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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZ-5098-B Staff AnalysisFebruary 17, 2000 ITEM NO.: E NAME: Dillards - Zoning Site Plan Review LOCATION: 1600 Cantrell Road DEVELOPER: ENGINEER: FILE NO.: Z -5098-B Dillards, Inc. Architecture Plus 1600 Cantrell Road Washington Plaza, Suite 400 Little Rock, AR 72201 Monroe, LA 71201 AREA: Approx. 14.4 acres NUMBER OF LOTS: 1 FT. NEW STREET: 0 ZONING: 0-2/I-3 ALLOWED USES: Office PROPOSED USE: Office VARIANCES/WAIVERS REQUESTED: None requested. BACKGROUND: The majority of the property at 1600 Cantrell Road is zoned 0-2 and contains the existing Dillards office building. Based on the fact that the property is zoned 0-2, the site plan review process applies for any development. The 124,155 square foot, 5 -story Dillard's office building is located within the east one-half of the property, with parking along its south, east and west sides. A total of 541 parking spaces exists on the site. The site is heavily landscaped. Access to the property is gained by utilizing two (2) existing drives from Cantrell Road. A. PROPOSAL/REQUEST: The applicant proposes to add 181,858 square feet of building space to the existing office building, along its west side. A portion of the addition will be four (4) stories in height with the remainder being five (5) levels, which will be approximately the same height as the existing building. February 17, 2000 SUBDIVISION ITEM NO.: E (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z -5098-B The applicant is also proposing to construct a separate 30,000 square foot building within the west one-quarter of the property. The building will be constructed into the existing hillside with parking on top. This building will house the computer equipment for the Dillard's operation. There are currently 541 parking spaces on the site. The applicant proposes to add 316 spaces for a total of 857 parking spaces. The additional parking spaces will be constructed within the eastern and western portions of the property. The applicant proposes to utilize the two existing drives from Cantrell Road as access to the property. The proposed building and parking expansions are noted on the attached site plan. B. EXISTING CONDITIONS: The site contains the existing Dillards office building and parking areas. There is a mixture of commercial and industrial uses to the west along the north side of Cantrell Road.- The Cathedral School development (currently under construction) is located to the south across Cantrell Road, with 0-3 zoned property to the east. The Arkansas River is located immediately north of the site. C. NEIGHBORHOOD COMMENTS: As of this writing, staff has received two (2) informational phone calls regarding this development. The Downtown and Capitol View-Stifft Station Neighborhood Associations were notified of the public hearing. D. ENGINEERING COMMENTS: PUBLIC WORKS CONDITIONS: 1. Provide site traffic impact analysis. Verify with plan and profile that adequate sight distance is provided at all points of access. 2. Property frontage brought up to the 3. Repair or replace is damaged in the occupancy. needs to have the sidewalks and ramps current ADA standards. any curb and gutter or sidewalk that public right-of-way prior to 4. Stormwater detention ordinance applies to this property. 5. Easements for proposed stormwater detention facilities are required. 2 February 17, 2000 SUBDIVISION ITEM NO.: E (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z -5098-B 6. Existing topographic information at maximum five foot contour interval 100 base flood elevation. 7. A Sketch Grading and Drainage Plan per Sec. 29-186(e) is required. 8. A Grading Permit per Secs. 29-186(c) and (d) is required. 9. A Development Permit for Flood Hazard Area per Sec. 8-283 is required. 10. Contact the ADPC&E for approval prior to start of work is required. 11. Cantrell Road has average daily traffic of 15,000. E. UTILITIES AND FIRE DEPARTMENT/COUNTY PLANNING: Wastewater: Sewer available, not adversely affected. AP&L : No Comment. Arkla: No Comment. Southwestern Bell: No Comment. Water: Additional on-site fire protection will be required. Fire Department: Contact Dennis Free at 918-3752 regarding turning radii. County Planning: No Comment. CATA: Site is served by Route #21. Approved for transit purposes. F. ISSUES/TECHNICAL/DESIGN: Planning Division: No Comment. Landscape Issues: Areas set aside for buffers and landscaping meet with ordinance requirements. G. ANALYSIS: The applicant submitted a revised site plan, south building elevation and additional information to staff at the Subdivision Committee meeting. The revised plan and information addresses most of the staff concerns. The 3 February 17, 2000 SUBDIVISION ITEM NO.: E (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z -5098-B revised plan notes the property lines and building heights. The proposed building