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HomeMy WebLinkAboutS-1554-C Staff AnalysisSeptember 13, 2012 ITEM NO.: 2 FILE NO.: 5-1554-C NAME: Stagecoach Crossing Preliminary Plat Street Waiver LOCATION: Located on the Northeast corner of Stagecoach and Herndon Roads DEVELOPER: Redland, LLC 9107 N. Rodney Parham Road Little Rock, AR 72205 ENGINEER: White-Daters and Associates 24 Rahling Circle Little Rock, AR 72223 AREA: 21.65 acres CURRENT ZONING PLANNING DISTRICT: CENSUS TRACT NUMBER OF LOTS: 84 R-2, Single-family 12 — 65th Street West 24.05 VARIANCES/WAIVERS REQUESTED: FT. NEW STREET: 2,950 LF A waiver of the required street construction/widening for Stagecoach Road. BACKGROUND: The Little Rock Planning Commission approved a preliminary plat request on March 1, 2007, allowing the subdivision of 21.65 acres into 84 single-family residential lots and three (3) Tracts. A total of 2,950 linear feet of new street was approved to serve the new subdivision with access points to Herndon Road. The developer indicated boundary street improvements to Stagecoach Road would be completed within five years of the approval of the final plat. The final plat for Phase 1 was recorded on March 21, 2008, (13 lots). The final plat for the second phase was recorded on October 2, 2008, (71 lots and 3 tracts). September 13, 2012 SUBDIVISION ITEM NO.: 2 Cont. FILE NO.: S-1554-C A. PROPOSAUREQUEST/APPLICANT'S STATEMENT: The request is to amend the currently approved preliminary plat to grant a waiver of the required street construction to Stagecoach Road adjacent to the plat area. The applicant has indicated right of way will be dedicated to Master Street Plan standards. The plat has approximately 515 feet of frontage on Stagecoach Road which is designated on the Master Street Plan as a principal arterial which requires a right of way of 100-feet, two lanes of travel in each direction and turn lanes at major intersections. B. EXISTING CONDITIONS: The homes abutting Stagecoach Road have not been started but several homes within the subdivision have been completed and are occupied. There is a single-family subdivision located to the south of this site called Greenwood Acres. There are three (3) homes located on the north side of Herndon Road within the Greenwood Acres Subdivision. The street widening on Stagecoach Road adjacent to Greenwood Acres has been completed. The improvements include curb, gutter and sidewalk on both sides of the Herndon Road intersection which splits Greenwood Acres and Stagecoach Crossing Subdivisions. C. NEIGHBORHOOD COMMENTS: As of this writing, staff has not received any comment from area residents. All abutting property owners, the Pecan Lake Property Owners Association, the Stagecoach Dodd Neighborhood Association and the Tall Timber Property Owners Association were notified of the public hearing. D. ENGINEERING COMMENTS: PUBLIC WORKS CONDITIONS: 1. Public Works is not aware of a construction project to widen Stagecoach Road. A project is proposed to widen the bridges only. 2. The Master Street Plan shows Stagecoach Road is to be widened with the new curb 29.5 feet from the centerline with sidewalks. When fully constructed per the Master Street Plan Stagecoach Road will contain five (5) lanes. 3. AHTD has widened streets in City of Little Rock using the existing curb placement per the City of Little Rock Master Street Plan and shifted the centerline of the street. 4. With no project proposed by AHTD, the widened street will improve vehicle safety and access along Stagecoach Road. The improvements will improve 2 September 13, 2012 SUBDIVISION ITEM NO.: 2 (Cont. FILE NO.: S-1554-C vehicle turning right onto Stagecoach Road from Herndon Road by providing an acceleration lane. With open ditches on both side of Stagecoach Road at this location and the non-existence of shoulders, an unsafe condition is created for vehicles having to pull off the road. 5. A sidewalk along Stagecoach Road will improve pedestrian safety. A sidewalk is required to be provided to connect to the existing sidewalk on Herndon Road and Stagecoach Road to the west for pedestrian use. With these improvements, approximately 850 feet of continuous sidewalk will be provided. E. SUBDIVISION COMMITTEE COMMENT: (August 22, 2012) Mr. Tim Daters and White-Daters and Associates was present representing the owner. Staff presented an overview of the request stating with the original approval the development had been granted a five (5) year deferral of the required boundary street improvements to Stagecoach Road. Staff stated the developers were now requesting to amend the preliminary plat by eliminating the requirement for street widening to Stagecoach Road and allowing a waiver of the boundary street ordinance requirements. Public Works staff stated the waiver would not be supported. Staff stated the subdivision to the south had completed their required improvements and the additional paving and sidewalk would improve safety for pedestrians and motorist. Staff stated they were not aware of a proposed AHTD project in the area. Staff stated the only AHTD project in this area they were aware of was widening the bridges from Colonel Glenn Road to 1-430. Mr. Daters stated with the bridge widening project the new bridge width would be 36-feet. He stated the nearest sidewalk to the development was located a great distance from this proposed development. There was a general discussion concerning the cost of the street improvements to Stagecoach Road and the impact on the cost of the homes within the subdivision. Mr. Daters stated the developers had sold a number of the lots to a builder who was building homes for $105,000 to $110,000. He stated this price was all the market would bear within this subdivision. He stated the required street improvements would raise the cost of the lots by $15,000 to $20,000 which would price the homes out of range for the subdivision. There was no further discussion of the item. The Committee then forwarded the item to the full Commission for final action. 