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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZ-6629 Staff AnalysisApril 15, 1999 ITEM NO.: B FILE NO.: Z-6629 NAME: Office Depot -- Short -Form PD -C LOCATION: Northeast corner of University Avenue and "B" Street DEVELOPER: ENGINEER: A. M., Jim & Dorothy Sullivan McGetrick and McGetrick 301 N. University Avenue 319 E. Markham Street, Ste. 202 Little Rock, AR 72205 Little Rock, AR 72201 AREA: 2.09 acres ZONING: R-3 & R-5 NUMBER OF LOTS: 1 ALLOWED USES: FT. NEW STREET: 0 Single -Family residential and Multifamily residential PROPOSED USE: Commercial VARIANCES/WAIVERS REQUESTED: None requested. A. PROPOSAL/REQUEST: The applicant is proposing to rezone the property from R -3/R-5 to PD -C to allow the construction a 22,000 square foot Office Depot store on the 2.09 acre site at the northeast corner of University Avenue and "B" Street. A parking lot consisting of 51 parking spaces will be located on the west side of the building and will be accessed from "C" Street. The applicant is proposing a small employee parking area (9 spaces) to be located at the east end of the building and accessed from "B" Street. This "B" Street entrance will also accommodate service and delivery vehicles. The applicant is proposing to realign "C" Street to line up with the drive into Park Plaza Mall on the west side of University Avenue. The traffic signals will be moved April 15, 1999 SUBDIVISION ITEM NO.: B (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-6629 slightly to accommodate the realignment. The developer will pay for the cost of the additional traffic signal equipment needed for "C" Street. A turn lane will be constructed along University Avenue in front of this site. The applicant has noted that all site lighting will be low- level and directed away from adjacent property. The applicant also notes that the provision of the sign ordinance (commercial signage) and landscape ordinance will be followed. As noted in the Subdivision Committee comments, the proposed building will have a hip, shingled roof and a red brick fagade, in order to give the building an office appearance. B. EXISTING CONDITIONS: The general area contains a mixture of residential, office and commercial uses and zoning. There are single-family and multifamily residences located to the east, north and south. There are existing office buildings to the north along the east side of University Avenue and a parking lot immediately east of this site along the south side of "C" Street. There is an office building/beauty shop located at the southeast corner of University Avenue and "B" Street, with the Park Plaza Mall being located to the west across University Avenue. C. NEIGHBORHOOD COMMENTS: As of this writing, staff has received one (1) letter of support for this item, one (1) letter of opposition and two (2) phone calls requesting information. The Hillcrest Resident Association was notified of the public hearing. D. ENGINEERING COMMENTS: PUBLIC WORKS CONDITIONS: 1. University Avenue is listed on the Master Street Plan as a principal arterial; dedication of right-of-way to 50 feet from centerline is required. (Existing traffic on University Avenue -at "C" Street -is 15,000 vehicles/day.) 2. "C" Street should be constructed to commercial street standards, with 36' pavement width. Dedication of right-of-way to 30 feet from centerline is required. 3. A 20 feet radial dedication of right-of-way is required at the intersections of University Avenue with "B" and "C" Streets. 2 April 15, 1999 SUBDIVISION ITEM NO.: B (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-6629 4. Plans of all work in right-of-way shall be submitted for approval prior to start of work. 5. Stormwater detention ordinance applies to this property. 6. Submit plans for proposed re-signalization of the intersection of University Avenue and "C" Street. 7. Submit plan for transition of "C" Street to University Avenue. 8. Reconstruct median island on University Avenue, as required for proposed realignment of "C" Street, and new left turn lane, southbound off University Avenue. 9. Reconstruct "B" Street to 31 feet, with 60 feet right- of-way, is recommended. 10. Reconstruct "B" Street intersection with University Avenue. 11. Show pavement transition on "C" Street, east of property. 12. Eliminate west driveway on "B" Street to eliminate cut - through route to "B" Street to "C" Street. 13. Conform proposed alignment of "C" Street to be collinear with alignment of "C" Street west of University Avenue. E. UTILITIES AND FIRE DEPARTMENT/COUNTY PLANNING: Wastewater: Sewer available on site, not adversely affected. Locate sewer main prior to construction. AP&L: No Comment received. Arkla: No Comment. Southwestern Bell: No Comment. Water: A water main extension may be required to provide fire protection to this property. An easement should be retained for the existing 2" main in "C" Street. Any needed relocation of existing water facilities will be at developer's expense. Fire Department: Place fire hydrants per code. Contact Dennis Free at 918-3752 for details. County Planning: No Comment received. CATA: Would like to see building orientation closer to University Avenue, approved as submitted however. Served by Route #21. 3 April 15, 1999 SUBDIVISION ITEM NO.: B (Cont.) F. ISSUES/TECHNICAL/DESIGN: Planning Division: FILE NO.: Z-6629 This property was the subject of a Land Use Plan that was heard on February 4, 1999 and is in the Heights Hillcrest Planning District. At that meeting, the plan was changed to Mixed Use from Multifamily. There are additional concerns: 1) There will be increased traffic on "B" Street from customers and more importantly, service and delivery vehicles utilizing the loading dock on the east side of the building. The loading dock is only accessible from "B" Street - a residential street that does not have sufficient width or construction to handle truck traffic. "B" Street is residential from Pierce Street west to the office development on University Avenue. 