Board of Adjustment

CITY OF SILOAM SPRINGS BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT (Special-called) Tuesday, December 13, 2016 at 4:00 p.m. City Administration Building 400 N. Broadway AGENDA I. Board of Adjustment A. Call to Order B. Roll Call C. Approval of Minutes of the regular Meeting on November 22, 2016 D. Variance Permit Approval Tabled from November 22, 2016 Board of Adjustment 1. Variance Development Permit, BOA16-06 1084 Hwy 412 E. Owner: Mike McGooden Agent: Mike McGooden E. Adjourn the Board of Adjustment  MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT OF THE CITY OF SILOAM SPRINGS, BENTON COUNTY, ARKANSAS, HELD NOVEMBER 22, 2016 The Board of Adjustment of the City of Siloam Springs, Benton County, Arkansas, met in regular session at the City Administration Building, November 22, 2016. The meeting was called to order by Chairman Mounger. Roll Call: Mounger, Driscoll, Smith, Engle, Blakely – Present. Nation, Song – Absent. Acting City Clerk, Judy Toler; City Planner, Ben Rhoads; City Attorney, Jay Williams; all present. A copy of the November 8, 2016 minutes had previously been given to each Commissioner. A motion was made by Engle and seconded by Smith to accept the minutes. Mounger called for a voice vote. All Ayes. No Nays. Motion passed. The first agenda item was a Variance Development Permit, BOA16-06, 1084 Hwy 412 E., Mike McGooden. Ben Rhoads, City Planner, stated applicant requests this item be tabled until the regular meeting on December 27th. Rhoads then went over the three available options for the Commissioners. Blakely said he previously spoke to the applicant, and he made it seem like he would be here for this meeting. Engle asked if there was any reasoning behind the request to table. Rhoads said he was not told one, but he believes it’s due to family health issues. Mounger said he would like to see this tabled to the Special-Called meeting on December 13th. A Motion to table until Special-Called meeting on December 13th, and at which time if the applicant does not appear, and then the Commissioners will take action on the variance request, was made by Smith and seconded by Blakey. Roll Call: Mounger, Driscoll, Smith, Engle, Blakely – Aye. 5 Ayes. No Nays. Motion passed. There being no further business, a Motion was made by Smith and seconded by Engle to adjourn. A voice vote was taken. All ayes. Meeting Adjourned. ATTEST: APPROVED: _________________________ ______________________________ Renea Ellis, City Clerk Karl B. Mounger, Chairman (SEAL)  STAFF REPORT TO: Board of Adjustment FROM: Ben Rhoads, AICP, Senior Planner Cc: Don Clark, Community Services Director DATE: December 6, 2016 RE: Variance Development Permit, BOA16-06 Recommendation: City staff does not provide recommendations for variances. Background: APPLICATION REVIEW DATE Board of Adjustment Review: December 13, 2016 – special called meeting. This application was tabled from the regular November 22, 2016 meeting of the Board of Adjustment APPLICANT AND AGENT Applicant/Owner: Michael McGooden / Pamela Hutchinson (formerly Hammersla) Agent: Michael McGooden SUBJECT PROPERTY ADDRESS 1084 Hwy. 412 East INTERNET MAP INFORMATION Planning staff has created a map made with Google My Maps. Attribution: Map data ©2016 Google Imagery ©2016, Arkansas GIS, DigitalGlobe, Landsat, State of Arkansas, USDA Farm Service Agency Washington County. Please click on the following link to access. This link will only operate if reading this report digitally. https://drive.google.com/open?id=1PqgXBuXIPEIj3nN0M0luInfnVN8&usp=sharing PROJECT INTENT The applicant desires to REOPEN AN EXISTING DRIVEWAY THAT ENCROACHES 36 FEET INTO THE SETBACK FROM A DRIVEWAY THAT INTERSECTS THE SAME SIDE OF AN ARTERIAL STREET, AND ENCROACHES 2 FEET INTO THE DRIVEWAY SETBACK FROM THE EAST LOT BOUNDARY, on property in the C-2 (Roadway Commercial) zone. This is a direct code violation of §102-78(1)(a) and (c) of