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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1975-07-22 Minutes• n 4,21 62/72,21 Ou-ed2 Cx�c��'/99s MINUTES OF A PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING A meeting of the Fayetteville Planning Commission was held Tuesday, July 22, 1975, at 4:06 P. M, in the Board of Directors Room, City Administration Building, Fayetteville, Arkansas. MEMBERS PRESENT: John Maguire, John Power, Chairman Morton Gitelman, Rita Davis, Jack Ray. MEMBERS ABSENT: None. Donald Nickell, Ernest Jacks, Helen Edmiston, Bill Kisor, OTHERS PRESENT: John Lewis, Dennis Hill, William E. Stevens, George Lewis, Roy Clinton,. Charles Williams. Vice -Chairman Power called the meeting to order. The minutes of the July 8, 1975 Planning Commission meeting were MINUTES approved as distributed. REZONING PETITION R75-12 The public hearing was opened on Rezoning Petition First National Bank R75-12, First National Bank to rezone property at ' 309 $ 313 N. University Ave. 309 $ 313 North University Avenue from R-3, High Density Residential District, to C-3, Central Commercial District. Mr. John Lewis was present to represent. He said they would like to have the two lots (10,000 square feet) immediately South of the existing branch rezoned t o be used for a drive through and parking. He said they would like to landscape this area with trees and there would be no building built on the two lots they are requesting to be rezoned. In the absence of Planning Consultant Larry Wood, Ernest Jacks read the Planning Report, which recommended the approval -of the application, Vice -Chairman John Power asked if adjoining property owners had been notified. Bobbie Jones, Planning Administrator, said they had been. There was no one present to oppose the request. Helen Edmiston moved to recommend to the Board of Directors that Rezoning Petition R75-12, First National Bank, be approved as requested. Donald Nickell seconded the motion which was approved unanimously. The next item was a Conditional Use Request and RIDGEVIEW BAPTIST CHURCH Large Scale Development Plan for Ridgeview Baptist 1880 Huntsville Road Church, 1880 Huntsville Road (Highway 16 East), to Large Scale Development construct an educational building. This is a conditional use request due to the property being zoned R-1. Ernest Jacks gave the Subdivision Committee Report. He said the only question was the dedication of right-of-way for Happy Hollow Road and Highway 16 East, and the 40 foot setback that is shown from the West property line. A 50 foot setback with air-conditioning and a 100 foot setback without air-condition- ing from residential -properties -Tis -required £or churches,. schools, etc., in Residential zones. Mr. Jacks said he assumed this was partly because of noise. Chairman Morton Gitelman arrived at 4:15 P. M. Planning Administrator Bobbie Jones explained that the Planning Commission had the authority to reduce this setback. since this is a large scale development (Article 7, Section 14). Dennis Hill with Jack Burge Construction Company was present to represent. • • i Planning Commission July 22, 1975 -3- rent spaces for offices indicated by a B on the drawing and ashelp. yourself mini - storage units, indicated by C or.D., Mr..Stevens.gaid there was a "cold storage room" which he had been approached to rentbut this would not be a locker type thing. It would probably be used by one person (such_as a grocer), He pointed out that there was a mistake at the southeast corner of the floor plan sketch. He said this should be indicated a B rather than C or D. Mr. Stevens said that -the space indicated as D on the drawing was possible rental to Carson Sheet Metal Co. but that this had not been confirmed. Ernest Jacks stated he felt the reason this was zoned R-0 was to protect some older residences. Donald Nickell felt this would not be a traffic generator. Ernest Jacks brought up the point of advertising, and Planning Administrator Bobbie Jones explained that Mr. Stevens was asking for an interpretation on his use as to whether it qualifies for his use, and that he was asking for a change of non -conforming use if it did not. Ernest Jacks felt it would be simpler to allow a change of non -conforming use for the whole building rather than making an interpretation on Mr. Stevens' use only. Mr. Lewis asked whether or not they would have to come back to the.Planning Commission each time another tenant rented the spaces. Planning Administrator Bobbie Jones said they would have to come back if the use changed. It was suggested that Mr. Stevens and Mr. Carson of Carson Sheet Metal Company get together and petition to have this rezoned to I-1. Ernest Jacks moved to approve the request and to change the non -conforming use of this property. Helen Edmiston seconded the motion which was approved unanimously. PAT TOBIN Next was a request submitted by Pat Tobin for a Use Unit Use Unit Interpretation Interpretation to determine whether certain indoor recreational games are a permitted use in the I-1 Zoning District. Specifically, Mr. Tobin is asking the Planning Commission if the use of foosball, indoor golf and other indoor recreational games are a permitted use within I-1 Zoning. Planning Administrator Bobbie Jones said she