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21 AUG 9 CITY OF JACKSONVILLE, ARKANSAS REGULAR PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING AUGUST 9, 2021 6:30 P.M. – 7:12 P.M. OPENING REMARKS: The Planning Commission of the City of Jacksonville, Arkansas met in a regular session on August 9, 2021. Chairman Stroud opened the meeting at approximately 6:30 p.m., expressing appreciation to those in attendance. ROLL CALL: Commissioners Mike Dietz, Billy Hall, Jim Moore, Vivian Brittenum, Jeff Twitty, Greg Bollen, Chairman Mark Stroud were present and answered ROLL CALL. Chairman Stroud declared a quorum. PRESENT (7) with Chair, ABSENT (2). CORRECTION AND/OR APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Commissioner Bollen moved, seconded by Council Member Dietz to approve the minutes of March 22, 2021 and April 12, 2021 as presented. MOTION CARRIED. PUBLIC HEARING(S): REZONING Parcel located East Side of Old Hwy. 67 (Toneyville Rd.) from C-3 to R-8 Chairman Stroud opened the public hearing at approximately 6:33 p.m. Petitioner David Gibson of 1818 Coffelt Road stated that he is requesting to rezone his property so that they can put in a 40-space overnight RV park. He affirmed that it would be just for RV’s, no mobile homes, and that it would be very nice for he and his wife’s retirement. He explained that his home is adjacent to the property and that they own an acre that adjoins it on the side of Coffelt Road. Commissioner Moore asked Mr. Gibson if they are planning to have an access to get to the property off Coffelt Road and what kind of pads would they have for the RV’s to be set up on. Mr. Gibson replied that the access would be off of Toneyville Road and that they may have asphalt or gravel for the pads since concrete is not preferred. He explained that they are meeting with an engineer Thursday to draw up plans, if the Commission approves the rezone. Replying to a question from Commissioner Moore, he stated that there is no sewer there, but his nephew owns a plumbing company and they are looking at purchasing a facility that will have its own system, costing around $50,000. Commissioner Moore related that he has had to dig one for his RV in the country and just wanted to make sure that they would be dumping into a controlled wastewater. Mr. Gibson noted that they do not plan on moving, so it is something that they want to take care of and make nice for their grandchildren to have in the future. Responding to a statement from Commissioner Hall, he assured that they do not want it to be a mobile home park and that they are hoping to attract people from the Air Base. 1 CITY OF JACKSONVILLE, ARKANSAS REGULAR PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING AUGUST 9, 2021 6:30 P.M. – 7:12 P.M. With no one to speak in opposition, Chairman Stroud closed the public hearing at approximately 6:38 p.m. Chairman Stroud stated that Commissioner Moore made a good point regarding his sewer and water inquiry. He affirmed that the petitioner is responsible for the sewer and that he is going to take care of it. He then asked Public Works Director Jim Oakley and Engineering Tech Mylissa Griggs if they are okay with plat approval. Engineering Tech Mylissa Griggs assured that they are and that the petitioners will come back with a site plan for approval from the City. Commissioner Brittenum moved, seconded by Commissioner Hall to approve the rezoning of a parcel located East Side of Old Hwy. 67 (Toneyville Rd.) from C-3 to R-8. MOTION CARRIED. REQUEST TO APPROVE PLAT(S): PRELIMINARY PLAT Greenhill Estates Chairman Stroud related that the Commission has seen this plat at sketch phase two months prior. Representative Aaron Robinson with Bond Engineering stated they took the Commission’s recommendations, resulting in an additional access onto Jessica Lane. He explained that they have not gotten Health Department approval yet, but they have received Sewer approval. He was not yet sure if the Water Commission approved the project at their last meeting. He noted that being a requirement from Engineering Tech Mylissa Griggs, they will get a no-rise certificate for the flood plain and the floodway from Bernie Auld, since they will be getting their dirt from the northern part of the property that is in the floodway. He pointed out that there should be no rise in the floodway since they are only taking dirt out, not putting any in. He explained that they are currently clearing trees because they could not get to the back northern part to assess the base flood elevation contour line. He agreed with Chairman Stroud that it does not drop off as fast as previously thought. Responding to a question from Commissioner Bollen, he shared that there will be 2000 total square feet duplex homes put on all 67 lots and that when they annex into the City, they will request a proper zoning. He pointed out that there are duplexes spread out all over the Bellevue Subdivision. Chairman Stroud agreed that there are at least thirty on the backside along with some apartments, but everything above lot 10 all the way to Reba Lane, then down to Bellevue Subdivision, is single family. Mr. Robinson reiterated that regardless of what is surrounding the property, they will request proper zoning and meet codes when annexed. He acknowledged that Public Works Director Jim Oakley would