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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZ-8470 Staff AnalysisFILE NO.: Z-8470 NAME: Ramirez Short -form PCD LOCATION: 3723 West 981h Street DEVELOPER: Jose Able Ramirez 3723 West 98`h Street Little Rock, AR 72209 ENGINEER: Hope Engineering 322 North Market Street Benton, AR 72015 AREA: 2.45 acres CURRENT ZONING ALLOWED USES: PROPOSED ZONING: NUMBER OF LOTS: 1 FT. NEW STREET: 0 LF R-2, Single-family and Non -conforming Commercial Automotive Repair Single-family and Automotive Repair PCD PROPOSED USE: Single-family — Manufactured Homes, Automotive Body Repair VARIANCES/WAIVERS REQUESTED: None requested. A. PROPOSAUREQUEST: The applicant is requesting a rezoning of the property located at 3723 West 981h Street to recognize existing uses. The property has a non -conforming status to allow the uses as exist today. The property currently contains eight (8) mobile homes fronting 98`h Street, a pre-existing commercial building and a storage building. The commercial building sits on the property facing Hilaro Springs Road and is operating as an automotive body repair shop. The building is 30-feet by 57-feet containing 1,710 square feet. The storage building is located along the southern perimeter of the site and is approximately 50-feet by 30-feet and will be used to store building materials from the owner's job sites. A 15-feet by 30-feet addition was recently added to the storage building resulting in an FILE NO.: Z-8470 additional 450 square feet of space. The owner did not secure permits to allow the addition. The site is currently under enforcement for the addition. The automotive body repair shop will operate from 8:00 am to 5:30 pm Monday through Friday and from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm on Saturday. B. EXISTING CONDITIONS: The site contains eight (8) mobile homes, an auto body repair shop and a new building constructed along the southern property line constructed with overhead garage doors. There are a number of vehicles located outside the auto body repair shop in various states of disrepair. There is a gated entrance and a screening fence located along Hilaro Springs Road adjacent to the auto repair activity. West of the site are a number of manufactured homes. North of the site are site built single-family homes. East, across Hilaro Springs Road, are single-family homes and an undeveloped wooded area.. Hilaro Springs Road is a two lane road with no sidewalk and open ditches for drainage. West 98th Street is a substandard chip -seal roadway with no sidewalk and open ditches for drainage. C. NEIGHBORHOOD COMMENTS: As of this writing, staff has received several informational phone calls from area property owners. All property owners located within 200 feet of the site, all residents, who could be identified, located within 300 feet of the site, Southwest Little Rock United for Progress and the Upper Baseline Neighborhood Association were notified of the public hearing. D. ENGINEERING COMMENTS: PUBLIC WORKS CONDITIONS: 1. Hilaro Springs 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, Due to the proposed use of the property, the Master Street Plan specifies that West 98th Street for the frontage of this property must meet commercial street standards. Dedicate right-of-way to 30 feet from centerline. 3. A 20 foot radial dedication of right-of-way is required at the intersection of Hilaro Springs Road and West 981h Street. 4. With site development, provide the design of street conforming to the Master Street Plan. Construct one-half street improvement to Hilaro Springs Road including 5-foot sidewalks with the planned development. The new back of curb should be located 29.5 feet from centerline. 2 FILE NO.: Z-8470 5. With site development, provide the design of street conforming to the Master Street Plan. Construct one-half street improvement to W. 98th Street including 5-foot sidewalks with the planned development. The new back of curb should be located 15.5 feet from centerline. 6. With site development, provide the design of street conforming to the Master Street Plan. Construct improvements to the Hilaro Springs Rd and West 98th Street intersection with the planned development. West 98th Street should be realigned to connect with Hilaro Springs Road at a 90 degree angle. 7. 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). 8. If the building on the south property line is new, the stormwater detention ordinance applies to this property. Show the proposed location for stormwater detention facilities on the plan. 9. Street Improvement plans shall include signage and striping. Traffic Engineering must approve completed plans prior to construction. 10. Streetlights are required by Section 31-403 of the Little Rock 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 information. 11. Obtain a franchise agreement from Public Works (Bennie Nicolo, 371-4818) for the private improvements located in the right-of-way. E. UTILITIES AND FIRE DEPARTMENT/COUNTY PLANNING: Wastewater: Sewer main extension required with easements for this project. Contact Little Rock Wastewater Utility for additional information. Entergy: No comment received. Center -Point Energy: No comment received. AT & T: No comment received. Central Arkansas Water: Contact Central Arkansas Water if larger and/or additional water meter(s) are required. The Little Rock Fire Department needs to evaluate this site to determine whether additional public and/or private fire hydrant(s) will be required. If additional fire hydrant(s) are required, they will be installed at the Developer's expense. Fire Department: Place fire hydrants per code. Contact the Little Rock Fire Department for additional information. 3 FILE NO.: Z-8470 Cont. County Planning: No comment. CATA: The site is not located on a dedicated CATA Bus Route. F. ISSUES/TECHNICAL/DESIGN: Planning ❑iyision: This request is located in the Geyer Springs East Planning District. The Land Use Plan shows Residential Low Density for this property. The applicant has applied for a Planned Commercial Development to recognize an existing mobile home and commercial development. Since the request is to recognize an existing condition and does not propose to add or change use, no change to the Land Use Plan is proposed. Master Street Plan: Hilaro Springs is a Minor Arterial. 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 Hilaro Springs since it is a Minor Arterial. West 98th Street is a Local Street. The primary function of a Local Street is to provide access to adjacent properties. Local Streets which are abutted by non-residential zoning/use or more intensive zoning than duplexes are considered as "Commercial Streets". These streets have a design standard the same as a Collector. These streets may require dedication of right-of-way and may require street improvements for entrances and exits to the site. Bicycle Plan: There are no bike routes planned for the immediate vicinity. Neiahborhood Action Plan: This area is covered by the Upper Baseline Neighborhood Plan. The Neighborhood and Housing Revitalization Goal states: "Preserve residential quality of neighborhood --no daycares, cottage industries, etc." Landscape: All vehicular use areas will require landscaping at the time a building permit is issued to rehabilitate the site if the rehabilitation on the property exceeding fifty (50) percent of the current replacement cost. At such time fifty (50) percent of the existing vehicular use area must be brought into compliance with the landscape ordinance requirements and must continue to full compliance on a graduated scale based upon the percentage of rehabilitation cost. Any new paved area and/or vehicular use areas are required to comply with the typical landscape ordinance requirements. 0 FILE NO.: Z-8470 (Cont. 2. Commercial uses must provide buffers where abutting any use or zoning except office, commercial or industrial. All sites developed, modified or enlarged must provide a land use buffer(s) as follows: Side property lines at six (6) percent of the average width of the lot on both sides; Rear property lines at six (6) percent of the average depth of the lot; The minimum dimension is nine (9) feet in all instances; The maximum dimension required is fifty (50) feet in all instances. 3. Street buffers are required in all instances. All sites developed, modified or enlarged must provide street buffers as follows: All street property lines at six (6) percent of the average depth of the lot; The minimum dimension must be one-half (1/2) the full width requirement but in no case less than nine (9) feet. The maximum dimension required is fifty (50) feet. G. SUBDIVISION COMMITTEE COMMENT: (July 2, 2009) The applicant was present representing the request. Staff presented an overview of the request stating there were a few outstanding technical issues in need of addressing prior to the item being forwarded to the full Commission for final action. Staff questioned the length of time the auto repair business had been operating from the site. Mr. Ramirez stated he purchased the property a year ago and the business was in operation at that time. Staff questioned the improvements completed to the existing building. Mr. Ramirez stated he had increased the southern building with a very small addition approximately 25 feet wide and the length of the building. Public Works comments were addressed. Staff stated street improvements to Hilaro Springs Road and West 981h Street were required with the approval of the rezoning request. Staff stated it was possible for the City to grant a hardship if the cost of street construction exceeded the cost of the improvements. Staff stated a cost estimate prepared by an engineer for the street construction was required to allow the City to determine if the hardship was applicable. Landscaping comments were addressed. Staff stated all new vehicular use areas would require landscaping in compliance with Chapter 15 or the City's landscape ordinance. Staff also stated land use and street buffers were required with any redevelopment of the site. Staff noted comments from the other reporting departments and agencies suggesting the applicant contact them individually for additional clarification. There was no further discussion of the item. The Committee then forwarded the item to the full Commission for final action. H. ANALYSIS: The applicant has provided staff with additional information addressing concerns raised at the July 2, 2009, Subdivision Committee meeting. The additional 5 FILE NO.: Z-8470 (Cont information includes an engineering analysis outlining the street construction cost as requested by staff to determine if a financial hardship exist regarding the required street improvements. Section 30-284 regarding financial hardship states projects other than subdivisions may require off-street improvements that constitute a substantial portion ❑f total project cost. The public works department may determine that a project involves a financial hardship and require an in -lieu cash contribution not to exceed fifteen (15) percent of the estimated