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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZ-6407-A Staff AnalysisJune 29, 1998 Item No.: A File No. Owner: Address: Description: Zoned: variance Recuuested: Justification: Z -6407-A One National Bank 11624 West Markham Tract C-2, Markham Commercial Sub. C-3 Variances are requested from: (1) The "Building Setback" provisions of Section 36-301 of the Little Rock Code of Ordinances to permit: A) Encroachment into front yard setback area as defined by C-3 zoning standards. B) Encroachment into side yard setback area as defined by the current plat of record. (2) The "Signs Permitted in Commercial Zones" provisions of Section 36-557 of the Little Rock Code of Ordinances to permit: Two monument signs on West Markham Street of reduced height and area. (3) The "Off Premise signs" provisions of Section 36-556 of the Little Rock Code of Ordinances to permit: One "Off Premise" sign for a proposed commercial use linked to this site by a cross - drive. The applicant feels that strict enforcement of these provisions would be a hardship and is requesting variances in this case for the following reasons: (1) Setbacks: Unusual shape and proportions in small property. Also, floodway location restricts useable area along northern boundary. June 29, 1998 Item No.: A Present Use of Property: Proposed Use of Property: Staff Re ort: A. Public Works Issues: (2) Proposed commercial user to north is linked to this development by cross access agreements and requires identification of their entry from the Markham Street access. Vacant lot Unspecified retail commercial use 1. Appropriate handicap ramps will be required per current ADA standards. 2. Repair or replace any curb and gutter or sidewalk that is damaged in the public right-of-way prior to occupancy. 3. Driveways shall conform to Sec. 31-210 or Ordinance 16,577. 4. Entrance from Bowman Road must be 100 feet minimum from Markham Street. 5. Minimal widening to achieve a dual left to be determined on Markham Street. 6. Plans of all work in right-of-way shall be submitted for approval prior to start of work. 7. Street improvement plans shall include signage and striping. Completed plans must be approved by Traffic Engineering prior to construction. 8. Obtain permits (barricade/street cut) for improvements within proposed or existing right-of-way from Traffic Engineering prior to construction in right-of-way. 9. Prepare a letter of pending development addressing street lights as required by Section 31-403 of the Little Rock Code. All requests should be forwarded to Traffic Engineering. 10. Utility excavation within proposed rights-of-way shall be per Article V of Sec. 30. 11. Coordinate design if traffic signal upgrade with proposed street improvements. Plans to be forwarded to Traffic Engineering for approval. 2 June 29, 1998 Item No.: A (Cont. 12. Bowman Road and Markham Street have 1996 average daily traffic counts of 19,000 and 22,000 respectively. B. Staff Analysis: Tract C2, Markham Commercial Subdivision is an undeveloped, .67 acre lot located at 11624 West Markham. The lot is unusually shaped, having 330± feet of frontage on Markham and 90± feet of frontage on Bowman. The site wraps around a waterworks pump station which sits directly at the intersection. The Rock Creek floodway forms the northern perimeter of the site. The buildable area of the .67 acre lot is further reduced by the floodway. The applicant proposes to develop the site with a 2,900± square foot building and associated parking and driveways. An unspecified retail commercial use will occupy the building. The proposed development has generated four variance requests, two building setback variances and two sign variances. The new building is proposed to have a front yard setback from the Markham Street property line of 15 feet. The Code requires a front yard setback of 25 feet for this C-3 zoned lot. Additionally, there is a platted 25 foot building line on this frontage. The applicant also proposes a side yard setback of 7.5 feet on the west side, adjacent to the pump station lot. This adjacent lot is zoned R-2 and the Code requires a side yard setback of 15 feet where C-3 zoned lots abut residentially zoned properties. Also, there is a platted 15 foot building line on this side of the tract. The applicant proposes to place two ground -mounted signs on the Markham Street frontage of the lot. One sign is to identify the occupant of the property and the second sign serves as an off premises directional sign for the property across the creek to the north. The code limits ground - mounted signs to one per street frontage unless the lot has in excess of 300 linear feet of street frontage and the signs are 150 feet apart. The two signs proposed by the applicant are 100 feet apart. The site does have 330± feet of frontage on Markham. One of the signs is to serve as a directional sign, directing traffic off of Markham, across a proposed new bridge to a development located across the creek, to the north. A variance is requested to allow this off premise sign. There are aspects of the proposal which staff is able to support and others which staff does not feel are reasonable. 