Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutZ-6913 Staff AnalysisSeptember 28, 2000 ITEM NO.: C FILE NO.: Z-6913 NAME: Fellowship Bible Church - Conditional Use Permit LOCATION: 12824 & 12900 Hinson Road OWNER/APPLICANT: Bob Adkins / Fellowship Bible Church PROPOSAL: To obtain a conditional use permit for a paved parking area for the church at an off-site location at 12824 and 12900 Hinson Road on property zoned R-2, Single Family Residential. ORDINANCE DESIGN STANDARDS: 1. SITE LOCATION: The proposed site is located on the north side of Hinson Road, northeast of Pulaski Academy School. 2. COMPATIBILITY WITH NEIGHBORHOOD: This proposed site is zoned R-2, Single Family Residential, and is surrounded by R-2 zoning. The land is currently vacant, but is surrounded by developed or developing residential single family homes except -for Pulaski Academy which is to the southeast of this site on the opposite side of Hinson Road. Staff believes this use would be compatible with the surrounding area. Staff feels that the measures the church has proposed to control traffic and use the site only for church parking during primary church services and activities, would minimize the impact to the neighborhood. The Marlow Manor and the Pleasant Valley Property Owners Associations, all property owners within 200 feet, and all residents within 300 feet that could be identified, were notified of the public hearing. 3. ON SITE DRIVES AND PARKING: The proposed plan would include improving an existing gravel driveway that serves three houses on property September 28, 2000 ITEM NO.: C (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-6913 behind the proposed site by paving and widening it. Access to the parking areas would be taken from that driveway in order to maintain only one access point onto Hinson. The parking areas would be gated in order to maintain open access to the houses while keeping the parking areas from being used other than for church needs. The proposal would add 189 parking spaces. 4. SCREENING AND BUFFERS: Areas set aside for buffers and landscaping meet current requirements. However, 130 linear feet of the western buffer drops below the proposed ordinance minimum buffer width of nine feet. 5. PUBLIC WORKS COMMENTS: a. Hinson Road is listed on the Master Street Plan as a minor arterial. A dedication of right-of-way 45 feet from centerline is required. b. Provide design of street conforming to "MSP" (Master Street Plan). Construct one-half street improvement to these streets including 5 -foot sidewalks with planned development. Existing street is less than 59 feet wide. c. Sidewalks shall be shown conforming to Sec. 31-175 and the "MSP". d. Dedicate Regulatory Floodway easement to the City. Provide hydraulic study for floodway relocation and submit to FEMA for approval. e. Provide 45 feet wide easement and 24 feet wide pavement -for property owners directly north. f. Hinson has a 1998 average daily traffic count of 15,000. 6. UTILITY, FIRE DEPT., AND CATA COMMENTS: Water: An acreage charge of $300 per acre applies in addition to normal charges. Wastewater: Sewer main extension required with easements to serve property. Southwestern Bell: No comments received. ARKLA: No comments received. 2 September 28, 2000 ITEM NO.: C (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-6913 Entergy: No comments received. Fire Department: Approved as submitted. CATA: No comments requested. 7. STAFF ANALYSIS: The applicant has request a conditional use permit for a paved parking area for the church at this off-site location at 12824 and 12900 Hinson Road on property zoned R-2, Single Family Residential. All siting requirements are met by the proposed plan. The church's main sanctuary seats 1819, plus they can seat 500 students in their own service at the same time. Many of the students do drive their own cars. Giving them credit for half of those seats generating parking requirements, that would increase "seating" to 2,069. That would generate an ordinance parking requirement of 517 spaces. The church currently has 790 spaces it owns, plus an agreement with Pulaski Academy to use 253 spaces on the school's property for a total of 1,043 parking spaces. That represents a current ratio of about one space for every two people when looking at only the main sanctuary seating. The additional parking requested in this proposal would increase the total available spaces to 1,158. That would result in a ratio of about one space for every 1.75 people.- However, Fellowship Bible has many other ministries going on at the same time as the main service. As many as 1200 volunteers and participants are involved in the other Sunday activities during the main sanctuary service. They also require parking that isn't accounted for by looking at only the sanctuary seating capacity. The actual situation is that current parking is inadequate on Sundays. The church has stated they are currently busing members from another parking area at Cypress Plaza with a temporary arrangement until December 2000. There is a good chance the church will loose that option (65 spaces) after December. That loss would make approval of this requested area even more critical for the church. 