total development cost. The engineers estimate indicates the boundary street improvements are in excess of $179,500.000. The allowance of the fifteen percent cash contribution based on the engineers estimate is $26,968.50. The site is currently zoned R-2, Single-family and was developed prior to the City annexing the site. The site has a history of residential and non-residential uses and was allowed a non -conforming status as it existed at the time of annexation. Section 36-151 outlines the purpose of nonconformities and exceptions to allow nonconformities. The ordinance states the section is to establish regulations and limitations for exceptions to the continued existence of uses, lots and structures which were established prior to the effective date of the zoning ordinance which do not conform to the provisions of Chapter 36. Such nonconformities may continue, but the provisions of the division are designed to curtail enlargement or expansion of such nonconformities and to encourage their eventual elimination in order to preserve the integrity of the zoning districts and the regulations by Chapter 36. The ordinance states any nonconforming use, structure or lot which legally existed prior to the adoption of this section of the zoning ordinance or any use, structure or lot which has been rendered nonconforming by the provisions of Chapter 36 may continue to be utilized in the same fashion as existed prior to the adoption of the ordinance. Any conforming use, structure or lot legally existing under the provisions shall not be rendered nonconforming by action of the city, county, or state of Arkansas in the acquisition of property for street or drainage right-of-way. The ordinance also states if an application is made for rezoning, the applicant must submit a planned development unless agreeing to satisfy building setbacks and needed right-of-way to current City ordinance and the Master Street Plan standards. The ordinance states a nonconforming use shall not be extended, expanded, enlarged or increased in intensity to any structure or land area other than that occupied by such nonconforming use on the effective date of the ordinance, or any amendment which causes such use to become nonconforming and any nonconforming structure may be enlarged, maintained, repaired or altered; provided, however, that no such enlargement, maintenance, repair or alteration shall either create an additional nonconformity or increase the degree of the existing nonconformity of all or any part of such structure. A FILE NO.: Z-8470 (Cont. The site is not proposed with signage but staff would recommend if signage is proposed and allowed signage be limited to signage allowed in office and institutional zones. Staff feels the allowance of a ground sign six (6) feet in height and sixty-four (64) square feet in area for the commercial aspect of the development is sufficient to identify the uses. There is to be no signage on West 98`h Street on the portion of the site occupied by the manufactured homes. The request is to recognize the existing uses on the site and allow the building expansion made to the southern building to remain. The property currently contains eight (8) mobile homes fronting West 98'h Street, a pre-existing commercial building and a storage building used by the owner as storage for materials related to his contracting business. There are no changes proposed to the manufactured homes. The applicant requests in the future upgrades to the manufactured homes be allowed. The storage building is located along the southern perimeter of the site and is approximately 50-feet by 30-feet and will be used to store building materials from the owner's job sites. A 15-feet by 30-feet addition was recently added to the storage building resulting in an additional 450 square feet of space. The owner did not secure permits to allow the addition. The site is currently under enforcement for the addition. The commercial building sits facing Hilaro Springs Road and is operating as an automotive body repair shop. The building is 30-feet by 57-feet containing 1,710 square feet. The automotive body repair shop will operate from 8:00 am to 5:30 pm Monday through Friday and from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm on Saturday. Staff is supportive of allowing the site to continue to operate with the hours of operation indicated above and limiting the approved uses to those identified in this write-up. Staff supports the expansion of the storage building as currently constructed and the allowance of the issuance of the final certificate of occupancy for the building subject to the applicant receiving all necessary permits from the City and payment of all filing fees associated with the building permit to the City. Based on the construction cost estimates staff is supportive of allowing the payment of an in -lieu contribution of fifteen (15) percent for the required street development cost. To staff's knowledge there are no outstanding technical issues associated with the request. STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends approval of the request subject to compliance with the following conditions: 1. Compliance with the comments and conditions as outlined is paragraphs D, E and F of the agenda staff report. 7 .: Z-8470 (Cont 2. There is to be no storage of inoperable or wrecked vehicles on the site. 3. There is to be no outside storage of vehicle parts, materials or equipment. 4. All uses must take place within the enclosed building. 5. A six foot opaque screen must be installed along the western perimeter of the entire site, where adjacent to residentially zoned or used property Staff recommends payment of an in -lieu contribution _for the required street construction at a rate of fifteen percent of the total development cost. PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: (JULY 23, 2009) The applicant was not present. There were no registered objectors present. Staff presented the item stating the applicant had failed to respond to comment raised at the July 2, 2009, Subdivision Committee meeting. Staff presented a recommendation the item be deferred to the September 3, 2009, public hearing. There was no further discussion of the item. The chair entertained a motion for placement of the item on the consent agenda for deferral as recommended by staff. The motion carried by a vote of 9 ayes, 0 noes and 2 absent. PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: (SEPTEMBER 3, 2009) The applicant was not present. There were registered objectors present. Staff presented the item stating they had concerns with portions of the application request and requested the item be deferred to the October 15, 2009, public hearing. There was no further discussion of the item. The chair entertained a motion for approval of the item as presented by staff. The motion carried by a vote of 10 ayes, 0 noes and 1 absent. STAFF UPDATE: In the staff write-up dated September 3, 2009, staff indicated the applicant's cash contribution for the street construction would be $26,968.50. This amount is incorrect. The cash contribution should have been calculated on the actual cost of construction of the building and not the cost of street construction. The applicant indicated approximately $4,000.00 was spent on the building construction resulting in a contribution of $600.00. The City Attorney's office has reviewed Public Works request for right of way dedication and the in -lieu contribution and determined since only a portion of the site is being used FILE NO.: Z-8470 (Conti as a non-residential use this is the only portion of the property the City should consider rezoning. There are five (5) buildings located on the site currently being used for non-residential purposes. There are three (3) buildings associated with the automobile repair business and two (2) buildings being used by the owner as storage. The southern most building will be used to house the owners personal RV. There will be no commercial activity allowed within this building. Within the area proposed for rezoning the right of way for Hilaro Springs Road is in place. Based on the current request and no additional activity on the site the applicant will not be required to provide an in -lieu contribution or any additional right of way dedication for Hilaro Springs Road or for West 981h Street. This will nullify Public Works comments within the review with the exception of comments 4, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11. Staff continues to support the request to rezone the property to recognize the existing non-residential use on the site. The automotive repair is limited to the three (3) buildings located along the western perimeter with the automotive repair activity being limited to the center building and storage being in the northern and southern buildings. All staff comments and conditions continue to apply as indicated in the above staff write-up and recommendation. PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: (OCTOBER 15, 2009) The applicant was not present. There were registered objectors present. Chairman Yates requested the applicant come to the podium to determine if the applicant wanted to pursue the application request based on the number of Commissioners present. Mr. Ramirez was not present. There was a spirited discussion by the Commission as to the options available. Deputy City Attorney Cindy Dawson stated the Commission's By-laws allowed a deferral if the applicant was not present. She stated her concerns were with due process. She stated without the applicant present to respond to comments made there was a potential for the City to be sued for lack of due process. She stated fairness and equity were also concerns. She stated the Citizens which had come to the previous two meetings had been impositioned and she did understand the Commission's frustration. Commissioner Adcock questioned if the citizens were unable to attend the next meeting where was there fairness and equity. Ms. Dawson stated the Commission could defer the item at the next public hearing if there were circumstances that warranted a deferral of the item including if the citizens were unable to attend the meeting if the Commission chose to do so. A motion was made to defer the item to the December 3, 2009, public hearing. The motion carried by a vote of 6 ayes, 2 noes and 3 absent. STAFF UPDATE: There has been no change to the application request since the previous staff write-up. 6% FILE NO.: Z-8470 (Cont. PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: (DECEMBER 3, 2009) Mr. Able Ramirez was present representing the request. There were registered objectors present. Staff presented the item stating the request was a rezoning of the non-residential portion of the site only to recognize and existing auto body repair shop and allow a building located along the southern perimeter to be used as storage by Mr. Ramirez. Mr. Ramirez addressed the Commission. He stated he bought the property a few years ago and the site had an auto body repair shop on the property when he purchased the site. He stated there were