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HomeMy WebLinkAbout15489a 245 ORDINANCE NO. 15,489 AN ORDINANCE ADOPTING THE COLLEGE STATION /SWEET HOME DISTRICT LAND USE PLAN AND OTHER ISSUES. WHEREAS, the Office of Comprehensive Planning after review of the land use patterns and issues in the Sweet Home District developed a Land Use Plan and Text to guide future land use decisions in the District; and WHEREAS, the Planning Commission has reviewed the plan and after a public hearing recommends adoption of the plan; and WHEREAS, the Board of Directors recognizes the need for comprehensive plans for each Planning District to provide for proper growth and protect neighborhoods. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE CITY OF LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS. SECTION 1. The College Station /Sweet Home District Land Use Plan is hereby adopted. SECTION 2. This Ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage. PASSED: June 21, 1988 ATTEST: yC 4a APPROyD Cit lerk Jane Czech r o Lottie 41a cke ford p-sv -7 w w w w w w w iw w ron w w w �■ w 246 COLLEGE STATION /SWEET HOME DISTRICT EXISTING CONDITIONS: The College Station /Sweet Home District is a large geographic area south of the City of Little Rock. The northern boundary of the District is Interstate 440, with the west boundary the Pine Bluff Highway (U.S. 65/167), the east boundary the Fourche Bayou, and the south boundary the Planning Area boundary. Within the District, three communities have formed with commercial and residential development. These three are College Station, Sweet Home and West Lake. In College Station, a grid street system layout has partially been developed with residential units. The community has a commercial core, strip, along Frazier Pike which serves the needs of College Station residents - -from retail stores to a school and post office. Residential single family units (modular homes and stick built) are scattered along streets to the north and south of the commercial district. Sweet Home, too, has a commercial core located at the intersection of State Highways 365 and 338 (along 365). Several retail businesses are located in Sweet,Home, as well as a post office, churches and school. Some residential streets off the major roads are in,place with residential units located north and south of Highway 365. ,However, the development area of Sweet Home is smaller in size than that of College Station resulting in the community still being characterized as a crossroads. The remaining community is West Lake, which is also a crossroad community. West Lake is a collection of residential units at the Higgins Switch Road split with Arkansas 365. Additional residential and commercial development is scattered on the highway, with mining and agricultural uses occupying the majority of the area. POPULATION CHARACTERISTICS: In this section, the College Station /Sweet Home District profile will be discussed as well as the College Station and Sweet Home community profiles (based on 1980 data). In addition, information from the College Station landuse plan prepared by Metroplan will be discussed. From the data and analysis presented, one should be better able to understand the character and needs of those in the area. Within the District, a greater proportion of the people are minority (858 black) than within the City of Little Rock (32.28 black). In addition to being more heavily black, the percentage of those under 18 years of age is greater; 1 M 47.78 compared to 28.88 for the City. There are also fewer one person households 20.28 in the District compared with 418 for Little Rock. These figures though,limited indicate that the area's populus is somewhat different than that of Little Rock, containing more families with small children. The community of Sweet Home has the same general character as the District - more black (878 to 32.28), younger (37.48 to 28.88 under age 18) and fewer one person households (238 to 418) than Little Rock. And as one might expect in a more rural area, the percentage of owner occupied is higher (75.38 to 58.58) than that, for the City of Little Rock. The area represented by these figures is much of the developed land not within the Little Rock city limits. Thus, the profile given could be considered the rural component of the District. The 1980 urban portion of the District is either within Little Rock, Granite Heights or the community of College Station. The Granite Heights residents are likely to be black (94.28) and young (568 teenage or younger). Also, the rental market represents 66.78 of the units compared to 41.58 of the City market, due in large part to a public housing development. A smaller segment of the 589 households are one person (14.88) than for Little Rock (27.8 8) indicating the Granite Heights household is likely to be black with children present and renting their homes. The College Station profile is much the same as that of the District. The population is heavily black (938), young (51.58 under 18 years of age) with few one person households (128). The number of households renting relative to owning is higher than in the rural area, with about a 50/50 split in College Station. From these figures and those of Granite Heights, the "typical urban person" appears to be black and young with the households likely to be renting their homes and include more than one person. A more detailed study of College Station was conducted by Metroplan from which the following information was drawn. The study revealed a net out - migration from College Station over the past 15 years. A 43.58 decrease in population, to 1,887, was experienced by the community during the 70's. Additional losses have occurred due to annexations by Little Rock in recent years. Housing stock has also declined during the last few years due to fire and /or removal of the unit. The number of those over 55 years of age was unexpectedly high based on a normal age distribution. This was explained by the presence of a nursing home in College Station. There was a reported 102 persons in group quarters with a median age of 75 and over. The major finding of the Metroplan report is that College Station is losing population and housing stock; however, the quality of the average unit is increasing. 