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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPC Minutes for Z-8629-D JULYJuly 13, 2023 ITEM NO.: D FILE NO. Z-8629-D NAME: Storage Space, LLC – Conditional Use Permit LOCATION: 102 S. Rodney Parham Road DEVELOPER: SS Rodney Parham, LLC (Owner) PO Box 6863 Sherwood, AR 72120 OWNER/AUTHORIZED AGENT: Bear Davidson (Agent) Davidson Engineering 210 W Arch Street Searcy, AR 72143 SURVEYOR/ENGINEER: Bear Davidson (Agent) Davidson Engineering 210 W Arch Street Searcy, AR 72143 AREA: 1.86 acres NUMBER OF LOTS: 1 FT. NEW STREET: 0 LF WARD: 6 PLANNING DISTRICT: 3 CENSUS TRACT: 21.03 CURRENT ZONING: C-3 VARIANCE/WAIVERS: 1. A variance to allow a 15’ street buffer. 2. A variance to allow increase building height in the C-3 Zoning District. 3. A variance to allow grading within the northern 15’ of the southern land use buffer. BACKGROUND: On May 11, 2017, the Little Rock Planning Commission approved a conditional use permit to allow for the construction of a three (3) story mini-warehouse facility containing a July 13, 2023 ITEM NO.: D (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-8629-D 2 750 unit mini-warehouse space. The project was never developed and the CUP expired after three (3) years. A. ROPOSAL/REQUEST/APPLICANT’S STATEMENT: The applicant is requesting to re-establish the previously approved conditional use permit to allow for the construction of a three (3) story, enclosed, mini-warehouse facility. The facility will contain a 750 unit mini-warehouse building on this C-3 zoned 1.87 acre tract. B. EXISTING CONDITIONS: The property is located within the commercial district at the West Markham/Rodney Parham intersection. A Kroger store, Red Lobster and Burger King are adjacent to the west. Additional commercial uses, including an older, more traditional mini- warehouse development are located beyond Kroger. A mixture of office and commercial uses are located to the east and north. A single-family neighborhood is adjacent to the south. A restaurant previously occupied this site, with parking extending to within a few fee of the southern boundary. In staff’s opinion, the nature of this proposed development and the specifics of the site improvements are such that there could be a negative impact on the adjacent single-family neighborhood. C. NEIGHBORHOOD NOTIFICATIONS: All owners of property located 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. Any infrastructure within public right of way that is currently damaged or damaged during construction will be repaired or replaced at developer’s expense before a final certificate of occupancy can be released for the building. This includes but not limited to the following: noncompliant curb and gutter, asphalt, sidewalk, accessible ramps, storm drainage infrastructure, or concrete driveway aprons. All work within the public right- of- way shall conform to City of Little Rock Public Works Standard Details and ADA accessibility requirements. 2. All construction work must include appropriate drainage and erosion control measures (i.e., silt fencing, mulching hydro-seeding, etc.) to protect the municipal storm water drainage system and neighboring properties from sediment runoff. New development may be subject to inspections for compliance. July 13, 2023 ITEM NO.: D (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-8629-D 3 3. Any work involving one (1) or more acres of disturbed area requires a State of Arkansas NPDES permit. Contact the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality, NPDES branch at 501-682-0744 for applications and information about General Stormwater Discharge Construction Permit #ARR150000. 4. Per City Rev. Code 29-99, stormwater detention for developments is required. Provide stormwater detention infrastructure to satisfy this requirement. 5. A drainage study showing all hydrologic calculations for the site and all hydraulic calculations for the proposed storm sewer pipe system, swales and ditches, detention ponds, outlet structures, and inlets is required per City’s stormwater management and drainage manual with submission of the street construction plans for the subdivision. For final drainage report, sign, date, and seal the report per AR State Board of Professional Engineers and Professional Surveyors rules Article 12, Section B (1) (a). Provide engineer's certification statement saying this drainage report was conducted by yourself or directly under your supervision and attesting to the accuracy of the information within this report. 6. The Department requires three (3) phase sediment and erosion control (SEC) plans to be submitted for all construction projects showing best management practices (BMPs) for mitigating sediment runoff and erosion along with vegetation specifications for temporary and permanent soil stabilization. Phase 1 SEC plans shall show SEC BMPs during the stripping, clearing, grubbing, and rough grading of the site. Phase 2 SEC plans shall show SEC BMPs during construction of utilities, buildings, roadway infrastructure and drainage infrastructure. Phase 3 SEC Plans shall show SEC BMPs for final grading, seeding, and landscaping of the site. 7. Sediment and Erosion Control plans shall also show the pertinent information as outlined in ADEQ ARR150000 Permit Part II section A-4-H (1-14) and Part II section A-4-I-2 (A-B). 