3 September 28, 2000 ITEM NO.: C (Cont. FILE NO.: Z-6913 Staff realizes that increased traffic is a concern of the neighborhood. The church intends to use this area primarily for the main Sunday services and special activities at Easter and Christmas. They have stated in writing that they would limit the use of this parking area for only Fellowship Bible Church functions. While there certainly would be a spike in traffic volume when this area is used, that would usually occur on Sunday when other traffic is much lighter and nearby Pulaski Academy is not in session. The church would provide a policeman to direct traffic whenever this area is used and the increased volume would be for a short duration. Staff believes their proposed measures to limit the frequency of use and control the situation when it is used, would be reasonable and minimize any negative impact. 8. STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends approval of the conditional use permit subject to compliance with the following conditions: a. Comply with the City's Landscape and Buffer Ordinances. b. Comply with Public Works Comments. c. All exterior lighting must be low intensity and directed downward and inward to the property and not towards any residential zoned area. d. Ensure that traffic control is always used whenever the parking area is in use. e. The use of this parking area is limited to use for Fellowship Bible Church functions only. SUBDIVISION COMMITTEE COMMENTS: (AUGUST 24, 2000) Mike Cruz was present representing the application. Staff gave a brief description of the proposal, briefly reviewing the comments provided to the applicant. The applicant provided numbers for seating capacity and existing parking spaces. A short discussion took place regarding the Public Works comments. Of particular interest were concerns over the size of the access driveway, 4 September 28, 2000 ITEM NO.: C (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-6913 complying with floodway requirements on the site, limiting the amount of lighting when the area was not in use, and control of traffic when it would be in use. There being no further issues, the Committee accepted the proposal and forwarded the item to the full Commission for final action. PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: (SEPTEMBER 14, 2000) Robert Lewis, Pastor, Mike Cruz, Campus Director, Randy Frazier, Church attorney, the architect and the engineer were present representing the application. There were several other church leaders and members also in attendance. There were 11 registered objectors present. Due to the length of the agenda, and based on the projected time for the Commission to reach this item, discussions took place with both sides outside of the hearing about deferring the item. It was felt that the deferral would be better for all parties by allowing the item to be considered earlier in the agenda rather than at a late hour as would occur at this hearing. The applicant then requested a deferral until the next hearing. One objector, Connie Hall, asked if she could make her comments for the record now because she would not be able to attend on September 28. The Chair agreed. Mrs. Hall stated that she was also representing her mother who has owned property to the north of the west half of the proposed site for about 35 years. Mrs. Hall stated her primary concerns and objections were: traffic from 185 cars would be in their "driveway" when they enter or exit; concern over Pulaski Academy using the area causing daily use; increased traffic on Hinson; obstruction of her access to Hinson, which she would need even on Sunday morning since that is a work day for her as a nurse; noise from the parking area; devaluation of their property resulting in being "squeezed out" by the church. She then asked for all persons present in opposition to stand, there were about 12 who stood. �1 September 28, 2000 ITEM NO.: C (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-6913 A motion was made to defer the application until September 28, 2000. The motion passed by a vote of 10 ayes, 1 nay and 0 absent. PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: (SEPTEMBER 28, 2000) Robert Lewis, Pastor, Mike Cruz, Campus Director, Randy Frazier, Church attorney, the architect and the engineer were present representing the application. There were 15 registered objectors present. Staff presented the item with a recommendation for approval subject to compliance with the conditions listed under "Staff Recommendation," paragraph 8 above. Mr. Frazier opened the applicant's presentation by referring to the general comments he and Pastor Lewis gave during Item B of this agenda and asked they be made part of this item record also. He reiterated as explained earlier that there was a real need for additional parking for the church. Mike Cruz presented the details of the planned construction on their 2.2 acre vacant site. He stated the church has agreed to the following items: 1) comply with the new landscape and buffer