The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutPC Minutes 082125August 14, 2025 1 ITEM NO.: 15 FILE NO.: Z-9858-A NAME: Master Company – PCD LOCATION: 9911 W. Markham Street OWNER/AUTHORIZED AGENT: Pavithran Indira (Owner) 9911 W. Markham Street Little Rock, AR 72205 ENGINEER/SURVEYOR: Brooks Surveying, Inc. 20820 Arch Street Pike Hensley, AR 72065 AREA: .22 acres NUMBER OF LOTS: 1 FT. NEW STREET: 0 LF WARD: 6 PLANNING DISTRICT: 2 CENSUS TRACT: 22.08 CURRENT ZONING: VARIANCE/WAIVERS: O-3 None requested. A. PROPOSAL/REQUEST/APPLICANT’S STATEMENT: The applicant is proposing to rezone .22 acres from O-3 to PCD to allow for the use of an existing 1,520 square foot office building for office space and food services. The existing building will be split into two Suites (A and B). Suite A, 895 square feet, will be consolidated into a café, bakery, ice cream and pizza restaurant, with a minor area for storage. Suite B, 625 square feet, will be used for Office space. B. EXISTING CONDITIONS: The property is located in O-3 zoning. A one-story, brick and frame 1,520-square- foot vacant office building exists in the middle of the property located on the corner of Markham Street and Oak Lane. (South) directly behind the property is single- family residential, North of the property are multifamily apartment complexes, with office buildings mixed around the entire north, east and west vicinities, as well as a faith-based institution. The Future Land Use Plan shows Suburban Office (SO) August 14, 2025 2 ITEM NO.: 15 (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-9858-A for the requested area. Surrounding the property to the West, Southwest and North is Office Use, Northeast is Public/ Institutional, to the East is Mixed Urban Use and to the Southeast is Residential. 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): 1. All proposed developments shall have ADA Access shall be shown to and from the Right-of-Way(s), this being all ROWs and private drives. 2. Handicap Parking shall include one van stall 11ft wide with a 5ft minimum aisle. 3. Drives may not exceed 40% of the lot width. 4. All sites shall show ADA stalls and aisles on the plan as required by Code. 5. Site survey shows a double frontage lot, (meaning they have connectivity from one street through to another and this is prohibited. 6. Dumpster enclosures must be permitted as a fence and anything 7ft in height or taller measured from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall/fence shall be designed by an Arkansas Licensed Engineer (Structural). 7. Contact Planning and Development Dept., Engineering Division at 501-371-4817 or at 501-918-5348 for inspections of any work in the public right-of-way prior to placement of concrete or asphalt or for on-site clarification of requirements prior to commencing work. Failure to do so can result in removal of any improperly placed concrete or asphalt at the expense of the owner or contractor. 8. Hauling of cut and/or fill material on or off project sites over municipal streets require approval prior to a grading permit being issued. Contact Public Works Traffic Engineering at 621 S. Broadway 501-379-1800 with any questions or for more information. 9. Damage to public and private property due to hauling operations or operations of construction related equipment from a construction site shall be repaired by the responsible party prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy. August 14, 2025 3 ITEM NO.: 15 (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-9858-A ENGINEERING COMMENTS (PUBLIC WORKS): 1. No Comments 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: Full Plan Review Parks and Recreation: No comments received. County Planning: No Comments received. F. BUILDING CODES/LANDSCAPE: Building Code: 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 Whitener at 501-371-4875 twhitener@littlerock.gov Landscape: No Comments G. TRANSPORTATION/PLANNING: Rock Region Metro: No comments received. Planning Division: August 14, 2025 4 ITEM NO.: 15 (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-9858-A August 14, 2025 5 ITEM NO.: 15 (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-9858-A Land Use Plan: The request is in the Rodney Parham Planning District, District 2. The development principles for this district seek to preserve and stabilize the existing development while advocating for Neo-Traditional suburban development in areas not yet developed. The Land Use Plan shows Suburban Office (SO) use for the requested area. The Suburban Office (SO) use category provides for low intensity development of office or office parks in close proximity to lower density residential areas. To assure compatibility, a Planned Zoning District is required. The application is for a Planned Commercial Development (PCD). Surrounding the application area