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HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report for Z-7284-AJuly 13, 2023 ITEM NO.: 2 FILE NO.: Z-7284-A NAME: College Station Elementary School – Revised Conditional Use Permit LOCATION: 4710 Frazier Pike Road DEVELOPER: Curtis Johnson (Owner) Pulaski County Special School District 915 East Dixon Road Little Rock, AR 72206 OWNER/AUTHORIZED AGENT: Curtis Johnson (Owner) Pulaski County Special School District 915 East Dixon Road Little Rock, AR 72206 SURVEYOR/ENGINEER: McClelland Consulting Engineers, Inc. 7302 Kanis Road Little Rock, AR 72204 AREA: 5.60 acres NUMBER OF LOTS: 1 FT. NEW STREET: 0 LF WARD: 1 PLANNING DISTRICT: 24 CENSUS TRACT: 40.01 CURRENT ZONING: R-2 VARIANCE/WAIVERS: None requested. A. PROPOSAL/REQUEST/APPLICANT’S STATEMENT: The applicant is requesting a conditional use permit to allow for the construction of a new 23,000 square foot elementary school at the former College Station Elementary School site. The property is zoned R-2. The project calls for the replacement of several old, outdated school buildings with a new structure with brick veneer and architectural metal panels, complete with media center room to facilitate students’ education in a modern facility. July 13, 2023 ITEM NO.: 2 (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-7284-A 2 B. EXISTING CONDITIONS: The property sits directly outside the Little Rock city limits but is within our Extraterritorial Jurisdiction. The area surrounding the campus is primarily has a mix of zoning classifications but is primarily residential in nature. C. NEIGHBORHOOD NOTIFICATIONS: All owners of property within 200 feet of the site and all neighborhood associations registered with the City of Little Rock were notified of the public hearing. D. ENGINEERING COMMENTS: 1. Future building permits will be required through the Department of Planning and Development for any building expansions of the school on site and be required to meet all state building codes and land alteration codes and ordinances adopted by the City of Little Rock. E. UTILITIES/FIRE DEPARTMENT/PARKS/COUNTY PLANNING: Little Rock Water Reclamation Authority: Please submit wastewater plans to LRWRA for review and approval. Entergy: No comments received. Summit Utilities: No comments. AT & T: No comments received. Central Arkansas Water: NO OBJECTIONS; All Central Arkansas Water requirements in effect at the time of request for water service must be met. Fire Department: Maintain Access: Fire Hydrants. Maintain fire apparatus access roads at fire hydrant locations as per Appendix D of the 2012 Arkansas Fire Prevention Code Vol. 1 Section D103.1 Access road width with a hydrant. Where a fire hydrant is located on a fire apparatus access road, the minimum road width shall be 26 feet, exclusive of shoulders. Grade Maintain fire apparatus access roads as per Appendix D of the 2012 Arkansas Fire Prevention Code Vol. 1 Section D103.2 Grade. Fire apparatus access roads July 13, 2023 ITEM NO.: 2 (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-7284-A 3 shall not exceed 10 percent in grade except as approved by the fire chief. If the grade exceeds 10 percent, approval will be denied and the applicant must submit request to be reviewed by Fire Chief for Approval. Loading Maintain fire apparatus access road design as per Appendix D of the 2012 Arkansas Fire Prevention Code Vol. 1 Section D102.1 Access and loading. Facilities, buildings or portions of buildings hereafter constructed shall be accessible to fire department apparatus by way of an approved fire apparatus access road with an asphalt, concrete or other approved driving surface capable of supporting the imposed load of fire apparatus weighing at least 75,000 pounds. Commercial and Industrial Developments – 2 means of access. - Maintain fire apparatus access roads as per Appendix D of the 2012 Arkansas Fire Prevention Code Vol. 1 Section D104.1 Buildings exceeding three stories or 30 feet in height. Building or facilities exceeding 30 feet or three stories in height shall have at least two means of fire apparatus access for each structure. Section D104.2 Building exceeding 62,000 square feet in area. Buildings or facilities having a gross building area of more than 62,000 square feet shall be provide with two separate and approved fire apparatus access roads. Exception: Projects having a gross building area of up to 124,000 square feet that have a single approved fire apparatus access road when all building are equipped throughout with approved automatic sprinkler systems. D104.3 Remoteness. Where two fire apparatus access roads are required, they shall be placed a distance apart equal to not less than one half of the length of the maximum overall diagonal dimension of the lot or area to be served, measured in a straight line between accesses. 