seven mobile homes located on the site. He stated #1 was no longer on the site. Mr. Pat Gee addressed the Commission in opposition of the request. She stated she was President of the Upper Baseline Neighborhood Association and Vice -President of the Southwest Little Rock United for Progress. She stated both organizations had voted to oppose the request. She stated the site was a nuisance to the area residents. She provided the Commission with copies of police reports for the area. She stated the violations included noise, loud music, gun fire and disturbing the peace. She stated she had visited the site and when she pulled in she did not feel comfortable which was unusual for her. She requested the Commission deny the request. Mr. Tommy Hayes addressed the Commission in opposition of the request. He stated his home was two blocks from the site and his family was disturbed on a number of occasions by the gun fire and loud music from the site. He stated he checked with the Secretary of States office to determine if the business had a license and was told they did not. He stated the property was purchased in 2003 by Mr. Ramirez. He stated the neighborhood concerns were noise, buffering and disturbance calls. He stated the police had been to the site a number of times to quite persons from large social gatherings. He stated the residents did not need this disturbance within their residential neighborhood. Mr. Hayes stated the neighborhood was a quiet working class, mixed race and age neighborhood. He stated the neighborhood cared about each other and checked on each other. He stated the area was not rental but an area of new homeowners and retirees. He stated the neighborhood was not safe and the area needed to be rid of the loud noise, running gun battles and various disturbances. Mr. Ramirez addressed the Commission addressing the issues raised. He stated he was not aware of any issues at the auto body repair shop. He stated the noise complaints were most likely coming from the mobile homes. He stated he did not live on site and was not aware of the problems the neighborhood was having. He stated the site was not being used as a special events center. He stated there was a family reunion earlier in the year but most of the persons left by 10:00 to 11:00 pm. He stated there were two keys to the gate. He stated one held by the auto body repair shop 10 FILE NO.: Z-8470 (Cont. owner and the second he had. He stated the gate was located at 5:00 in the afternoon and was not reopened until 8:00 the next morning. He stated his mother-in-law lived in one of the mobile homes and his sister-in-law and brother-in-law each lived in two separate mobile homes. He stated the remainder of the homes were rented by persons renting to own the home. He stated he owned all the land on the site. Commissioner Rector stated he had concerns with Mr. Ramirez's statement that he was unaware of the problems taking place in the area. He told Mr. Ramirez he did not feel he had control of his property to not know the number of complaints and the number of police calls to the area. He stated he had constructed a building without a permit, had not shown at a couple of the public hearings and was now saying he was unaware of the numerous police calls to the property. Mr. Rector stated the issue before the Commission was a land use issue. He stated he had concerns with approving a land use for the property if there was no control of what was going on in the area. Mr. Ramirez stated he would get a better handle on the activities in the area and determine if the noise was coming from his tenants or the adjacent tenants. There was a general discussion by the Commission and Mr. Ramirez concerning the construction on the site and the cost of construction. Mr. Ramirez stated he did the work himself and the materials to enclose the small addition were $4,000. Commissioner Laha commented this was less than $9.00 per square foot. The Commission questioned if Mr. Ramirez had obtained a building permit. He stated he did obtain a permit in July after being told by the City a permit was necessary. The Commission questioned if the auto body shop had a business license. He stated he did not have a business license. Staff stated the auto repair shop could not get a license unless the zoning was approved. The Commission questioned the culvert and the driveway access. Staff stated the culvert appeared to have been in place a number of years. Staff stated the culvert appeared to be clogged and would have operations check and clean the culvert if necessary. The Commission questioned permitting process for culverts. Staff stated plans were reviewed along with pipe sizes to determine the capacity and if the pipe size could handle the water flows. The chair entertained a motion for approval of the item as presented by staff. The motion failed by a vote of 3 ayes, 6 noes, 0 absent and 2 open positions. 11 December 3, 2009 ITEM NO.: A NAME: Ramirez Short -form PCD LOCATION: 3723 West 98th Street DEVELOPER: Jose Able Ramirez 3723 West 98th Street Little Rock, AR 72209 ENGINEER: Hope Engineering 322 North Market Street Benton, AR 72015 AREA: 2.45 acres RRENT ZONING ALLOWED USES PROPOSED ZONING NUMBER OF LOTS: 1 FILE NO.: Z-8470 FT. NEW STREET: 0 LF R-2, Single-family and Non -conforming Commercial Automotive Repair Single-family and Automotive Repair PCD PROPOSED USE: Single-family — Manufactured Homes, Automotive Body Repair VARIANCES/WAIVERS REQUESTED: None requested. A. PROPOSAL/REQUEST: The applicant is requesting a rezoning of the property located at 3723 West 98th Street to recognize existing uses. The property has a non -conforming status to allow the uses as exist today. The property currently contains eight (8) mobile homes fronting 98th Street, a pre-existing commercial building and a storage building. The commercial building sits on the property facing Hilaro Springs Road and is operating as an automotive body repair shop. The building is 30-feet by 57-feet containing 1,710 square feet. The storage building is located along the southern perimeter of the site and is approximately 50-feet by 30-feet and will be used to store building materials from the owner's job sites. A 15-feet December 3, 2009 SUBDIVISION ITEM NO.: A (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-84 by 30-feet addition was recently added to the storage building resulting in an additional 450 square feet of space. The owner did not secure permits to allow the addition. The site is currently under enforcement for the addition. The automotive body repair shop will operate from 8:00 am to 5:30 pm Monday through Friday and from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm on Saturday. B. EXISTING CONDITIONS: The site contains eight (8) mobile homes, an auto body repair shop and a new building constructed along the southern property line constructed with overhead garage doors. There are a number of vehicles located outside the auto body repair shop in various states of disrepair. There is a gated entrance and a screening fence located along Hilaro Springs Road adjacent to the auto repair activity. West of the site are a number of manufactured homes. North of the site are site built single-family homes. East, across Hilaro Springs Road, are single-family homes and an undeveloped wooded area. Hilaro Springs Road is a two lane road with no sidewalk and open ditches for drainage. West 981h Street is a substandard chip -seal roadway with no sidewalk and open ditches for drainage. C. NEIGHBORHOOD COMMENTS: As of this writing, staff has received several informational phone calls from area property owners. All property owners located within 200 feet of the site, all residents, who could be identified, located within 300 feet of the site, Southwest Little Rock United for Progress and the Upper Baseline Neighborhood Association were notified of the public hearing. D. ENGINEERING COMMENTS: PUBLIC WORKS CONDITIONS- 1. Hilaro Springs 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. Due to the proposed use of the property, the Master Street Plan specifies that West 98th Street for the frontage of this property must meet commercial street standards. Dedicate right-of-way to 30 feet from centerline. 3. A 20 foot radial dedication of right-of-way is required at the intersection of Hilaro Springs Road and West 981h Street. 4. With site development, provide the design of street conforming to the Master Street Plan. Construct one-half street improvement to Hilaro 2 December 3, 2009 SUBDIVISION ITEM NO.: A (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-8470 Springs Road including 5-foot sidewalks with the planned development. The new back of curb should be located 29.5 feet from centerline. 5. With site development, provide the design of street conforming to the Master Street Plan. Construct one-half street improvement to VV. 98th Street including 5-foot sidewalks with the planned development. The new back of curb should be located 15.5 feet from centerline. 6. With site development, provide the design of street conforming to the Master Street Plan. Construct improvements to the Hilaro Springs Rd and West 98th Street intersection with the planned development. West 981h Street should be realigned to connect with Hilaro Springs Road at a 90 degree angle. 7. 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). 8. If the building on the south property line is new, the stormwater detention ordinance applies to this property. Show the proposed location for stormwater detention facilities on the plan. 9. Street Improvement plans shall include signage and striping. Traffic Engineering must approve completed plans prior to construction. 10. Streetlights are required by Section 31-403 of the Little Rock 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 information. 11. Obtain a franchise agreement from Public Works (Bennie Nicolo, 371-4818) for the private improvements located in the right-of-way. E. UTILITIES AND FIRE DEPARTMENT/COUNTY PLANNING: Wastewater: Sewer main extension required with easements for this project. Contact Little Rock Wastewater Utility for additional information. Enter : No comment received. Center -Point Energl: No comment received. AT & T: No comment received. Central Arkansas Water: Contact Central Arkansas Water if larger and/or additional water meter(s) are required. The Little Rock Fire Department needs to evaluate this site to determine whether additional public and/or private fire 3 December 3, 2009 SUBDIVISION ITEM NO_: A (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-8470 hydrant(s) will be required. If additional fire hydrant(s) are required, they will be installed at the Developer's expense. Fire Department: Place fire hydrants per code. Contact the Little Rock Fire Department for additional information. 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 Geyer Springs East Planning District. The Land Use Plan shows Residential Low Density for this property. The applicant has applied for a Planned Commercial Development to recognize an existing mobile home and commercial development. Since the request is to recognize an existing condition and does not propose to add or change use, no change to the Land Use Plan is proposed. Master Street Plan: Hilaro Springs is a Minor Arterial. 