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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZ-4343-J Staff AnalysisMay 25, 2000 ITEM NO.: 1 Owner: Applicant: Location: Request: Purpose: Size: Existing Use: FILE NO.: Z -4343-J Ranch Properties, Inc. and FCC Tract D Partnership Ed K. Willis 17800-17900 Cantrell Road; either side of Chenonceau Blvd.; north of Cantrell Road Rezone from OS and 0-2 to C-3 Future commercial development 32.6± acres in two parcels; 23.4± acres and 9.2± acres Undeveloped, former pasture SURROUNDING LAND USE AND ZONING North - Undeveloped, wooded; zoned MF -18 and undeveloped, pasture; zoned 0-2 South - Undeveloped, wooded; zoned C-3 and Single Family; zoned 0-1 and R-2 East - Vacant; zoned PCD, Offices; zoned 0-2 and small, commercial center; zoned C-2 West - Church; zoned R-2 with conditional use permit PUBLIC WORKS COMMENTS 1. Cantrell Road is listed on the Master Street Plan as a principal arterial, dedication of right-of-way to 55 feet from centerline is required. 2. Patrick Country Road is listed on the Master Street Plan as a collector street. Dedicate right-of-way to 30 feet from centerline. With Building Permit 3. Provide design of street conforming to "MSP" (Master Street Plan). Construct one-half street improvement to these streets including 5 -foot sidewalks with planned development. 4. Property frontage needs to have the sidewalks and ramps brought up to the current ADA standards. 5. Plans of all work in right-of-way shall be submitted for approved prior to start of work. 6. Stormwater detention ordinance applies to this property. May 25, 2000 ITEM NO.: 1 (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z -4343-J 7.Easements for proposed stormwater detention facilities are required. 8. Obtain permits for improvements within State Highway right-of-way from AHTD, District VI. 9. Prepare a letter of pending development addressing streetlights as required by Section 31-403 of the Little Rock Code. All requests should be forwarded to Traffic Engineering. PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION ELEMENT The site is located on the CATA Hwy. 10 express bus route. PUBLIC NOTIFICATION All owners of property located within 200 feet of the site, all residents within 300 feet and the Aberdeen Court and Johnson Ranch Neighborhood Associations were notified of the rezoning request. LAND USE PLAN ELEMENT The site is located in the Pinnacle Planning District. The adopted Plan currently recommends Mixed Office Commercial (MOC) for the property. A Land Use Plan Amendment has been filed asking that the Plan be changed from MOC to C (Commercial). That Plan amendment is item no. 1.1 on this agenda, file no. LU00-20-01. Staff is supportive of the requested plan change. The property is within an area not covered by a neighborhood action plan. No action plan is proposed for the area in the immediate future. STAFF ANALYSIS The request before the Commission is to rezone 32.6± acres located at 17800-17900 Cantrell Road from "0-2" Office and Institutional and "OS" Open Space to "C-3" General Commercial District. The property is in two tracts located on the north side of Cantrell Road, either side of the proposed extension of Chenonceau Blvd. The property is undeveloped, having previously been cleared and used as pasture. The bulk of the land is zoned 0-2 with a 50 foot OS strip along the Cantrell Road frontage. The property is Z May 25, 2000 ITEM NO.: 1 (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z -4343-J at the southwest corner of The Ranch, a large mixed use development. The Ranch contains a variety of uses including single family, proposed multifamily, a large school, large and small offices and commercial. The original zoning pattern for The Ranch was established in January 1985, prior to the adoption of the Highway 10 Land Use Plan in 1986 and the Highway 10 Overlay District in 1989. The 1985 zoning action established 63.25± acres of C-2 zoned land at The Ranch. Numerous rezoning actions have occurred at The Ranch since that time, most notable of which was the downzoning and development of 33.55± acres of the C-2 zoned properties as Office. These past actions have left 29.7± acres of the original 63.25± acres zoned commercial. The applicant now proposes to restore the amount of commercially zoned property available at The Ranch to nearly what it was under the original 1985 zoning plan. The Commercial Zoning is to be located at a node established by the intersection of Cantrell Road (a principal arterial) and Chenonceau Blvd. (a minor arterial/commercial street). The properties at the southeast and southwest corners of the Cantrell Road/Chenonceau Blvd. intersection are zoned C-3. The 32.8± acres proposed for rezoning by the applicant are bordered by office and commercial zoning on the east and office and multifamily zoning on the north. A church is located on the property to the west, across Patrick Country Road. A 1999 Land Use Plan Amendment changed the Land Use Designation of the subject property from Office to Mixed Office Commercial. The City agreed to support the proposed amendment on the condition that the owners and the City reached an agreement as to commercial zoning on The Ranch and that the same be reflected in the Ordinance adopted by the Board of Directors. That agreement, included