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Home My WebLink AboutZ-5963-H Staff Report 033026April 9, 2026 ITEM NO.: 16 FILE NO.: Z-5963-H NAME: Brodie Creek Subdivision – Cell Tower – Revised PRD LOCATION: West side of S. Bowman Road, Approximately 500’ North of Brodie Creek Trail DEVELOPER: The Towers LLC (Agent) 10 St. James Street Maumelle, AR 72113 OWNER/AUTHORIZED AGENT: Jason Edwards (POA President) 1 Briar Patch Court Little Rock, AR 72211 AREA: 0.11 acre (lease area) NUMBER OF LOTS: 1 FT. NEW STREET: 0 LF WARD: 7 CURRENT ZONING: PRD A. PROPOSAL/REQUEST/APPLICANT’S STATEMENT: The applicant proposes to revise the previously approved PRD zoning for The Brodie Creek Subdivision by constructing a 150-foot-tall cell tower on one (1) of the undeveloped tracts along S. Bowman Road, the east boundary of the subdivision. The Brodie Creek Property Owners Association owns six (6) undeveloped tracts of land along S. Bowman Road. B. EXISTING CONDITIONS: The property is undeveloped and wooded. 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): April 9, 2026 ITEM NO.: 16 (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-5963-H 2 1.All documents are to be submitted to Planning and Development for complete plan check. 2.All documents shall be prepared by an Arkansas Licensed Professional Engineer. 3.All documents shall be prepared based on the current Arkansas Fire Prevention Codes, City of Little Rock Municipal codes and ordinances, and current Stormwater Management and Drainage Manual. 4.Any new development shall be reviewed to ensure all codes, specifications, and ordinances are met before issuing any related permits. ENGINEERING COMMENTS (PUBLIC WORKS): 1.The proposed cell tower location appears to be outside the limits of construction and easements of the proposed S. Bowman Road Widening Project. E. UTILITIES/FIRE DEPARTMENT/PARKS/COUNTY PLANNING: Little Rock Water Reclamation Authority: No comments received. Entergy: No comments received. Summit Utilities: No comments. AT & T: No comments received. Central Arkansas Water: 1.A Capital Investment Charge based on the size of meter connection(s) will apply to this project in addition to normal charges. This fee will apply to all connections including metered connections off the private fire system. 2.The Little Rock Fire Department needs to evaluate this site to determine whether additional public and/or private fire hydrant(s) will be required. If additional fire hydrant(s) are required, they will be installed at the Developer's expense. 3.Due to the nature of this facility, installation of an approved reduced pressure zone backflow preventer assembly (RPZ) is required on the domestic water service. This assembly must be installed prior to the first point of use. Central Arkansas Water (CAW) requires that upon installation of the RPZA, successful tests of the assembly must be completed by a Certified Assembly Tester licensed by the State of Arkansas and approved by CAW. The test results must be sent to CAW's Cross Connection Section within ten days of installation and annually thereafter. Contact the Cross Connection Section at 377-1226 if you would like to discuss backflow prevention requirements for this project. April 9, 2026 ITEM NO.: 16 (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-5963-H 3 4.All Central Arkansas Water requirements in effect at the time of request for water service must be met. Fire Department: Must Comply with Arkansas Fire Prevention Code 2021 edition All projects submitted for zoning approval must comply with the Arkansas Fire Prevention Code, 2021 Edition, including any comments or requirements provided by the Little Rock Fire Marshal's Office, prior to acceptance. 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. F. BUILDING CODES/LANDSCAPE: Building Codes: No comments received. Landscape: April 9, 2026 ITEM NO.: 16 (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-5963-H 4 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. Planning Division: Land Use Plan: The request is in Planning District 18, the Ellis Mountain Planning District. The development principles of the district include ensuring that roads are improved in a manner that are supportive of all modes of transportation (walking, cycling, automobile, public transit, and truck) and encourage commercial concentrations at major intersections of arterial streets. The Land Use Plan shows Residential Low Density (RL) for the application area. The Residential Low Density (RL) category provides for single family homes at densities not to exceed 6 dwelling units per acre. Such residential development is typically characterized by conventional single family homes but may also include patio or garden homes and cluster homes, provided that the density remains less than 6 units per acre. The application is for a Revised Planned Residential District. Immediately surrounding the application area is area designated for Residential Low Density (RL) uses and is characterized by woodlands to the north and south, the Brodie Creek subdivision to the west, and single-family homes in a developed subdivision to the east. North of the application area is area designated for Park/Open Spaces (PK/OS) uses and is characterized by the Panther Branch and the associated floodway. South of the application area is area designated for Residential Medium Density (RM) uses and is characterized by a single-family home and the Chenal Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center. This site is not located in an Overlay District. Master Street Plan: Bowman Road 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. April 9, 2026 ITEM NO.: 16 (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-5963-H 5 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: Bowman Road is on the Master Bike Plan as a Proposed Class II Bike Lane. Class II Bike Lanes provides a portion of the pavement for the sole use of bicycles. Historic Preservation Plan: The application, as shown, should have no effect on identified historic resources. H. ANALYSIS: The applicant proposes to revise the previously approved PRD zoning for The Brodie Creek Subdivision by constructing a 150-foot-tall cell tower on one (1) of the undeveloped tracts along S. Bowman Road, the east boundary of the subdivision. The Brodie Creek Property Owners Association owns six (6) undeveloped tracts of land along S. Bowman Road. The property is undeveloped and wooded. The applicant provided the following information for this project: “Land north and west of corner of Bowman Rd. and Brodie Creek Trail is currently a wooded tract of land, used as a green space, and owned by the Brodie Creek Property Owners. The POA has entered into an agreement with The Towers, LLC to develop a Wireless communication Facility pretty much in the middle of the woods. This will provide great screening of the facility while providing improved wireless communication options for all in the surrounding community. The site is designed and will be constructed for multiple wireless users as required by City Code. This application for amendment will include multiple users to house equipment within the area depicted on included drawings.” “The Bill of Assurance does allow for this use on the property. The POA has signed an agreement with The Towers, LLC providing their approval of the use of the property. The site is designed to be pushed up into the woods with a long and curved driveway off Bowman Rd. in order to break the line of site to the antenna site. This provides fully mature natural screening that is in place now to shield views of the site from surrounding properties.” The applicant provided the following minimum design criteria for the proposed three carrier 150 foot high monopole: April 9, 2026 ITEM NO.: 16 (Cont.) FILE NO.: Z-5963-H 6 •The tower will be designed per the Structural Standard for Antenna Supporting Structures and Antennas, ANSI/TIA-222-H •Minimum Wind Speed 105 mph and 1 ½” Design Ice Thickness @ 30 mph. •Tower is to be Designed for a Minimum Fall Zone Radius of 75; (1/2 the tower height) •(3) Carrier RAD’s at 15’ vertical separation o 145 ft VZW RAD to consider the following loading (No shielding or reductions permitted): o 130 ft and 115 ft Non-VZW RAD to consider the following loading (No Shielding or reductions permitted): The proposed access drive to the tower site must be approved by the fire department, with respect to design, grade and turnaround, prior to a building permit being issued. Staff is supportive of the revised PRD zoning. Staff believes that the applicant has taken steps to make the placement of the cell tower have a minimal impact on the surrounding properties. I.STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends approval of the Revised PRD zoning, subject to compliance with the comments and conditions outlined in paragraphs D, E and F, and the staff analysis, of the agenda staff report.