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 Hilaro Springs since it is a Minor Arterial. West 981h Street is a Local Street. The primary function of a Local Street is to provide access to adjacent properties. Local Streets which are abutted by non-residential zoning/use or more intensive zoning than duplexes are considered as "Commercial Streets". These streets have a design standard the same as a Collector. These streets may require dedication of right-of-way and may require street improvements for entrances and exits to the site. Bicycle Plan: There are no bike routes planned for the immediate vicinity. Neighborhood Action Plan: This area is covered by the Upper Baseline Neighborhood Plan. The Neighborhood and Housing Revitalization Goal states: "Preserve residential quality of neighborhood --no daycares, cottage industries, etc." Landsc_a�3e: 1. All vehicular use areas will require landscaping at the time a building permit is issued to rehabilitate the site if the rehabilitation on the property exceeding 0 December 3, 2009 SUBDIVISION trakV,101r•]:WeTcom FILE NO. Z-8470 fifty (50) percent of the current replacement cost. At such time fifty (50) percent of the existing vehicular use area must be brought into compliance with the landscape ordinance requirements and must continue to full compliance on a graduated scale based upon the percentage of rehabilitation cost. Any new paved area and/or vehicular use areas are required to comply with the typical landscape ordinance requirements. 2. Commercial uses must provide buffers where abutting any use or zoning except office, commercial or industrial. All sites developed, modified or enlarged must provide a land use buffer(s) as follows: Side property lines at six (6) percent of the average width of the lot on both sides; Rear property lines at six (6) percent of the average depth of the lot; The minimum dimension is nine (9) feet in all instances; The maximum dimension required is fifty (50) feet in all instances. 3. Street buffers are required in all instances. All sites developed, modified or enlarged must provide street buffers as follows: All street property lines at six (6) percent of the average depth of the lot; The minimum dimension must be one-half (1/2) the full width requirement but in no case less than nine (9) feet. The maximum dimension required is fifty (50) feet. G. SUBDIVISION COMMITTEE COMMENT. (July 2, 2009) The applicant was present representing the request. Staff presented an overview of the request stating there were a few outstanding technical issues in need of addressing prior to the item being forwarded to the full Commission for final action. Staff questioned the length of time the auto repair business had been operating from the site. Mr. Ramirez stated he purchased the property a year ago and the business was in operation at that time. Staff questioned the improvements completed to the existing building. Mr. Ramirez stated he had increased the southern building with a very small addition approximately 25 feet wide and the length of the building. Public Works comments were addressed. Staff stated street improvements to Hilaro Springs Road and West 981h Street were required with the approval of the rezoning request. Staff stated it was possible for the City to grant a hardship if the cost of street construction exceeded the cost of the improvements. Staff stated a cost estimate prepared by an engineer for the street construction was required to allow the City to determine if the hardship was applicable. Landscaping comments were addressed. Staff stated all new vehicular use areas would require landscaping in compliance with Chapter 15 or the City's landscape ordinance. Staff also stated land use and street buffers were required with any redevelopment of the site. December 3, 2009 SUBDIVISION ITEM NO.: A (Cont.) E NO.: Z-8470 Staff noted comments from the other reporting departments and agencies suggesting the applicant contact them individually for additional clarification. There was no further discussion of the item. The Committee then forwarded the item to the full Commission for final action. H. ANALYSIS: The applicant has provided staff with additional information addressing concerns raised at the July 2, 2009, Subdivision Committee meeting. The additional information includes an engineering analysis outlining the street construction cost as requested by staff to determine if a financial hardship exist regarding the required street improvements. Section 30-284 regarding financial hardship states projects other than subdivisions may require off-street improvements that constitute a substantial portion of total project cost. The public works department may determine that a project involves a financial hardship and require an in -lieu cash contribution not to exceed fifteen (15) percent of the estimated total development cost. The engineers estimate indicates the boundary street improvements are in excess of $179,500.000. The allowance of the fifteen percent cash contribution based on the engineers estimate is $26,968.50. The site is currently zoned R-2, Single-family and was developed prior to the City annexing the site. The site has a history of residential and non-residential uses and was allowed a non -conforming status as it existed at the time of annexation. Section 36-151 outlines the purpose of nonconformities and exceptions to allow nonconformities. The ordinance states the section is to establish regulations and limitations for exceptions to the continued existence of uses, lots and structures which were established prior to the effective date of the zoning ordinance which do not conform to the provisions of Chapter 36. Such nonconformities may continue, but the provisions of the division are designed to curtail enlargement or expansion of such nonconformities and to encourage their eventual elimination in order to preserve the integrity of the zoning districts and the regulations by Chapter 36. The ordinance states any nonconforming use, structure or lot which legally existed prior to the adoption of this section of the zoning ordinance or any use, structure or lot which has been rendered nonconforming by the provisions of Chapter 36 may continue to be utilized in the same fashion as existed prior to the adoption of the ordinance. Any conforming use, structure or lot legally existing under the provisions shall not be rendered nonconforming by action of the city, county, or state of Arkansas in the acquisition of property for street or drainage right-of-way. The ordinance also states if an application is made for rezoning, the applicant must submit a planned development unless agreeing to satisfy building setbacks X December 3, 2009 .qi iRnivi.qinm ITEM NO.: A (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-8470 and needed right-of-way to current City ordinance and the Master Street Plan standards. The ordinance states a nonconforming use shall not be extended, expanded, enlarged or increased in intensity to any structure or land area other than that occupied by such nonconforming use on the effective date of the ordinance, or any amendment which causes such use to become nonconforming and any nonconforming structure may be enlarged, maintained, repaired or altered; provided, however, that no such enlargement, maintenance, repair or alteration shall either create an additional nonconformity or increase the degree of the existing nonconformity of all or any part of such structure. The site is not proposed with signage but staff would recommend if signage is proposed and allowed signage be limited to signage allowed in office and institutional zones. Staff feels the allowance of a ground sign six (6) feet in height and sixty-four (64) square feet in area for the commercial aspect of the development is sufficient to identify the uses. There is to be no signage on West 98th Street on the portion of the site occupied by the manufactured homes. The request is to recognize the existing uses on the site and allow the building expansion made to the southern building to remain. The property currently contains eight (8) mobile homes fronting West 98th Street, a pre-existing commercial building and a storage building used by the owner as storage for materials related to his contracting business. There are no changes proposed to the manufactured homes. The applicant requests in the future upgrades to the manufactured homes be allowed. The storage building is located along the southern perimeter of the site and is approximately 50-feet by 30-feet and will be used to store building materials from the owner's job sites. A 15-feet by 30-feet addition was recently added to the storage building resulting in an additional 450 square feet of space. The owner did not secure permits to allow the addition. The site is currently under enforcement for the addition. The commercial building sits facing Hilaro Springs Road and is operating as an automotive body repair shop. The building is 30-feet by 57-feet containing 1,710 square feet. The automotive body repair shop will operate from 8:00 am to 5:30 pm Monday through Friday and from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm on Saturday. Staff is supportive of allowing the site to continue to operate with the hours of operation indicated above and limiting the approved uses to those identified in this write-up. Staff supports the expansion of the storage building as currently constructed and the allowance of the issuance of the final certificate of 7 December 3, 2009 SUBDIVISION ITEM NO.: A Cont. FILE NO.: Z-8470 occupancy for the building subject to the applicant receiving all necessary permits from the City and payment of all filing fees associated with the building permit to the City. Based on the construction cost estimates staff is supportive of allowing the payment of an in -lieu contribution of fifteen (15) percent for the required street development cost. To staff's knowledge there are no outstanding technical issues associated with the request. STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends approval of the request subject to compliance with the following conditions: 1. Compliance with the comments and conditions as outlined is paragraphs D, E and F of the agenda staff report. 2. There is to be no storage of inoperable or wrecked vehicles on the site. 3. There is to be no outside storage of vehicle parts, materials or equipment. 4. All uses must take place within the enclosed building. 