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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZ-8230 Staff AnalysisJ U N E 25, 2007 ITEM NO.: File No.: Z-8230 Owner: Windsor Republic Doors, Inc. Applicant: Roger Bailey/Bruce Bates, Windsor Door Address: 5800 Scott Hamilton Drive Description: Northwest corner of Scott Hamilton Drive and Hoerner Street Zoned: 1-2 Variance Requested: A variance is requested from the area provisions of Section 36- 320 to allow a building addition with a reduced front setback. Justification: The applicant's justification is presented in an attached letter. Present Use of Property: Industrial Proposed Use of Property: Industrial STAFF REPORT A. Public Works Issues: No Comments B. Landscape and Buffer Issues: Site plan must comply with the cities minimal landscape and buffer ordinance requirements. The southeast corner property line needs to reflect the minimal landscape perimeter width of nine feet. A variance from this minimal requirement will require approval from the City Beautiful Commission. The landscape ordinance requires a minimum of 8% of the paved areas be landscaped with interior islands of at least 7 1/2 feet in width and 300 square feet in area. Proposed plan does not reflect this minimum. The landscape ordinance requires a minimum of three (3) feet of building landscaping between the parking areas and the building. JUNE 25, 2007 ITEM NO.: 1 (CON'T. An automatic irrigation system to water landscaped areas will be required. Prior to the issuance of a building permit, it will be necessary to provide an approved landscape plan stamped with the seal of a Registered Landscape Architect. The City Beautiful Commission recommends preserving as many existing trees as feasible on this tree covered site. Credit toward fulfilling Landscape Ordinance requirements can be given when preserving trees of six (6) inch caliper or larger. C. Staff Analysis: The 1-2 zoned property at 5800 Scott Hamilton Drive is occupied by a one- story office/warehouse building which houses the Windsor Republic Doors manufacturing facility. The property is located at the northwest corner of Scott Hamilton Drive and Hoerner Street. There are access drives along Scott Hamilton Drive, with parking along the east side of the building. The office portion of the facility is located on the east side of the building. There are truck loading docks along the south side of the building and at the northeast corner of the structure. There is a large employee parking lot on the north side of the building, taking access from Scott Hamilton Drive. The applicant is proposing to construct a 145 foot by 184 foot addition on the southeast corner of the existing industrial building, as noted on the attached site plan. The building addition will be located 15'-9" from the front (east) property line and approximately 80 feet from the south side property line. A new parking area will be located on the south side of the building addition. The proposed addition will eliminate some of the existing parking on the east side of the building, but ample parking exists on the site. The applicant notes that the building addition is proposed in order to move the company's distribution center, which is currently in Maumelle, to this site. Section 36-320(e)(1) of the City's Zoning Ordinance requires a minimum front building setback of 50 feet for 1-2 zoned property. Therefore, the applicant is requesting a variance to allow the proposed addition with a 15'-9" front setback. Staff is supportive of the requested variance. Staff views the request as reasonable. Scott Hamilton is a rather wide right-of-way at 100 feet. The City's Master Street Plan designates Scott Hamilton as a Collector Street, with a required right-of-way of 60 feet. Therefore, there is 20 additional feet of right-of-way along this side of Scott Hamilton Drive. With the additional right- of-way, there will be a landscaped area having a width of over 60 feet along the east side of the proposed building addition (between it and street pavement). The applicant could request abandonment of the additional right- of-way in the future. Given the right-of-way issue combined with the industrial nature of the property and surrounding properties, staff feels the proposed JUNE 25, 2007 EM NO.: 1 (CON'T. addition will be compatible wit the area. Staff believes the proposed addition will have no adverse impact on the adjacent properties or the general area. D. Staff Recommendation: Staff recommends approval of the requested setback variance, subject to compliance with the landscape/buffer requirements as noted in paragraph B. of the agenda staff report. BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT: (JUNE 25, 2007) Bruce Bates was present, representing the application. There were no objectors present. Staff presented the application with a recommendation of approval. Bruce Bates addressed the Board in support of the application. He noted that a petition to abandon the excess Scott Hamilton Drive right-of-way would be filed in the future. Chairman Francis asked why the building addition had to be at the southeast corner of the building. Mr. Bates explained that the manufacturing process within the commercial facility was from north to south, with addition being for the distribution phase. James Van Dover asked about filing the right-of-way abandonment application. Mr. Bates noted the application had not yet been filed. He explained that the additional right-of-way area could be used for parallel parking and truck access for loading customer vehicles. The issue was further discussed. Mr. Van Dover asked what the survey stakes on the property represented. The issue was briefly discussed. Vice -Chair Burruss asked if the applicant would accept a condition that the petition to abandon the excess right-of-way be filed. Mr. Bates stated that it would be acceptable. Chairman Francis asked if it could be done in 60 days. Mr. Bates indicated that it could. James Van Dover explained that he could not support the application. Chairman Francis explained that he could support the application as long as the petition to abandon the excess right-of-way was filed within 60 days. Vice - Chairman Burruss concurred with Mr. Francis. There was a motion to approve the application as recommended by staff, with the additional condition that a right-of-way abandonment application for the excess Scott Hamilton right-of-way be filed within 60 days. The motion passed with a vote of 3 ayes, 1 nay and 1 absent. The application was approved.