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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZ-10133 Staff Report 022625 (2)March 13, 2025 ITEM NO.: 14 FILE NO.: Z-10133 NAME: Vibe & Vision Content Studio – Conditional Use Permit LOCATION: 1124 S. Battery Street OWNER/AUTHORIZED AGENT: Merica Profit (Owner) 1124 S. Battery Street Little Rock, AR 72202 SURVEYOR/ENGINEER: Brooks Surveying, Inc. 20820 Arch Street Pike Hensley, AR 72065 AREA: 0.31 acre NUMBER OF LOTS: 1 FT. NEW STREET: 0 LF WARD: 1 PLANNING DISTRICT: 8 CENSUS TRACT: 45 CURRENT ZONING: C-4 A. PROPOSAL/REQUEST/APPLICANT’S STATEMENT: The applicant is requesting a conditional use permit to allow for the use of the existing one-story commercial building to be utilized as an event center. B. EXISTING CONDITIONS: The property is located on the northwest corner of W. 12th and S. Battery Street and contains an existing 1,218 square foot building in the rear (north) portion of the property and a 711 square foot canopy in the front (south) portion of the property along W. 12th Street. Screening is provided along the north and west property lines as required by code. Most of the properties to the north and east contain office zoning and uses that are associated with the Arkansas Children’s Hospital campus and the Little Rock Housing Authority. The remaining properties to the west and south contain a mixture of zoning and uses. March 13, 2025 ITEM NO.: 14 (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-10133 2 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 (PLANNING DIVISION): 1. Provide site plan and layout. Survey will not be considered as plan. 2. Provide a parking layout, count, and handicap parking and access. 3. Restripe the parking lot. 4. Mount the parking wheel stops. 5. The driveway accesses that are nearest to the intersection shall be kept blocked to not allow vehicular paths of travel. 6. At least one handicap stall shall be a van accessible stall, this means a stall with a width of 11ft minimum and a 5ft minimum access aisle. 7. Provide ADA accessible route from the public right of way to the proposed development in accordance with 36 CFR Part 1191 Section F206.2.1, “… at least one accessible route shall be provided within the site from accessible parking spaces and accessible passenger loading zones, public streets and sidewalks, and public transportation stops to the accessible building or facility entrance they serve.” ENGINEERING COMMENTS (PUBLIC WORKS): 1. Battery St. is classified on the Master Street Plan as a collector street. A dedication of right-of-way 30 feet from centerline will be required. 2. A 20 feet radial dedication of right-of-way is required at the intersection of Battery St. and W. 12th St. 3. Driveway locations and widths do not meet the traffic access and circulation requirements of Sections 30-43 and 31-210. Wheel stops were previously required to be installed across the driveways closest to the intersection to prohibit use. The prohibited use of those driveways remains. 4. Provide a site plan in conformance with Sec. 36-511 showing proposed striping plan for compliant vehicle parking spaces and drive aisles. E. UTILITIES/FIRE DEPARTMENT/PARKS/COUNTY PLANNING: Little Rock Water Reclamation Authority: No comments received. March 13, 2025 ITEM NO.: 14 (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-10133 3 Entergy: No comments received. Summit Utilities: No comments received. AT & T: No comments received. Central Arkansas Water: No comments received. Fire Department: Full plan review. Parks and Recreation: No comments received. County Planning: No comments. F. BUILDING CODES/LANDSCAPE: Building Code: 1. Project is a change in occupancy and is therefore subject to current building code requirements. Review and approval are required by Building Codes Division before occupancy takes place. For information on submittal requirements and the review process, contact a commercial plans examiner: Curtis Richey at 501-371-4724. 2. Event Centers with a calculated occupancy greater than 100 require fire sprinkler and fire alarm installations Landscape: 1. 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. 2. 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. March 13, 2025 ITEM NO.: 14 (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-10133 4 Planning Division: The request is in the Central City Planning District. The Land Use Plan shows MOC for the requested area. The Mixed Office and Commercial (MOC) category provides for a mixture of office and commercial uses to occur. Acceptable uses are office or mixed office and commercial. A Planned Zoning District is required if the use is mixed office and commercial. The application is CUP for an Event Center. March 13, 2025 ITEM NO.: 14 (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-10133 5 Surrounding the application area on the west, north, and east is a large area of Public/Institutional land use which is