5. A six foot opaque screen must be installed along the western perimeter of the entire site, where adjacent to residentially zoned or used property Staff recommends payment of an in -lieu contribution for the required street construction at a rate of fifteen percent of the total development cost. PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: (JULY 23, 2009) The applicant was not present. There were no registered objectors present. Staff presented the item stating the applicant had failed to respond to comment raised at the July 2, 2009, Subdivision Committee meeting. Staff presented a recommendation the item be deferred to the September 3, 2009, public hearing. There was no further discussion of the item. The chair entertained a motion for placement of the item on the consent agenda for deferral as recommended by staff. The motion carried by a vote of 9 ayes, 0 noes and 2 absent. PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: (SEPTEMBER 3, 2009) The applicant was not present. There were registered objectors present. Staff presented the item stating they had concerns with portions of the application request and requested the item be deferred to the October 15, 2009, public hearing. r;1 December 3, 2009 SUBDIVISION ITEM NO.: A FILE NO-: Z-8470 There was no further discussion of the item. The chair entertained a motion for approval of the item as presented by staff. The motion carried by a vote of 10 ayes, 0 noes and 1 absent. STAFF UPDATE: In the staff write-up dated September 3, 2009, staff indicated the applicant's cash contribution for the street construction would be $26,968.50. This amount is incorrect. The cash contribution should have been calculated on the actual cost of construction of the building and not the cost of street construction. The applicant indicated approximately $4,000.00 was spent on the building construction resulting in a contribution of $600.00. The City Attorney's office has reviewed Public Works request for right of way dedication and the in -lieu contribution and determined since only a portion of the site is being used as a non-residential use this is the only portion of the property the City should consider rezoning. There are five (5) buildings located on the site currently being used for non-residential purposes. There are three (3) buildings associated with the automobile repair business and two (2) buildings being used by the owner as storage. The southern most building will be used to house the owners personal RV. There will be no commercial activity allowed within this building. Within the area proposed for rezoning the right of way for Hilaro Springs Road is in place. Based on the current request and no additional activity on the site the applicant will not be required to provide an in -lieu contribution or any additional right of way dedication for Hilaro Springs Road or for West 98th Street. This will nullify Public Works comments within the review with the exception of comments 4, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11. Staff continues to support the request to rezone the property to recognize the existing non-residential use on the site. The automotive repair is limited to the three (3) buildings located along the western perimeter with the automotive repair activity being limited to the center building and storage being in the northern and southern buildings. All staff comments and conditions continue to apply as indicated in the above staff write-up and recommendation. PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: (OCTOBER 15, 2009) The applicant was not present. There were registered objectors present. Chairman Yates requested the applicant come to the podium to determine if the applicant wanted to pursue the application request based on the number of Commissioners present. E December 3, 2009 SUBDIVISION ITEM NO.: A (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-8470 Mr. Ramirez was not present. There was a spirited discussion by the Commission as to the options available. Deputy City Attorney Cindy Dawson stated the Commission's By-laws allowed a deferral if the applicant was not present. She stated her concerns were with due process. She stated without the applicant present to respond to comments made there was a potential for the City to be sued for lack of due process. She stated fairness and equity were also concerns. She stated the Citizens which had come to the previous two meetings had been impositioned and she did understand the Commission's frustration. Commissioner Adcock questioned if the citizens were unable to attend the next meeting where was there fairness and equity. Ms. Dawson stated the Commission could defer the item at the next public hearing if there were circumstances that warranted a deferral of the item including if the citizens were unable to attend the meeting if the Commission chose to do so. A motion was made to defer the item to the December 3, 2009, public hearing. The motion carried by a vote of 6 ayes, 2 noes and 3 absent. STAFF UPDATE: There has been no change to the application request since the previous staff write-up. PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: (DECEMBER 3, 2009) Mr. Able Ramirez was present representing the request. There were registered objectors present. Staff presented the item stating the request was a rezoning of the non-residential portion of the site only to recognize and existing auto body repair shop and allow a building located along the southern perimeter to be used as storage by Mr. Ramirez. Mr. Ramirez addressed the Commission. He stated he bought the property a few years ago and the site had an auto body repair shop on the property when he purchased the site. He stated there were seven mobile homes located on the site. He stated #1 was no longer on the site. Mr. Pat Gee addressed the Commission. in opposition of the request. She stated she was President of the Upper Baseline Neighborhood Association and Vice -President of the Southwest Little Rock United for Progress. She stated both organizations had voted to oppose the request. She stated the site was a nuisance to the area residents. She provided the Commission with copies of police reports for the area. She stated the violations included noise, loud music, gun fire and disturbing the peace. She stated she had visited the site and when she pulled in she did not feel comfortable which was unusual for her. She requested the Commission deny the request. 10 December 3, 2009 SUBDIVISION ITEM NO.: A (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-8470 Mr. Tommy Hayes addressed the Commission in opposition of the request. He stated his home was two blocks from the site and his family was disturbed on a number of occasions by the gun fire and loud music from the site. He stated he checked with the Secretary of States office to determine if the business had a license and was told they did not. He stated the property was purchased in 2003 by Mr. Ramirez. He stated the neighborhood concerns were noise, buffering and disturbance calls. He stated the police had been to the site a number of times to quite persons from large social gatherings. He stated the residents did not need this disturbance within their residential neighborhood. Mr. Hayes stated the neighborhood was a quiet working class, mixed race and age neighborhood. He stated the neighborhood cared about each other and checked on each other. He stated the area was not rental but an area of new homeowners and retirees. He stated the neighborhood was not safe and the area needed to be rid of the loud noise, running gun battles and various disturbances. Mr. Ramirez addressed the Commission addressing the issues raised. He stated he was not aware of any issues at the auto body repair shop. He stated the noise complaints were most likely coming from the mobile homes. He stated he did not live on site and was not aware of the problems the neighborhood was having. He stated the site was not being used as a special events center. He stated there was a family reunion earlier in the year but most of the persons left by 10:00 to 11:00 pm. He stated there were two keys to the gate. He stated one held by the auto body repair shop owner and the second he had. He stated the gate was located at 5:00 in the afternoon and was not reopened until 8:00 the next morning. He stated his mother-in-law lived in one of the mobile homes and his sister-in-law and brother-in-law each lived in two separate mobile homes. He stated the remainder of the homes were rented by persons renting to own the home. He stated he owned all the land on the site. Commissioner Rector stated he had concerns with Mr. Ramirez's statement that he was unaware of the problems taking place in the area. He told Mr. Ramirez he did not feel he had control of his property to not know the number of complaints and the number of police calls to the area. He stated he had constructed a building without a permit, had not shown at a couple of the public hearings and was now saying he was unaware of the numerous police calls to the property. Mr. Rector stated the issue before the Commission was a land use issue. He stated he had concerns with approving a land use for the property if there was no control of what was going on in the area. Mr. Ramirez stated he would get a better handle on the activities in the area and determine if the noise was coming from his tenants or the adjacent tenants. There was a general discussion by the Commission and Mr. Ramirez concerning the construction on the site and the cost of construction. Mr. Ramirez stated he did the work himself and the materials to enclose the small addition were $4,000. Commissioner Laha commented this was less than $9.00 per square foot. The 11 December 3, 2009 SUBDIVISION ITEM NO.: A (Cont. FILE NO.: Z-8470 Commission questioned if Mr. Ramirez had obtained a building permit. He stated he did obtain a permit in July after being told by the City a permit was necessary. The Commission questioned if the auto body shop had a business license. He stated he did not have a business license. Staff stated the auto repair shop could not get a license unless the zoning was approved. The Commission questioned the culvert and the driveway access. Staff stated the culvert appeared to have been in place a number of years. Staff stated the culvert appeared to be clogged and would have operations check and clean the culvert if necessary. The Commission questioned permitting process for culverts. Staff stated plans were reviewed along with pipe sizes to determine the capacity and if the pipe size could handle the water flows. The chair entertained a motion for approval of the item as presented by staff. The motion failed by a vote of 3 ayes, 6 noes, 0 absent and 2 open positions. 12 ITEM NO.: 10. NAME: Ramirez Short -form PCD LOCATION: 3723 West 98th Street Planning Staff Comments: Z-8470 1. Provide notification of all 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 July 8, 2009. The Office of Planning and Development must receive the proof of notice no later than July 17, 2009. 2. Provide details of the proposed use of Building 1 and Building 2. 3. Was Building 2 removed and reconstructed or was the new construction placed around the original building? 4. The storage building is used to store materials from job sites. Provide details of the materials stored. 5. The hours of operation are from 8:00 am to 5:30 pm Monday through Friday and from 8:00 to 3:00 on Saturday. 