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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCBC-648-IHop Staff Minutes 04162016LITTLE ROCK CITY BEAUTIFUL COMMISSION The City Beautiful Commission held its regular meeting at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, April 07, 2016, at Curran Hall, 615 E. Capitol Avenue. Chairman Ed Peek called the meeting to order. MEMBERS PRESENT: MEMBERS ABSENT: Ed Peek Steve Homeyer Chris Hancock Wally Loveless Janet Wilson Bob Winchester Carrie Young One Open Position Chris Morgan Jordan Thomas Becka Webb ALSO PRESENT: Beth Carpenter, City Attorney's Office D. Tracy Spillman, Plans Development Administrator, Department of Planning and Development, City of Little Rock. Dana Carney, Zoning and Subdivision Manager, Department of Planning and Development, City of Little Rock. APPROVAL OF THE MAY MINUTES: Chairman Peek entertained a motion that the Minutes from the previous month be approved. Motion: Commissioner Thomas made a motion that the March 03, 2016 Minutes be approved. Second: Commissioner Morgan seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Variance Request: CBC Case # 647, Rebel Kettle FINDINGS: This former industrial site located at 822 E. 61h Street is now zoned UU (Urban Use District) and located within the Presidential Park Overlay District. The site encompasses approximately a half acre of land and includes an existing 5,562 square foot single story structure. In August of 2015 a building permit was issued to alter this existing warehouse space to house a new craft brewery. After the completion of the building renovations the applicant continued unpermitted improvements to the property which included resurfacing the site to provide onsite parking. In accordance with the UU district requirements no off street parking is required. In addition no surface parking is allowed on 6th Street in the Presidential Park Overlay District without a false facade along the street so as to appear to be a non -vehicular use area. Before the certificate of occupancy could be issued the building was reviewed by the city inspectors for code compliance. It was at this time the additional unpermitted work was discovered and brought to the attention the city's planning department. The applicant met with Staff and provided an as -built drawing of the site improvements. This drawing indicated a one way entrance to the site off of E. 6th Street, angled parking adjacent to the building and the west property line, a drive continuing around the north end of the building to an entrance/exit onto Collins Street. This plan also illustrated four parking spaces off of Collins Street parallel to the northeast corner of the building. There were no provisions made for the required perimeter planting strips adjacent to the north and west property lines, interior parking or building landscape areas. Staff communicated the changes that could be made and the variances what would be required to bring the project into compliance. As advised the applicant revised the site plan to incorporate the Staff comments. The new plan indicated a two-way entrance / exit from Collins Street, four (4) parking spaces immediately to the south and a partial perimeter planting area to the north of the entrance. To allow for one way vehicular circulation to continue around the north end of the building the remainder of the perimeter planting strip was not provided. The parking area to the west of the building provides interior landscape islands, building landscape areas and limited perimeter landscape at the north and south ends of the site. In addition to the angled parking there is a one way exit onto E. 6" which will be flanked on each side by walls forty-two inches in height that will serve as a false facade to meet the Presidential Park Overlay requirements. After a reduction in the landscape requirements is taken for projects located in an area designated as "mature" the revised landscape plan will meet or exceed all of the landscape conditions with the exception of the perimeter planting strips between vehicular use area and the property lines to the north and west. A total of twelve (12) trees and thirty -tree (33) shrubs would be required to meet the site plant material minimums. The current plan shows a total of fourteen (14) trees and forty-six (46) shrubs. These quantities would meet the requirements before taking the mature area reduction. The applicant is trying to improve the property and has demonstrated an effort to amend the unpermitted construction by adhering to Staff s recommendations and exceeding the required landscape quantities.