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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZ-8193 Staff AnalysisITEM NO.: 18. NAME: Rawls Short -form PCD LOCATION: located at 801 South Chester Street Z-8193 Planning Staff Comments: 1. Provide notification of property owners located within 200-feet of the site, complete with the certified abstract list, notice form with affidavit executed and proof of mailing. The notice must be mailed no later than March 28, 2007. The Office of Planning and Development must receive the proof of notice no later than April 5, 2007. 2. The property is zoned UU which does not allow off -premise, pole and monument signs; otherwise, permitted signs shall be as in Section 36-553, signs permitted in institutional and office zones. On the street level, the maximum area of signage may be doubled if at least 50 percent of the street -level office and retail space has direct access to the street. 3. Permitted uses include all those allowed in the residential district, office district and commercial district as permitted uses, except that all uses must be inside or enclosed. Conditional uses include those allowed in the 1-2 District as permitted uses except that all uses must be inside or enclosed. Variance/Waivers: None requested. Public Works Conditions: 1. Obtain a franchise agreement from Public Works (John Barr, 371-4646) for the improvements located in the right-of-way. Utilities and Fire Department/County Planning: Wastewater: Sewer available to this property. Enter : No comment received. Center -Point Ener : Approved as submitted. AT & T: No comment received. Central Arkansas Water: water meter(s) are required. Contact Central Arkansas Water if larger and/or additional Fire Department; Approved as submitted. Item # 18. County Planning: No comment. CATA: The site is not located on a dedicated CATA Bus Route. Planning Division: This request is located in the Downtown Planning District. The Land Use Plan shows Mixed Use Urban for this property. The applicant has applied for a Planned Commercial Development to allow a pole sign and outdoor auto sales from this site. The request does not require a change to the Land Use Plan. Portions of this application (outdoor display) do not conform to the standards of the Mixed Use Urban district. Master Street Plan: Chester Street is shown as a Minor Arterial on the Master Street Plan. This street may require dedication of right-of-way and may require street improvements. A Minor Arterial provides connections to and through an urban area and their primary function is to provide short distance travel within the urbanized area. Entrances and exits should be limited to minimize negative effects of traffic and pedestrians on Chester Street since it is a Minor Arterial. Bicycle Plan: Existing or proposed Class I, II, or III Bikeways are not in the immediate vicinity of the development. City Recognized Neighborhood Action Plan: The property under review is not located in an area covered by a City of Little Rock recognized neighborhood action plan. Landscape: No comment. Revised plat/plan: Submit four (4) copies of a revised preliminary plat (to include the additional information as noted above) to staff on Wednesday, March 28, 2007. Item # 18. April 12, 2007 ITEM NO.: NAME: Rawls Short -form PCD LOCATION: Located at 801 South Chester Street DEVELOPER: C.E. Buddy Rawls 3700 Cantrell Road #904 Little Rock, AR 72202 FNC-,INFFR- McClelland Consulting Engineers, Inc. 900 West Markham Street Little Rock, AR 72201 FILE NO.: Z-8193 AREA: 0.50 acres NUMBER OF LOTS: 1 zoning lot FT. NEW STREET: 0 LF CURRENT ZONING: UU, Urban Use District ALLOWED USES: Inside and Enclosed "permitted uses" as allowed in the residential, office and commercial districts of Chapter 36 of the Little Rock Code of Ordinances PROPOSED ZONING: PCD PROPOSED USE: Auto sales outside, Pole signage and UU, Urban Use District uses VARIANCES/WAIVERS REQUESTED: None requested. A. PROPOSAL/REQUEST: The applicant is seeking a rezoning of this site from UU, Urban Use District to PCD. The request is to allow additional signage, outdoor display of products and inventory and the outdoor sales of automobiles. The property has served as an automobile care center/service station for decades. Current hours of operation are 7:30 am to 6:00 pm but will likely be expanded in the future. April 12, 2007 SUBDIVISION ITEM NO.: 18 (Cont. FILE NO.: Z-8193 The applicant is seeking approval of a free standing sign, not to exceed 150 square feet in area and 35-feet in height, on an existing sign pole which is located near the northwest corner of the property, within the right of way. The sign could include the tenant's name, fuel prices and associated services. An alternative sign location has been indicated on the site plan in the event the first location is concluded inappropriate or unworkable. The request includes the temporary placement of a movable, ground -based fuel pricing sign until such signage can be included on the free-standing pole sign. Outdoor display is proposed for the site. The applicant is requesting the placement of energy and transportation -related products and product displays outside the confines of the building. In addition, the applicant is requesting the utilization of the site for vehicle sales with total number of vehicles available for sale not to exceed 20 vehicles. There are no plans for any external changes to the building presently. The applicant has indicated a small expansion area to the building on the north side not to exceed 1,500 square feet to allow for unanticipated future expansion. B. EXISTING CONDITIONS: The site is a fuel station located on the corner of Chester and 8th Streets. The area is a commercial/industrial area with a number of uses including office warehouse, restaurant uses, a television station and the City of