6. Provide the number of employees of the auto body business. Provide the number of employees of any other business activities taking place on the site. Variance/Waivers: None requested. Public Works Conditions: 1. Hilaro Springs 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. Due to the proposed use of the property, the Master Street Plan specifies that West 98"h Street for the frontage of this property must meet commercial street standards. Dedicate right-of-way to 30 feet from centerline. 3. A 20 foot radial dedication of right-of-way is required at the intersection of Hilaro Springs Road and West 98th Street. 4. With site development, provide the design of street conforming to the Master Street Plan. Construct one-half street improvement to Hilaro Springs Road including 5-foot sidewalks with the planned development. The new back of curb should be located 29.5 feet from centerline. 5. With site development, provide the design of street conforming to the Master Street Plan. Construct one-half street improvement to W. 98th Street including 5-foot sidewalks with the planned development. The new back of curb should be located 15.5 feet from centerline. 6. With site development, provide the design of street conforming to the Master Street Plan. Construct improvements to the Hilaro Springs Rd and West 981h Street intersection with the planned development. West 98th Street should be realigned to connect with Hilaro Springs Road at a 90 degree angle. Item # 10. 7. 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). 8. If the building on the south property line is new, the stormwater detention ordinance applies to this property. Show the proposed location for stormwater detention facilities on the plan. 9. Street Improvement plans shall include signage and striping. Traffic Engineering must approve completed plans prior to construction. 10.Streetlights are required by Section 31-403 of the Little Rock 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 information. 11.Obtain a franchise agreement from Public Works (Bennie Nicolo, 371-4818) for the private improvements located in the right-of-way. Utilities and Fire Department/County Planning: Wastewater: Sewer main extension required with easements for this project. Contact Little Rock Wastewater Utility for additional information. Entergy: No comment received. Center -Point Energy: No comment received. AT & T: No comment received. Central Arkansas Water: Contact Central Arkansas Water if larger and/or additional water meter(s) are required. The Little Rock Fire Department needs to evaluate this site to determine whether additional public and/or private fire hydrant(s) will be required. If additional fire hydrant(s) are required, they will be installed at the Developer's expense. Fire Department: Place fire hydrants per code. Contact the Little Rock Fire Department for additional information. County Planning: No comment. CATA: The site is not located on a dedicated CATA Bus Route. Planning Division: This request is located in the Geyer Springs East Planning District. The Land Use Plan shows Residential Low Density for this property. The applicant has applied for a Planned Commercial Development to recognize an existing mobile home and commercial development. Since the request is to recognize an existing condition and does not propose to add or change use, no change to the Land Use Plan is proposed. Master Street Plan: Hilaro Springs is a Minor Arterial. 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 Item # 10. minimize negative effects of traffic and pedestrians on Hilaro Springs since it is a Minor Arterial. West 98th Street is a Local Street. The primary function of a Local Street is to provide access to adjacent properties. Local Streets which are abutted by non- residential zoning/use or more intensive zoning than duplexes are considered as "Commercial Streets". These streets have a design standard the same as a Collector. These streets may require dedication of right-of-way and may require street improvements for entrances and exits to the site. Bicycle Plan: There are no bike routes planned for the immediate vicinity. Neighborhood Action Plan: This area is covered by the Upper Baseline Neighborhood Plan. The Neighborhood and Housing Revitalization Goal states: "Preserve residential quality of neighborhood --no daycares, cottage industries, etc." Landscape: 1. All vehicular use areas will require landscaping at the time a building permit is issued to rehabilitate the site if the rehabilitation on the property exceeding fifty (50) percent of the current replacement cost. At such time fifty (50) percent of the existing vehicular use area must be brought into compliance with the landscape ordinance requirements and must continue to full compliance on a graduated scale based upon the percentage of rehabilitation cost. Any new paved area and/or vehicular use areas are required to comply with the typical landscape ordinance requirements. 2. Commercial uses must provide buffers where abutting any use or zoning except office, commercial or industrial. All sites developed, modified or enlarged must provide a land use buffer(s) as follows: Side property lines at six (6) percent of the average width of the lot on both sides; Rear property lines at six (6) percent of the average depth of the lot; The minimum dimension is nine (9) feet in all instances; The maximum dimension required is fifty (50) feet in all instances. 3. Street buffers are required in all instances. All sites developed, modified or enlarged must provide street buffers as follows: All street property lines at six (6) percent of the average depth of the lot; The minimum dimension must be one-half (1/2) the full width requirement but in no case less than nine (9) feet. The maximum dimension required is fifty (50) feet. Revised plat/plan; Submit four (4) copies of a revised preliminary plat/plan (to include the additional information as noted above) to staff on Wednesday, July 8, 2009. Item # 10. December 3, 2009 ITEM NO.: A NAME: Ramirez Short -form PCD LOCATION: 3723 West 98th Street DEVELOPER: Jose Able Ramirez 3723 West 98th Street Little Rock, AR 72209 FNC;INFFR� Hope Engineering 322 North Market Street Benton, AR 72015 AREA: 2.45 acres CURRENT ZONING: ALLOWED USES: PROPOSED ZONING: ROPOSED USE NUMBER OF LOTS: 1 FILE NO.: Z-8470 FT. NEW STREET: 0 LF R-2, Single-family and Non -conforming Commercial Automotive Repair Single-family and Automotive Repair PCD Single-family — Manufactured Homes, Automotive Body Repair VARIANCES/WAIVERS REQUESTED: None requested. A. PROPOSAL/REQUEST: The applicant is requesting a rezoning of the property located at 3723 West 98m Street to recognize existing uses. The property has a non -conforming status to allow the uses as exist today. The property currently contains eight (8) mobile homes fronting 98th Street, a pre-existing commercial building and a storage building. The commercial building sits on the property facing Hilaro Springs Road and is operating as an automotive body repair shop. The building is 30-feet by 57-feet containing 1,710 square feet. The storage building is located along the southern perimeter of the site and is approximately 50-feet by 30-feet and will be used to store building materials from the owner's job sites. A 15-feet December 3, 2009 SUBDIVISION ITEM NO.: A (Cont. FILE NO.: Z-8470 by 30-feet addition was recently added to the storage building resulting in an additional 450 square feet of space. The owner did not secure permits to allow the addition. The site is currently under enforcement for the addition. The automotive body repair shop will operate from 8:00 am to 5:30 pm Monday through Friday and from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm on Saturday. B. EXISTING CONDITIONS: The site contains eight (8) mobile homes, an auto body repair shop and a new building constructed along the southern property line constructed with overhead garage doors. There are a number of vehicles located outside the auto body repair shop in various states of disrepair. There is a gated entrance and a screening fence located along Hilaro Springs Road adjacent to the auto repair activity. West of the site are a number of manufactured homes. North of the site are site built single-family homes. East, across Hilaro Springs Road, are single-family homes and an undeveloped wooded area. Hilaro Springs Road is a two lane road with no sidewalk and open ditches for drainage. West 981h Street is a substandard chip -seal roadway with no sidewalk and open ditches for drainage. C. NEIGHBORHOOD COMMENTS: As of this writing, staff has received several informational phone calls from area property owners. All property owners located within 200 feet of the site, all residents, who could be identified, located within 300 feet of the site, Southwest Little Rock United for Progress and the Upper Baseline Neighborhood Association were notified of the public hearing. D. ENGINEERING COMMENTS: PUBLIC WORKS CONDITIONS: 1. Hilaro Springs 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. Due to the proposed use of the property, the Master Street Plan specifies that West 981" Street for the frontage of this property must meet commercial street standards. Dedicate right-of-way to 30 feet from centerline. 3. A 20 foot radial dedication of right-of-way is required at the intersection of Hilaro Springs Road and West 98th Street. 4. With site development, provide the design of street conforming to the Master Street Plan. Construct one-half street improvement to Hilaro 2 December 3, 2009 SUBDIVISION ITEM NO.: A (Cont. FILE NO.: Z-8470 Springs Road including 5-foot sidewalks with the planned development. The new back of curb should be located 29.5 feet from centerline. 5. With site development, provide the design of street conforming to the Master Street Plan. Construct one-half street improvement to W. 98tt' Street including 5-foot sidewalks with the planned development. The new back of curb should be located 15.5 feet from centerline. 6. With site development, provide the design of street conforming to the Master Street Plan. Construct improvements to the Hilaro Springs Rd and West 98th Street intersection with the planned development. West 98tn Street should be realigned to connect with Hilaro Springs Road at a 90 degree angle. 7. 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). 8. If the building on the south property line is new, the stormwater detention ordinance applies to this property. Show the proposed location for stormwater detention facilities on the plan. 9. Street Improvement plans shall include signage and striping. Traffic Engineering must approve completed plans prior to construction. 10. Streetlights are required by Section 31-403 of the Little Rock 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 information. 