30’ Tall Buildings - Maintain aerial fire apparatus access roads as per Appendix D of the 2012 Arkansas Fire Prevention Code Vol. 1 Section D105.1 – D105.4 D105.1 Where Required. Where the vertical distance between the grade plane and the highest roof surface exceed 30’, approved aerial fire apparatus access roads shall be provided. For the purposes of this section the highest roof surfaces shall be determined by measurement to the eave of a pitched roof, the intersection of a roof to the exterior wall, or the top of the parapet walls, whichever is greater. July 13, 2023 ITEM NO.: 2 (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-7284-A 4 D105.2 Width. Aerial fire apparatus access roads shall have a minimum unobstructed with of 26’, exclusive of shoulders, in the immediate vicinity of the building or portion thereof. D105.3 Proximity to building. At least one of the required access routes meeting this condition shall be located within a minimum of 15 feet and a maximum of 30 feet from the building, and shall be positioned parallel to one entire side of the building. The side of the building on which the aerial fire apparatus access road is positioned shall be approved by the fire code official. D105.4 Obstructions. Overhead utility and power lines shall not be located over the aerial fire apparatus access road or between the aerial fire apparatus road and the building. Other obstructions shall be permitted to be places with the approval of the fire code official. Dead Ends. Maintain fire apparatus access roads at dead end locations as per Appendix D of the 2012 Arkansas Fire Prevention Code Vol. 1 Section D103.4 Dead Ends. Dead-end fire apparatus access roads in excess of 150 feet shall be provided with width and turnaround provisions in accordance with Table D103.4. Requirements for Dead-end fire apparatus access roads. Gates Maintain fire apparatus access road gates as per Appendix D of the 2012 Arkansas Fire Prevention Code Vol. 1 Section D103.5 Fire apparatus access road gates. Gates securing the fire apparatus access roads shall comply with all of the following criteria: 1. Minimum gate width shall be 20 feet. 2. Gates shall be of swinging or sliding type. 3. Construction of gates shall be of material that allow manual operation by one person. 4. Gate components shall be maintained in an operable condition at all times and replaces or repaired when defective. 5. Electric gates shall be equipped with a means of opening the gate by fire department personnel for emergency access. Emergency opening devices shall be approved by the fire code official. 6. Manual opening gates shall not be locked with a padlock or chain and padlock unless they are capable of being opened by means of forcible entry tools or when a key box containing the keys to the lock is installed at the gate location. 7. Locking device specifications shall be submitted for approval by the fire code official. July 13, 2023 ITEM NO.: 2 (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-7284-A 5 8. Electric gate operators, where provided, shall be listed in accordance with UL 325. 9. Gates, intended for automatic operation shall be designed, constructed and installed to comply with requirements of ASTM F 2200. Fire Hydrants Locate Fire Hydrants as per Appendix C of the 2012 Arkansas Fire Prevention Code. Section C101 – C105, in conjunction with Central Arkansas Water (Daniel Tull 501-377-1245) and the Little Rock Fire Marshal’s Office (Capt. Tony Rhodes 501-918-3757, or Fire Marshal Derek N. Ingram 501-918-3756 Number and Distribution of Fire Hydrants as per Table C105.1. If you have any additional questions please contact our office. Contact Capt. Tony Rhodes at (501) 918-3757, or Fire Marshal Derek N. Ingram (501) 918-3756. Parks and Recreation: No comments received. County Planning: No comments received. F. BUILDING CODES/LANDSCAPE: Building Code: No comments received. Landscape: 1. Any new site development must comply with the City’s minimal landscape and buffer ordinance requirements. Refer to the Code of Ordinances, Chapter 15 Landscaping and Tree Protection, and Chapter 36, Article IX – Buffers and Screening. 2. A land use buffer equivalent to six (6) percent of the average width / depth of the lot will be required when an adjacent property has a dissimilar use of a more restrictive nature. As a component of all land use buffer requirements, opaque screening, whether a fence or other device, a minimum of six (6) feet in height shall be required upon the property line side of the buffer. A minimum of seventy (70) percent of the land use buffer shall be undisturbed. In addition to the required screening, buffers are to be landscaped at the rate of one (1) tree and three (3) shrubs for every thirty (30) linear feet. Easements cannot count toward fulfilling this requirement. The required screening shall extend the full length of a property where any outside activity is located for ten (10) feet on either side of such activity. The activities to be screened include, but are not limited to, parking lots, drives, sanitation areas, commercial static display of merchandise, loading docks, utility service facilities and heating and air conditioning equipment. Where development which requires screening July 13, 2023 