Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

I call to order the May 14th Hot Springs Planning Commission meeting. We will start the meeting with the invocation and pledge of allegiance. Um our invocation will be led by Director Scott. Please stand with me, please. Let us pray. God our father, we thank you this evening. Thank you for the leaders and commissioners of the city, their generosity of time and effort in making sure things function properly in this town. God, we pray for the citizens as well. We ask now that you preside over the setting. Allow us to have clarity of mind and heart. Let us do this in a manner that pleases you and that blesses this city. It's in your name we pray. Amen. Amen. I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

All right. Thank you very much. Um I'll just read a couple of uh notes on meeting procedures. Um, when your name is called, please come to the podium. Address comments to the planning commission, not to the audience. Any questions that you ask will be answered once everyone who has signed up has spoken. So, it's a factf finding hearing. There's no need to repeat what's already been said. If a previous speaker stated the points you wish to make, you may simply acknowledge that so the hearing may proceed. The applicant will have five minutes to speak. Other speakers will each have three minutes and I ask you to please respect those time limits. Can I have uh a motion and a second for the approval of last month's meeting minutes?

So move. Second. All right. Um all in favor? I I Any opposed? Should I bring All right. Very good. So, the first um matter of business tonight is the consent agenda. We've got a couple of items on the consent agenda. Can I have a motion and a second to approve the consent agenda with staff report findings and recommendations? Roll call. So, move. Second. Roll call.

Um ah it's not even Yeah. Okay. Yeah, we ought to have a roll call, I suppose. Mr. Stouter, could you please call the role? Campbell, present. Gerky Stone here. Scott, here. Walker here. Val here. Lemon here. Baker here. Stafford here. At least halfway. Okay. So, now we're going to go on to the uh consent agenda. Um, a motion and a second to approve the consent agenda with staff uh report findings and recommendations. Can I please get a motion and a second?

So moved. Second. Very good. Director Selma, could you please present the consent agenda? Yes. Do you want me to do it in reverse order? Um, it it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. Okay. Item number one, how about this inspiration? How about we vote on the consent agenda and then we do the actual handing of the love it? All right, that's what we're going to do. Okay, you guys guys ready?

Good. Okay. Uh the first item is recognition of service of planning commissioners Janice Davis and Rick Ramik. And item number two is miscellaneous 26086, a miscellaneous application to install wall signs at Hot Springs School District in the RN2 zone. Um, this is an item that meets the requirements of the code but cannot be approved at the staff level. Um so the the recommendation is for approval with three conditions. The three conditions are the requested sign shall be placed and constructed in strict accordance with the approved sign proposal. Number two, the applicant shall obtain necessary permits from the city prior to commencing work. And number three, the sign shall neither contain nor be illuminated by flashing or intermittent lights or lights of changing degrees of intensity that shine or flash in a way that can be confused with official traffic signals or emergency vehicles. Nor may they shine in such a way that they are a nuisance to occupants of neighboring property or to obscure the view of pedestrians or oncoming vehicular traffic. And that completes the consent agenda items.

Okay. Mr. Stouter, could you please take role on the motion to approve the consent agenda? Stone, approve. Scott, sorry. Walker, approve. Val approve. Lemon approve. Baker approve. And Campbell approve. So now and and Stafford approve. Sorry, the part of me that's here. Sorry. Um so yes, now yes, now we can do the presentations. Yes.

Okay. Um the sign item has been approved and with those conditions and um Chairman uh Bart is going to present to our departing commissioners uh just a little token of recognition and appreciation.

I I'm not good at extaneous uh speaking and it would uh probably wind up being uh hard to uh uh I mean I really appreciate the service that you've given to the city. Rick Rick Ram you done the planning commission, the BZA, BAA and uh been the board of zoning adjustments chair. Thank you for your incredible service to the city of

Thank you. The other award goes to Janice Davis who coming back y'all been a a member of the planning commission uh for four years now and really appreciate your service and I speak personally thank you for helping me see things maybe that I would have missed otherwise. That's why you need to Mhm.

And I think I think Rick would like to say a few words. Oh, good. Yes.

Good evening. Rick Ramik, 158 Paddock Point, Hot Springs. Is that right? I I think it is

all right. Just a little start here. I started with the city in 2008 2008 uh when I was appointed to the board of directors and immediately we began on fighting for water from Lake Hamilton and we thought we had it. Uh everything was going good and everybody approved everything. Then someone got to the governor and the governor nicks the whole project. So then we started on Lake Washington and Bill Barl and I worked on this for years trying to get this done going to Washington DC with the uh core of engineers and guess what we had that water today. So also I was working with the fire chief Ed Davis to get a fire station 7 south. We worked on that and guess what? Tomorrow is the grand opening of the fire station on 7 South. So, uh, and as city director, there was a thing called annexation. And so the annexation went along and I knew that it was going to pass. I was a city director, you know, I was involved in all this. So, my wife and I bought a house in area B and kept our condo in district 5, but the G GGGG's didn't like that. So, I was in Washington DC doing something with the city and I got an email from my secretary where they were picketing my business and they were walking up and down Central Expressway with signs and all this stuff. And I didn't let that

bother me too much. But on April 17th, we had a bomb scare in my office and we all evacuated. The police were called. There were 20 police cars out there, fire trucks, and uh they finally called the the uh bomb dog in and cleared the building. But at that point, I said, "I'm done. I'm I'm done. I can't risk the lives of my employees and my family." So, uh so I resigned at that point. And that's when I got on the planning commission. So during that time with plan commission uh I heard hundreds of requests for lot splits, zoning changes, sign issues and heard all those. Then on BCA, BCA heard another hundreds requests for people appealing uh to the BCA to override really the planning commission. So I was there. Now the most important thing I did for the plan commission and you guys will love this is that I came up with a slogan for the planning commission.