3 September 13, 2012 SUBDIVISION NO.: 2 [Cont. F. ANALYSIS: LE NO.: S-1554-C There were no outstanding technical issues associated with the request in need of addressing related to the proposed site plan. The applicant is seeing a waiver of the Boundary Street Ordinance requirements for the widening of Stagecoach Road. The Boundary Street Ordinance requires Stagecoach Road to be widened to 29.5 feet from the centerline with curb, gutter and sidewalk for approximately 500 feet adjacent to the Stagecoach Crossing Subdivision. This portion of Stagecoach Road is currently 10.5 feet wide from centerline with a very minimal shoulder, a steep roadside embankment, open ditch, and no sidewalk. These street conditions drastically reduce vehicle and pedestrian safety. Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department (AHTD) is aware of the current safety concerns on Stagecoach Road and is planning to widen the bridges about 10 feet. Bridges will be required to be widened further when Stagecoach Road is widened. AHTD has no plans at this time to widen Stagecoach Road. AHTD has in the past widened streets where portions of the street had been previously widened by Boundary Street Ordinance requirements. AHTD goes to great effort to save money and match the existing curb and gutter already in place on widening projects. AHTD is currently widening Stagecoach Road west of Otter Creek Road utilizing the existing widened street as previously required by the Boundary Street Ordinance. The improvements required to be made to Stagecoach Road will improve vehicle safety and access. The improvements will improve vehicles turning right onto Stagecoach Road from Herndon Road by providing an acceleration lane. The homeowners of the Stagecoach Crossing Subdivision take access to Stagecoach Road from Herndon Road. These improvements will directly benefit the residents of the Stagecoach Crossing Subdivision. With the addition of a sidewalk provided along Stagecoach Road, pedestrian safety will also be improved. A sidewalk is already installed along Herndon Road and Stagecoach Road west of Herndon Road. With the addition of the Boundary Street Ordinance improvements required to be provided by the developers of Stagecoach Crossing Subdivision, approximately 900 feet of continuous widened street will be provided on Stagecoach Road. Also, approximately 850 feet of continuous sidewalk will be provided on Stagecoach Road to link with approximately 1500 feet of sidewalk installed along Herndon Road. At the time of approval of the Stagecoach Crossing Preliminary Plat, the applicant was aware of the Boundary Street Ordinance requirements and requested to delay those improvements until the last phase of development. Staff agreed with the applicant and recommended approval of the preliminary 4 September 13, 2012 SUBDIVISION ITEM NO.: 2 Cont. FILE NO.: S-1554-C plat subject to a delay of the Boundary Street Ordinance improvements until the last phase of development. As part of the plat approval, the applicant is now required to meet his previous approval obligation. G. STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends denial of the requested waiver of the Boundary Street Improvements to Stagecoach Road. PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: (SEPTEMBER 13, 2012) Mr. Tim Daters and Mr. Chip Bosley were present representing the request. There was one registered objector present. Staff presented the item with a recommendation of denial. Mr. Tim Daters of White-Daters and Associates stated when the plat was approved in 2007 the developer did commit to installing the required improvements to Highway 5. He stated Mr. Bosley was going to address the economics and the change in circumstance which limited the developer's ability to complete the improvements. Mr. Bosley, the developer, stated when the development stated the homes being constructed were in the $145,000 range. He stated as each of the homes sold a portion of the profit was placed in an account to allow for the required improvements to Highway 5 at the time the improvements would be required. He stated the estimated cost of improvements was $170,000 five years ago. He stated when the economy changed the price point of the homes dropped to $120,000. He stated qualified applicants on Monday would not be qualified on Friday when closing time rolled around. He stated the only way the subdivision was still viable was due to Rausch Coleman, a large residential home builder, who began buying lots and developing new homes. He stated the price point for Rausch Coleman was $105,000. He stated he and his partners were selling the lots to Rausch Coleman at cost. He stated he was willing to donate to the City $30,000 to be used anywhere the City felt was appropriate. He stated the development could not afford to complete the improvements and requested the Commission grant a waiver of the improvements to Highway 5. Mr. Tim Daters stated there was an existing drainage problem located within the street widening area that had to be corrected by the Highway Department before the developer could install the improvements. He stated AHTD was unaware of a maintenance fix