have liked it to be zoned R-1, but that is not what his clients want. He stated they understand there are certain things that can and cannot happen until it gets annexed and rezoned, and considered the possibility of City Council wanting it to be zoned R-1, but stressed that his client’s current request is to do duplexes on all 67 lots. 2 CITY OF JACKSONVILLE, ARKANSAS REGULAR PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING AUGUST 9, 2021 6:30 P.M. – 7:12 P.M. Chairman Stroud recounted that at the sketch plat stage, the Commission did not want the R-2 zoning because everything in that area is zoned R- 1. He explained that because someone put duplexes in an R-1 zone, it does not justify adding more density to the area. He indicated that he has driven the area and there were cars parked on the streets and a pop- up tent with a disassembled car under it and that this is not conducive to what the Commission wants, citing density again. Mr. Robinson stated that he disagrees. Commissioner Moore shared that the thing that bothers him is having that many duplexes and not knowing for sure that they will get proper zoning. He feels as though this request is like “putting the cart before the horse.” Chairman Stroud voiced his concerns with allowing them to hook up to the City water and sewer systems as approved by the Planning Commission. He reiterated that the Commission believes that the City is better suited with this property being mostly R-1 zoning and that with the duplexes already there, these are not good for the City. Mr. Robinson responded that any growth in the City of Jacksonville is good for the City of Jacksonville. He questioned that if all rules are met with the Code Book, then how could it be bad. He stated that the property is not zoned so theoretically, they could go to Pulaski County Planning Commission, but they would send them back to Jacksonville because they are hooking up to Jacksonville sewer. He continued to say that Pulaski County would not say that it would be bad for the City or the County, and that saying so is a very negative statement. He stated that if this was brought into the City as R-1A, it would not be a problem, and then suggested that the Commission does not want it, only because they are duplexes. He reiterated that his clients want duplexes, but they are willing to move forward if City Council says they will not annex per their request. Commissioner Moore brought up the point that Pulaski County has given the Commission authority to make decisions on properties up to a mile outside of City limits. Chairman Stroud pointed out that normally when you build and run out of land, you put your R-1 homes in the back, then closer to your connector streets, you put duplexes or apartments. He explained that this plan is inverted from what he is used to because all of the density is put in the back of a huge subdivision and expecting all that traffic to pour out onto two streets. Mr. Robinson interjected that it meets code with two streets and that another problem is that since the northern part is in the floodway and undevelopable, they have lost all of that land. He confirmed that if they were able to extend the street into the floodway, then the density would not appear so much, but if you look at the density based off of 3 CITY OF JACKSONVILLE, ARKANSAS REGULAR PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING AUGUST 9, 2021 6:30 P.M. – 7:12 P.M. the actual land, it is not as bad as you think. Chairman Stroud noted that if this property were located elsewhere and resituated, he would then suggest the lots on the right side of the property be duplexes and then the rest of the houses be single family. He shared that he has always believed that if you want to have apartments and duplexes, there are places for them, but this plan seems backwards. Commissioner Moore stated that he does not support this because of the density, noting he lives in a subdivision where cars are parked on the small streets, where they are not supposed to be. He suggested that this would be a traffic problem in the area because now you will not only have two possible cars at a house, but four, or maybe even six, at each duplex lot. He pointed out that you do not have control with duplexes like you would with a subdivision. He then noted that a lot of the apartments and duplexes in that area are not kept up. He shared that he is cautious on approving this plat. Chairman Stroud noted that the Commission does not want to hurt them and deny the request because they would not be able to come back for an entire year, but instead, they should table it. Mr. Robinson offered to get Peterson Engineering to do a traffic study to show both scenarios, of having all duplexes or all single family, to show the Commission what it would look like, the density, what the road should be, etc. He indicated that he could give that to Public Works Director Jim Oakley and Engineering Tech Mylissa Griggs for the next Planning Commission meeting. Commissioner Moore questioned if the Planning Commission approves the plat tonight, what transpires after next and where does the project go from there. Mr. Robinson affirmed that if it is approved, they will start the annexation process, which would take approximately three months, but added that he is unsure of when they would start the infrastructure part of the development. Engineering Tech Mylissa Griggs pointed out that they meet code requirements, noting that the City does have a few contingencies, including: a no-rise certificate, flood plain development application, water approval, and a final drainage review. She assured that the three- month annexation process gives them plenty of time to work through these contingencies that are needed to be on record with the City. She confirmed that the Fire Marshall has approved the project. Chairman Stroud noted that they changed the outlet to line up with Reba Lane, making the roads line up now, when they did not before. Engineering Tech Mylissa Griggs confirmed that Wastewater has approved, th but the Water Commission does not meet again until August 25. 