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DECEMBER 16, 2004

 

ITEM NO.:     13                                                                                           

 

FILE NO.:       302  

 

NAME:            Diamond Annexation

 

REQUEST:    Accept 19.17 acres plus or minus to the City

 

LOCATION:   Along Crystal Valley Road west of Crystal Valley Cove

 

SOURCE:      Randal Frazier, Agent for Diamond Development
and Thomas Edward Jones

 

  

 

GENERAL INFORMATION:

 

 

AGENCY COMMENTS:

 

Public Safety:

 

Fire:     The Little Rock Fire Department indicates that the tracts requesting annexation are beyond the one and a half mile recommended maximum distance for a fire engine and two and a half mile recommended maximum distance for a latter truck.  The tracts are approximately 3 and half miles from the closest fire station.

The two closest fire stations are: Station 14 located at 8121 Colonel Glenn Road and Station 18 located at 11500 Mabelvale West Road.  Each is over three miles from the tracts requesting annexation.  As noted in annexation 299, Dyke Annexation, which was approved and is to the northwest of the tracts requesting annexation, there is a justification of one or two new fire stations in the general vicinity with or without annexation of these tracts.

      

Police:   The Little Rock Police Department has indicated they have no concerns or issues about bringing this land into the City Limits.

Upon annexation this area would be part of the current patrol District 90.  Since there is no current development on the tracts calls should be minimal.  In addition a patrol car would already have to pass in front of both tracts to service the proposed Grandwood Subdivision being developed by Cooper Communities to the northwest within the current City Limits.

 

Infrastructure and Community Facilities:

 

Central Arkansas Transit:    No Comment Received.

There is no bus route near the proposed annexation.  The closest route is Route 17/17A which services Southwest Hospital.  This is over one and a half miles from the areas to be annexed (as the crow flies).  Route 14 is along Colonel Glenn Road and is over two miles from the annexation area.

 

Parks and Recreation: The Little Rock Parks and Recreation Department has indicated they have no concerns or issues about bringing this land into the City Limits.

The Little Rock Master Parks Plan of 2001, indicates there is a need for park and recreation space in the vicinity of the tracts.  The Parks Plan calls for recreational space (public or private) within 8-blocks.  The Plan indicates that there is no such recreation space (in 2001) within 8-blocks of these tracts.  There will be park and recreation space in the Grandwood Subdivision that should at least partially meet this need.

 

Public Works:  The Public Works Department has not indicated any problems, however based on previously identified concerns the department provided the following information.

Most of Crystal Valley Road is classified as a minor arterial; however the portion of Crystal Valley Road in front of these tracts is a Collector Street and planned to ultimately be three lanes and a 36-foot section. The standard design level of service for such a street is 5000 vehicles per day (though Collectors often carry double these volume).

According to Metroplan, the average daily vehicles traveling this section of Crystal Valley is 2000 vehicles per day, which has not changed significantly in the past eight years.  The proposed 78 lots in these tracts would be expected to generate 780 new vehicle trips per day.  This brings the volume to 2780 well below the design service volume for this section of Crystal Valley Road.

A 605 lot residential development has been approved with the Dyke Annexation to the northwest.  This would generate 6000 vehicle trips per day.  The development plan does include a relocation of Crystal Valley Road north of these properties to connect with other Arterials and move the traffic around this section of Crystal Valley Road.  Depending on the timing of development volumes could increase to over 5000 vehicles per day (VTD).  It should be noted that other two-lane roads carry significantly higher volumes:  Fair Park Blvd. 12,000 VTD, Colonel Glenn 11,000 VTD, and Kanis 10,000 VTD.  Ultimately, Crystal Valley Road will be relocated to the north and a new north-south connection will be made between Crystal Valley and David O Dodd.  When this occurs, service volumes on this section will be reduced to local traffic only.

The potential flooding issue stems from existing local drainage that crosses both tracts.  No portion of the tracts under consideration for annexation is within the 100-year floodplain as indicated by surveys from the applicant and FEMA.  The developer has proposed drainage improvements with the subdivisions.