setbacks and heights conform to ordinance standards. The applicant also included a south elevation of the property, showing the proposed building and building additions. The elevation is included on the attached site plan. As noted in paragraph A., the applicant proposes to add 316 parking spaces to the site for a total of 857 spaces. The ordinance requires a minimum of 683 spaces for an office development of this size. As justification for the number of parking spaces, the applicant has noted that there will be a total of 987 employees after the proposed building expansion. Although rarely, if ever, are all of the employees at the site at any given time. Staff supports the parking plan as proposed. As noted in paragraph D. of this report, Public Works is requiring a site traffic impact analysis to verify that adequate sight distance is provided at all points of access. Public Works had noted concern with the left turn lane into this site from Cantrell Road (east bound traffic) being adequate. In a letter to staff, the applicant notes that Peters and Associates is currently collecting data for the traffic impact study and will have the information to present to the Commission at the public hearing. Otherwise, there should be no outstanding issues associated with the site plan. The proposed building addition, new building and parking additions conform to ordinance standards, and should have no adverse impact on the general area. H. STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS: Staff recommends approval of the site plan subject to the following conditions: 1. Compliance with the requirements as noted in paragraphs D and E of this report. 2. The issue related to the traffic impact analysis need to be resolved. 4 February 17, 2000 SUBDIVISION ITEM NO.: E (Cont.) SUBDIVISION COMMITTEE COMMENT: FILE NO.: Z -5098-B (DECEMBER 9, 1999) Joe Story and Michael Kemp were present, representing the application. Staff briefly described the proposed site plan. Staff noted that the applicant had submitted a revised site plan to staff with much of the additional information requested, including a building elevation and section. In response to a question, the applicant noted that there would be a parapet wall around the parking area on top of the smaller building for safety purposes. Bob Turner, of Public Works, noted that a traffic impact analysis was needed. He noted that the existing left turn lane on Cantrell Road into this site (east bound traffic) was probably not adequate. This issue was discussed. Staff requested that the applicant submit information/justification (number of employees, etc.) for the total number of proposed parking spaces. This issue was also briefly discussed. After the discussion, the Committee forwarded the application to the full Commission for final action. PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: (JANUARY 6, 2000) Staff informed the Commission that the applicant submitted a letter on December 30, 1999 requesting that this item be deferred to the February 17, 2000 agenda. The applicant failed to send the required notices to property owners within 200 feet of the site. Staff supported the deferral request. The Chairman placed the item before the Commission for inclusion within the Consent Agenda for deferral to the February 17, 2000 agenda. A motion to that effect was made. The motion passed by a vote of 11 ayes and 0 nays. SUBDIVISION COMMITTEE COMMENT: (JANUARY 27, 2000) Staff briefly reviewed the revised site plan for this project with the Committee. It was noted that the proposed computer 5 February 17, 2000 SUBDIVISION ITEM NO.: E (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z -5098-B operations building (30,000 square feet) had been removed from the site plan and would be constructed on a separate property to the east. A 2,000 square foot maintenance building was shown on the revised site plan near the west property line. The maintenance building will be a single story structure and conforms to the ordinance required minimum setbacks. With the elimination of the computer operations building, the total parking for the site has slightly increased from 857 spaces to 883 spaces. In response to a question from the Committee, Greg Simmons, of Peters and Associates, noted that a traffic study was being prepared to address the traffic issues. This was briefly discussed. After the brief discussion, the Committee forwarded the application to the full Commission for final action. PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: (FEBRUARY 17, 2000) The Staff presented a positive recommendation on this application, as there were no further issues for resolution. There were no objectors to this matter. The Chairman placed the item before the Commission for inclusion within the Consent Agenda for approval as recommended by staff. A motion to that effect was made. The motion passed by a vote of 9 ayes, 0 nays and 2 absent.