the Siloam Springs Municipal Code. 12/6/2016 P.N. 03-00356-000. BOA16-06 1 EXISTING LAND USES AND ZONING EXISTING LAND USE EXISTING ZONING Liquor Store/ Office C-2 District (Roadway Commercial) SURROUNDING LAND USE SURROUNDING ZONING North: Commercial—Retail/ North: I-1 District (Industrial)/ Residential, single-family C-2 District (Roadway commercial)/ R-2 District (Residential, medium) South: Industrial—Factory South: I-1 District (Industrial) East: Commercial—Retail/ East: I-1 District (Industrial) Industrial—Storage Area West: Industrial—Storage Area West: I-1 District (Industrial) APPLICABLE CODE REQUIREMENTS §102-77(a)(1) & (c) of the Siloam Springs Municipal Code. Excerpt from Section 102-77(1) Arterial (and larger) streets: “**** a. 100 feet from the centerline of any other driveway which intersects the same arterial (or larger) street from the same side; c. 50 feet from all boundaries of the lot, except the boundary abutting the intersected arterial (or larger) street. ****” APPROVAL CRITERIA Unlike traditional permit applications that are reviewed by the Planning Commission, variances do not receive a staff recommendation. Approval of variances are based on the Board of Adjustment’s determination as to if there is a hardship based on the following criteria shown in Section 54-34 of the Municipal Code. (1) The board's determination of whether there is "undue hardship unique to the property" should reflect whether, and the degree to which, the applicant has convincingly demonstrated that: a. The need for the variance arises from a uniqueness of the property not frequently occurring in the zone; and that b. The uniqueness of the property was not caused, allowed, or known prior to purchase, by the owner, or has existed for a minimum of 15 years. (See the attached Statement of Hardship form for the applicant’s argument for a hardship. Hardships cannot be financial in nature.) (2) The board's determination of whether approval of the development permit would be “in keeping with the spirit and intent of the Code” shall reflect whether, and the degree to which, the applicant has convincingly demonstrated that the proposed variance: 12/6/2016 P.N. 03-00356-000. BOA16-06 2  a. Will not substantially damage, without fair recompense, any property value in the neighborhood; b. Will not substantially impair the neighborhood's quality of life, including without limitation, sound and traffic levels, pedestrian and vehicular access, visual presentment, and character; c. Will not, by the nature of the variance, tend to burden the present or future use of neighboring properties in accordance with current zoning standards; and d. Is mitigated in impact by permanent characteristics of the lot or adjacent uses of land including, without limitation, natural features or permanent easements. (3) Conditions. The development permit allowing variance from land regulations may require, as a material condition essential to any authorization it confers, that any lots and any construction be located and designed in a manner which best: a. Provides safe and convenient traffic flow; b. Maximizes the effectiveness of all drainage patterns and facilities; and c. Remains compatible with neighborhood architecture and layout, and with city growth and planning. The applicant's failure to fully perform the conditions shall render the development permit void and invalid and of no further effect, and the use shall immediately be conformed to the applicable regular zoning standards of this Code without any period of nonconformity. STAFF DISCUSSION The applicant is requesting permission to reopen an existing driveway located at 1084 Hwy. 412 E. for the benefit of McGoo’s Liquor store. The store currently has vehicular access from the drive to the west of the subject drive. The liquor store received approval through the Board of Directors on September 6th, however with the condition that the applicant could not