Little Rock Central Fire Station. The Chester Street freeway exit ramp intersects Chester Street at 80 Street across from the site. Adjacent to the site 8th Street is a one- way street with west bound travel only. Chester Street is a four lane road, with curb, gutter and sidewalks in place. Signage in the area is limited to building signage. C. NEIGHBORHOOD COMMENTS: As of this writing, staff has received a number of informational phone calls from area residents. All property owners located within 200-feet of the site, all residents located within 300-feet of the site, who could be identified, along with the Downtown Neighborhood Association were notified of the public hearing. D. ENGINEERING COMMENTS: PUBLIC WORKS CONDITIONS: 1. Obtain a franchise agreement from Public Works (John Barr, 371-4646) for the improvements located in the right-of-way. April 12, 2007 SUBDIVISION ITEM NO.: 18 [Cont. E. UTILITIES AND FIRE DEPARTMENT/COUNTY PLANNING: Wastewater: Sewer available to this property. Entergy: No comment received. Center -Point Energy: Approved as submitted. AT & T: No comment received. FILE NO.: Z-81 Central Arkansas Water: Contact Central Arkansas Water if larger and/or additional water meter(s) are required. Fire Department: Approved as submitted. County Planning: No comment. CATA: The site is not located on a dedicated CATA Bus Route. F. ISSUES/TECHNICAL/DESIGN: Planning Division: This request is located in the Downtown Planning District. The Land Use Plan shows Mixed Use Urban for this property. The applicant has applied for a Planned Commercial Development to allow a pole sign and outdoor auto sales from this site. The request does not require a change to the Land Use Plan. Portions of this application (outdoor display) do not conform to the standards of the Mixed Use Urban district. Master Street Plan: Chester Street is shown as a Minor Arterial on the Master Street Plan. This street may require dedication of right-of-way and may require street improvements. A Minor Arterial provides connections to and through an urban area and their primary function is to provide short distance travel within the urbanized area. Entrances and exits should be limited to minimize negative effects of traffic and pedestrians on Chester Street since it is a Minor Arterial. Bicycle Plan: Existing or proposed Class I, II, or III Bikeways are not in the immediate vicinity of the development. City Recognized Neighborhood Action Plan: The property under review is not located in an area covered by a City of Little Rock recognized neighborhood action plan. 3 April 12, 2007 SUBDIVISION ITEM NO.: 18 (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-8193 Landscape: No comment. G. SUBDIVISION COMMITTEE COMMENT: (March 22, 2007) The applicant was not present. Staff presented an overview of the request. Staff stated there were no technical issues associated with the site plan remaining outstanding. Staff stated the request was to rezone the site to PCD to allow outdoor sales of automobiles and the placement of a pole sign on the property. Staff stated under the current UU zoning district these items were not allowable. There was no further discussion of the item. The Committee then forwarded the item to the full Commission for final action. H. ANALYSIS: There were no technical issues raised at the March 22, 2007, Subdivision Committee meeting which required addressing. The applicant is seeking a rezoning of this site from UU, Urban Use District to PCD to allow additional signage, outdoor display of products and inventory and the outdoor sales of automobiles. The property has served as an automobile care center/service station for decades. The applicant is seeking approval of a free standing sign, not to exceed 150 square feet in area and 35-feet in height, on an existing sign pole which is located near the northwest corner of the property, within the right of way. The sign could include the tenant's name, fuel prices and associated services. An alternative sign location has been indicated on the site plan in the event the first location is concluded inappropriate or unworkable. The request includes the temporary placement of a movable, ground -based fuel pricing sign until such signage can be included on the free-standing pole sign. Per the UU, Urban Use District zoning classification off -premise, pole and monument signs are not allowed. Otherwise, signage is allowed as permitted per Section 36-553, Signs permitted in Institutional and Office zones. On the street level, the maximum area of signage may be doubled if at least 50 percent of the street -level office and retail space has direct access to the street. Outdoor display is proposed for the site. The applicant is requesting the placement of energy and transportation -related products and product displays outside the confines of the building. In addition the applicant is requesting the utilization of the site for vehicle sales with total number of vehicles available for sale not to exceed 20 vehicles. Permitted uses in the UU, Urban Use District include those allowed in the residential district, office district and commercial district as permitted uses, except that all uses must be inside or enclosed. Conditional uses include those allowed in the 1-2, Light Industrial District as permitted uses except that all uses must be inside or enclosed. 