MARCH 3, 2005

ITEM NO.:                              D                                                                          

FILE NO.:                               Z-7785

NAME:                                   MDS of Tennessee Medical Waste Disposal Facility –
Conditional Use Permit

LOCATION:                           5400 Scott Hamilton Drive

OWNER/APPLICANT:         MDS of Tennessee

PROPOSAL:                         A conditional use permit is requested to allow for construction of a medical waste disposal facility on this I-2 zoned, 3.77± acre tract.

1.         SITE LOCATION:

            The property is located on the west side of Scott Hamilton; just south of its northern terminus, north of 65th Street.

2.         COMPATIBILITY WITH NEIGHBORHOOD:

The property is located within the 65th Street Industrial District.  Uses in the area are industrial in nature; including warehousing and manufacturing.  Areas of undeveloped I-2 and R-2 zoned properties are located to the west and north.  Section 36-575 of the code states “medical waste disposal facilities shall not be permitted to operate within 1,000 feet of an occupied structure or district zoned for residential uses.”  There are 11 occupied structures and the aforementioned R-2 zoned property within 1,000 feet of the proposed facility.  In light of this, staff does not believe the proposed use is compatible with the neighborhood.

All owners of property located within 1,000 feet of the site, all residents within 300 feet who could be identified and the Upper Baseline, Wakefield, Geyer Springs and SWLR United for Progress Neighborhood Associations were notified of this request.

3.         ON SITE DRIVES AND PARKING:

A single driveway is proposed onto Scott Hamilton Drive.  A 24-space parking lot is proposed in front of the building and a truck parking/maneuvering lot is shown behind the building.  The business will employ 12-20 persons.  It appears there is sufficient parking on the site to accommodate the use.  A couple of spaces in the front lot will likely be lost to interior landscape requirements.

4.         SCREENING AND BUFFERS:

Compliance with the City’s Landscape and Buffer Ordinances is required.

The plan submitted does not allow for the 39-foot wide on-site street buffer required by the Zoning Ordinance nor the 9-foot wide on-site landscape strip required by the Landscape Ordinance along the site’s eastern perimeter.

An irrigation system to water landscaped areas will be required.

5.         PUBLIC WORKS COMMENTS: 

1. Repair or replace any curb and gutter that is damaged in the public right-of-way prior to occupancy.  This site is in a sidewalk exclusion zone.

2. All driveways shall be concrete aprons per City Ordinance.

3. A grading permit in accordance with Section 29-186(c) and (d) will be required prior to any land clearing or grading activities at the site.  Site grading, and drainage plans will need to be submitted and approved prior to the start of construction.

4. A special Grading Permit for Flood Hazard areas will be required per Section 8-283 prior to construction.

6.         UTILITY, FIRE DEPT. AND CATA COMMENTS:

Wastewater:  Sewer available, not adversely affected.

Entergy:  Approved as submitted.

CenterPoint Energy:   Four (4) inch steel gas main located on Scott Hamilton.  This line has sufficient capacity to serve this location.

Southwestern Bell:  Approved as submitted.

Water:  All Central Arkansas Water requirements in effect at the time of request for water service must be met.

Additional fire hydrant(s) will be required.  Contact the Little Rock Fire Department to obtain information regarding the required placement of the hydrant(s) and contact Central Arkansas Water regarding procedures for installation of the hydrant(s).  Due to the nature of this facility, installation of an approved reduced pressure zone backflow preventer assembly (RPZA) is required on the domestic water service.  This assembly must be installed prior to the first point of use.  Central Arkansas Water (CAW) requires that upon installation of the RPZA, successful tests of the assembly must be completed by a Certified Assembly Tester licensed by the State of Arkansas and approved by CAW.  The test results must be sent to CAW’s Cross Connection Section within ten days of installation and annually thereafter.  Contact Carroll Keatts at 992-2431 if you would like to discuss backflow prevention requirements for this project.

Fire Department:  No Comments received.

County Planning:  No Comments.

CATA:  The site is not on a CATA bus route.  The nearest route is at Scott Hamilton and Hoerner, one block to the south.

SUBDIVISION COMMITTEE COMMENT:                         (JANUARY 6, 2005)

Charles Best and Bob Slaughter were present representing the application.  Staff presented the item and noted additional information was needed regarding signage, days and  hours of operation, number of employees, site lighting, dumpster location and fencing.  Staff asked for additional information on the proposed operation; including how many trucks would come to the site daily, how long the medical waste would be kept on the site and where the medical waste would be coming from.  The applicant was directed to provide a copy of the application or draft application for permit to Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality, a copy of the facility’s emergency preparedness plan and a copy of the facility’s maintenance schedule.  Staff also noted that the applicant must provide the name of contractors retained to build the facility and proof of license required by Arkansas Code.  Staff asked the applicant to redesign the handicap parking spaces on the site plan to comply with ADA standards.  Staff informed the Committee of the variance from the required 1,000 foot setback from any occupied structure.

Public Works and Landscape Comments were noted.  Mike Hood of Public Works noted that the site had been in violation of the City’s Land Alteration ordinance due to premature grading and tree removal.  He stated the applicant had responded and staff had set aside remaining restoration requirements pending outcome of the C.U.P. process.

The applicant was directed to respond to staff issues by January 12, 2005.  The Committee forwarded the item to the full Commission. 

