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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZ-8286-A Staff AnalysisSEPTEMBER 29, 2008 ITEM NO.: B File No.: Z-8286-A Owner: Richard A. Williams Applicant: Robert A. Roberts Address: 13515 Vimy Ridge Road Description: East side of Vimy Ridge Road, north of County Line Road Zoned: C-1 Variance Requested: A variance is requested from the development provisions of Section 36-299 to allow a retail establishment larger than 10,000 square feet in floor area. Justification: The applicant's justification is presented in an attached letter. Present Use of Property: Undeveloped Proposed Use of Property: Commercial STAFF REPORT A. Public Works Issues: 1. At time of development, Vimy Ridge Road is classified on the Master Street Plan as a minor arterial. A dedication of right-of-way 45 feet from centerline will be required. 2. At time of development, provide design of street conforming to the Master Street Plan. Construct one-half street improvement to Vimy Ridge Road including 5-foot sidewalks with planned development. The future curb line should be located 29.5 ft from the centerline of the right-of-way. 3. At time of development, a grading permit in accordance with section 29- 186 (c) & (d) will be required prior to any land clearing or grading activities at the site. Other than residential subdivisions, site grading and drainage plans must be submitted and approved prior to the start of construction. 4. At time of development, storm water detention ordinance applies to this property. Show the proposed location for stormwater detention facilities on the plan. 5. At time of development, if disturbed area is 1 or more acres, obtain a NPDES storm water permit from the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality prior to the start of construction. SEPTEMBER 29, 2008 ITEM NO.: B 6. Driveway locations and widths do not meet the traffic access and circulation requirements of Sections 30-43 and 31-210. The lots must have a single driveway access centered on the property line. The width of driveway must not exceed 36 feet. 7. When driveway is moved to the center of the lot, in accordance with 31- 210 (h)(12), access driveways running parallel to the street shall not create a four-way intersection within 75' of the future curb line of the street. 8. At time of development, per City Code, Sec. 30-281(b), the applicant is responsible for boundary street improvements, which include 100% of bridge or box culvert construction on arterial streets for the initial 15 ft of span length. Due to the applicant developing the property on one corner of the culvert under Vimy Ridge Road the applicant is responsible for construction of 25% of the culvert. Due to construction not occurring on the property to the south the applicant should provide the City with a payment for 25% of the cost of extending the box culvert in -lieu of construction. 9. At time of development, plans of all work in right-of-way shall be submitted for approval prior to start of work. Obtain barricade permit prior to doing any work in the right-of-way from Traffic Engineering at (501) 379-1805 (Travis Herbner). 10. At time of development, streetlights are required by Section 31-403 of the LR code. Provide plans for approval to Traffic Engineering. Streetlights must be installed prior to platting/certificate of occupancy. Contact Traffic Engineering 379-1813 (Steve Philpott) for more info. 11. At time of development, a drainage study must be conducted to determine the 100-year flood elevation along the ditch. The proposed buildings must be elevated to 1 foot above the base flood elevation. The drainage culvert under the driveway from the south must be the same size as the box culvert under Vimy Ridge Road. 12. At time of development a shared access easement must be obtained from the property to the south. 13. At time of development, maintenance should be performed on the ditch to the south and east and it placed in a drainage easement. 14. In accordance with 31-210 (h)(12), the access driveway from the south property running parallel to the street shall not create a four-way intersection within 75' of the future curb line of the street. SEPTEMBER 29, 2008 ITEM NO.: B CON'T. B. Landscape and Buffer Issues: Site plan must comply with the City's landscape and buffer ordinance requirements. The zoning street buffer ordinance requires an average twenty-three foot (23') wide street buffer along Vimy Ridge Road. Currently, this site isn't meeting this minimal amount. It reflects a mere five-foot (5). The landscape ordinance requires a landscape perimeter strip of nine foot (9') along Vimy Ridge Road. A variance from this minimal amount must be obtained from the City Beautiful Commission prior to the issuance of a building permit. The zoning buffer ordinance requires a seventeen -foot wide (17') land use buffer along both the northern and southern perimeters of the site. Seventy percent (70%) of this area must remain undisturbed. The landscape ordinance requires a landscape perimeter strip of nine foot (9') around the sites entirety. A variance from this minimal amount must be obtained from the City Beautiful Commission prior to the issuance of a building permit. The zoning buffer ordinance requires a twenty-three foot (23') wide land use buffer along the eastern most perimeter of the site next to the residentially zoned properties. Seventy percent (70%) of this area must remain undisturbed. A six (6) foot high opaque screen, either a wooden fence with its face side directed outward, a wall, or dense evergreen plantings, is required along the northern, southern, and eastern property lines, next to the residentially zoned property. Interior islands are required within the parking lot area and must be a minimum of one hundred and fifty square foot in area and be evenly distributed throughout the site. A small amount of building landscaping will be required. 