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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZ-5405-C Staff Report 022725NAME: Baptist Preparatory School – Revised Conditional Use Permit LOCATION: 8400 Ranch Drive DEVELOPER: Timothy Yelvington (Agent) 713 W. Second Street Little Rock, AR 72201 OWNER/AUTHORIZED AGENT: Baptist Preparatory School (Owner) 62 Pleasant Valley Drive Little Rock, AR 72212 SURVEYOR/ENGINEER: Minton Engineering 300 North Port Drive Cabot, AR 72023 AREA: 21 acres NUMBER OF LOTS: 1 FT. NEW STREET: 0 LF WARD: 5 PLANNING DISTRICT: 20 CENSUS TRACT: 42.05 CURRENT ZONING: R-2 VARIANCE/WAIVERS: A variance to request a reduced driveway entrance (exit side), from the corner of the property from one hundred (100) feet to 61.8 feet. ______________________________________________________________________ BACKGROUND: On February 12, 1991, the Planning Commission approved a conditional use permit to allow for the development of a junior high/senior high school campus on this property for the Arkansas Baptist School System. The approved plan included a school building, paved parking areas, and football and baseball fields. On January 21, 1999, the Planning Commission approved a revised conditional use permit, which allowed the Summit Church to hold church services in the existing school facilities. No new construction was proposed at that time. A. PROPOSAL/REQUEST/APPLICANT’S STATEMENT: The applicant is now requesting to revise the previously approved conditional use permit to include several additions to the existing school building. The proposal also includes overall site improvements such as the relocation of the existing entrance driveway at the south corner of the lot, additional parking area, storm shelter and several upgrades to the athletic facilities throughout the campus. B. EXISTING CONDITIONS: The site contains an existing 53,954 square foot, brick-framed building utilized as the primary school building, and several ancillary buildings on the campus. Properties surrounding the site contain a mixture of zoning and uses. The campus was previously utilized by the Arkansas Baptist School System. C. NEIGHBORHOOD NOTIFICATIONS: All owners of property 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 (PLANNING DIVISION): Comments are based on the variance request for the drive relocation. Comments for expansion(s) shall be addressed at the time a building permit is applied for. This would address handicap parking and accessibility. As you come in the drive, you have an access to the right that allows two way travel, staff feels that this will cause safety issues with circulation. Please advise. Drawing submitted is not to scale so staff cannot accurately review it. Provide a drawing that is true to scale. Also label the widths of the proposed drives. What are you proposing for the section of the drive aprons? Provide a detail showing how they will be constructed. They shall include a minimum of #4 rebar 20inch on center. How many cubic yards of cut/fill will you have with this? You might need a grading permit. ENGINEERING COMMENTS (PUBLIC WORKS): A grading permit in accordance with section 29-186 (c) & (d) will be required prior to any land clearing or grading activities at the site. Other than residential subdivisions, site grading and drainage plans must be submitted and approved prior to the start of construction. Storm water detention ordinance applies to this property. Maintenance of the detention pond and all private drainage improvements is the responsibility of the developer and/or local property owners’ association and detailed in the bill of assurance. If the disturbed area is 1 or more acres, obtain a NPDES storm water permit from the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality prior to the start of construction. Damage to public and private property due to hauling operations or operation of construction related equipment from a nearby construction site shall be repaired by the responsible party prior to issuance of a certificate of occupancy. The minimum finish floor elevation of at least 1 ft above the base flood elevation is required to be shown on plat and grading plans. A special Grading Permit for Flood Hazard Areas will be required per Sec. 13-55 prior to construction. A vehicle turn-around is not provided for vehicles entering the school with denied access. Gates should be relocated to provide a vehicle turn-around area. E. UTILITIES/FIRE DEPARTMENT/PARKS/COUNTY PLANNING: Little Rock Water Reclamation Authority: No comments received. Entergy: No comments received. Summit Utilities: No comment. AT & T: No comments received. Central Arkansas Water: No comments received. 