8. Street stormwater and detention infrastructure design standards shall comply with the City’s Stormwater Management and Drainage Manual (2016) including City Code Chapters 29, 30, and 31. 9. Contact Planning and Development Dept., Engineering Division at 501-371-4817 or at 501-918-5348 for inspections of any work in the public right-of-way prior to placement of concrete or asphalt or for on-site clarification of requirements prior to commencing work. 10. Boundary street improvements are required per master street plan. Boundary street improvements shall include, but not be limited to, reconstruction of one-half section of the abutting street if the existing street is not up to city standards. Repair, replace, or extend existing damaged, missing, and noncompliant curb and gutter, sidewalk, access ramps or July 13, 2023 ITEM NO.: D (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-8629-D 4 concrete driveway aprons within the public right-of-way adjacent to the site. Remove abandoned driveway cuts and replace with curb, gutter, and sidewalk. All work within the public right-of-way shall conform to City of Little Rock Public Works Standard Details and ADA guidelines. 11. Provide accessible route from the public right of way to the proposed building entrance in accordance with 2012 Arkansas Fire Prevention Code Section 1104.1. 12. Provide accessible route from the accessible parking stalls’ aisles to proposed buildings’ entrances in accordance with Section 402 & 502 of ICC A117.1-2017 and 2012 Arkansas Fire Prevention Code Sections 1104. 13. Accessible parking stall and aisle shall comply with standards as outlined in ICC A117.1- 2017. E. UTILITIES/FIRE DEPARTMENT/PARKS/COUNTY PLANNING: Little Rock Water Reclamation Authority: 1. Submit wastewater plans to LRWRA for review and approval. Entergy: No comments received. Summit Utilities: No comments received. AT & T: No comments received. Central Arkansas Water: 1. All Central Arkansas Water requirements in effect at the time of request for water service must be met. 2. Provide a 5-ft utility easement on the west side of the property. 3. The Little Rock Fire Department needs to evaluate this site to determine whether additional public and/or private fire hydrant(s) will be required. If additional fire hydrant(s) are required, they will be installed at the Developer's expense. 4. Please submit plans for water facilities and/or fire protection system to Central Arkansas Water for review. Plan revisions may be required after additional review. Contact Central Arkansas Water regarding procedures for installation of water facilities and/or fire service. Approval of plans by the Arkansas Department of Health Engineering Division and Little Rock Fire Department is required. 5. If there are facilities that need to be adjusted and/or relocated, contact Central Arkansas Water. That work would be done at the expense of the developer. July 13, 2023 ITEM NO.: D (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-8629-D 5 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 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 July 13, 2023 ITEM NO.: D (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-8629-D 6 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. 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. July 13, 2023 ITEM NO.: D (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-8629-D 7 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. 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. Parks and Recreation: No comments received. County Planning: No comments received. F. BUILDING CODES/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 July 13, 2023 ITEM NO.: D (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-8629-D 8 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 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. The southern boundary of the site will require this buffer. 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. One (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). The 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. July 13, 2023 ITEM NO.: D (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-8629-D 9 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. The development of two (2) acres or more requires the landscape plan to be stamped with the seal of a Registered Landscape Architect. 11. 