2) This non-residential development is twice as deep as other developments in this area as measured off of University Avenue. The loading dock located to the rear of the structure further exacerbates this condition. The loading dock should be accessed off of "C" Street, which will be of a width and construction to handle the larger vehicles and the accessibility of the stoplight. Landscape Issues: The areas set aside for buffers and landscaping meet with ordinance requirements. A 6 foot high opaque screen, either a wooden fence or dense evergreen plantings, are required along the eastern and northern perimeters which abut residential property. G. ANALYSIS: The applicant submitted a revised site plan to staff on February 17, 1999. The only change to the site plan was the elimination of the westernmost drive "B" Street. The applicant has noted that the small parking area on the east side of the building, accessed from "B" Street, will be for employee parking. The proposed site plan shows a total of 60 parking spaces. The ordinance would typically require 70 spaces for this development. 4 April 15, 1999 SUBDIVISION ITEM NO.: B (Cont. FILE NO.: Z-6629 Staff feels that the site plan as proposed, with the building located in the east half of the property and parking between the building and University Avenue, is not an appropriate development for this immediate area. Staff continues to feel that the proposed building should be moved to the southwest corner of the property with parking on the east and north sides. Staff is also still of the opinion that there should be no access drives from "B" Street and that all access should be taken from "C" Street. H. STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS: Staff recommends denial of the PD -C as proposed. Staff feels that the proposed site development plan will not be compatible with the immediate area. SUBDIVISION COMMITTEE COMMENT: (FEBRUARY 11, 1999) Pat McGetrick was present, representing the application. Staff gave a brief description of the PD -C. Staff suggested changes to the proposed site plan. Those included eliminating access drives from "B" Street and moving the building to the southwest corner of the property. Mr. McGetrick gave a detailed description of the site plan. He noted that the applicants are still exploring the possibility of moving the building as suggested by staff. Mr. McGetrick stated that the westernmost drive on "B" Street would be eliminated, but the other drive was needed for employee parking. Mr. McGetrick presented the Committee with a front elevation of the proposed building. It showed the proposed building with a hip, shingled roof and red brick fagade, giving the building an office appearance. The Public Works requirements were briefly discussed. These included the realignment of "C", Street the traffic signal at "C" Street and University Avenue, and the turn lane in front of this property. The landscape comments were briefly reviewed. It was noted that the proposed site plan conforms to ordinance requirements for landscape and buffer areas, but screening needed to be shown 5 April 15, 1999 SUBDIVISION ITEM NO.: B (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-6629 along the east and north perimeters where adjacent to residential property. After the discussion, the Committee forwarded the application to the full Commission for resolution. PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: (MARCH 4, 1999) Pat McGetrick and Jim Irwin were present, representing the application. Staff gave a brief description of the proposed PD -C site plan. Staff recommended denial of the site plan as proposed. Staff noted that the applicant had expressed interest in deferring the item in order to work with staff and the neighborhood and attempt to achieve a more acceptable site plan design. Jim Irwin addressed the Commission. Mr. Irwin noted that it is the intent to revise the site plan in order to address staff and neighborhood concerns. He also stated that the property owner's wife had unexpected surgery and he was unable to attend the meeting. For these reasons, Mr. Irwin requested that the item be deferred. Commissioner Berry asked how many persons who wanted to speak on the item were present. Chairman Earnest noted that he had 10-15 cards on the item. There was a general discussion concerning the deferral request. A motion was made to waive the bylaws and accept the deferral request by the applicant (less than 5 days prior to the public hearing) and defer the item to the April 15, 1999 agenda. The motion was seconded. Commissioner Hawn expressed concerns with deferring the item and not hearing from the persons present. Commissioner Downing stated that he thought that the concerns from the persons present should be heard at the same meeting as the PD -C rezoning. There was a brief discussion regarding this issue. The Chairman called the question. The previous motion for deferral passed by a vote of 9 ayes, 0 nays and 2 absent. Staff noted that the deferral would be to the April 15, 1999 agenda. April 15, 1999 SUBDIVISION ITEM NO.: B (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-6629 SUBDIVISION COMMITTEE COMMENT: (MARCH 25, 1999) Jim Irwin and Pat McGetrick were present, representing the application. The same site plan that was given to staff on February 17, 1999 was presented. The building, parking and drives were in the same locations as originally proposed, with the exception of the westernmost drive on "B" Street which had been removed. There was a detailed discussion regarding the placement of the building and drives. Moving the building to the west and leaving two rows of parking between the building and University Avenue was discussed. The Committee looked at an aerial photo and discussed the surrounding uses and buildings. The building design, including front door location, was also discussed. The applicant has not committed to any changes in the site plan and therefore, to staff's knowledge, the same site plan which was previously presented will be forwarded to the full Commission for resolution. PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: (APRIL 15, 1999) Staff informed the Commission that the applicant had submitted a letter on April 8, 1999 requesting that the item be withdrawn. Staff supported the withdrawal request. The Chairman placed the item before the Commission for inclusion within the Consent Agenda for withdrawal. A motion to that effect was made. The motion passed by a vote of 10 ayes, 0 nays and 1 absent. 7