planning and Development Civil Engineering: Show existing ditch and curb inlet near eastern property line on site plan. Provide legend showing what hatch markings correspond to what pavement design improvements for the parking lot, dumpster pad, and driveway. Is the existing concrete driveway (i.e., curb cut) being reconstructed?  If so, an access driveway permit from ARDOT District 6 will be required.  Contact ARDOT District Permit officer at 501-569-2266.  If not, do not show any hatching for it since this implies this will be new, reconstructed driveway.  Which existing driveway are they calling out to be used?  This parcel has two driveway accesses with a curb inlet in between them?  Will the existing curb inlet be demolished? Any work performed in ARDOT right of way will require a special permit from ARDOT District 6.  Contact ARDOT District Permit officer at 501-569-2266. Show and label all city streets and state highways on site plan. A drainage study will be required to be submitted to the Department showing all hydrologic and hydraulic calculations for the site before issuance of a future building permit. Proposed curb openings on west property cannot be allowed due to direct discharge onto public right of way.  Runoff from parking will have to be collected via inlets and tie into existing storm sewer system on Colonel Glenn or Cobb St. Stormwater detention won’t be required since they are reducing the overall runoff coefficient less than existing because of the new landscaping. B. Landscape and Buffer Issues: 1. Site plan must comply with the City's minimal landscape and buffer ordinance requirements. 2. 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. The property is located in the City’s designated mature area. A twenty-five (25%) percent reduction of the buffer requirements is acceptable. The minimum dimension of the perimeter planting strip shall be six (6) feet nine (9) inches. One (1) tree and three (3) shrubs or vines shall be planted for every thirty (30) linear feet of perimeter planting strip. The south and east perimeter planting strips are deficient, and portions of the north and west perimeter planting strips are deficient. 3. 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. 7. An irrigation system shall be required for developments of one (1) acre or larger. For developments of less than one (1) acre a there shall be a water source within seventy-five (75) feet of all plant material if an automatic irrigation system is not provided. 8. All landscape areas shall be protected as per City of Little Rock Landscape Ordinance (Sec. 15-100). Provide notes on plan specifying type and location of mulch, edging, wheel stops, and/or concrete curb and gutter. 9. All ground or roof mounted mechanical systems shall be screened from abutting properties and streets. Any trash receptacles or pickup shall be oriented away from a primary street side of the property and screened from the public right-of-way. Screen shall exceed the height of the dumpster or trash containment areas by at least two (2) feet no to exceed eight (8) feet total height. 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. Any landscape code requirements that cannot be met may require an additional variance. Landscape code variances are heard by the City Beautiful Commission. A building permit cannot be issued until all code requirements and variances are approved. C. Building Codes Comments: No Comments. D. Staff Analysis: The C-3 zoned property located at 8312 Colonel Glenn Rd is within a predominantly commercial district west of S University Avenue and east of the Colonel Glenn / Stagecoach Rd intersection. Positioned on the north side of the street this small lot is bordered by a vacant R-4 parcel to the north, vacant C-3 parcel to the east, and a narrow unbuildable R-2 parcel to the west that is occupied by a drainage channel. The applicant operates a restaurant on the west side of the adjacent R-2 parcel sharing a small building with another retail business. The owners of this building have decided to expand their business and have ended the applicant’s lease. The applicant has stated that they intend to remain on Colonel Glenn Rd in the community where they have built relationships and loyal clientele over the past 10 years. They have purchased a .38-acre site just east of the R-2 (drainage channel property) and additionally obtained a pre-engineered metal building that has not yet been constructed. Upon hiring a consultant to layout the program elements of the project it was discovered that the building footprint, required parking, and vehicular circulation would be problematic in meeting the requirements for a restaurant and retail business combination. The building is shown to be 3,840 square feet that combines 1,674 square feet of restaurant space, 1,500 square feet of retail space with a combined storage space totaling 306 square feet. Parking requirements for restaurants are 1 space per 100 square feet. The retail component only requires 1 space per 400 square feet. The overall development as shown will require a total of 20 spaces,16 for the restaurant and 4 for the retail. The pre-engineered structure is unable to be altered and is approximately 65x60 feet. The average depth of the lot is approximately 135-feet in width and 125-feet depth. To provide an adequate parking layout the building is shown to be placed in the rear and (east) side yard setbacks. The northeast corner of the building is indicated to be located 11.5-feet from the rear property line encroaching into the rear yard setback 13.5-feet. The southeast corner of the building is proposed to be placed 4.75 feet from the (east) side yard property line encroaching 10.25-feet into the side yard setback. Additionally, the parking and drive aisle configuration will encroach into the south and west perimeters which will require a landscape variance to be developed as proposed. Section 36-301 (e)(2) states: “There shall be a side yard on each side of the building having a width of not less than fifteen (15) feet…” Therefore, the applicant is requesting a variance to allow the building to have a side yard setback of not less than 4.75-feet Section 36-301 (e)(3) states: “There shall be a rear yard having a depth of not less than twenty-five (25) feet…” Therefore, the applicant is requesting a variance to allow the building to have a rear yard setback of not less than 10.25-feet. Sec. 36-502(3)(a) General business and retail sales, states: the minimum parking requirement is “One (1) space per four hundred (400) square feet of gross floor area…” and Sec. 36-502(3)(c) Restaurants, states: the minimum parking requirement is “1.0 space for each one hundred (100) square feet of gross floor area”. Therefore, the applicant is requesting a variance to reduce the combined use required parking spaces from 20 to 16. Staff views the rear and side yard setback variances of this small parcel as minor compared with the buildable capacity available to the property owner. Additionally, staff regards the appeal for a reduction of 4 parking spaces as acceptable. The improvements will not be out of character with many other developments in this general area. There are numerous structures in this older commercial district which have reduced rear and/or side yard setbacks and parking areas that are completely paved eliminating drive aisles and perimeter buffers between the vehicular use areas and the street right-of-way. The proposed interior, building and perimeter landscape areas will be within or closer in compliance with the prescribed parking and circulation requirements of many of the surrounding commercial properties. Based on the analysis above, staff believes the subject proposal is in keeping with the character and scale of the surrounding properties and follows the current development requirements. Staff views the variance requests as reasonable. E. Staff Recommendation: Staff recommends approval of the requested side and rear yard setback variances and the reduced parking variance as per the above staff analysis and as specified on the submitted site plan, subject to the following conditions: 1. Compliance with the Planning and Development Civil Engineering and the Landscape and Buffer requirements as noted in paragraphs A & B of the staff report.