Planning Commission

PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES April 1, 2021 @ 5:30 p.m. The Planning Commission held a meeting on Thursday April 1, 2021 at 5:30 p.m. in City Hall Council Chambers. Commissioners Present Chairman Wendell Miller Vice-Chairman Jacimore Secretary Justin Cothren Shirley Hatley Luke Duffield Cheryl Monfee John Choate Larry Smith Cody Black Justin Keller Commissioners Absent None Visitors Present: Mayor Richard Harris, City Attorney Trey Smith, City Planner Sara Jondahl, Planner I Victoria Marchant, Flood Manager Ben Gray, City Engineering Tech Armando Diaz, City Engineer Glenn Newman, Jim Lynch of City Corporation, Kareem Shabazz of ConAgra, and David Garza of Barrett & Associates. Welcome Visitors The First Order of Business is a request to review and approve the minutes of Planning Commission Meeting March 4, 2021. Commissioner Jacimore made the motion to approve the minutes as written. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Duffield and passed unanimously. The Second Order of Business is a Large Scale Development located at 3100 E Main Street. Submitted by ConAgra. (LSDV-0321-000058) City Planner Jondahl said is to request a Large Scale Development approval to allow expansion of the parking lot at ConAgra for both the salaried and regular employees. They will be doing this expansion in phases and the Large Scale Development would cover all the phasing. Any development they do is required to go through the Large Scale Development process due to the size of the buildings and the size of the property. City Planner Jondahl stated that as the application was reviewed there were three items identified that will be required as a part of the parking lot expansion. Previously Large Scale Development (DV.18.10.156) required an Incidental Subdivision application that was started as file SD.20.01.360 and was never completed so this Large Scale Development will require that Incidental Subdivision be finalized. It was also noted that there is a gap in sidewalks along the Main Street frontage so during the expansion of the employee parking lot they will be requiring that the 5-foot sidewalk be extended from the eastern driveway to the intersection of E Main Street and Highway 324/331. Lastly, prior to issuance of the permit for the parking lot expansion the City will be requiring a drainage report. It is staff’s recommendation to approve the Large Scale Development to allow expansion of both the salaried employee parking lot and the employee parking lot with the following conditions: 1. Finalize the incidental subdivision application previously required by LSD DV.18.10.156 and filed under SD.20.01.360; and 2. During expansion of the employee parking lot phase five (5) foot sidewalks will be required to be extended from the eastern driveway to Highway 324 / 331; and 3. Requires Drainage Report prior to permit issuance. As a result of the findings below: 1. The applicant demonstrates compliance with the regulations within Article 2.10 of the Russellville Zoning Code; and 2. The applicant demonstrates compliance with the regulations within section 7 of the Land Subdivision Development Code. Commissioner Smith asked if this was just a subdivision Right-of-Way closure not a street or alley closure. City Planner Jondahl confirmed this is just an older subdivision that was platted years ago and the alley was never opened. She stated property owners on either side would like the opportunity to own and maintain that area. Commissioner Smith asked again if this was an alley. City Planner Jondahl confirmed it was. Commissioner Choate made the motion to approve the item as presented by staff. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Duffield and passed unanimously. The Third Order of Business is a Special Use Permit to allow a used auto sales business in a C- 2, located at 3518 S Arkansas Avenue. Submitted by Barrett & Associates on behalf of Alejandro Gonzales. (SPUP-0321-000057) City Planner Jondahl said this is a request to allow construction and operation of a used auto sales business located at 3518 S Arkansas Ave. As staff reviewed this application there were a few items that came to staff’s attention. The first being that this location is in a flood plain. This project is located within the Special Flood Hazard Area in a flood zone known as AE. In the AE zone base flood elevations have been determined. A floodplain development permit will be required prior to issuance of the building permit and then again prior to the building being finaled. The floodplain development permit will require a preconstruction and final construction elevation certificate to verify compliance with the National Flood Insurance Program requirements and compliance with the local ordinances. City Corporation did notify staff that sewer is not available at this location, so the applicant will need to obtain approval for a septic system from the health department. The applicant did meet all requirements of Article 3.20 Commercial Building Design, and they are proposing a paved driveway and parking. Additionally, within this area sidewalks are not required per the Russellville Zoning