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. SEPTEMBER 29, 2008 ITEM NO.: B (CON'T.) The City Beautiful Commission recommends preserving as many existing trees as feasible on this site. It appears there are very old live oak trees at this location. Credit toward fulfilling Landscape Ordinance requirements can be given when preserving trees of six (6) inch caliper or larger. C. Staff Analysis: The C-1 zoned property at 13515 Vimy Ridge Road is undeveloped pasture - type land. There is a single-family residence on a large tract located immediately north of the property, with undeveloped R-2 zoned property further north. There is also undeveloped R-2 zoned property across Vimy Ridge Road to the west, with a Dollar General Store to the southwest. A convenience store is located immediately to the south at the northeast corner of Vimy Ridge Road and County Line Road. A single-family subdivision is located to the east, with undeveloped MF-6 zoned property to the southeast. On April 1, 2008 the City Board of Directors passed Ordinance No. 19,949 which rezoned this 2.519 acre property to "C-1" Neighborhood Commercial District. The rezoning was approved, subject to the following conditions: ■ There shall be a 25-foot undisturbed buffer along the east perimeter of the property, with additional evergreen planting to be installed to complete screening within the buffer area. There shall be a building line established along the east property line as follows: beginning 150 feet west of the northeast corner of the property; running south perpendicular to the north property line to a point 35 feet back from the east property line; running southwesterly 35 feet back from the east property line to the southeast corner of the property. The applicant is now proposing a commercial development plan for the property, as noted on the attached site plan. The proposed plan consists of a 21,000 square foot commercial building located within the east half of the property, with paved parking between the building and Vimy Ridge Road. A single access drive is proposed from Vimy Ridge Road, with a cross -access drive with the existing convenience store to the south. A pharmacy drive-thru is proposed on the north side of the building. Truck access will be along the north side of the building to a loading dock on the rear (east side) of the building. A dumpster will be located near the loading dock area. The applicant is proposing for a "Fred's" store to occupy 16,000 square feet of the commercial building, with smaller commercial user(s) occupying the remainder of the building. The proposed development will comply with the buffer and building setback conditions of the rezoning ordinance. SEPTEMBER 29, 2008 ITEM NO.: B (CON'T.) The applicant is requesting one (1) variance with the proposed development. Section 36-299(b)(2) of the City's Zoning Ordinance (C-1 development criteria) is as follows: (2) There shall be a maximum gross leasable area of five thousand (5,000) square feet per establishment, except that one (1) establishment may have not more than ten thousand (10,000) square feet. The applicant is requesting a variance from this ordinance standard to allow the "Fred's" store to occupy 16,000 square feet of the proposed commercial building. Staff is supportive of the requested variance. Staff views the request as reasonable. The "Fred's" store use will be a neighborhood commercial -type use, with a pharmacy and other convenience/grocery retail goods. Staff feels the store will be a quality addition to serve the residential uses in the area. Staff's support is based on the development conforming to all Landscape/Buffer and Public Works requirements, as well as the conditions of the rezoning ordinance. Staff believes the proposed development will have no adverse impact on the adjacent properties or the general area. D. Staff Recommendation: Staff recommends approval of the requested variance, subject to the following conditions: 1. Compliance with all Landscape and Buffer requirements. 2. Compliance with all Public Works requirements. 3. Compliance with the conditions of rezoning Ordinance No. 19,949. 4. The dumpster must not be located within the 35-foot rear setback area. 5. All signage must comply to ordinance standards. 6. A cross -access easement with the property to the south must be executed prior to approval of shared driveway. 7. The required 25' buffer is to be marked and protected with orange contractor's fencing. Placement of the fencing is to be confirmed by staff prior to any work commencing on the site. SEPTEMBER 29, 2008 ITEM NO.: B (CON'T. BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT: (AUGUST 25, 2008) Staff informed the Board that the application needed to be deferred to the September 29, 2008 Agenda based on the fact that the applicant failed to complete the notifications to surrounding property owners as required. The item was placed on the Consent Agenda and deferred to the September 29, 2008 Agenda as recommended by staff with a vote of 4 ayes, 0 nays and 1 absent. BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT: (SEPTEMBER 29, 2008) The applicant was present. There were no objectors present. Staff presented the item and a recommendation of approval. The applicant offered no additional comments. The item was placed on the Consent Agenda and approved as recommended by staff by a vote of 5 ayes and 0 nays.