make use of the eastern-most drive leading to Hwy. 412. The reason this drive was closed is because it does not adhere to the standards for such drives and it lost its legal non-conforming status in 2012. It should be noted that the variance under present review is not related to if the drive was abandoned or not prior to 2012—the drive was closed until the time the applicant began to make improvements to the property over the summer in preparation for the new liquor store; therefore there is nothing to “grandfather in”.. The applicant believes that by reopening the subject drive, it will improve traffic flow on the property. Staff met on this issue and it was determined that the chief concern is a right turn movement out of the subject drive while another vehicle is attempting a left turn from the next drive to the east servicing Bynum’s Furniture. The use of both drives simultaneously creates a conflict zone. Furthermore, according to the Siloam Springs Police Dept., eastbound traffic on Hwy. 412 tends to increase in speed from the top of the railroad bridge downwards to the Hwy. 59 overpass. This is due to the decline of the roadway surface and the lack of perceived impediments, such as roadway curves. With faster traffic, there is less reaction time for motorists to check if the roadway is clear to make a left turn, and he or she may miss if there was another vehicle attempting to turn right at the time due to the natural focus on if traffic has cleared the highway—thus creating the conflict zone between the two drives. Staff has no information as to when these drives were constructed and what regulations were in place at that time. In terms of similar drive situations, there are closer drives typically on Hwy. 412 W., however with the addition of the center highway median, this conflict zone does not exist—all vehicles are forced to turn right, even if they are intending to travel the opposite direction. 12/6/2016 P.N. 03-00356-000. BOA16-06 3 The applicant’s Statement of Hardship refers to safer egress for customers. By entering the west driveway and utilizing the eastern driveway to exit onto Hwy. 412, it is argued that customers will have more time to enter traffic approaching from the west. It is unclear how the applicant has demonstrated unique aspects of the property other than a desire for improved customer access. As seen in the approval criteria section of this report, determining unique characteristics on the property, leading to a hardship, qualifies the approval of variance. LEGAL NOTICE  Site posted: October 4, 2016.  Newspaper legal notification: October 9, 2016 (Herald-Leader).  Letter legal notification: October 3-6, 2016,  Staff received one phone call from one of the surrounding property owners of a questioning nature. Staff answered the callers question to his satisfaction. Fiscal Impact None Attachments Statement of Hardship Site Plan Bird’s Eye View General Area Map 12/6/2016 P.N. 03-00356-000. BOA16-06 4 Hwy 412 E. Bynums Eastern Driveway Driveway 1084 Hwy. 412 E. McGoo's Bynums Furniture N. BOA16‐06 – McGooden Bird’s Eye View Proposed driveway  ´ Driveway Variance GENERAL AREA MAP BOA 16-06 R3 R-3 S HICO I-1 R-3 C-2 R-3 I-2 R-3 R-3R-3 R M-HM-H C-2 C-2 I-2 C-2 C-2 R R-2 C-2 C-2 C-2 R I-1 C-2 C-2 C-2 R-2 R-2 C C-2 W ROW HWY 412 EAST ROW I-1 2 C-2 C-2 I-1 I-1 C-2 S LINCOLN ST KCS I-1 RR E QU R-4R-4 R-4 R-4 Subject Property I-1 R-4 R-4 R-4 R-4 R-4 R-2 R-4 R-4 I-1 R-4 R-4 ROW R-4 R-4 I-1 R-2 N LINCO N CARL ST AIRPORT RD D I-1 STE RUSSEL NH N DOGWOOD R-4 I-1 R-4 LAKE FRANCIS DR EC-2 E TAHLEQUAH R-2 ST R-4 R-4 MAIN ST SILOAM SPRINGS ROWR-2 £ ¤ R-2E HWY 412 OLD HWY 412 S CARL ST S HICO ST S STATE R-2R-2 HWY 16 C-2 S LINCOLN ST R-2 R-2 CL R-2R-2 KECK RD S ELM ST AR KR LINE RD D C-2 R-2R-2 R-2R-2 COUNTRY LN S MT OLIVE ST R-2 R-2 R-2 R-2 R-2 C-2 ¬ «16 L R-4 L E YR D 0 0.75 1.5 VA 3 Miles TR L R R-2 V U N E IV E OWR-2 WAY C-2 59 S R R2 R-2 0 0.0425 0.085 0.17 Miles