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Home My WebLink AboutZ-9937 Staff Report 022724ITEM NO.: 10 FILE NO.: Z-9937 NAME: Talbott WCF - Tower Use Permit LOCATION: 2823 Springer Boulevard DEVELOPER: Kole Talbott (Agent) Branch Communications 5908 East 141 Street South Bixby, OK 74008 OWNER/AUTHORIZED AGENT: Kertina Davis (Owner) 2823 Springer Boulevard Little Rock, AR 72223 SURVEYOR/ENGINEER: White-Daters & Associates, Inc. 24 Rahling Circle Little Rock, AR 72223 AREA: 0.16 acre NUMBER OF LOTS: 1 FT. NEW STREET: 0 LF WARD: 1 PLANNING DISTRICT: 3 CENSUS TRACT: 22.03 CURRENT ZONING: I-2 VARIANCE/WAIVERS: A variance to allow a wireless communication facility (WCF) tower with a reduced setback from an adjacent residential property. A. PROPOSAL/REQUEST/APPLICANT’S STATEMENT: The applicant is requesting a tower use permit (TUP) to allow a 140-foot-tall monopole wireless communication facility (WCF) for use by one principal user with co-location available for three (3) additional users. The site is located within the Granite Mountain Design Overlay District. B. EXISTING CONDITIONS: The site is currently vacant and undeveloped. There is a mixture of zoning and uses in all directions. C. NEIGHBORHOOD NOTIFICATIONS: All owners of property located within 300 feet of the site and all neighborhood associations registered with The City of Little Rock were notified of the public hearing. D. ENGINEERING COMMENTS: Proposed, new driveway access on Springer Boulevard will require a driveway permit through the Department of Planning and Development Engineering Division before construction of the driveway can commence. Contact Department of Planning and Development Engineering Division at 501-371-4817 for more information. Proposed one-hundred fifty (150) feet monopole is located within the airspace of the Billy and Hillary Clinton National Airport. Therefore, airport and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approval and/or permits are required to be submitted before the Department of Planning and Development can issue a building permit to construct the monopole. Building permit applicant for the proposed monopole shall provide FAA and airport approval documentation and/or permits with submission of the construction plans with the building permit application to the Department of Planning and Development staff for review. Airport contact to start the airport and FAA review process is Carlos De La Torre, Director of Operations, 501-537-1721, cdelatorre@clintonairport.com. E. UTILITIES/FIRE DEPARTMENT/PARKS/COUNTY PLANNING: Little Rock Water Reclamation Authority: No comments. Entergy: No comments received. Summit Utilities: No comments. AT & T: No comments received. Central Arkansas Water: All Central Arkansas Water requirements in effect at the time of request for water service must be met. Fire Department: Maintain Access: Fire Hydrants. Maintain fire apparatus access roads at fire hydrant locations as per Appendix D of the 2021 Arkansas Fire Prevention Code Vol. 1 Section D103.1 Access road width with a hydrant. Where a fire hydrant is located on a fire apparatus access road, the minimum road width shall be 26 feet, exclusive of shoulders. Grade Maintain fire apparatus access roads as per Appendix D of the 2021 Arkansas Fire Prevention Code Vol. 1 Section D103.2 Grade. Fire apparatus access roads shall not exceed 10 percent in grade except as approved by the fire chief. If the grade exceeds 10 percent, approval will be denied, and the applicant must submit request to be reviewed by Fire Chief for Approval. Loading Maintain fire apparatus access road design as per Appendix D of the 2021 Arkansas Fire Prevention Code Vol. 1 Section D102.1 Access and loading. Facilities, buildings, or portions of buildings hereafter constructed shall be accessible to fire department apparatus by way of an approved fire apparatus access road with an asphalt, concrete or other approved driving surface capable of supporting the imposed load of fire apparatus weighing at least 75,000 pounds. Fire Hydrants Locate Fire Hydrants as per Appendix C of the 2021 Arkansas Fire Prevention Code. Section C101 – C105, in conjunction with Central Arkansas Water (Daniel Tull 501-377-1245) and the Little Rock Fire Marshals Office (Capt. Tony Rhodes 501-918-3757, or Fire Marshal Derek N Ingram 501-918-3756 Number and Distribution of Fire Hydrants as per Table C105.1. Parks and Recreation: No comments received. County Planning: No comments. F. BUILDING CODES/LANDSCAPE: Building Code: No comments received. Landscape: Any new site development must comply with the City’s minimal landscape and buffer ordinance requirements. Refer to the Code of Ordinances, Chapter 15 Landscaping and Tree Protection, and Chapter 36, Article IX – Buffers