9 April 12, 2007 SUBDIVISION ITEM NO.: 18 (Cont. FILE NO.: Z-8193 There are no plans for any external changes to the building presently. The applicant has indicated a small expansion area to the building on the north side not to exceed 1,500 square feet to allow for unanticipated future expansion. Staff is not supportive of the request for the pole signage. The UU, Urban Use District was designed to assure the continuation of development consistent with a traditional urban form. The urban use district is designed to help create a compact, dense, distinguishable core area and is established in order to provide for an urban form allowing mid -rise and high-rise structures. The district is to provide for the office, civic and business core of the City. Structures within the district are encouraged to provide multiple uses within the same structure and the ground level or street level of the structure should include street oriented activity and pedestrian amenities. The resulting area is to be pedestrian 'urban' oriented. The Development Criteria addressed eleven (11) key elements with signage being one of the elements. As noted above off -premise, pole and monument signs are not allowed. Otherwise, signage is allowed as permitted per Section 36-553, Signs permitted in Institutional and Office zones. Staff feels the ordinance should be adhered to related to the allowable signage since the district is very limited on the specific issues the zoning district chooses to address. With regard to the utilization of the site with outdoor activities, staff does not support this aspect of the request either. The Use Regulations outline the activities which can take place on UU, Urban Use District zoned sites. The only allowable uses prohibited per the residential, commercial and office zones are the uses which include outdoor activity. Staff does not feel the placement of outdoor activities is appropriate for this site. The site is located at a key entrance to the District. Staff does not feel this site is appropriate for outdoor activity uses. I. STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS: Staff recommends denial of the request. PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: (APRIL 12, 2007) Mr. Buddy Rawls was present representing the request. There were registered objectors present. Staff presented the item with a recommendation of denial. Mr. Rawls addressed the Commission on the merits of his request. He stated he had purchased the service station from the previous owner with the understanding the site would maintain its commercial status. He stated he was unaware of staff's concerns with his application request until he received his copy of the staff recommendation in the mail. He stated his business was being damaged by the lack of signage. He stated without signage potential customers did not know the price of his fuel. He stated he also needed the ability to place cars on the site to inform people of bio-fuels. He stated 5 April 12, 2007 SUBDIVISION ITEM NO.: 18 (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-8193 he would be converting vehicles to use bio-fuels and needed the ability to sell the cars once converted. He stated his interest was to protect the City and the site. He stated he was a member of Keep Little Rock Beautiful. He stated he would not turn the site into a used car lot. He stated his business was a green business and an environmentally friendly business. He stated the Commission approved a Conditional Use Permit for the site to allow the recycling of electronics. He stated this had not turned out as he expected since few persons were interested in the recycling of electronics at this time. He requested the Commission provide him with a level playing field for his business to compete in the general market. Ms. Ruth Bell addressed the Commission in opposition of the request. She stated the League of Women Votes were supportive of environmental issues and were also supportive of the zoning ordinance and adherence to the ordinances. She stated she felt the cars were the main concern. She stated the sign could be acceptable but not the outdoor activities. Mr. Dickson Flake addressed the Commission in opposition of the request. He stated the site was a service station for a number of years, which was an acceptable use. He stated he was not supportive of allowing outdoor activities on the site and was not supportive of the placement of a pole sign on the site. He stated he felt a monument or pedestal sign would be acceptable. He stated the area was in transition changing to office and office warehouse activities. He stated there were a number of audio visual and graphic artist businesses located in the area. He stated there was no reason for a 30-foot sign at the service station location. He requested the Commission deny the request as filed. There was a general discussion concerning the activities of the site with the applicant. The Commission questioned the total number of cars and the use of the site as a used car lot. Mr. Rawls stated his intent was not a used car lot but to sell converted automobiles from the site. He stated using advice provided by staff he looked to the future and indicated a maximum of twenty cars. The Commission questioned Mr. Rawls of his immediate plans. He indicated the immediate plans did not include 20 cars. The Commission questioned access to the site. Mr. Rawls stated the only access was from 8th Street which was westbound only. He stated the Highway Department controlled the right of way along Chester Street and no curb cuts were allowed. Mr. Rawls stated he placed the reasonable person analogy on his request and felt his request was reasonable. He stated a service station would typically be allowed signage for pricing, automobiles for sale and the display of automobile related products outside the building. The Commission questioned Mr. Rawls on the number of cars he felt he would place on the site for sale. Mr. Rawls stated he needed to be able to conduct business in a legal and profitable way. The Commission indicated this maybe his intent but they had to look to the next owner when making their recommendation and approval. 9 April 12, 2007 SUBDIVISION 19: 1►VA1i•Eel : lease 111 FILE NO.: Z-8193 A motion was made to approve the request as filed. The motion failed by a vote of 0 ayes, 10 noes and 1 absent. 7