in the Ordinance, stated that the total of commercially zoned (C-2) lands lying north of Hwy. 10 and south of the railroad tracts between Patrick Country Road and Katillius Road would not exceed 63.2± acres, the amount of commercially zoned property under the 1985 zoning plan. This proposed rezoning will bring the total of commercially zoned property in The Ranch to 62.5± acres. A 50 foot wide Open Space zoned strip lies along the southern perimeter of the property, abutting Cantrell Road. The OS strip was included in the 1985 zoning, prior to 3 May 25, 2000 ITEM NO.: 1 (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z -4343-J adoption of the Highway 10 Overlay District, to strengthen the scenic corridor quality of Highway 10. The overlay standards now require a 40 foot landscaped area along the Highway 10 frontage and a 100 foot building setback. The Ranch properties are the only ones along Highway 10 to have this 50 foot OS strip. All other developments along Highway 10 have been built to conform to the overlay standards or have been developed under a Planned Zoning District. The restrictive covenants for The Ranch contain a requirement that a green belt be maintained along the south line of the property for a distance of 50 feet north and parallel to the north right-of-way line of Highway 10 as it existed on December 171 1984. Staff believes the proposed rezoning is reasonable for this property. C-3 zoning is appropriate at this node and is compatible with uses and zoning in the area. The commercial zoning request meets the spirit of the agreement reached at the time of the 1999 Land Use Plan Amendment and conforms to the proposed land use plan amendment which changes the designation from MOC to C. Development of the site must conform to the Highway 10 Overlay District Standards. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends approval of the requested C-3 zoning. PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: (MAY 25, 2000) Ed Willis and Hal Kemp were present representing the application. There were several persons present, both in support and in opposition. Numerous e-mails and faxed letters of opposition and support had been received by staff and forwarded to the commissioners. Dana Carney and Brian Minyard, of the Planning Staff, presented the rezoning request and the accompanying Land Use Plan Amendment (LU00- 20-01). Each offered a recommendation of approval. The items were discussed concurrently with the majority of the discussion focusing on the rezoning request. In response to a request from Commissioner Downing, Dana Carney discussed the differences between C-2 and C-3 zoning. Jim Lawson, Director of Planning and Development, continued by describing the pattern of C-3 zoning which had developed since the adoption of the Highway 10 Overlay standards. Mr. 4 May 25, 2000 ITEM NO.: 1 (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z -4343-J Lawson stated that C-2 and 0-2 zoning required site plan review which was necessary to preserve the scenic quality of Highway 10 prior to adoption of the Overlay. In response to a question from Commissioner Downing, Mr. Lawson stated that the subject property was subject to the Design Overlay District and he was comfortable with recommending approval of C-3 zoning. Commissioner Rahman commented that the letters of opposition seemed to express a fear that the site would be developed as a "big box" commercial use. He noted that there would potentially be no further review by the Commission if the site were zoned C-3. Mr. Lawson responded that some of the letters expressed concern about -commercial zoning in general. He noted that The Ranch had 62+ acres of commercially zoned land prior to the first home being built in the area. Hal Kemp addressed the Commission in support of the item. He commented that The Ranch was the genesis of and model for the Highway 10 Overlay Plan. Mr. Kemp made reference to the October 1999 Land Use Plan Amendment and stated that the Plan was to concentrate the commercially zoned property at node established by the arterial intersection. He stated that The Ranch could do a "big box" commercial development on its existing C-2 zoned property. Mr. Kemp stated that The Ranch had no intention of doing a "big box" because it would impact their ability to develop and market the balance of their property. He stated that The Ranch was asking for C-3 zoning so as to be able to compete with other property owners who have C-3 zoned properties in the area. Commissioner Faust asked Mr. Kemp what the functional difference was to his client between C-2 and C-3 zoning. Mr. Kemp responded that the difference was in the perception of a prospective buyer, since C-2 requires the additional step of site plan review by the Planning Commission. Tom Hoffman, president of the Johnson Ranch Neighborhood Association, spoke in opposition to the rezoning. He stated that the property was the proposed site for a Wal-Mart Supercenter. Mr. Hoffman expressed concerns about loss of property values, traffic safety and having so much commercially zoned property in one large block. He stated 61 May 25, 2000 ITEM NO.: 1 (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z -4343-J that he wanted the property zoned to C-2, not C-3. Mr. Hoffman stated that, with C-3 zoning, the developer