ITEM NO.: 2 (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-7284-A 6 abuts land use of a more restrictive nature at least eighty (80) percent of the view of the vehicular use area and parked vehicles shall be screened to not be visible when viewed from the adjacent property. A wooden fence may satisfy sixty-five (65) percent of the requirement and evergreen trees may be used to satisfy the balance. Screening standards are intended to apply during all seasons of the year. A minimum of fifty (50) percent of the trees and a minimum of seventy-five (75) percent of the shrubs to be used for screening purposes shall be evergreen varieties. Maximum spacings of fifteen (15) feet for trees and three (3) feet for shrubs should normally be utilized in order to provide continuous full screening of the view. 3. Street buffers will be required at six (6) percent of the average depth of the lot. The minimum dimension shall be one-half (½) the full width requirement but in no case be less than nine (9) feet. 4. A perimeter planting strip is required along any side of a vehicular use area that abuts adjoining property, or the right-of-way of any street. This strip shall be at least nine (9) feet wide. One (1) tree and three (3) shrubs or vines shall be planted for every thirty (30) linear feet of perimeter planting strip. 5. Building landscape areas shall be provided at the rate equivalent to planter strip three (3) feet wide along the vehicular use area. O ne (1) tree and four (4) shrubs shall be planted in the building landscape areas for each forty (40) linear feet of vehicular use area abutting the building. 6. The interior landscape area of the vehicular use area shall, at a minimum, equal eight percent (8%) of the vehicular use area and must be designated for green space; this green space needs to be evenly distributed throughout the parking area(s). T he minimum size of an interior landscape area shall be one hundred fifty (150) square feet for developments with one hundred fifty (150) or fewer parking spaces. Interior islands must be a minimum seven and one half (7 1/2) feet in width. Trees shall be included in the interior landscape areas at the rate of one (1) tree for every twelve (12) parking spaces. Please indicate the square footage of the areas considered for the interior landscape area. 7. An automatic irrigation system to water landscaped areas shall be required for developments of one (1) acre or larger. Developments of less than one (1) acre shall have a water source within seventy-five (75) feet of the plants to be irrigated. 8. All lawn areas shall be sodded with a regionally appropriate turfgrass species. There should be no hydroseeding. 9. Evergreen shrubs should be containerized. All shrubs are to be a minimum of 18 inches in height at installation. 10. At least fifty (50) percent of landscape areas shall be covered by live plant material at the time of plant maturity. July 13, 2023 ITEM NO.: 2 (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-7284-A 7 11. The development of two (2) acres or more requires the landscape plan to be stamped with the seal of a Registered Landscape Architect. 12. The City Beautiful Commission recommends preserving as many existing trees as feasible on this site. Credit toward fulfilling Landscape Ordinance requirements can be given when preserving trees of six (6) inch caliper or larger. G. TRANSPORTATION/PLANNING: Rock Region Metro: No comments received. Planning Division: No comments. H. ANALYSIS: The applicant is requesting a conditional use permit to allow for the construction of a new 23,000 square foot elementary school at the former College Station Elementary School site. The property is zoned R-2. The project calls for the replacement of several old, outdated school buildings with a new structure with brick veneer and architectural metal panels, complete with media center room to facilitate students’ education in a modern facility. The property sits directly outside the Little Rock city limits but is within our Extraterritorial Jurisdiction. The area surrounding the campus is primarily has a mix of zoning classifications but is primarily residential in nature. The new building will consist of 10 classrooms, which will support 180 students and 35 employees. The proposed building height will be 26 feet above finished ground elevation. The developer has agreed to comply with all zoning requirements including signage and on-site dumpster placement. Staff is supportive of the requested CUP to allow the property’s continued use as a school including all site improvements. The applicant is requesting no variances with this application. Staff feels the proposed use of the property will have a positive impact on the general area and have no adverse impact on the surrounding residential properties. I. STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends approval of the requested conditional use permit, subject to compliance with the comments and conditions outlined in paragraphs D, E, and F, and the staff analysis, of the agenda staff report.