ordinance requirements throughout the development; 2) install a brick and wrought iron fence along Hinson to blend with the other subdivision fences on both sides of this site, and make the proposed site look more residential; 3) dedicate 45 feet of right of way for the access drive to the houses in the rear, and build it to City standards; 4) meet City landscape and buffer requirements along the east side, but at the request of Mr. Adkins, the property owner of the development along the east side, they would not put in a wood privacy fence; 5) they would install low intensity lighting in the parking area using 18 foot poles in the interior and bollard lights along the perimeter; 6) perform a floodway study to ensure all FEMA requirements are met and that no problems would be created for the neighbors downstream; 7) the site would include 185 parking spaces with one gated entrance into each side from the new access road down the middle to the houses in the rear; 8) the church would install a sidewalk along Hinson meeting City standards; 9) the parking area would be for Fellowship Bible use only as primarily overflow for the large events and for Sunday mornings, no Pulaski Academy 6 September 28, 2000 ITEM NO.: C (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-6913 use; 10) the gates would be closed whenever the area was not being used by Fellowship Bible. Commissioner Earnest asked for verification that the access road to the houses in the rear would be turned over to the City as a "to standard" street. Mr. Cruz said it would within about one year. Commissioner Nunnley asked if the driveway being installed by the church would continue all the way to Mrs. Hall's property if the property owners would like to have that done. Mr. Cruz responded that the church would not want to incur that expense, they would just complete the portion along their property. Commissioner Muse asked what generated the church's decision to not allow any one else to use the parking area. Mr. Cruz said that decision came after discussions with the neighbors to the immediate north and Pleasant Valley Estates residents. The residents were concerned about access to Hinson if the school used the site, and added congestion particularly twice a day during the week when the school would be open. Commissioner Muse said he felt the area should be open to use by Pulaski Academy since the church uses the school parking area. Mr. Frazier commented that the church would be willing to open it to Pulaski Academy if that's what the Commission wanted, but the neighbors said they didn't want that. Commissioner Lowry asked what established the access easement dedication that has been mentioned. Mr. Cruz responded that thbir title search revealed that there is a 15 foot dedicated private right of way easement on the two properties that forms a 30 foot access between the two properties on the application to the properties in the rear. Mr. Frazier added that the church would dedicate the 45 foot easement to the City to make it a City street, no longer just an access easement. Mr. Frazier made the additional comment he felt that the reason this site had remained unapproved is the floodway through it, which made residential development of this property cost prohibitive. He made the point that the church has agreed to go to the expense to correct that problem for their intended use. r� September 28, 2000 ITEM NO.: C {Cont.} FILE NO.: Z-6913 Chair Adcock asked about lights from the cars shining into nearby homes. Mr. Cruz responded that they would have a six foot high wood privacy fence and heavy vegetation on all sides abutting residential zoning to prevent that possibility. Commissioner Nunnley asked about the need for 18 foot tall light poles in the parking area if the area would only be used during the Sunday morning services and locked the rest of the time. Mr. Cruz responded that there would be times occasionally during the year, and particularly at Easter and Christmas when they would have some special evening services when the lighting would be needed for security. Commissioner Nunnley also asked what would happen to the site if the church's C.U.P. is terminated, what would be the church's obligation for restoration. Staff responded that the intent is that the church use the parking area only for their use, no other users. If they leave the site the next user would have to come back to the Commission to permit the new owner to use the area. The site would remain as it was developed, but the Commission would get another look at any new proposed use. Dr. Richard Wilhelm spoke in opposition. He stated he owns a lot that abuts this proposed site on the west side. His main concerns were that the parking area would be bad for the environment, he was concerned over flooding caused by this development, and that abutting property owners bought their properties with the understanding that this area was zoned for residential use not a parking area, and that there were no plans then for anything other than residential use. He also felt Fellowship Bible had other options such as their members carpooling, or