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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWrite-Up for A-343 FILE NO.: A-343 NAME: Pinewood Land Annexation LOCATION: Southside of Little Rock & Western RR, between East Pinnacle Road and Buckland Circle OWNER/AUTHORIZED AGENT: Harrison Kemp Mann & Kemp, PLLC 221 West Second Street, Suite 408 Little Rock, AR 72201 AREA: 179.3 acres WARD: NA PLANNING DISTRICT: 20 CENSUS TRACT: 42.05 CURRENT ZONING: R-2, Single Family District BACKGROUND: • This request is a voluntary ‘100-percent owner’ annexation. • The site is contiguous on its southern boundary. • The Arkansas GIS Office confirmed the request meets all the requirements of Section 14-40-101 in a letter dated October 5, 2022. • The County Judge’s Order was filed on February 3, 2023. A. PROPOSAL/REQUEST/APPLICANT’S STATEMENT: The request is to annex 179.3 plus or minus acres into the City of Little Rock. The applicant wishes to obtain city services to allow for the development of the land as residential tracts. B. EXISTING CONDITIONS: The site is wooded and undeveloped. The northern boundary is the right-of-way of the Little Rock and Western Railroad. There is a ridge south of the rail line. The rise in the ridge is some 250 feet. This will limit the developability of a large portion FILE NO.: A-343 (Cont.) 2 of the site. To the south and east, the annexation area abuts the city limits. The eastern boundary (approximately 1221 feet) bounds a single-family subdivision of detached houses. The southernmost boundary, east of Patrick Country Road bounds attached single-family and a multi-family development (approximately 1651 feet). The boundary then follows the right-of-way for Patrick Country Road north for some 982 feet; then west some 2731 feet. The land to the southwest of the boundary is vacant wooded land zoned MF-12, Multi-Family District 12-units per acre and R-2 Single Family District. The western boundary abuts the city limits for approximate 1320 feet. The land to the west is vacant wooded, R-2 Single Family District zoned land. To the north, across the railroad right-of-way, is land zoned R-2, Single Family District. It is undeveloped floodway and floodplain land owned by the Nature Conservancy. C. NEIGHBORHOOD NOTIFICATIONS: Neighborhood Association contacts are notified of all items on the Planning Commission agenda via a single notice prior the Commission’s hearing. D. ENGINEERING COMMENTS: Engineering Division, Planning & Development Department: The Division indicated they have no comments at this time. Public Works Department: The Civil Engineering Division indicated they have no issues or comments on the requested annexation. E. UTILITIES/FIRE DEPARTMENT/PARKS/COUNTY PLANNING: Little Rock Water Reclamation Authority: LRWRA has no objection to the annexation, as we have no assets in the area. In addition, the responsibility (and cost) of providing sewer to the new area will fall upon the developer/owner of the land. Entergy: No comment received. CenterPoint Summit Energy: No comment received. AT & T: No comment received. Central Arkansas Water: No comment received. Fire Department: No comment received. Police Department: No comment received. FILE NO.: A-343 (Cont.) 3 Parks and Recreation: No comment received. County Planning: No comment received. G. TRANSPORTATION/PLANNING: Rock Region Metro: No comment received. Planning Division: The Land Use Plan Map shows this site as Residential Low Density (RL). The Residential Low Density (RL) category provides for single family homes at densities not to exceed 6 units per acre. Such residential development is typically characterized by conventional single family homes, but may include patio or garden homes and cluster homes, provided that the density remain less than 6 units per acre. The land north of the Little Rock and Western Railroad is shown as Park/Open Space (PK/OS). The Park/Open Space category includes all public parks, recreation facilities, greenbelts, flood plains, and other designated open space and recreational land. This is land owned by the Nature Conservancy. A large portion of the land is the floodway/floodplain on the Little Maumelle River. There is an area of Residential High Density (RH) on the Plan map just northwest of the Valley Ranch Drive right-of-way, south of the annexation area. The Residential High Density (RH) category accommodates residential development of more than twelve (12) dwelling units per acre. This land is wooded and undeveloped. The remaining area to the west, south and east is shown on the Plan Map as Residential Low Density. To the east is the developed Cypress Pointe West subdivision of The Ranch development. But the land to the west and south is generally wooded and vacant. There has been one Land Use Plan Map amendment in the vicinity over the last decade. LU2014-01 changed an area along the southside of Valley Ranch Drive from Office (O) to Residential Low Density (RL). The Office (O) category represents services provided directly to consumers (e.g., legal, financial, medical) as well as general offices which support more basic economic activities. This amendment was to recognize the Valley Ranch subdivision of single-family homes. Master Street Plan: There are two proposed Collectors that cross the site. The primary function of a Collector Road is to provide a