 

 

Utilities:

 

Central Arkansas Water:  Central Arkansas Water indicates that extension of water mains as well as other off site improvements will have to be made to provide service to this property.  The facilities shall be sized to provide adequate pressure and fire protection.  All these requirements will have to be met by the developer at the time of water service.

There is a 12-inch water main along Crystal Valley Road, which extends to approximately the east boundary of the 7-acre annexation area.  Water service would have to be extended to service both areas.

 

Entergy:  No Comment Received.

There is electric service available along Crystal Valley Road.

 

Reliant-Energy:   No Comment Received.

 

Wastewater Utility:    The Little Rock Waste Water Utility has indicated they have no concerns or issues related to the annexation of these tracts.

There is a 10-inch sewer main that travels generally along Haw Creek to the south of these annexation areas.  This main currently serves the Eagles Nest Apartments to the south and west of the annexation requests.  Extension of service from this line would be required, which will be done at the cost of the developer.

 

Schools:

Little Rock:     No Comment Received. 

             The area requesting annexation is not within the Little Rock School District.

 

Pulaski County Special:       No Comment Received. 

            The area requesting annexation is within the Pulaski County Special School District.  Children living in homes located within the annexation area would be in Lawson Elementary attendance zone, Joe T. Robinson Middle School attendance zone, and Joe T. Robinson High School attendance zone.

 

 

ANALYSIS:

 

The tracts are within the City of Little Rock Planning Jurisdiction and contiguous to the current City Limits.  The Land has been zoned for Single Family “R-2” use for over a decade.  This requires a minimum lot size of 7000 square feet.  Subdivision plats were submitted to the Little Rock Planning Commission in the early part of this year.  There was neighborhood opposition to these plats based on density, traffic and drainage issues.  However the Subdivisions met all ordinance requirements and based on the “Richardson” case the Planning Commission approved both plats subject to annexation.  Annexation was required since the lot size was too small to allow for septic and requires sewer to dispose of household wastewater.

 

While the two tracts may have been developed in the past with a home and related accessory structures, both are currently undeveloped – both are wooded tracts.  The 7-acre tract northwest of Crystal Valley Cove is over 966 feet deep and 320 feet wide.  Based on the current zoning and approved final plat only one house could be built on the tract, however the plat approved in April of 2004 would allow 30 houses on this tract.  The density proposed in the subdivision is not unusual for R2 zoned and developed land within the City of Little Rock.  The density is around 4 units per acre.  Depending on the amount of land needed for streets, the density of R-2 zoned land ranges for 3 to 6 homes per acre.

 

The high point on this tract is in the northeast corner at an elevation of over 340 feet and falls to the southwest to an elevation of close to 316 feet.  The proposal, in the plat of 30 house sites, is to bring all the drainage of this site into the site and down the center where a new street is to be built.  The water would drain to the ditch along the north side of Crystal Valley Road.  Further the water draining from and along the neighboring property to the west would be piped from the western boundary of the site to the middle, approximately 600 feet south of the north property line.

 

The second tract is just over 12 acres.  It is along the north-south section of Crystal Valley Road and is wooded.  The frontage and along the north line is the high ground.  The front 647 feet by 322 feet ranges from an elevation of 346 feet to 324 feet and generally falls to the southwest.  The back 645 feet by 493 feet ranges in elevation from 330 feet to 316 feet and in the natural state has little fall along the southern boundary.   There is a natural drainage-way that by-sections the back section.  Due to the low nature of the back section and the adjoining property to the south only a slight increase in water can create significant flooding of the land.  The proposed drainage system for the new subdivision would move the water in a pipe across the back section of the subdivision with the water leaving the site at the same general location as the natural drainage course.

 

With the current zoning and final plat of the 12 acre tract one house could be built on the site, however the plat approved in April 2004 would create 48 home sites on this 12 plus acres.  This is consistent with the normal density of R-2 zoned and developed land within the City of Little Rock at around 4 units per acre.  Depending of the amount of land needed for streets the density of R-2 zoned land ranges for 3 to 6 homes per acre.

 

The proposed development pattern of the tracts is consistent with the City of Little Rock’s Zoning and Land Use Plan of the area.  The Land Use Plan shows Single Family for the area, with a maximum density of 6 units per acre and the zoning requires Single Family with parcels of at least 7000 square feet in size.