Code, so that is not a requirement as a part of this application. Staff recommends forwarding this application to City Council for approval of this special use permit with the following condition: 1. Obtain Floodplain Development including Elevation Certificates; and 2. Obtain approval for a septic system from the Health Department; and 3. If a sign is proposed, a sign permit will be required. As a result of the findings below: 1. Public Safety requirements of the proposed structure; and 2. Current traffic routes are constructed in such a way to handle the traffic from the business; and 3. Public Facilities already service this location. David Garza of Barrett & Associates said the applicant has already filled the lot and Barrett and Associates went out and checked the grades and it was currently above the base flood elevation. He stated that if the Planning Commission forwarded the application to the City Council then he would get with the applicant and ask if the applicant wants to proceed to remove the location from the flood plain through a Letter of Map Revision. Mr. Garza said with the current dirt work it is already out of the base flood elevation but after gravel and asphalt it will be even higher. He said the proposed building will just be a small sales building and there is currently a septic system there that will need to be inspected. If it is still functional it should be adequate for what they are doing as they will just have one lavatory and one sink. Mr. Garza said they have quite a bit of property they will not even be using. Commissioner Smith asked if this application was approved with the staff recommendations if those recommendations would have to be met. City Planner Jondahl confirmed that if it were approved with the staff recommendations. Commissioner Jacimore asked if the design of the building met the Commercial Building Design standards. City Planner Jondahl confirmed that the application did meet Commercial Building Design and that it was part of the requirements of their application. Commissioner Black asked Mr. Garza how long it would take for them to get the Letter of Map Amendment. Mr. Garza said from start to finish it typically take two or two and a half months. Commissioner Black then asked City Planner Jondahl how long it takes to get a flood plain development certificate to understand what the difference time frame wise would be between the two. Mr. Garza said Flood Manager Ben Gray would require a pre-development elevation certificate which shows what the elevations are and what the base flood elevation is and from that he will give approval to the staff to be able to issue a permit. City Planner Jondahl asked how long it takes to get that approval and Flood Manager Ben Gray said it takes about a day. Commissioner Hatley asked if the Planning Commission approved the Special Use Permit if it was still required to go before the City Council. City Planner Jondahl stated that the application would be forwarded to City Council with the recommendation of approval and that all Special Use Permits go to the City Council for authorization. Commissioner Duffield made the motion to approve the item as presented by staff. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Black and passed unanimously. The Fourth Order of Business is Rezoning a property from R-O to C-4, located at 1703 W Main Street. Submitted by Barrett & Associates on behalf of Jackson Thacker. (ZONE-0321- 000056) City Planner Jondahl said this is a Rezone request and initially the applicant had requested to rezone from R-O to C-2 and upon discussion with staff it was staff’s recommendation that they change their application to C-4. It still allows the applicant to do what they want with a restaurant at that location, but it is more in line with what staff sees as in compliance with the Comprehensive Plan and what is going on in the area. This property is located one block west from the intersection of W Main Street and Phoenix. City Planner Jondahl said currently this is more of a commercial neighborhood with commercial businesses using existing older homes and converting them to medical offices, which is more in line with the C-4 zoning versus the C-2 zoning. Staff recommends that the commission forward this application to the City Council for approval of the request to rezone the property from RO Residential Office zoning designation to C4 Neighborhood and Quiet Business as a result of the findings below: 1. Is in line with existing and Future Land Uses within the area; and 2. The proposal aligns with the ReImagine Russellville 2040 Comprehensive Plan; and 3. Although there may be an increase of value or income potential of the property it is in line with development with area. Mr. Garza of Barrett & Associates said the applicant intends to construct a two-story building that has the look of the New Orleans style with a balcony for patrons because he intends for it to be an ice cream parlor and coffee shop. Commissioner Cothren made the motion to approve the item. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Jacimore and passed unanimously. Meeting adjourned. _________________________ Chairman Wendell Miller