a hospital campus. At the northeast corner is an area of Residential High Density with apartments. South of the application area is Residential Medium Density use with mixed single family, duplex, and multiplex units. This site is not located in an Overlay District. March 13, 2025 ITEM NO.: 14 (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-10133 6 Master Street Plan: Battery St is a Collector on the Master Street Plan. Collectors are designed to connect traffic from Local Streets to Arterials or to activity centers, with the secondary function of providing access to adjoining property. The standard Right of way is 60’. Sidewalks are required on one side of Collectors. This street may require dedication of right-of-way and may require street improvements. March 13, 2025 ITEM NO.: 14 (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-10133 7 Bicycle Plan: Battery St is not shown on the Master Bike Plan with existing or proposed facilities in this area. To the south, 12th St currently has bicycle lanes. Historic Preservation Plan: This property is not located in a Historic District. H. ANALYSIS: The applicant is requesting a conditional use permit to allow for the use of the existing one-story commercial building to be utilized as an event center. The property is located on the northwest corner of W. 12th and S. Battery Street and contains an existing 1,218 square foot building in the rear (north) portion of the property and a 711 square foot canopy in the front (south) portion of the property along W. 12th Street. Screening is provided along the north and west property lines as required by code. Most of the properties to the north and east contain office zoning and uses that are associated with the Arkansas Children’s Hospital campus and the Little Rock Housing Authority. The remaining properties to the west and south contain a mixture of zoning and uses. Access to the site is provided by concrete driveways along S. Battery Street and W. 12 th Street. The site must be modified as per Planning Department and Public Works’ comments regarding existing driveway modifications, striping and ADA access. Typically, seventeen (17) parking spaces would be required for the proposed use. Section 36-502(2)(c) requires one (1) space for each five (5) seats. The applicant provided information from the Little Rock Fire Department noting that the maximum occupancy shall not exceed eighty-nine (89) people at any given time. The applicant noted that the maximum occupancy will be rare and anticipates 45-50 people on average. Staff would like to note that the existing parking lot contains parking areas on the east, west and south sides of the property. Staff feels the parking will be sufficient to serve the use. The hours of operation will be from 8am to 5pm, Monday-Saturday. Sunday events may be reserved on a case-by-case basis. The applicant notes the following uses for the event center will include workshops, seminars, social gatherings, community and private events and will be staffed by a 4-person team including one (1) staffer working part-time providing maintenance and security. March 13, 2025 ITEM NO.: 14 (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-10133 8 The applicant notes that some uses will be for ticketed events. Food and beverage service options will include private catering and mobile canteen units (food trucks) available for selected events. Vendors providing the sale of alcoholic beverages will be required to have necessary permits. The survey/site plan does not show a dumpster at this time. Any dumpster installed at the site must be screened as per Section 36-523 of the city’s zoning ordinance. The applicant is not proposing any new site lighting at this time. Any new site lighting must be low-level and directed away from adjacent properties. The applicant is not proposing any new signage at this time. Any new signage must comply with Section 36-555 of the city’s zoning ordinance (signs permitted in Commercial zones). Staff is supportive of the requested conditional use permit. The applicant is requesting no variances with this application. The applicant provided responses and additional information during staff’s review of the application. Staff views the request as reasonable. The subject property is currently zoned C-4. The subject property is located at the northwest corner of W. 12 Street and S. Battery Street. Both streets are identified as collector streets by the City’s Master Street Plan. Properties in the general area contain commercial and office uses and zoning. The addition of the event space represents a significant opportunity to enhance the community and provide a resource to the residences and businesses within the area. Staff feels the proposed use will have no adverse impact on the surrounding properties. I. STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends approval of the requested 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.