interpreted this to come under "Penny Arcade" (Unit 19, Commercial Recreation) which is a permitted use in the C-2 Zone but not I-1. It was the general concensus of the Planning Commission that the ordinance was specific as to what use unit this came under and they felt it was not necessary to take any action on this. Chairman Gitelman instructed Mrs. Jones to submit a letter to Mr. Tobin to this effect. Next was a letter from the Housing Authority requesting ,-LETTER:FROM HOUSING AUTHORITY.. consideration for the formation bf a downtown development district. Roy Clinton was present to represent the Housing Authority. Mr. Clinton said that in looking over the Urban Renewal area it was felt that something should be done to encourage the re -development of this area, such as waiving or reducing setbacks from alleys as well as setbacks from street right-of-way, and setbacks for the Major Street Plan. He said it was discouraging for someone trying to re -develop in the downtown area such as Mr, Eason's case on the First Federal Building when he had to go before the Board of Adjustment for a variance before he could build. He pointed out that this was not right and that it was not fair for the Board of Adjustment to have to grant a variance each and every time someone wanted to re -develop in that area. He said guidelines needed to be set up on the architectural part of it, too. He also felt that parking regulations required by the ordinance should not apply to the re -development area, It was his opinion that if someone was willing to re -develop that they would not do so unless they had adequate parking. Therefore, he felt some guidelines should be drawn up to apply for this re -development area on parking. • Planning Commission July 22, 1975 Mr. Hill said this was not as close as,,it appeared to be on the drawing, He said there was, a parking lot in between.the churchand the adjoining property owner on the north. and on the west side.the.40 foot setback could be adjusted, John Power felt this adjustment should be made to meet the 50 foot setback which the ordinance required. John Maguire felt in this case the Planning Commission could reduce the required setback because (1) Mr. Garton (the adjoining property'owner),was a member of the Ridgeview Baptist Church. (2) He felt that the property on the corner would eventually go commercial. Ernest Jacks stated he felt there was a reason for that much of a setback. John Maguire agreed with this but felt in this case, for the two reasons he had stated, that there would be nothing wrong in this case with reducing the setback to 40 feet. Ernest Jacks moved to approve this site for_ a conditional use. Donald Nickell seconded the motion which was approved unanimously. Mr. Jacks then moved to recommend to the Board of Directors the approval of the Large Scale Development plan of Ridgeview Baptist Church on the basis that they provide additional right-of-way for Happy Hollow Road and Highway 16 East (40 feet from the existing centerline of each) and the Planning Commission reduce the setback from the West property line from 50 feet to 40 feet. Helen Edmiston seconded the motion which was approved unanimously. Chairman Gitelman chaired the meeting from this point on. The next item for consideration by the Planning Commission WILLIAM E. STEVENS was a request submitted by William E. Stevens for a Use Unit Interpretation Use Unit Interpretation and to change the Non -Conforming Change of Non -Conforming Use Use of property at 330 North West Avenue, zoned R-0, Residential Office District. (a) Mr. Stevens requests an interpretation of use units to determine if his proposed occupancy is a use by right in the R-0 Zoning District. (b) Mr. Stevens requests a change of non -conforming use as outlined in his letter to permit him to rent the balance of the building that he does not intend to use for his personal occupancy. (c) In the event it is determined that Mr. Stevens' proposed occupancy of the building is not a use by right in the R-0 Zoning District, Mr. Stevens requests approval of a change of non -conforming use for his personal use. Mr. Stevens and George Lewis were present to represent. Mr. Lewis said most of the space would be primarily for Mr. Stevens' own use and that it would not be the type of business where people would be coming or going. It would be mostly mail orders. He said the remainder of the building would be used for office space and storage area. Mr. Stevens said he was a former employee of Baldwin Piano Company and was now on his own. He said his business, which would be known as Stevens Organ Specialties, was a "new type" of business. He said he planned to use 2/3 of the space within the building for the purpose of setting up his office and necessary facilities to operate a consulting and/or advisory service to the more than 700 Baldwin organ dealers across the United States. He said it would be almost entirely mail order customers with an estimated local participation of less than 2 per cent. Mr. Stevens said other services offered to dealers in addition to the services already mentioned would be: (1) Calibrating of organ generators. (2) Calibrating of and analyzing organ power amplifiers. (3) Assembling kits to be offered to dealers for updating older organs