3 June 29, 1998 Item No.: A (Cont. Staff does not support the proposed front yard setback of 15 feet. Such a reduced setback is out of character with development in this commercial area. Almost every other building in the area has a front yard setback exceeding 25 feet. One corner of the proposed building is located over the 50 foot Winona aqueduct waterline easement and must be removed. By reducing the size of the building or by relocating it slightly northward, it can be removed from the easement and a more reasonable setback of 20-25 feet can be obtained. Staff does support the proposed 7.5 foot side yard setback. Although the adjacent property is zoned R-2, it is occupied by a Waterworks pumpstation. Allowing the reduced setback should not impact the Waterworks site. Should the Board approve this variance, the applicant will have to do a replat, reflecting the change in the 15 foot platted building line. Staff does not support the variance to allow two ground - mounted signs so close to each other on Markham Street. Adding to the visual clutter by allowing more signs than permitted is not in the best interest of the citizens. This situation can be resolved by combining the two proposed signs into one. The applicant proposes an 8 foot tall, 60 square foot monument sign for this tenant and an 8 foot tall, 80 square foot sign for the off -premise directional sign. Staff recommends that the two be combined into a single, 10 foot tall monument sign, 100 square feet in area that could accommodate both this tenant and a directional message. By doing this, staff can also support the variance to allow the off premise directional sign. As a note: During staff's review, it was noted that the proposed sign on the Bowman Street frontage was located in the floodway. This sign must be moved across the driveway to the south and out of the floodway. C. Staff Recommendation: Staff recommends approval of the requested side yard setback variance to allow a reduced side yard setback of 7.5 feet subject to compliance with the following conditions: 1. A one -lot replat reflecting the change in the building line. 2. Compliance with Public Works Comments 3. Compliance with the City's Landscape and Buffer Ordinances 4 June 29, 1998 Item No.: A Staff does not recommend approval of the requested variances to allow a reduced front yard setback of 15 feet or two ground -mounted signs. Staff can support the off -premise directional sign only if the second ground -mounted sign on Markham is removed from the proposal. To clarify issues, staff believes it best that the Board vote separately on each requested variance. BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT: (APRIL 27, 1998) The applicant was not present. There were no objectors present. Staff informed the Board that the applicant had requested that the item be deferred to the May 18, 1998 meeting. The item was placed on the Consent Agenda and approved for deferral by a vote of 4 ayes, 0 noes and 1 absent. BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT: (MAY 18, 1998) The applicant was present. There were no objectors present. Staff informed the Board that there had been revisions made to the application and that the applicant was requesting a deferral to the June meeting. Steve Raper asked that the record reflect that a resident of the Birchwood Neighborhood was present at the April 27, 1998 meeting. This person did not fill out an attendance card and left the meeting when the item was deferred. The item was placed on the Consent Agenda and deferred to the June 29, 1998 meeting by a vote of 5 ayes, 0 noes and 0 absent. STAFF UPDATE• The revised site plan submitted by the applicant makes the following changes: 1. The ground -mounted sign on the Bowman Road Frontage has been relocated to the south side of the driveway, out of the floodway. 2. A corner of the building has been trimmed so as to move it from over the Winona aqueduct. The remainder of the building is still at the requested front yard setback of 15 feet. 3. One ground -mounted sign has been removed from the Markham Street frontage leaving only one, 10 foot tall, 140 square foot monument sign which will identify both the business occupying this site and the development across the creek to the north. 5 June 29, 1998 Item No.: A Cont. 4. Two parking spaces have been removed from east of the driveway off of Markham Street. This increases the landscaped area and leaves 12 spaces on site. The proposed development requires 10 parking spaces. In response to the amended plan; staff offers the following recommendation: Staff recommends approval of the variance to allow one ground - mounted sign identifying both the on-site business and the development located across the creek subject to the following conditions: 1. The area of signage on the ground -mounted sign identifying the on-site business must exceed the area identifying the business located across the creek. 2. The signage identifying the business across the creek must not be placed on the sign until the proposed bridge tying the two developments together is constructed. The bridge will create more of a "shopping center" development, justifying the Markham Street signage. Staff recommends approval of the requested side yard setback variance to allow a reduced side yard setback of 7.5 feet subject to the conditions previously noted on page 4 of this item. Staff does not support the requested front yard setback variance. HOARD OF ADJUSTMENT (JUNE 29, 1998) The applicant was not present. There were several objectors present. Staff informed the Hoard that the applicant had requested, on June 23, 1998, that this item be withdrawn. The objectors had been advised of the withdrawal prior to the hearing. The item was placed on the Consent Agenda and approved for withdrawal by a vote of 5 ayes, 0 noes and 0 absent. 6