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 three (3) story, enclosed, mini-warehouse facility. The facility will contain a 750 unit mini-warehouse building on this C-3 zoned 1.87 acre tract. The applicant is requesting to re-establish the CUP which was approved in 2017 and has expired. The property is located within the commercial district at the West Markham/Rodney Parham intersection. A Kroger store, Red Lobster and Burger King are adjacent to the west. Additional commercial uses, including an older, more traditional mini- warehouse development are located beyond Kroger. A mixture of office and commercial uses are located to the east and north. A single-family neighborhood is adjacent to the south. A restaurant previously occupied this site, with parking extending to within a few fee of the southern boundary. In staff’s opinion, the nature of this proposed development and the specifics of the site improvements are such that there could be a negative impact on the adjacent single-family neighborhood. The proposed building is to have a setbacks of 25.7 feet from the north property line, 52.7 feet from the south property line, 25.2 from the east property line and a range of 11.5 feet to 12.0 feet from the east property line. Tenants will access the site via a thirty-six (36) foot wide driveway from S. Rodney Parham Road. The site plan indicates twelve (12) parking spaces located in this area. Additional parking is located behind the gate on the west side of the building allowing tenants to park and unload. Tenants can exit the site onto Sunnymeade Drive. July 13, 2023 ITEM NO.: D (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-8629-D 10 Office hours are proposed as 8:00am to 6:00pm Monday through Saturday and tenant access is from 6:00am to 10:00pm daily. A gated, key pad entry is located in the area near the office which provides tenant access to the storage units. A second gate (exit only) located west of the mini-storage provides an exit from the site. The applicant intends to make modifications to the Sunnymeade driveway to encourage tenants to make a left turn towards Rodney Parham Road rather than a right turn into the neighborhood east of the site. The applicant requests three variances with this application. The same three variances were approved under the previous application are also requested under this new application. The first is a two (2) foot height variance to allow a building height of thirty-seven (37) feet. C-3 has a height limit of thirty-five (35) feet. The second variance is to allow a reduction in the Rodney Parham Road perimeter street buffer from twenty-five (25) feet to fifteen (15) feet. The reduction is caused, in part, by a requirement to dedicate additional right-of-way. The third variance is to allow grading within the northern fifteen (15) feet of the southern land use buffer. The code allows for an encroachment of up to 30 percent in a buffer. The proposed fifteen (15) foot encroachment represents 60 percent of the buffer. That area contains vestiges of a paved parking lot. Staff supports the requested variances. The site plan shows landscaping to be installed along the north, east and west sides of the building. All landscaping must comply with Chapter 15 of the City’s Landscaping Code. The site plan shows an existing trash enclosure to be removed and replaced with a new eight (8) foot high masonry trash enclosure. Any dumpster on the site must comply with Section 36-523 of the City’s Zoning Ordinance. A sign will be located along S. Rodney Parham Road just inside the driveway. All signage must comply with Section 36-555 of the City’s Zoning Ordinance (signs permitted in commercial zones). Any site lighting must be low-level and directed away from adjacent properties. Staff is supportive of the requested conditional use permit to allow a mini-storage at the site. Staff feels the request is reasonable. Commercial zoning and uses exist within the general area at the intersection of W. Markham Street and Rodney Parham Road (a minor arterial/minor arterial intersection). The proposed conditional use will represent a continuation of this development pattern in this area. With the maintenance of screening along the east and north property lines, the proposed use should have no adverse impact on the residential properties in the area. July 13, 2023 ITEM NO.: D (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-8629-D 11 I. STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends approval of the requested conditional use permit, and variances, subject to compliance with the comments and conditions noted in paragraphs D, E and F, and the staff analysis, of the agenda staff report. PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: (MAY 11, 2023) The applicant requested this application be deferred to the June 8, 2023 agenda, based on the fact that less than eight (8) Planning Commissioners were present. The item was included in the Consent Agenda for deferral to June 8, 2023. The vote was 6 ayes, 0 nays, 4 absent and 1 open position. The application was deferred. PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: (JUNE 8, 2023) Staff informed the Commission that the application needed to be deferred to the July 13, 2023 agenda. The item was placed on the Consent Agenda for deferral to the July 13, 2023 agenda. The vote was 8 ayes, 0 nays, 1 absent and 2 open positions. The application was deferred. PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: (JULY 13, 2023) The applicant was present. There were no persons registered in opposition. Staff presented the item and a recommendation of approval as outlined in the “staff analysis” above. There was a motion to approve the application and seconded. The vote was 9 ayes, 0 nays 1 absent and 1 open position.