STAFF ANALYSIS:

MDS of Tennessee is requesting approval of a conditional use permit to allow for development of a medical waste disposal facility on the I-2 zoned property located at 5400 Scott Hamilton Drive.

The Code defines medical waste as:

     Medical waste is solid, semisolid or liquid waste and includes isolation waste, infectious agents, pathological waste, human or animal blood and blood products, sharps and nonsharps, human or animal body parts, contaminated bedding, surgical wastes and other contaminated disposal medical equipment and material that may pose a risk to the public health or welfare.

A disposal facility is defined as:

     Disposal facility means any land and appurtenances thereon and thereto, used for the treatment, storage, or disposal by any means of hazardous or medical waste, excluding a crematorium.

The applicants propose to construct a 10,600 square foot (106’ X 100’), one-story, prefab metal building on the site.  A series of garage door openings will provide truck access into the building.  A single driveway will provide access to the site from Scott Hamilton Drive.  A 24-space parking lot will be located in front of the building and a truck parking and maneuvering area will be located behind the building.  The building will contain offices and the medical waste disposal equipment.  Medical waste will be delivered to the site and off-loaded in the building for treatment.  The facility uses autoclave (steam) treatment to decontaminate the medical waste.  The treated waste is then compacted and delivered to a landfill site for disposal.

The applicant has responded to most of the questions raised at Subdivision Committee.  Copies of permit applications to Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) and the Arkansas Department of Health have been submitted.  The facility is proposed to operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  Copies of the facility’s emergency procedures and standard operating procedures have been submitted and are attached.  The maintenance schedule is as follows:

Maintenance schedule – Boiler

1.      Honeywell controller will be checked daily.

2.      Blow down processed daily to eliminate build up and scale.

3.      Gas safety shut off will be checked twice a week.

4.      Water safety shut off will be checked twice a week.

5.      Steam relief valve will be checked daily.

6.      Boiler will have a yearly inspection performed by an outside company and the
   company, which insures the boiler.

7.      Steam lines will be checked daily.

Maintenance schedule – Autoclave

1.      Steam lines checked daily.

2.      Steam relief valve checked daily

3.      Honeywell chart checked daily.

4.      Honeywell chart and controls are required to be checked and calibrated quarterly
   by a Honeywell representative.

Air compressor checked daily.

The facility will have 12 to 20 employees.  Ten to fifteen truck deliveries will be made daily to the facility.  Medical waste will not be stored on the property for longer than 10 days and any waste held for more than 72 hours will be stored at a temperature of 45 degrees or less.  All trucks with medical waste on board will be locked at all times until they are unloaded.  After being treated, the medical waste will go into a compactor and then a packer box, which will be taken to a landfill.  The applicant will try to take packed boxes to the landfill within 8 hours, but it could be 2 to 3 days because of truck problems, weather or the landfill being closed.  Medical waste will come to this facility from Arkansas and from out of state.  The parent company of MDS, Commodore, has a medical waste disposal facility in Nashville, Tennessee which will serve as the backup facility for this site.  This facility will serve as the backup facility for the Nashville plant.

Staff is not supportive of the proposed conditional use.  Section 36-575 of the Code states “medical waste disposal facilities shall not be permitted to operate within 1,000 feet of an occupied structure or district zoned for residential uses.”  A large area of R-2 zoned property is located approximately 200 feet north of this site.  Within a 1,000-foot radius around the site are 11 occupied structures including the following:   Laidlaw Bus Terminal; Communication Supply Service Association; Windsor Door; East Harding Contractors; SAIA Motor Freight; CD & L; River City Cold Storage; Klean, Inc.; Earle M. Jorgensen Company; RIC, Inc.; and Essick Air Products.  The applicant is requesting a variance of this spacing requirement.  Staff believes it is more appropriate for the applicant to locate a site which would comply with the spacing requirement so as to lessen the potential negative impact on area businesses and properties.

An occupied structure is defined as:

            Occupied structure means a building or other structure:

(1)   Where any person lives or carries on a business or other calling; or

(2)   Where people assemble for purposes of business, government, education, religion, entertainment or public transportation; or

(3)   Which is customarily used for overnight accommodation of persons whether or not a person is actually present.  Each unit of a structure divided into separate units designed for occupancy is itself an occupied structure; or

(4)   Which has not yet been constructed or completed but for which a building permit where applicable has been issued by the city and is valid on the date the application for the conditional use permit is filed.

Additionally, the site plan does not provide for the required 39 feet street buffer.  The plan proposes instead a 10-foot landscape strip.  The applicant has also not provided the identity of contractors retained to build the facility and proof of any license required as stipulated by Section 36-579(10) of the Code.  Signage and lighting plans have not been submitted.

STAFF RECOMMENDATION:

Staff recommends denial of the application.

STAFF REPORT:

On January 24, 2005, the applicant requested deferral of the item to the
March 3, 2005 Agenda.  Staff supports the requested deferral.

PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION:                                  (FEBRUARY 3, 2005)

The applicant was present.  There were no registered objectors present.  Staff recommended that the item be deferred to the March 3, 2005 Agenda.  There was no further discussion.

The item was placed on the Consent Agenda and deferred to the March 3, 2005 meeting by a vote of 9 ayes, 0 noes and 2 absent.