using other existing parking areas east of the church. He stated it should be used as a City park, or to encourage a developer to develop it for houses. He said it was wrong to force the property owners behind this site to loose property value and to have to drive through a parking lot to enter or leave their property. Russell Haney spoke in opposition. He owns property behind the proposed site. His concerns were increased difficulty getting onto Hinson Road, worsened traffic congestion, and decreased property value. He said he knew of developers that would like to develop this property with single family homes if the current owner doesn't want to. His primary concern he reiterated would be decreased property value, possibly even 8 September 28, 2000 ITEM NO.: C (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-6913 to zero. He said he talked to developers who said they wouldn't touch it with a parking lot between it and Hinson Road. John Davis spoke in opposition. He lives in Pleasant Valley Estates and spoke for the neighborhood association. He stated that the neighborhood is united in its opposition to the proposed project. He stated that there was only one house that borders the area around the proposed parking area that did not oppose the project, and that person is a member of Fellowship Bible. His main points of concern were: 1) strong neighborhood opposition; 2) inappropriateness of a commuter parking lot in a residential neighborhood area; 3) the change in the character of the area that would result from this type of use of the property, including noise, lights, reduced level of privacy, and the traffic; and 4) that alternatives may be available. He commented that Fellowship constructed buildings on its campus on areas that had been reserved for parking, thereby making a conscious decision to reduce available parking at the same time they were increasing the need for parking. Now they want to buy up more land in an existing residential neighborhood area to fix the problem they created by building an off-site commuter parking lot in a residential neighborhood, in spite of the impact it would have on the families living in and around the neighborhood. He added his concerns that starting about 7:30 a.m. every Sunday, several hundred cars would begin using the parking area with the accompanying noise of running engines and doors slamming, and the noise from several shuttle bus runs. This would be occurring on a day and at a time that for many is a quiet day of rest, Sunday, plus whenever other church events occur. He continued that the zoning laws exist to separate incompatible land uses and when they are properly enforced, you don't expect to find a commuter parking lot in a residential neighborhood area. He added that the proposed privacy fence would not provide much privacy, particularly because several of the nearby houses are 20 feet higher in elevation. They would look straight down into the parking area no matter what kind of fence was put in. In addition, he addressed the issue of alternatives. He stated that with one phone call they were able to identify 200 parking spaces in one location that could very well be available for lease to Fellowship. He said a second Pi September 28, 2000 ITEM NO.: C (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-6913 call found an area that could be purchased and offered parking for 100 cars and 7,000 square feet of office space. Both areas were within a mile of Fellowship and they did offer them as alternatives to Mr. Cruz. Commissioner Rahman asked Mr. Davis if he had any idea why the properties in this site had never been developed. Mr. Davis said he did not know why. Mr. George Collins, a resident in the neighborhood since 1987, offered as an explanation that the properties had no water or sewer available to them. Commissioner Rahman asked the church representatives if they had pursued the alternatives suggested by the neighborhood. Mr. Cruz responded that Mr. Davis didn't give him the specifics of the locations they had identified, but knowing now where they are, he feels they are too far away to provide a reasonable commute. He said that Cyprus Plaza is the limit of the distance they feel would be reasonable. Chair Adcock asked if the church had checked into any other parking areas where they were closed on Sunday. Mr. Cruz responded again that currently they have leased some parking space at Cyprus Plaza and they felt that was the limit of the distance their people would be willing to shuttle. He added that the problem with leased space was the uncertainty of how long the lease would last. Commissioner Rahman asked if the church would like more time to look at other alternatives, or that they weren't interested in looking at other alternatives. Mr. Cruz responded that they were set on the Hinson site, it's close to their campus, and was a reasonable shuttle distance for their people. A motion was made to approve the application as submitted to include staff comments and recommendations and the concessions stated by the applicant. The motion failed by a vote of 5 ayes, 4 nays and 2 absent. 10