and/or as a supplementary package to complement the customizing plans that dealers may request. (4) Engineering/designing kits as the need arises on current organs, etc. (5) Consultation service to churches that would be buying organs. Mr. Stevens said his intentions for the remainder of the building would be to possibly L J • • • Planning Commission July 22, 1975 -4- He said they were trying to get the utmost of development.of Urban Renewal land and downtown but that they didn't have enough_land.to providesufficient parking for larger developments. .He brought out that this.area would be both private and public uses when it is re -developed, He told the..Planning Commission that he preferred not to call this a downtown development "district" as this would imply it would be at the property owners' expense. He said he would Father refer to it as a downtown development "area". He said he did not know the best way to go about this. He suggested the Planning Commission act as a broad -faced Board of Adjustment or set up some way for the Board of Adjustment to handle this, or to deal with it in the way of a new zoning district. He said he realized this would be showing a partiality but he felt it needed to be done and felt it could be done some way legally, but he was not quite sure about the method of getting it done. He pointed out that if this was done, the area involved should be larger than the Urban Renewal area itself as the same situation would be coming up before them time and time again if the area was not larger. He said basically the Housing Authority requested this area to go to the west side of University Avenue, one block north of Dickson Street, east would be to Mill Street (which is not a through street, the line will jog back to the west) on south to South Street and jog along Archibald Yell until it gets back to University Avenue again. Mr. Clinton said there would be problems in the areas around the square where they were presently tearing down the old buildings. This land would be up for sale in September, and this needed to be advertised. Chairman Gitelman said (1) they could take these in the existing zoning classifications and review the setbacks that are in existence. Mr. Clinton repeated that the Housing Authority was asking that certain setbacks be waived; that the City consider present building lines and street rights-of-way as they are and not go to the Major Street Plan, and not to require setbacks from the (centerline of the) alleys, but to determine the alley width and the usage; also to waive parking requirements. Chairman Gitelman said that the City could consider reducing setbacks generally and this has already been discussed, but he felt that the off-site parking would be the stumbling block of this whole thing. He said he liked the idea of giving the developer alternatives such as when he got ready to build he could provide adequate parking and show it on his plans or he could share expenses in a centralized parking facility and enter into a contract with the City..He said another thought would be to utilize the concept of a PUD but stated that the process would be very much adapted to the downtown area. The idea of a C-4 Zone was brought up. Mr. Jacks felt that in order to do what Mr. Clinton had suggested, the ordinance would have to be changed. Chairman Gitelman pointed out to Mr. Clinton that the City Attorney had advised the Planning Commission that regulations within a zoning district should be uniform. John Maguire felt that anyone that was willing to build in the area would see to it that there was plenty of parking. He felt that there was not a parking problem in this area anyway. John Power felt that a committee should be organized consisting of two or three members of the Planning Commission along with Planning Consultant Larry Wood (and perhaps get some guidance from City Attorney Jim McCord) and they could meet with Mr. Clinton on this matter. Bill Kisor felt that something should definitely be done about this, and stated that he would be willing to be on a committee to discuss this with. Mr. Clinton. David Newbern,was present and said, as a member of the Board of Adjustment, he would like to bear out what Mr. Clinton had stated in regard to the Eason request that was before them a few weeks ago. He said they would have other requests before them as time went on. He said as a citizen that he would like to see some architectural standards set for this area that is to be re -developed. After further discussion, the Planning Commission decided it would be a good idea to form a committee along with Mr. Wood to -meet with Mr. Clinton on this. • Planning Commission -5- July 22, 1975 Chairman Gitelman appointed John Maguire and Bill Kisor to serve with. himself on this committee and instructed.Planning Administrator Bobbie Jones to get in touch with, Planning Consultant Larry Wood and then notify thecommittee as to when they could meet with.Mr. Clinton. REPORT ON SUBDIVISION REGULATIONS The next item was a report from the Subdivision Committee on possible changes in the Subdivision Regulations to prescribe traffic safety standards, and for other purposes. In the absence of Planning Consultant Larry Wood, who had jury duty, the Planning Commission decided this item