along the W. Markham Street corridor to the west is Suburban Office (SO) use area characterized by a variety of office types. Public/Institutional use area is to the northeast, across W. Markham Street from the application is a faith-based institution. East of the application on the south side of W. Markham Street is an area of Mixed Use (MX) with strip commercial businesses. Southeast of the application is Residential Low (RL) density area characterized by single-family homes in developed subdivisions This site is not located in an Overlay District. August 14, 2025 6 ITEM NO.: 15 (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-9858-A August 14, 2025 7 ITEM NO.: 15 (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-9858-A Master Street Plan: W. Markham Street is a Minor Arterial on the Master Street Plan. Minor Arterials are high volume roads designed to provide the 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: W. Markham Street is not shown on the Master Bike Plan with existing or proposed facilities in this area. Historic Preservation Plan: The application, as shown, should have no effect on identified historic resources. H. ANALYSIS: The applicant is proposing to rezone .22 acres from O-3 to PCD to allow for the use of an existing 1,520-square-foot office building for office space and food services. The existing building will be split into two Suites (A and B). Suite A, 895 square feet, will be consolidated into a café, bakery, ice cream and pizza restaurant, with a minor area for storage. Suite B, 625 square feet, will be used for Office space. The property is located in O-3 zoning. A one-story, brick and frame 1,520-square- foot vacant office building exists in the middle of the property located on the corner of Markham Street and Oak Lane. (South) directly behind the property is single- family residential, North of the property are multifamily apartment complexes, with office buildings mixed around the entire north, east and west vicinities, as well as a faith-based institution. The Future Land Use Plan shows Suburban Office (SO) for the requested area. Surrounding the property to the West, Southwest and North is Office Use, Northeast is Public/ Institutional, to the East is Mixed Urban Use and to the Southeast is Residential. The proposed business will operate Monday through Sunday, from 6 am until midnight, with a maximum of two (2) employees at any given time. The 895 square foot space in Suite A is expected to have a 15-person seating capacity. There will not be a drive-thru window. Two concrete parking areas exist on the property. There are eight (8) parking spaces in August 14, 2025 8 ITEM NO.: 15 (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-9858-A the (North) front and four (4) parking spaces in the (South) rear. Access drives from Oak Lane serve both parking areas. Section 36-502 of the City’s Zoning Ordinance requires one (1) space per five hundred (square feet) of gross floor area for Office and one (1) space for each one hundred (100) square feet of gross floor area for restaurants. The proposed parking plan conforms to the City’s Ordinance Code. A Commercial dumpster will be placed on the northwest corner of the building and will be screened and secured. A fence will be constructed along the southern property line. Site lighting will be low and directed away from adjacent properties, per Section 36-278 of the City Ordinance Code. Staff is not supportive of the requested rezoning from O-3 to PCD. Staff does not feel that is represents an appropriate transition into a Single-Family Residential area. South and Southeast of the property is zoned for R-2 consisting of single- family homes. Staff feels that a business conforming to O-3 would better serve as a transition from Markham, a main arterial road, into the residential area. Staff does not feel that it is appropriate to introduce commercial use at this location, a relatively small property adjacent to single family use. Staff also has concerns with the proposed hours of operation and parking. Although the number of parking spaces conforms with typical ordinance requirements, staff does not feel that there is adequate paved area in the rear parking area to allow vehicular maneuvering. I. STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends denial of the requested PCD zoning. PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: (AUGUST 14, 2025) The applicant was present. There were no persons registered in opposition. The applicant presented their proposal for a two-suite café concept that would serve various pastries and ice cream in one suite and the other suite would be used for office use. After some discussion there was a motion to approve the application. There was a second. The vote was (10) ayes, (0) nays and (1) absent. The motion passed. The application was approved.