 

The Master Street Plan shows Crystal Valley in front of both tracts as a Collector.  A Collector is generally to be a 36-foot wide street but may be as narrow as 32 feet.  In this case the proposal is for a 36 foot wide paved street with a 60-foot right-of-way.  A Collector is designed to take people and goods from neighborhoods such as the proposed subdivisions to the Arterial network where they may move through and around the urban area and beyond.  Collectors are generally designed to comfortably carry around 5000 vehicle trips a day.  Currently Crystal Valley Road volumes are in the range of 2000 trips per day.  It should be noted that currently this section of Crystal Valley includes the through east-west movement.  The Master Street Plan shows this movement along a new alignment to the north, which follows the southern line of the Grandwood Subdivision.  This alignment extends to T-intersection with a second proposed Arterial that connects David O Dodd Road to Crystal Valley Road and Stagecoach Road.

 

The City has approved 78 lots in the Grandwood Subdivision to the northeast of the bend in Crystal Valley north of the proposed annexation.  The first phase of Grandwood will be developed a density of 2 units per acre.  This subdivision is expected to begin development in the next year or so.  The complete subdivision will have approximately a third of its area as open space and an over all density of around two home sites per acre.  As originally proposed Grandwood Subdivision would be completed in about a decade from its start.  At completion of the Grandwood Subdivision most of the proposed Arterial network to the north would be in place.

 

Currently in this vicinity but within the City limits subdivisions have developed and are developing at a density of 2 to 4 units per acre – Crystal Valley Manor at 4 units per acre and Henderson Subdivision at just under 2 units per acre.  There is also a large apartment development, Eagles Nest, to the south and east of the annexation request.  Both of the tracts requesting annexation touch land that is part of the Eagles Nest development.  The remaining tracts, outside of the current City Limits are either not developed or developed at a density of one unit per 2 or 3 acres.  There are around two dozen homes outside the City Limits along this section of Crystal Valley Road.

 

Without annexation the two tracts are likely to develop at a density of one house per 2 or 3 acres.  This would result in approximately six home sites compared with the likely 78 sites if annexed.

 

City Services are the reason for requesting annexation.  As noted in the prior section, Sewer and Water service are in the general vicinity but will have to be extended to these tracts.  The extensions will be at the cost of the developer built to the Utilities standards, with Central Arkansas Water and Little Rock Wastewater maintaining the lines after construction. 

 

Street maintenance responsibility will not change with this annexation.  Crystal Valley Road to the south of the 7-acre tract is already in the City as a result of Annexation 218, I-30 Corridor Annexation, in 1979.  It is already the maintenance responsibility of the City of Little Rock.  Crystal Valley Road to the east of the 12.1-acre tract will not be annexed to the City as part of this annexation and shall remain under Pulaski County maintenance responsibility.

 

The new internal streets must be built at the owner’s cost and to the City’s standards.  Once completed the streets shall become the maintenance responsibility of the City.  In addition improvements to the frontage of each tract along Crystal Valley Road will be required at the time of development at the cost of the developer.  This should improve safety for vehicles attempting to turn into or out of the proposed subdivisions.  As the tracts develop solid waste service will be provided to the homes, with each home being assessed fees to cover the cost of pick-up and disposal.

 

Public Safety services, police and fire, will be extended to the two tracts.  Little demand for service is expected until the land is re-developed as proposed into 78 home sites.  Historically demand in new residential neighborhoods for public safety services is low.  However as noted in Annexation 299, Dyke Annexation, there is a growing need for more service in the general vicinity.  Based on the current locations of fire stations and the standards used for placement of stations along with the development of areas to the north, south, east and west; a new station to the south and to the north would be desirable in the future.  This will be true with or without this annexation.

 

It should be noted that both police and fire vehicles would have to pass each tract to provide service to the already annexed area to be developed as Grandwood.  For police this means little to no added time for normal patrol, since the car would already be traveling the road.  For fire this means runs, which would be shorter than runs required to service the proposed Grandwood Subdivision further north and west along Crystal Valley Road.

 

Staff Recommendation:

 

Approval