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 asphalt, concrete or other approved driving surface capable of supporting the imposed load of fire apparatus weighing at least 75,000 pounds. Commercial and Industrial Developments – 2 means of access. - Maintain fire apparatus access roads as per Appendix D of the 2021 Arkansas Fire Prevention Code Vol. 1 Section D104.1 Buildings exceeding three stories or 30 feet in height. Building or facilities exceeding 30 feet or three stories in height shall have at least two means of fire apparatus access for each structure. Section D104.2 Building exceeding 62,000 square feet in area. Buildings or facilities having a gross building area of more than 62,000 square feet shall be provided with two separate and approved fire apparatus access roads. Exception: Projects having a gross building area of up to 124,000 square feet that have a single approved fire apparatus access road when all buildings are equipped throughout with approved automatic sprinkler systems. D104.3 Remoteness. Where two fire apparatus access roads are required, they shall be placed a distance apart equal to not less than one half of the length of the maximum overall diagonal dimension of the lot or area to be served, measured in a straight line between accesses. 30’ Tall Buildings - Maintain aerial fire apparatus access roads as per Appendix D of the 2021 Arkansas Fire Prevention Code Vol. 1 Section D105.1 – D105.4 D105.1 Where Required. Where the vertical distance between the grade plane and the highest roof surface exceeds 30’, approved aerial fire apparatus access roads shall be provided. For the purposes of this section the highest roof surfaces shall be determined by measurement to the eave of a pitched roof, the intersection of a roof to the exterior wall, or the top of the parapet walls, whichever is greater. D105.2 Width. Aerial fire apparatus access roads shall have a minimum unobstructed with of 26’, exclusive of shoulders, in the immediate vicinity of the building or portion thereof. D105.3 Proximity to building. At least one of the required access routes meeting this condition shall be located within a minimum of 15 feet and a maximum of 30 feet from the building and shall be positioned parallel to one entire side of the building. The side of the building on which the aerial fire apparatus access road is positioned shall be approved by the fire code official. D105.4 Obstructions. Overhead utility and power lines shall not be located over the aerial fire apparatus access road or between the aerial fire apparatus road and the building. Other obstructions shall be permitted to be placed with the approval of the fire code official. Dead Ends Maintain fire apparatus access roads at dead end locations as per Appendix D of the 2021 Arkansas Fire Prevention Code Vol. 1 Section D103.4 Dead Ends. Dead-end fire apparatus access roads in excess of 150 feet shall be provided with width and turnaround provisions in accordance with Table D103.4. Requirements for Dead-end fire apparatus access roads. Gates Maintain fire apparatus access road gates as per Appendix D of the 2021 Arkansas Fire Prevention Code Vol. 1 Section D103.5 Fire apparatus access road gates. Gates securing the fire apparatus access roads shall comply with all of the following criteria: Minimum gate width shall be 20 feet. Gates shall be of swinging or sliding type. The construction of gates shall be of material that allows manual operation by one person. Gate components shall be maintained in an operable condition at all times and replace or repaired when defective. Electric gates shall be equipped with a means of opening the gate by fire department personnel for emergency access. Emergency opening devices shall be approved by the fire code official. Manual opening gates shall not be locked with a padlock or chain and padlock unless they are capable of being opened by means of forcible entry tools or when a key box containing the keys to the lock is installed at the gate location. Locking device specifications shall be submitted for approval \by the fire code official Electric gate operators, where provided, shall be listed in accordance with UL 325. Gates, intended for automatic operation, shall be designed, constructed and installed to comply with the requirements of ASTM F 2200. 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 (Jason Lowder 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. Project is subject to full commercial plan review and approval prior to issuance of a building permit. For information on submittal requirements and the review process, contact a commercial plans examiner: Curtis Richey at 501.371.4724; crichey@littlerock.gov or Tim Whitner at 501-371-4875, twhitener@littlrock.gov. Landscape: No comments. G. TRANSPORTATION/PLANNING: Rock Region Metro: No comments received. Planning Division: The request is in the Pinnacle Planning District. The Land Use Plan shows PI for the requested area. The Public/Institutional (PI) category includes public and quasi-public facilities that provide a variety of services to the community such as schools, libraries, fire stations, churches, utility substations, and hospitals. The application is for a Revised CUP for an expansion of existing facilities. South of the subject site in an area of Mixed Office Commercial use are professional offices. To the north and east