11. Obtain a franchise agreement from Public Works (Bennie Nicolo, 371-4818) for the private improvements located in the right-of-way. E. UTILITIES AND FIRE DEPARTMENT/COUNTY PLANNING: Wastewater: Sewer main extension required with easements for this project. Contact Little Rock Wastewater Utility for additional information. Entergy: No comment received. Center -Point_ Energ , No comment received. AT & T: No comment received. Central Arkansas Water: Contact Central Arkansas Water if larger and/or additional water meter(s) are required. The Little Rock Fire Department needs to evaluate this site to determine whether additional public and/or private fire 3 December 3, 2009 SUBDIVISION EM NO.: A (Cont. FILE NO.: Z-8470 hydrant(s) will be required. If additional fire hydrant(s) are required, they will be installed at the Developer's expense. Fire Department: Place fire hydrants per code. Contact the Little Rock Fire Department for additional information. 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 Geyer Springs East Planning District. The Land Use Plan shows Residential Low Density for this property. The applicant has applied for a Planned Commercial Development to recognize an existing mobile home and commercial development. Since the request is to recognize an existing condition and does not propose to add or change use, no change to the Land Use Plan is proposed. Master Street Plan: Hilaro Springs is a Minor Arterial. 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 Hilaro Springs since it is a Minor Arterial. West 98th Street is a Local Street. The primary function of a Local Street is to provide access to adjacent properties. Local Streets which are abutted by non-residential zoning/use or more intensive zoning than duplexes are considered as "Commercial Streets". These streets have a design standard the same as a Collector. These streets may require dedication of right-of-way and may require street improvements for entrances and exits to the site. Bicycle Plan: There are no bike routes planned for the immediate vicinity. Neighborhood Action _Plan: This area is covered by the Upper Baseline Neighborhood Plan. The Neighborhood and Housing Revitalization Goal states: "Preserve residential quality of neighborhood --no daycares, cottage industries, etc." Landscape: 1. All vehicular use areas will require landscaping at the time a building permit is issued to rehabilitate the site if the rehabilitation on the property exceeding 12 December 3, 2009 .q1IRnIVIRInN ITEM NO.: A (Cont, G FILE NO.: Z-8470 fifty (50) percent of the current replacement cost. At such time fifty (50) percent of the existing vehicular use area must be brought into compliance with the landscape ordinance requirements and must continue to full compliance on a graduated scale based upon the percentage of rehabilitation cost. Any new paved area and/or vehicular use areas are required to comply with the typical landscape ordinance requirements. 2. Commercial uses must provide buffers where abutting any use or zoning except office, commercial or industrial. All sites developed, modified or enlarged must provide a land use buffer(s) as follows: Side property lines at six (6) percent of the average width of the lot on both sides; Rear property lines at six (6) percent of the average depth of the lot; The minimum dimension is nine (9) feet in all instances; The maximum dimension required is fifty (50) feet in all instances. 3. Street buffers are required in all instances. All sites developed, modified or enlarged must provide street buffers as follows: All street property lines at six (6) percent of the average depth of the lot; The minimum dimension must be one-half (1/2) the full width requirement but in no case less than nine (9) feet. The maximum dimension required is fifty (50) feet. SUBDIVISION COMMITTEE COMMENT: (July 2, 2009) The applicant was present representing the request. Staff presented an overview of the request stating there were a few outstanding technical issues in need of addressing prior to the item being forwarded to the full Commission for final action. Staff questioned the length of time the auto repair business had been operating from the site. Mr. Ramirez stated he purchased the property a year ago and the business was in operation at that time. Staff questioned the improvements completed to the existing building. Mr. Ramirez stated he had increased the southern building with a very small addition approximately 25 feet wide and the length of the building. Public Works comments were addressed. Staff stated street improvements to Hilaro Springs Road and West 98th Street were required with the approval of the rezoning request. Staff stated it was possible for the City to grant a hardship if the cost of street construction exceeded the cost of the improvements. Staff stated a cost estimate prepared by an engineer for the street construction was required to allow the City to determine if the hardship was applicable. Landscaping comments were addressed. Staff stated all new vehicular use areas would require landscaping in compliance with Chapter 15 or the City's landscape ordinance. Staff also stated land use and street buffers were required with any redevelopment of the site. 5 December 3, 2009 Ri 1RniviRinN ITEM NO.: A (Cont. FILE NO.: Staff noted comments from the other reporting departments and agencies suggesting the applicant contact them individually for additional clarification. There was no further discussion of the item. The Committee then forwarded the item to the full Commission for final action. H. ANALYSIS: The applicant has provided staff with additional information addressing concerns raised at the July 2, 2009, Subdivision Committee meeting. The additional information includes an engineering analysis outlining the street construction cost as requested by staff to determine if a financial hardship exist regarding the required street improvements. Section 30-284 regarding financial hardship states projects other than subdivisions may require off-street improvements that constitute a substantial portion of total project cost. The public works department may determine that a project involves a financial hardship and require an in -lieu cash contribution not to exceed fifteen (15) percent of the estimated total development cost. The engineers estimate indicates the boundary street improvements are in excess of $179,500.000. The allowance of the fifteen percent cash contribution based on the engineers estimate is $26,968.50. The site is currently zoned R-2, Single-family and was developed prior to the City annexing the site. The site has a history of residential and non-residential uses and was allowed a non -conforming status as it existed at the time of annexation. Section 36-151 outlines the purpose of nonconformities and exceptions to allow nonconformities. The ordinance states the section is to establish regulations and limitations for exceptions to the continued existence of uses, lots and structures which were established prior to the effective date of the zoning ordinance which do not conform to the provisions of Chapter 36. Such nonconformities may continue, but the provisions of the division are designed to curtail enlargement or expansion of such nonconformities and to encourage their eventual elimination in order to preserve the integrity of the zoning districts and the regulations by Chapter 36. The ordinance states any nonconforming use, structure or lot which legally existed prior to the adoption of this section of the zoning ordinance or any use, structure or lot which has been rendered nonconforming by the provisions of Chapter 36 may continue to be utilized in the same fashion as existed prior to the adoption of the ordinance. Any conforming use, structure or lot legally existing under the provisions shall not be rendered nonconforming by action of the city, county, or state of Arkansas in the acquisition of property for street or drainage right-of-way. The ordinance also states if an application is made for rezoning, the applicant must submit a planned development unless agreeing to satisfy building setbacks L December 3, 2009 SUBDIVISION ITEM NO.: A (Cont. E NO.: Z-8470 and needed right-of-way to current City ordinance and the Master Street Plan standards. The ordinance states a nonconforming use shall not be extended, expanded, enlarged or increased in intensity to any structure or land area other than that occupied by such nonconforming use on the effective date of the ordinance, or any amendment which causes such use to become nonconforming and any nonconforming structure may be enlarged, maintained, repaired or altered; provided, however, that no such enlargement, maintenance, repair or alteration shall either create an additional nonconformity or increase the degree of the existing nonconformity of all or any part of such structure. The site is not proposed with signage but staff would recommend if signage is proposed and allowed signage be limited to signage allowed in office and institutional zones. Staff feels the allowance of a ground sign six (6) feet in height and sixty-four (64) square feet in area for the commercial aspect of the development is sufficient to identify the uses. There is to be no signage on West 98th Street on the portion of the site occupied by the manufactured homes. The request is to recognize the existing uses on the site and allow the building expansion made to the southern building to remain. The property currently contains eight (8) mobile homes fronting West 98th Street, a pre-existing commercial building and a storage building used by the owner as storage for materials related to his contracting business. There are no changes proposed to the manufactured homes. The applicant requests in the future upgrades to the manufactured homes be allowed. The storage building is located along the southern perimeter of the site and is approximately 50-feet by 30-feet and will be used to store building materials from the owner's job sites. A 15-feet by 30-feet addition was recently added to the storage building resulting in an additional 450 square feet of space. The owner did not secure permits to allow the addition. The site is currently under enforcement for the addition. The commercial building sits facing Hilaro Springs Road and is operating as an automotive body repair shop. The building is 30-feet by 57-feet containing 1,710 square feet. The automotive body repair shop will operate from 8:00 am to 5:30 pm Monday through Friday and from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm on Saturday. Staff is supportive of allowing the site to continue to operate with the hours of operation indicated above and limiting the approved uses to those identified in this write-up. Staff supports the expansion of the storage building as currently constructed and the allowance of the issuance of the final certificate of 7 December 3, 2009 SUBDIVISION ITEM NO.: A (Cont. FILE NO.: Z-8470 occupancy for the building subject to the applicant receiving all necessary permits from the City and payment of all filing fees associated with the building permit to the City. Based on the construction cost estimates staff is supportive of allowing the payment of an in -lieu contribution of fifteen (15) percent for the required street development cost. To staff's knowledge there are no outstanding technical issues associated with the request. STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends approval of the request subject to compliance with the following conditions: 1. Compliance with the comments and conditions as outlined is paragraphs D, E and F of the agenda staff report. 