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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZ-5180-C Staff AnalysisNovember 25, 1996 Item No.- 1 File No.: Owner: Address: Description: zoned: Variance Recruested: Justification: Z -5180-C Andrew Bunten/Randy Alberius, Applicant 1012 Autumn Road Part of Tract 3, Montclair Subdivision R-2, 0-3 rezoning request pending A variance is requested from the area regulations of Section 36-281 to permit construction of an office building with a reduced rear yard setback. Apiplicant,s statement: Central Arkansas Land Development, LLC. (CALD) is making this request for three (3) main reasons, which are listed as follows: • Development of property to the West Central Arkansas Land Development is currently in negations with Jim Hathaway of the Hathaway Group to purchase the land immediately to the West of 1012 Autumn Road. Central Arkansas Land Development - currently has plans to develop the property to the West sometime in the Summer of 1997. • Sufficient space needed for tenants Central Arkansas Land Development currently has five (5) tenants who wish to lease office space from us. Because of the sizes of the lease space needed by these tenant C.A.L.D. needs to maximize the size of this building. November 25, 1996 Item No.: 1 (Cont. Present Use of Property: Proposed Use of Property: Staff Report: A. Public Works Comments: 0 Economic Reasons Central Arkansas Land Development has paid an exorbitant price for this land. Do to the large cost of this development C.A.L.D. needs this building to be as large as possible in order for this project to work. Single Family residence New Office Building Dedicate right-of-way to 30 feet from centerline of Autumn Road. With construction widen Autumn to 18 feet from centerline with a sidewalk. A grading plan and permit will be required prior to construction. Provide a drainage plan for project. The site will require a revision to move the proposed driveway to the south to improve sight distance as required by the Traffic Engineer. The parking lot should provide an 8 foot back out area for the last parking space. B. Staff Analysis: The property located at 1012 Autumn Road is currently occupied by a one story residential structure and a detached storage building. A day-care center previously operated on the site. The property is now zoned R-2. An 0-3 rezoning request goes before the Planning Commission on December 5, 1996. This variance application is based upon the property successfully being rezoned. The applicants propose to remove the existing structures and build in their place, a single, 6,903 square foot, one story office building. The proposed building will contain 5 suites, ranging in size from 1,026 square feet to 1,800 square feet. The proposed building will have a rear yard setback of 6.67 feet. The Ordinance requires a rear yard setback of 15 feet in the 0-3 district. The property is located in an area rapidly developing with new office and commercial uses. A new, 5 -story office building is being developed on the property adjacent to the north. The property adjacent to the west was recently rezoned to 0-3 to accommodate additional parking for the previously mentioned 5 -story building. Kidsport, a day E November 25, 1996 em No.: 1 (Cont. care/gymnasium complex is located across Autumn Road to the east. The property adjacent to the south is occupied by the last remaining residential property on this stretch of Autumn Road. If the only issue was the reduced rear yard setback, staff could very easily support the requested variance. The property to the rear is zoned 0-3 and indications are it will be developed as a parking lot. The reduced rear yard setback as proposed by the applicant should not have an impact on this adjacent property. However, during the review of this matter, several items of concern surfaced which have led staff not to support the variance. The site is small, being only .515± acres in size. Staff believes the applicant is overbuilding the site. There is what appears to be a service drive located on the east side of the property, between the building and Autumn Road. This driveway leads directly off of the "throat" of the site's entry driveway and is poorly located. It will lead to congestion which could result in stacking vehicles on Autumn Road. Due to the size of the building and associated parking lot, the site does not meet minimum landscaping standards. The perimeter landscape strips on the north and south perimeters are only 3 feet wide, below the minimum established by Ordinance. Additionally, no provision has been made for the required 3 foot building landscape strip between the building and the parking lot. No landscaping has been proposed on the western perimeter at all. The westernmost parking space is unusable due to the location of the dumpster. Insufficient interior landscaping is shown on the proposed site plan. One major item of concern raised by the Public works Department will substantially affect the site plan. The entry drive off of Autumn Road must be moved to the south to improve sight distance as required by the Traffic Engineer. To summarize, if the only issue were the reduced rear yard setback, staff could support the variance. However, there are too many problems with the site plan which staff believes are caused by overbuilding the site. C. Staff Recommendation: Staff recommends denial of the requested rear yard setback variance. Staff recommends that the applicant revise the site plan to address those many concerns raised in the analysis above. 3 November 25, 1996 Item No.: 1 (Cont.) BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT: (NOVEMBER 25, 1996) The applicant, Randy Alberius, was present. There were no objectors present. Staff presented the item and a recommendation of denial. Dana Carney, of the Planning Staff, informed the Board that staff could support the requested rear yard setback variance if there were not so many other deficiencies with the site plan. Mr. Carney noted that the applicant had been working with staff to address those deficiencies and was prepared to present an amended site plan. Randy Alberius addressed the Board. He presented a revised site plan and explained how the plan addressed all of staff's concerns. Mr. Alberius stated that he would work with staff to resolve any outstanding issues. Bob Brown, Plans Review Specialist, and David Scherer, of the Public Works Department, reviewed the revised site plan. Mr. Brown stated that the plan appeared to comply and noted that a more thorough review would take place when a building permit is requested. Mr. Scherer stated that the Plan was an improvement. He noted that the driveway might have to be moved slightly. During the ensuing discussion, it was determined that the Board's approval of the requested rear yard setback variance would not relieve Mr. Alberius from having to comply with all other applicable code requirements. A motion was made to approve the requested rear yard setback variance subject to compliance with Public Works Comments and the City's Landscape Ordinance. The motion was approved by a vote of 5 ayes, 2 noes, 1 absent and 1 open position. 4