is a residential health care facility in an area of Residential High Density use, and single family residences in an area of Residential Low Density use. To the west of the subject site are apartment complexes. This site is not located in an Overlay District. Master Street Plan: Ranch Blvd is a Commercial Street on the Master Street Plan. Commercial Streets are a Local public street which is abutted by non-residential or residential use which is more intense than duplex or two-unit residential. These streets have the same design standard as a Collector. The standard Right-of-way is 60 feet. Sidewalks are required on both sides. This street may require dedication of right-of-way and may require street improvements. Bicycle Plan: Ranch Blvd is not shown on the Master Bike Plan with existing or proposed facilities in this area. Historic Preservation Plan: This property is not located in a Historic District. H. ANALYSIS: The applicant is requesting to revise the previously approved conditional use permit to include several additions to the existing school building. The proposal also includes overall site improvements such as the relocation of the existing entrance driveway at the south corner of the lot, additional parking area, storm shelter and several upgrades to the athletic facilities throughout the campus. The site contains an existing 53,954 square foot, brick-framed building utilized as the primary school building, and several ancillary buildings on the campus. Properties surrounding the site contain a mixture of zoning and uses. The campus was previously utilized by the Arkansas Baptist School System. Access to the campus is via two (2) existing ingress/egress drives. One drive is located in the northeastern corner and will allow two-way travel. During normal pickup, drop-off, all traffic will come in the second drive and use the one way drive at the front of the building. During other times visitors can come into the new entrance for pickup or drop-off. The applicant is proposing to relocate the existing southern to near the south corner of the lot. The proposed relocation will be a full service drive. At some point during the future, the applicant plans to place a guard shack between the entrance and exit dedicated drive. As per Sec. 31-210 of the City’s subdivision ordinance driveways must be located at least one hundred (100) feet from the side property lines. The proposed relocated drive is located approximately 61.8 feet from the south property line, as measured from the center line of the drive to the property line. The applicant has requested a variance for the reduced driveway setback from the property line. New construction to the existing classrooms will contain the addition of a 5,978 square foot gym in the rear of the building and a 2025 classroom/storm shelter with a new entry way located at the southeast corner of the building. The north portion of the property will have new improvements and/or configurations to the overall campus, football, baseball and softball facilities will contain the relocation of the existing drive in the south corner of the property, prayer garden, bell tower and parking area along the west property line. Additions and/or reconfiguration of the existing football/soccer and softball field facilities will contain a future concrete walkway, paved plaza area, visitor’s bleachers, concessions, band area, batting cages, restrooms, press boxes, roof covered baseball dugouts, batting cages, softball/football sheds, future indoor practice facility and new parking area containing an additional forty-three (43) parking spaces. Staff feels that the additional parking areas will be sufficient to serve the new classroom building additions and athletic facilities shown on the plan. The applicant is not proposing any new dumpsters at this time. Any new dumpsters installed on the property must be screened and comply with Section 36-523 of the City's Zoning Ordinance. The applicant is not proposing any new signage at this time. Any new signage must comply with Section 36-553 of the City's Zoning Ordinance. Any new site lighting must be low-level and directed away from adjacent properties. Staff is supportive of the requested revision to conditional use permit, including the variance request for the driveway relocation in the south corner of the property. Staff feels that the overall campus improvements and upgrades to the athletic facilities will allow the campus to better serve the student body, staff and visitors. Staff feels the additional development of the property will have a positive impact on the general area and have no adverse impact on the surrounding properties. Staff would have approved the revisions to the master plan at staff level, if not for the driveway variance. STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends approval of the requested revisions to the conditional use permit, subject to compliance with the comments and conditions outlined in paragraphs D, E and F, and the staff analysis, of the agenda staff report.