Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutPC Minutes for Z-5859-E JULYJuly 13, 2023 ITEM NO.: 1 FILE NO.: Z-5859-E NAME: David O. Dodd School – Revised Conditional Use Permit LOCATION: 6423 Stagecoach Road DEVELOPER: Josh Minton (Agent) Minton Engineering 300 Northpoint Drive Cabot, AR 72023 OWNER/AUTHORIZED AGENT: Little Rock School District (Owner) 810 W. Markham Little Rock, AR 72201 SURVEYOR/ENGINEER: Carhuff-Cueva 2930 N. Swan Road #210 Tucson, AZ 85712 AREA: 5.45 acres NUMBER OF LOTS: 1 FT. NEW STREET: 0 LF WARD: 7 PLANNING DISTRICT: 12 CENSUS TRACT: 24.05 CURRENT ZONING: R-2 VARIANCE/WAIVERS: None requested. A. PROPOSAL/REQUEST/APPLICANT’S STATEMENT: The applicant is requesting a conditional use permit to allow a charter school (Academies of Math & Science) to operate in the former David O. Dodd Elementary School site. The property is zoned R-2. The existing portable buildings will be removed from the site. The previous elementary school was closed in 2021. July 13, 2023 ITEM NO.: 1 (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-5859-E 2 B. EXISTING CONDITIONS: The elementary school campus is located at the corner of Old Stagecoach Road and E. David O Dodd Road. The current structure on the site is 31,245 square feet and was built in 1980. This square footage does not include the four portable buildings at the rear of the property. The area surrounding the campus is primarily R-2, however the property to the south is zoned PD-C for the use as a single-family residence and special events center. 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. Will the number of students attending be less or similar as the previous school for the site? If the number of students attending is significantly higher than the previous school’s student population, a traffic impact study will be required by City staff to determine if any improvements are necessary on Stagecoach Rd. and/or E. David O Dodd Road to accommodate the increased traffic demand. 2. 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: No comments. 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. July 13, 2023 ITEM NO.: 1 (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-5859-E 3 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.: 1 (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-5859-E 4 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. July 13, 2023 ITEM NO.: 1 (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-5859-E 5 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. 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: No comments. July 13, 2023 ITEM NO.: 1 (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-5859-E 6 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 a charter school (Academies of Math & Science) to operate in the former David O. Dodd Elementary School site. The property is zoned R-2. The existing portable buildings will be removed from the site. The previous elementary school was closed in 2021. The area surrounding the campus is primarily R-2, however the property to the south is zoned PD-C for the use as a single-family residence and special events center. The elementary school campus is located at the corner of Old Stagecoach Road and E. David O Dodd Road. The current structure on the site is 31,245 square feet was constructed in 1980. The applicant proposes to construct a new, one-story, 10,000 square foot gymnasium surrounded by an 8,530 square feet of classroom space on the west and south side of the gymnasium. The existing 225 square foot storage building will be retained as part of the overall scope bringing the total square footage to 50,000 square feet for proposed charter school use. Two (2) existing play field/play areas and a basketball court are located in the rear portion of the property. The entire site is currently fenced with a chain-link fence to secure the property. Academies of Math & Science (AMS) is will service grades K-8. The proposed school enrollment is 600 to start, increasing gradually to 700 students. The school will be operated by thirty-five (35) employees. Two (2) gated drives will provide access to the school. One along Stagecoach Road and one along E. David O. Dodd Road approximately fifty (50) feet north of the dumpster area in the rear portion of the property. The site plan shows sixty-seven (67) parking spaces on the east of the school along E. David O. Dodd Road. There is a significant amount of driveway space on the site to allow for drop-off/pick-up queuing. Staff believes the parking is sufficient to serve the use. The applicant is proposing no new sight lighting at this time. Any new site lighting must be low-level and directed away from adjacent properties. July 13, 2023 ITEM NO.: 1 (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-5859-E 7 The site plan shows a dumpster area in the rear of the school adjacent to the existing basketball court. The dumpster area must be screened as per Section 36-523 of the City’s Zoning Ordinance. An existing monument sign is located near the front entrance along Stagecoach Road. Any new signage must comply with Section 36-553 (signs allowed in office and institutional zones.) Staff is supportive of the requested CUP to allow the property’s continued use as a charter school including all site improvements. The existing portable buildings on the site will be removed as part of the new school project. The applicant is requesting no variances with this application. Staff feels that the expansion of the campus and proposed use of the property will have a positive impact on the general area and have no adverse impact on the surrounding residential properties. The site previously operated as an elementary school and was closed by the Little Rock School District in 2021. I. STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends approval of the requested conditional use permit, subject to compliance with the comments and conditions outlined in paragraphs D and E, and the staff analysis, of the agenda staff report. PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: (JULY 13, 2023) The applicant failed to submit complete traffic study information to staff as requested. Staff recommends this application be deferred to the August 10, 2023 Planning Commission agenda. The vote was 9 ayes, 0 nays, 1 absent and 1 open position. The application was deferred.