could do "whatever he wants" and that the developer's assurances "mean nothing." Mark Malcolm, of #9 Iviers Drive, spoke in opposition. He stated that he was opposed to C-3 zoning and the possibility of a "big box" development. Commissioner Downing asked Mr. Malcolm if he was aware that the Board of Directors had made an agreement to grant C-2 zoning and that the question before the Commission was whether to zone the tract C-2 or C-3. Mr. Malcolm responded that C-2 zoning required site plan review. He also noted that the Board could change its position on the commercial zoning. George Thompson, of 26 Calumet, spoke in opposition. He also noted that C-2 zoning required greater review than C-3. He noted that the current 0-2 zoning allowed quiet office development in a park -like setting. Mr. Thompson voiced concern over the proposed increase in intensity of development on the site. John Towne, of 27 Westchester Court, spoke in opposition. He stated that he was chairman of the Highway 10 Alliance, a group formed over concerns about a pending Wal-Mart development at Highway 10 and Taylor Loop Road. He stated that he had no problems with the existing Ranch development but that he felt a contiguous 20+ acre, C-3 zoned site was dangerous in view of what could be developed on the site. Mr. Towne voiced concerns about traffic safety. He stated that he would prefer to see the commercially zoned land broker into smaller pieces. Hank Kelley, of 13609 St. Charles, spoke in support. He stated that The Ranch had a tremendous investment in the area and was concerned about maintaining quality development. Mr. Kelley stated that the Commission should "reward developers who do what they are supposed to do." Kate Althoff, of #3 Longtree, stated that the developers should not be afraid of C-2 zoning if they are going to do high quality work. In response to a question from Commissioner Faust, Jim Lawson briefly discussed the standards of the Highway 10 Overlay District. 11 May 25, 2000 ITEM NO.: 1 (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z -4343-J Commissioner Downing asked Mr. Kemp what his client would do if the Board of Directors went back on its ordinance agreeing to 63± acres of C-2 zoning. Mr. Kemp responded that his client would view such a move as a "Taking" and would seek compensatory damages. Mr. Kemp noted that The Ranch was as concerned about traffic as anyone in the area. Mr. Kemp stated that Wal-Mart had approached The Ranch 3 times and his client had turned them down 3 times. Mr. Kemp stated that his client would publicly state that he would not sell any property to Wal-Mart. Commissioner Adcock asked if The Ranch would make that same statement about other potential "big box" users. Mr. Kemp responded that his client could not make that commitment but that they had not been approached by any other "big box" users. Commissioner Berry asked if there were any weaknesses in the Highway 10 Overlay from Public Work's viewpoint. Bob Turner, Director of Public Works, responded that he was not aware of any. Hal Kemp commented that the existing 0-2 zoning allows for intensive, high-rise office development. He reiterated his statement that The Ranch had much more land to develop and would not do anything to hurt their investment. Commissioner Rahman, in a conversation with Mr. Kemp, expressed his concerns about C-3 zoning and the lack of subsequent site plan review. He stated his concern about the development of 32 acres of commercially zoned property. Commissioner Rahman commented that times had changed and the Commission was more concerned about the impact of zoning and development. Hal Kemp asked the Commission to look at the quality of development at The Ranch. Commissioner Berry commented that the question was to zone the property C-2, as required by the Board, or to zone it C-3. Commissioner Adcock asked staff what would happen if the Commission denied the C-3 request. Dana Carney responded that the applicant had stated that the issue would be taken to the Board of Directors, regardless of the Commission's vote. 7 May 25, 2000 ITEM NO.: 1 (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z -4343-i Ed Willis spoke in support of his application. He stated that he had no prospective buyer for the site. He stated that all he was trying to accomplish was to move the commercially zoned property to a logical location, that being the arterial intersection of Cantrell and Chenonceau Blvd. He noted that Chenonceau Blvd. had been brought into Highway 10 by Chenal Properties at a point west of where it was originally proposed. Mr. Willis asked the Commission to look at the quality of development at The Ranch. He stated that he had turned down Wal-Mart because it did not make sense to bring in Wal-Mart and to destroy the rest of his investment. Commissioner Earnest asked Mr. Willis why he wanted C-3 zoning instead of C-2. Mr. Willis responded that the requirement for site plan review would put him at a competitive disadvantage when there are other C-3 zoned properties in the area. A motion was made to approve the Land Use Plan Amendment. The motion was approved by a vote of 7 ayes, 1 noe, 2 absent and 1 open position. A motion was then made to approve the C-3 zoning request. The motion was approved by a vote of 6 ayes, 2 noes, 2 absent and 1 open position. 8