and Screening. Wireless Communications Facilities must also comply with Chapter 36, Article XII Development Standards and Landscaping. Site development plans, with landscape and screening, must be submitted for review, and approval, prior to site clearing and tree removal. G. TRANSPORTATION/PLANNING: Rock Region Metro: No comments received. Planning Division: The request is in the I-30 Planning District. The Land Use Plan shows Mixed Use (MX) for the requested area. This category provides for a mixture of residential, office and commercial uses to occur. A Planned Zoning District is required if the use is entirely office or commercial or if the use is a mixture of the three. The application is to rezone from I-2 to I-2. The subject site is located in the Granite Mountain Design Overlay District (Ord. 18183). Master Street Plan: Springer Boulevard is a Minor Arterial on the Master Street Plan. Minor Arterials are high volume roads designed to provide connections to and through an urban area. Curb cuts should be minimized to allow for continuous traffic flow while still allowing some access to adjoining property. Deceleration Lanes are required. Standard Right-of-way (ROW) is 90 feet. Sidewalks are required on both sides. This street may require dedication of right-of-way and may require street improvements. Bicycle Plan: Springer Boulevard is on the Master Bike Plan as a Proposed Class 2 Bike Lane. Class 2 Bike Lanes provides a portion of the pavement for the sole use of bicycles. Historic Preservation Plan: This property is not located in a Historic District. H. ANALYSIS: The applicant is requesting a tower use permit (TUP) to allow a 140-foot-tall monopole wireless communication facility (WCF) for use by one principal user with co-location available for three (3) additional users. The site is located within the Granite Mountain Design Overlay District. The site is currently vacant and undeveloped. There is a mixture of zoning and uses in all directions. A concrete drive along the south property line provides access from Springer Boulevard. The driveway connects to a concrete pad that leads to the proposed tower site. The site plan shows a twenty (20) foot wide access easement in the northwest portion of the site, a 2,400 square foot area for the proposed cell tower location in the middle portion of the site and a ten (10) foot wide sanitary sewer easement in the rear portion of the site. Proposed setbacks for the cell tower are approximately ninety (90) feet from the front (west) property line, approximately forty (40) feet from the rear (east) property line, approximately twenty (20) to twenty-five (25) feet from the side (south) property line and approximately twenty (20) feet from the north property line. Section 36-593 of the City’s Zoning Ordinance requires a WCF abutting residential property on either side, to be set back a distance at least the height of the WCF tower. The setback will be measured from the face of the base of the support structure to the property line of the abutting residential property. The equipment facility shall meet as a minimum the setback requirements for the underlying zone. The site plan shows the southern face of the support structure setback of twenty (20) to twenty-five (25) feet from the south property line which is less than the required 140-foot setback required by code. Staff does not support the proposed setback for this WCF. The applicant is not proposing any signage at this time. Any signs installed at the site must comply with Section 36-434.5 of the City’s Zoning Ordinance. The applicant submitted a landscaping plan as part of the application. All landscaping must comply with Section 36-593(3)(c) of the City’s Zoning Ordinance. All sight lighting must comply with Section 36-593 of the City’s Zoning Ordinance. The applicant submitted FAA approval for a WCF as part of this application. Staff does not support the requested tower use permit to allow a wireless communication facility (WCF) at this site. Staff views the request as unreasonable. Residential and office zoning and uses are contained within the general area of the proposed site. The proposed WCF does comply with the code with respect to the required setbacks from abutting residential buildings. The required setback from the south property line is a minimum of 140 feet, the proposed setback is only 20 to 25 feet. Staff feels the proposed WCF will have an adverse impact on the surrounding properties as it will be located very close to the two (2) existing single-family residences to the south. Staff also questions the need for a new 140-foot tower, given the current technology being utilized. I. STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends denial of the requested tower use permit.