Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutZ-4215-A Staff AnalysisApril 24, 1984 Item No. 7 - Z-4215 Owner: Applicant: Location: Request: Purpose: Size: Existing Use: Louise and Katherine Isgrig Maury Mitchell Fourche Dam Pike East of Fourche Creek Rezone from "R-2" Single Family to "I-2" Light Industrial Truck Repair 19.2 acres + Single Family (Formerly Isgrig's Plant Nursery) SURROUNDING LAND USE AND ZONING: North - Commercial, Unclassified South - Vacant, Unclassified and "R-2" East - Single Family, Zoned "R-2" West - Vacant, Unclassified PLANNING CONSIDERATIONS: 1. The proposal is to utilize the property for a truck repair facility. The site is in question was formerly occupied by Isgrig's Plant Nursery, a large greenhouse operation, which can be considered a heavy commercial or a light industrial use. The greenhouses are not in use at this time, but there are some single family residences on the front portion of the property. The nursery was in operation for a number of years, so a large nonresidential use at this location was present in the area for sometime. A plant nursery's impact on an area like this would probably have been minimal, but a truck repair facility does raise some concern in terms of its effect on the residential area to the east. Because of the size of the parcel, 19.2 acres, it would appear that the proposed use could be situated on the property in a way as to reduce any impacts the proposed operation could have on the area. With proper buffers on the east side and locating the use on the west side of the property, this could be accomplished. Noise and pollution from the truck facility could have a harmful effect on the livability of a residential neighborhood. April 24, 1984 Item No. 7 - Continued 2. The site is a large relatively flat parcel of land. There are currently nine structures on the property with five of those being large greenhouses. The western boundary is Fourche Creek, so some of the property is located in the Creek's floodplain. This should not impact the use of the site. 3. The Master Street Plan is in the process of being amended to show a north/south collector running through this property. Dedication of the necessary right-of-way will be provided by the plat. The action on the amendment should be accomplished by the time of this hearing. There are no issues associated with Fourche Dam Pike which is classified as a collector on the street plan. 4. There have been no adverse comments received from the reviewing agencies at this time. 5. One issue that needs to be mentioned is that a portion of the property, the southwest corner, is outside the city limits (the request/legal description is for the entire ownership). The City has land use jurisdiction in this area through its "river zoning powers," which permits Little Rock to exercise zoning control over lands within so many miles of the Arkansas River. By the time of this public hearing, the Board of Directors will have zoned those areas outside the City to "R-2" through the East River Island Plan. The Board of Directors is to act on that ordinance at its April 17 meeting. If this request is approved, the Rezoning Ordinance will be presented to the Board of Directors in May, and there should be no complications with recommending approval of the application as filed. 6. The property was part of a large annexation that took place in 1979, and came into the City as "R-2." The greenhouse operation was a nonconforming use since that time. 7. The property is part of the East River Island Plan. The Plan has not been formally adopted by ordinance, but that action should be completed by the time of this hearing. The site in question is identified on the Plan for light industrial and research/business uses. The 11I-2" district is the appropriate zoning for this type of land use pattern, and the staff does support the rezoning to permit these uses. One concern that the staff does have is that certain industrial uses April 24, 1984 Item No. 7 - Continued could have an adverse impact on the residential area to the east so that should -be taken into consideration when locating a facility or buildings on the property. The Plan does recommend a buffer strip adjacent to the residential neighborhood, so that could be one method of minimizing any potential problems. The buffer is recommended to be at least 50 feet. One other plan element that needs to be mentioned is Fourche Creek and the Master Parks Plan. Fourche Creek is identified in the Plan as a "priority 2 stream" for floodway open space acquisition. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends approval of the request as filed. PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: The applicant was present and represented by Chris Barrier. There were five objectors also present. Mr. Barrier spoke in support of the request and discussed the issue of an industrial use adjacent to a residential neighborhood. He indicated that the proposed use, a truck refrigeration repair facility, would actually be less intense than the former nursery operation. He also stated that the new owner would only use about five acres out of the 19 total. Ben Thompson, the new owner, described the proposed use as being clean and that it would not create any problems for the neighborhood. At this time, a letter objecting to the request was presented to the Commission. Donna McCracken, a property owner on Fourche Dam Pike, objected to the request. She said the neighborhood was concerned with the noise and Pollution associated with the proposed use, drainage and the amount of truck traffic that would be generated by the use. Another property owner spoke in opposition to the rezoning and reinforced Ms. McCracken's concerns. She also questioned that the adequacy of the recommended buffer and how the rezoning would effect property values and taxes in the area. Both property owners felt that the proposed use would generate a heavier amount of truck traffic than the previous operation did. Mr. Barrier stated that the proposed facility was not a 24 hour operation and would have 10 to 15 trucks coming in daily. Ms. Louise Isgrig spoke and said that heavy truck traffic had been in the area for sometime. The Commission discussed the issue at length. A motion was made to recommend approval of the 11I-2" request with a 50 -foot "OS" buffer on the east side as recommended in the East River Island Plan and that an annexation Petition be filed for that portion of the property that is currently outside the City. The motion passed by a vote of 9 ayes, 0 noes, 1 absent and 1 abstention (John Schlereth).