that had occurred which was not up to standard. He stated there were several cross ties laying on their side at the end of a culvert which was holding up the road. September 13, 2012 SUBDIVISION ITEM NO.: 2 (Cont.) FILE NO.: S-1 Mr. Daters provided the Commission with a number of examples where various developers had installed improvements on a State Highway which were later removed by AHTD in a highway widening project. He stated there were plans to widen the bridges on Highway 5 by the Highway Department but there were no plans to widen the roadway. He stated AHTD estimated 9,000 vehicles per day on this section of road and estimated an increase in volume to 11,500 vehicles per day over the next 20 years. He stated there was approximately 400 feet of frontage that would be widened by the developer and allow the construction of an additional lane and Y2, curb, gutter and sidewalk. He stated the next sidewalk was located '/2 mile to the north, near Colonel Glenn and 2 miles to the south, 1-430. Mr. Daters stated the City should consider amending the Master Street Plan and the Boundary Street Ordinance related to constructing improvements on State Highways. Ms. Ruth Bell, League of Women Voters, addressed the Commission in opposition of the request. She stated economics and distraction were not items for the Commission to consider. She stated both the public and private sectors had taken a hit with the turn in the economy. She stated the City of Little Rock was not responsible for the financial success of those that came before them for rezoning or subdivision matters. She stated it was ok to work with a developer to ensure their success in the event of changes in economics but the City was not responsible for their financial welfare. She stated the boundary street ordinance had been in place for a long time. She stated in the beginning some improvements did not make sense but over time as the gaps began to fill in then the improvements were continuous and allowed for a better development and street network through out the City. She stated the League requested the Commission refuse the developers request and not forgive the widening requirement of Stagecoach Road. Mr. Daters stated the developer would meet their obligation if the Commission denied their request. He stated it would take a while for the subdivision to be built out due to the additional cost the improvements would impose on the remaining lots. There was a general discussion by the Commissioners, Mr. Daters, Mr. Bosley and staff on a number of items including how other Cities handled improvements on State Highways. Mr. Bosley and Mr. Daters stated in Bryant and Benton when a project was located on a State Highway no improvements were required. Mr. Bosley stated the developer was required to improve local streets but not State Highways. Mr. Daters stated his firm was currently the engineer of record for a nursing home project in Bryant located on Highway 5 and the development was not required to make any improvements to the State Highway. Commissioner Rector questioned Mr. Daters on what should be done to amend the Master Street Plan to not require improvements on State Highways but remain fair and equitable. Mr. Daters stated there were cases when improvements to the State 0 September 13, 2012 SUBDIVISION ITEM NO.: 2 (Cont.) FILE NO.: 5-1554-C Highway made sense. He stated the improvements made to Cantrell Road which were installed prior to the widening of Highway 10 were still in place. He stated a number of the places which had been widened on Highway 5 south of Otter Creek were being removed. He stated there should be some flexibility in the Master Street Plan to review each of the cases on an individual basis. The Commission discussed what would happen if the developers walked away from the development and who would be responsible for completion of the improvements to Highway 5. Staff stated the successor would be responsible. Staff stated there were a number of lots remaining in the final phase which had not been final platted and staff would not allow them to be final platted until the boundary street ordinance requirements were met. The Commission questioned the length of a left turn lane. Staff stated the Master Street Plan allowed for a 150-foot lane including taper but AHTD would most likely require 400-feet based on the speeds on Stagecoach Road. Staff stated with a design speed of 45 mph then 400-feet was typically required. Commissioner Rector stated the Master Street Plan placed an undue burden of property owners next to the street. He stated with the onerous requirement of improvements placed on property owners the owners had no choice but to request to up -zone the property to add value to complete the improvements. He stated if the development was adjacent to a State Highway the Highway Department should be consulted as to the improvements they desired. Commissioner Rector stated it was time to review the Master Street Plan and the Boundary Street ordinance requirements and possibly make modifications which would then place the cost of the improvements to the area property owners and not just the property owners abutting the street. There was a general discussion concerning the applicant's proposal to allow a cash donation for $30,000 in -lieu of street construction. A motion was made to accept the cash payment of $30,000 to be used by the City as they saw fit and waive the boundary street ordinance requirement for the construction of Highway 5 adjacent to the applicant's development. The motion carried by a vote of 8 ayes, 2 noes and 1 absent. 7