2. There is to be no storage of inoperable or wrecked vehicles on the site. 3. There is to be no outside storage of vehicle parts, materials or equipment. 4. All uses must take place within the enclosed building. 5. A six foot opaque screen must be installed along the western perimeter of the entire site, where adjacent to residentially zoned or used property Staff recommends payment of an in -lieu contribution for the required street construction at a rate of fifteen percent of the total development cost. PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: (JULY 23, 2009) The applicant was not present. There were no registered objectors present. Staff presented the item stating the applicant had failed to respond to comment raised at the July 2, 2009, Subdivision Committee meeting. Staff presented a recommendation the item be deferred to the September 3, 2009, public hearing. There was no further discussion of the item. The chair entertained a motion for placement of the item on the consent agenda for deferral as recommended by staff. The motion carried by a vote of 9 ayes, 0 noes and 2 absent. PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: (SEPTEMBER 3, 2009) The applicant was not present. There were registered objectors present. Staff presented the item stating they had concerns with portions of the application request and requested the item be deferred to the October 15, 2009, public hearing. A December 3, 2009 SUBDIVISION ITEM NO.: A (Cont. FILE NO.: Z-8470 There was no further discussion of the item. The chair entertained a motion for approval of the item as presented by staff. The motion carried by a vote of 10 ayes, 0 noes and 1 absent. STAFF UPDATE: In the staff write-up dated September 3, 2009, staff indicated the applicant's cash contribution for the street construction would be $26,968.50. This amount is incorrect. The cash contribution should have been calculated on the actual cost of construction of the building and not the cost of street construction. The applicant indicated approximately $4,000.00 was spent on the building construction resulting in a contribution of $600.00. The City Attorney's office has reviewed Public Works request for right of way dedication and the in -lieu contribution and determined since only a portion of the site is being used as a non-residential use this is the only portion of the property the City should consider rezoning. There are five (5) buildings located on the site currently being used for non-residential purposes. There are three (3) buildings associated with the automobile repair business and two (2) buildings being used by the owner as storage. The southern most building will be used to house the owners personal RV. There will be no commercial activity allowed within this building. Within the area proposed for rezoning the right of way for Hilaro Springs Road is in place. Based on the current request and no additional activity on the site the applicant will not be required to provide an in -lieu contribution or any additional right of way dedication for Hilaro Springs Road or for West 98th Street. This will nullify Public Works comments within the review with the exception of comments 4, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11. Staff continues to support the request to rezone the property to recognize the existing non-residential use on the site. The automotive repair is limited to the three (3) buildings located along the western perimeter with the automotive repair activity being limited to the center building and storage being in the northern and southern buildings. All staff comments and conditions continue to apply as indicated in the above staff write-up and recommendation. PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION; (OCTOBER 15, 2009) The applicant was not present. There were registered objectors present. Chairman Yates requested the applicant come to the podium to determine if the applicant wanted to pursue the application request based on the number of Commissioners present. 9 December 3, 2009 SUBDIVISION ITEM NO.: A (Cont. FILE NO.: Z-8470 Mr. Ramirez was not present. There was a spirited discussion by the Commission as to the options available. Deputy City Attorney Cindy Dawson stated the Commission's By-laws allowed a deferral if the applicant was not present. She stated her concerns were with due process. She stated without the applicant present to respond to comments made there was a potential for the City to be sued for lack of due process. She stated fairness and equity were also concerns. She stated the Citizens which had come to the previous two meetings had been impositioned and she did understand the Commission's frustration. Commissioner Adcock questioned if the citizens were unable to attend the next meeting where was there fairness and equity. Ms. Dawson stated the Commission could defer the item at the next public hearing if there were circumstances that warranted a deferral of the item including if the citizens were unable to attend the meeting if the Commission chose to do so. A motion was made to defer the item to the December 3, 2009, public hearing. The motion carried by a vote of 6 ayes, 2 noes and 3 absent. STAFF UPDATE: There has been no change to the application request since the previous staff write-up. PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: (DECEMBER 3, 2009) Mr. Able Ramirez was present representing the request. There were registered objectors present. Staff presented the item stating the request was a rezoning of the non-residential portion of the site only to recognize and existing auto body repair shop and allow a building located along the southern perimeter to be used as storage by Mr. Ramirez. Mr. Ramirez addressed the Commission. He stated he bought the property a few years ago and the site had an auto body repair shop on the property when he purchased the site. He stated there were seven mobile homes located on the site. He stated #1 was no longer on the site. Mr. Pat Gee addressed the Commission in opposition of the request. She stated she was President of the Upper Baseline Neighborhood Association and Vice -President of the Southwest Little Rock United for Progress. She stated both organizations had voted to oppose the request. She stated the site was a nuisance to the area residents. She provided the Commission with copies of police- reports for the area. She stated the violations included noise, loud music, gun fire and disturbing the peace. She stated she had visited the site and when she pulled in she did not feel comfortable which was unusual for her. She requested the Commission deny the request. 10 December 3, 2009 SUBDIVISION ITEM NO.: A (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-8470 Mr. Tommy Hayes addressed the Commission in opposition of the request. He stated his home was two blocks from the site and his family was disturbed on a number of occasions by the gun fire and loud music from the site. He stated he checked with the Secretary of States office to determine if the business had a license and was told they did not. He stated the property was purchased in 2003 by Mr. Ramirez. He stated the neighborhood concerns were noise, buffering and disturbance calls. He stated the police had been to the site a number of times to quite persons from large social gatherings. He stated the residents did not need this disturbance within their residential neighborhood. Mr. Hayes stated the neighborhood was a quiet working class, mixed race and age neighborhood. He stated the neighborhood cared about each other and checked on each other. He stated the area was not rental but an area of new homeowners and retirees. He stated the neighborhood was not safe and the area needed to be rid of the loud noise, running gun battles and various disturbances. Mr. Ramirez addressed the Commission addressing the issues raised. He stated he was not aware of any issues at the auto body repair shop. He stated the noise complaints were most likely coming from the mobile homes. He stated he did not live on site and was not aware of the problems the neighborhood was having. He stated the site was not being used as a special events center. He stated there was a family reunion earlier in the year but most of the persons left by 10:00 to 11:00 pm. He stated there were two keys to the gate. He stated one held by the auto body repair shop owner and the second he had. He stated the gate was located at 5:00 in the afternoon and was not reopened until 8:00 the next morning. He stated his mother-in-law lived in one of the mobile homes and his sister-in-law and brother-in-law each lived in two separate mobile homes. He stated the remainder of the homes were rented by persons renting to own the home. He stated he owned all the land on the site. Commissioner Rector stated he had concerns with Mr. Ramirez's statement that he was unaware of the problems taking place in the area. He told Mr. Ramirez he did not feel he had control of his property to not know the number of complaints and the number of police calls to the area. He stated he had constructed a building without a permit, had not shown at a couple of the public hearings and was now saying he was unaware of the numerous police calls to the property. Mr. Rector stated the issue before the Commission was a land use issue. He stated he had concerns with approving a land use for the property if there was no control of what was going on in the area. Mr. Ramirez stated he would get a better handle on the activities in the area and determine if the noise was coming from his tenants or the adjacent tenants. There was a general discussion by the Commission and Mr. Ramirez concerning the construction on the site and the cost of construction. Mr. Ramirez stated he did the work himself and the materials to enclose the small addition were $4,000. Commissioner Laha commented this was less than $9.00 per square foot. The 11 December 3, 2009 SUBDIVISION ITEM NO.: A Cont. FILE NO-: Z-8470 Commission questioned if Mr. Ramirez had obtained a building permit. He stated he did obtain a permit in July after being told by the City a permit was necessary. The Commission questioned if the auto body shop had a business license. He stated he did not have a business license. Staff stated the auto repair shop could not get a license unless the zoning was approved. The Commission questioned the culvert and the driveway access. Staff stated the culvert appeared to have been in place a number of years. Staff stated the culvert appeared to be clogged and would have operations check and clean the culvert if necessary. The Commission questioned permitting process for culverts. Staff stated plans were reviewed along with pipe sizes to determine the capacity and if the pipe size could handle the water flows. The chair entertained a motion for approval of the item as presented by staff. The motion failed by a vote of 3 ayes, 6 noes, 0 absent and 2 open positions. 12