connection from Local Streets to Arterials. The standard for this type of road is a 60 foot right-way and 36 feet of pavement with a sidewalk. The Proposed Collector from East Pinnacle Road to Valley Ranch Road has an alternate pavement width of 31- feet. The second proposed Collector intersects the east-west Proposed Collector and then heads south to Cantrell Road. FILE NO.: A-343 (Cont.) 4 The exact alignments of each of these proposed roads will be decided in the subdivision review process when a subdivision plat is submitted for the area. Bicycle Plan: There is a proposed Class I Bike Path proposed along the Little Rock and Western Railroad alignment and heads north to Pinnacle State Park. A Bike Path is to be a paved path physically separate for the use of bicycles. Additional right-of-way or an easement is recommended. Nine-foot paths are recommended to allow for pedestrian use as well (replacing the sidewalk). Historic Preservation Plan: There are no existing historic sites on, or in proximity to, this land. H. ANALYSIS: The site is wooded and undeveloped. The land is zoned R-2, Single Family District. The Land Use Plan Map indicates the land as Residential Low Density (RL). There are only two access points currently to the property. One from the south using the alignment of Patrick Country Road. The other is from the west using East Pinnacle Road. There is a ridge on the property with a rise of over 250 feet. The applicant has not submitted a proposal for development of the land. So, Staff does not know the density or configuration of tracts that might occur on the land. The land to the southeast was annexed to the city in 1985 (Highway 10 North Annexation, Ordinance 14,846). The area is fulling developed adjacent to the annexation site. The land to the south was annexed to the city in 1998 (FC Grass Farms Annexation, Ordinance 17896). Note, the FC Grass Farms annexation included the right-of-way of Patrick Country Road. The land immediately adjacent to the annexation area is mostly zoned MF12 but undeveloped at this time. The land to the southwest was annexed to the city in 2000 (Pfeifer East Annexation, Ordinance 18,193). The land immediately adjacent to the west of the annexation area is zoned R-2 Single Family District and in undeveloped wooded land. The applicant has provided the City with a letter from the Arkansas GIS Office (AGIO) confirming the request meets all the requirements of Section 14-40-101 (dated October 5, 2022). This confirms that the area requesting annexation is contiguous to the City of Little Rock and all requirements of Arkansas Law have been fulfilled to apply for annexation. The area meets section 14-40-205 for a valid annexation. It is in a county over 350,000 on the same side of a navigable river from a state park but on the southside of the railroad right-of-way. This request is following the ‘100% Owner’ annexation process. The Pulaski County Judge’s Order was signed and filed on February 3, 2023. The Judge’s FILE NO.: A-343 (Cont.) 5 Order sets the exact boundaries of the annexation which by custom includes all adjacent rights-of-way. The annexation does include a portion of East Pinnacle Road. Both the zoning and Land Use Plan Map designations could result in 1000 to 1300 parcels with houses. This is not likely with the existing topography. At the density of The Ranch development, to the east southeast, the resulting density on this lane would be closer to 500 tracts. The applicant has indicated they intend to submit development proposals (preliminary plat proposal) to the city within a year of the annexation of this land. There has been some residential development in the vicinity over the last ten years. To the south along Valley Ranch Drive the single-family subdivision - Valley Ranch was developed with 68 lots. The Renaissance Apartments immediately south of the application area was also constructed over the last ten years. This shows there has been some demand for residential development in the general area of this annexation. The annexation request will bring the eastern terminus of East Pinnacle Road into the city. The Public Works Department, Engineering section indicated they had no comments or concerns about the requested annexation. This land is currently total undeveloped. There would be no demand for solid waste initially. There will be a requirement for maintenance of approximately 154 linear feet of East Pinnacle Road. This roadway is a rural road with open drainage. The closest fire station is Station #23, 4500 Rahling Road which is approximately 3.75 miles from the annexation area via the current street system. The next closest is Station #21, 17000 Chenal Valley Drive which is approximately 4.2 miles from the annexation area via the current street system. The fire department did not respond to a request for comment on this annexation. The Little Rock Police Department did not respond to the request for comment on this annexation. With no current development there should be minimal demand for public safety services at the time of annexation. I. STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Approval PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: (APRIL 13, 2023) The item was placed on the consent agenda for approval. By a vote of 7 for, 0 against, 3 absent and 1 vacancy the consent agenda was approved.