4 CITY OF JACKSONVILLE, ARKANSAS REGULAR PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING AUGUST 9, 2021 6:30 P.M. – 7:12 P.M. Commissioner Bollen suggested that the item of business be tabled until Mr. Robinson can provide the traffic study information on the difference between having duplexes or single-family development. Council Member Dietz stated that he is very familiar with this property, that he had it for three to four years and he was involved when Bellevue was developed for the last single-family homes. He pointed out that it was originally single-family, but over twenty years ago they were allowed to have duplexes at the back side because it was the most feasible use for the land. He continued to say that Jacksonville is in dire need of single-family homes in the 1100-1300 square foot range, questioning if there is any way they could split this into two phases, making one phase single-family and the other phase as duplexes. He related that lot 30F is going to be hard to do anything with since you have to be a minimum of two feet above if you build in a flood plain. He likes the idea of having it annexed into Jacksonville since it will bring in property tax, and explained that duplexes can be beneficial, pointing out that they put some on Stamps Road where management companies are taking care of them. He reiterated that he would prefer some single-family since those are desperately needed in Jacksonville. Mr. Robinson then requested for the item to be tabled so that he can get some contingencies completed and also check with his client about the idea of having half zoned R-1A and the other half R-2. He offered to bring the clients decision back, along with the traffic study information. He clarified that it would then make for roughly thirty single-family lots and thirty duplex lots, making it more appeasing to the Planning Commission. Commissioner Moore agreed that he likes that idea along with the annexation of the property. Council Member Dietz pointed out that it would bring in revenue for water, electric, and sewer, being a benefit for the City. He likes the idea of having more single-family properties for people to live in Jacksonville. Commissioner Moore moved, seconded by Commissioner Bollen to table the preliminary plat for Greenhill Estates pending the submittal of a traffic study and consideration for splitting the development into R1-A and R-2 zonings. MOTION CARRIED. BUILDING PERMIT(S): GENERAL: 5 CITY OF JACKSONVILLE, ARKANSAS REGULAR PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING AUGUST 9, 2021 6:30 P.M. – 7:12 P.M. ANNOUNCEMENT: Amendments to current zoning code Chairman Stroud stated that the proposed ordinance would eliminate a lot of conditional uses, reducing the items of business that need to come before the Commission. Engineering Tech Mylissa Griggs explained that they are trying to lighten the load of the Conditional Use requests, because typically you look at stepping down in a zone. She related that it was taken out of City Code in 1995, but if you follow the current code precisely, the City has a lot of contingencies come up. She gave an example of having an R-1 wanting to build in an R-2 that would require a Conditional Use permit, but she believes the Engineering staff should be able to step down and issue a permit without burdening the Planning Commission. She clarified that when they had a specific use, they will keep that in the conditional category to maintain some consistency. Chairman Stroud noted that C-1 permitted uses would be R-0, R-1, and R- 1A, but not an R-2, R-3, or R-4, because that would still be a conditional. He pointed out that it does not blanket step and that they did a good job at determining what is logical and what needs to be conditional. Commissioner Moore stated that they have issued a lot of Conditional Uses that have been violated, including one that was recently approved. Engineering Tech Mylissa Griggs explained that this would be changed through ordinance by City Council but they wanted to involve the Planning Commission since the requests come before them. Council Member Dietz agreed that it streamlines everything and saves extra effort to allow these decisions to be made at City staff level. Council Member Dietz moved, seconded by Commissioner Twitty to recommend the ordinance adoption to City Council for final approval. MOTION CARRIED. ADJOURNMENT: Chairman Stroud without objection, adjourned the meeting at approximately 7:12 p.m. Respectfully submitted, _______________________ Susan L. Davitt 6