should be tabled and put back on the agendafor the next meeting at which Mr. Wood could be present. Ernest Jacks moved to table Item 7 until Larry Wood could be present. Bill Kisor seconded the motion which was approved unanimously. OTHER BUSINESS The first item under "Other Business" was the PUD submitted by Helen Edmiston (known as the 19th Green) located south of Mud Creek. Mrs. Edmiston said this 19th Green PUD had been approved' March 19, 1975. She said at that time Lot 16 was shown as one lot and now in order to getbuilding permits she was having to show where the buildings would be placed. She said all the utilities had approved this. She stated the street, which is a private street, was already in. Mrs. Edmiston said she planned to build duplexes and triplexes on this. Planning Administrator Bobbie Jones said two of the utilities had called her and the utilities had discussed this with each other and decided that the 20 foot easement along the north side of the private drive (south side of Lot 16) and requested at the Plat Review Committee meeting concerning this matter would be sufficient for all of them. Mrs. Jones.did point out that Mrs. Edmiston would have to come back with a replat of this later to subdivide Lot 16 into tracts for individual ownership. Ernest Jacks moved to approve the PUD as submitted by Mrs. Edmiston. Rita Davis seconded the motion. The motion was approved with Jacks, Gitelman, Nickell, Power, Maguire, Kisor, Davis, and Ray voting "Aye". Mrs. Edmiston abstained. The last item under "Other Business" concerned a possible mistake in the zoning map. Attorney Charles Williams was present and said that someone had moved a business into an area that was thought to be zoned C-2 and it was found when trying to obtain a Certificate of Occupancy that the zoning map showed this to be zoned R-1. He said in March 1968 the owners of this. piece of property (who are still the owners) petitioned to rezone it from .0-1 (Open Space) to C-2 (Thoroughfare Commercial) and the property was rezoned in April 1968 by Ordinance 1595. He said shortly there- after the City adopted its zoning map and somehow this piece of property showed up as R-1. Mr. Williams said he did not know what had happened. He said letters were sent out to property owners stating the zoning of the property and what it was proposed to be. He said as far as they knew the property owners were notified of a C-2 Zone. He said the map in the overlay could have possibly slipped and when the map was reproduced the land showed up as R-1. Mr. Williams said he had filed a petition for an amendment to the zoning map but he could not see why this was necessary. Chairman Gitelman felt that the Planning Commission could pass a resolution under Article 2, Section 7 of the Zoning Ordinance whichgives the Planning Administrator the power to interpret the zoning map. John Maguire and John Power felt that this should go through the regular process of rezoning as required in the Zoning Ordinance. Ernest Jacks felt that the Planning Commission should initiate the rezoning of this property if it could not be handled under Article 2, Section 7 as suggested. Planning Commission -6- July 22, 1975 This would keep the petitioner from having to go to the expense of having it rezoned. After further discussion the Planning Commission asked Planning Administrator Bobbie Jones to contact City Attorney Jim McCord on this to see if it could be handled under Article 2, Section 7 of the Zoning Ordinance, They stated that if it could not, they would initiate the rezoning of it. There was no further discussion. The meeting was adjourned at 5:55 P. M. r:. • a' CA 4 - RESOLUTION PC 38-75 WHEREAS, a public hearing was held by the Planning Commission, Tuesday, July 22, 1975, fifteen (15) days after a sign was erected upon the property and after a notice was published in the Northwest Arkansas Times, a newspaper of general circulation; and WHEREAS, after the public hearing the Planning Commission voted to make a recommendation to the Board of Directors on Rezoning Petition R75-12, First National Bank. NON, THEREFORE, BE IT RECOMMENDED BY THE CITY PLANNING COMMISSION TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE CITY OF FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS. SECTION 1. That an ordinance be adopted for the purpose of rezoning from R-3, High Density Residential District, to C-3, Central Commercial District, said real estate. LEGAL DESCRIPTION: • A part of the SE*, NO, Section 16, T -16-N, R -30-W, of the 5th P.M. more particularly described as beginning at a point 535.25 feet West and 189 feet South of the NE corner of said 40 acre tract for a point of beginning; thence South 100 feet parallel with University Avenue, thence East a distance of 101 feet to the West line of University Avenue, thence North along the West line of University Avenue a distance of 100 feet, thence West 101 feet to the point of beginning, situate in the City of Fayetteville, Arkansas. SECTION 2. That the above-described property be rezoned from R-3, High Density Residential District, to C-3, Central Commercial District, so that the property owner may enlarge the existing bank facility. PASSED AND APPROVED this 22nd day of July , 1975. APPROVED: MORTON GITELMAN, CHAIRMAN