2 M M 247 PHYSICAL CONSTRAINTS: Major physical constraints to urban development within the District are the existing mining operations and the noise effects of the Regional Airport. There are four separate operating mining areas within the District. The noise, dust, size, traffic generation, open pits, and - mounds of stone which go with mining will have definite impacts on future development and redevelopment of the area. The impacts of the Airport and its expansion cause high noise levels in the northern portion of the District. Without special noise reduction treatments included in the construction of units, noise levels will be unacceptably high. Generally speaking, all those areas within the 70 decibel and higher noise impact area should not be developed with residential units. The Fourche Bayou system combined with the low flat ground in the eastern third to quarter of the District will make development difficult. Much of this area is within the 100 year floodplain with an existing agricultural use. One might note that a new warehouse district is developing to the north and east of the area. The Port and Regional Airport expansions could increase demands for warehouse and industrial space which would affect the District. TRANSPORTATION ROUTES: The College Station /Sweet Home District is well served by the existing freeway system (I -440 and Pine Bluff Highways) and State Highways 365 and 338. Thus easy access is available for trucking /distribution centers to regional and national markets. The Little Rock Port facilities and Regional Airport are adjacent, making the District a prime area for industrial and support commercial development. Rail lines are in place throughout the District for the mining operations and could be utilized for additional uses. While the transportation system will faciliate development of industrial uses, residential uses could prove to be an equally desirable land use. Short travel distances to industrial and downtown work places increases the potential for residential use as congestion of traffic routes to the west increases. Although the esthetic appeal of the area may not equal that of West Little Rock, the proximity to places of employment may make it more desirable for residential development in the future. . PLAN: The College Station /Sweet Home District is generally a rural area. As noted previously, mining, farming, and residential uses are the three primary land uses. Further, the area M 24a appears suitable for either industrial or residential use (which are generally not considered compatible). The resulting future land use pattern has three residential areas: Granite Heights, College Station and Sweet Home. Since much of the northern residential development is affected negatively by the Airport's airplane noise, additional residential development in the Granite Heights and College Station areas should be minimized. In these areas, the proposal is to maintain the existing residential while an increase is shown in the Sweet Home area. Along with each residential area, support commercial is included to service needs of the local residents. Commercial uses are also shown at three major intersections (I- 440 /Bankhead, U.S. 65 /167 /Dixon Road and Arkansas Highways 338/365). Highway auto oriented commercial uses are recommended for Dixon Road at U.S. 65/167. Hotels /motels and other auto service uses are recommended at the intersection of Bankhead /I -440 supporting the Airport. A new connection is shown for Arkansas 338 and 365 which could become regionally important. At this intersection, a new commercial node is recommended. The commercial would be used by Sweet Home residents and those in the Westlake and Higgins communities. The other two existing uses, mining and agriculture, are also represented on the plan for future development of the District. Mining activities will consume the second largest amount of land within the District. These areas are existing mining locations, and the only addition or change proposed is a 100 foot buffer of vegetation between a mining area and residential use. A 400 foot vegetation buffer is recommended east of Granite Heights between the residential and mining areas. In the future as the mining activities decrease, alternative uses may be found that will not necessitate such a buffer, and appropriate modifications should be considered. Several areas of industrial development are delineated. The first is along the north leg of Shamburger Lane and Willbern Road which enlarges as existing industrial area. The second is along Arkansas 365 north of Sweet Home. This area should be industrial park type development, landscaped and laid out to be compatible with newly residential development. As barrow pits are filled in the central part of the District, this use could be enlarged. The industrial use areas east of College Station of Zeuber Road are where the western edge of the Little Rock Port Industrial District overlaps into the College Station /Sweet Home Planning District. M M 245 250 The southeastern portion of the District generally south of College Station and east of the Missouri Pacific Railroad track is proposed to be maintained as agricultural. This is due to the high flood potential and a lack of demand for urban uses in the area. Because of the low elevation of the area, urban development is likely to be costly if financially feasible. However, as time progresses and the impacts of expansions at both the Regional Airport and Little Rock Port are better known, changes may need to be considered in the College Station Area and the southeastern portion of the district to reflect the new realities. 5 im 1" = 2000' �f .EsF w COLLEGE STATION /SWEET HOME- -DUSTROCT 251-