Okay. You know what that is? No. The zone of zone of silence. Thank you guys so much. I've enjoyed it. Thank you. Moment of silence. Janice, you uh you'd like to make any comments? I'm not going to use my teacher time because I can talk. Mhm.

Um, it has been such an honor and I just told uh uh uh a few people that on March the 11th I was at the high school and I was getting ready to leave Hot Springs High and I had a brain freeze, I thought, but actually it was the beginning of a stroke. I had already been in my doctor's office earlier that morning and my blood pressure was perfect. Everything was good. Well, I ended up in ER and got the clock buster because I had a stroke. It was es schemic. And so I didn't get my application of renewal in on time cuz things were just kind of out of whack. But this planning commission means so much to me because so many people don't understand what we do. And it's imperative that the community know what this role is because they don't understand. And scripture clearly tells us because of lack of knowledge, we perish as people. So I want this community to be better than I found it as a child and an adult and y'all make a difference. So I'm going to reapply next year and hope I'm selected to come back. Thank you for some really knowledgeable information that I share and I see and I understand. Thank you.

Thank you.

Well, I feel like we should have a quiet moment here, but uh Okay, perhaps we should move on then. Uh thank you both. It's uh it's really been great working with you. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Thanks, Rick. Thank you. So, the next part of the agenda is new business uh old business. We have some new business. Uh one item uh on the agenda. So, Director Selman, could you please introduce that item?

Yes. Uh the next item is plan development number 26-101 333 Leonard Street. Uh plan development development plan application to add three single family dwellings to property located at 333 Leonard Street in the RN2 zone district.

Okay. Um, could you uh please present? Okay. A a motion to approve merely gets the matter on the floor for discussion. A motion and second do not mean that you're necessarily in favor of an application. May I have a motion and a second to approve the item with staff report findings and recommendations? So move. Second. All right. Very good. Uh, so Director Selman, could you please present the staff report on that item?

Thank you. The applicant and property owner, Moore and Williams LLC, represented by Thomas Moore, request plan development uh approval to allow for uh part of lot 13 of the Brown subdivision to allow two additional single family dwelling units instead of the one additional unit normally applied by Hot Springs Code Section 1628.4B. 4B2 and 4. The Leonard Street Lofts PD proposal is to provide for attainable housing infill development in an existing older neighborhood. The plan development application would add two additional detached single family units again to the one that would otherwise be allowed to be added. It would allow for reduced building, sideyard, and front yard setbacks in the residential neighborhood 2 district per hot springs code 1624.3 table 4-1 to accomplish this housing goal. Um the res the future land use designation is residential medium high and it's located in board of directors district number four. The narrative states in part from the applicant, "Our goal is to restore and renovate the existing 1921 farmhouse and add three small cottages to the property on Leonard Street to create a pocket neighborhood. We want to create more sociability in less space. Creating

layers of space provides neighbors with several levels of privacy and community. Using the hot springs housing strategy as a guide is one of our top priorities. The alley will be used to um access the property and would be improved to city standards. The pocket neighborhood will enhance the property by creating a common area to be used by all four families in the pocket neighborhood as well as renovating or in the neighborhood as well as renovating the existing house which is currently in a state of disrepair. The common area could also be used by immediate neighbors providing a safe place for gatherings. This PD will not create adverse impacts on neighboring properties as it will be long-term single family rentals. We want to create a sense of community and sociability as long-term renters seem to facilitate. The construction of the new cottages along with the renovation of the farmhouse will implement current technologies to ensure a successful project as a whole including insulation, light colored reflective roofing, long life siding, low energy appliances, LED lighting, energyefficient HVAC systems, and general best practices. The common area is intended to have a large amount of natural indigenous landscaping to reduce necessary watering intervals. The new three cottages will be designed to complement the look of the farmhouse. The application demonstrates in part Hot Springs Code section 16214.4

for plan development exceptions from district regulations. 3A, community gathering spaces and amenities, including plazas, public art, formal gardens, and outside seating areas. D, preservation of historic features and adaptive reuse of existing buildings. And F, workforce affordable housing set aides. Plan developments per hot springs code are intended to encourage and allow more creative and flexible development of land than is possible under district zoning regulations and to provide enhanced design and amenities to the city. Minimum side setbacks for the RN2 zone district is 7 and 1/2 ft and 20 ft. The proposal is for 5-ft sideyard and 15t front yard, both to accomplish adding two additional dwelling units while also being compatible with neighboring single family home front setbacks. The applicant's narrative points out that the housing strategy 2023 and the submarket C uh indicated deficiency of rental units which marks this area as having the second largest housing shortage in the city. The exceptions from district regulations that are being requested are to reduce sideyard setbacks to 5 feet to allow for additional single family dwellings. The applicant understands that to be granted such exceptions, they must demonstrate enhanced design and amenities. Characteristics and amenities to be considered in this determination include

community gathering spaces um as defined in the hot springs code, the reuse of the existing farmhouse and setting aside the housing for um workforce and affordability. The recommendation of the planning commission and the final decision of the board of directors include making a finding that the following standards for a PD plan development have generally been met and those are in full in your staff report. The findings are that the application demonstrate that hot springs code section 16214.4 plan development purpose initiation authorization exceptions from district regulations, procedures and effective pro approval have been or can subject to conditions be met? And the final decision of course will be made by the board of directors. Recommendation is that you accept the findings and recommendation of the staff report to recommend that the board amend the zoning map for part of lot 13 of the Brown subdivision to add the Leonard Street Lofts Plan development PD to the existing residential neighborhood 2 zone district in accordance with the procedures and standards of Hut Springs Code and to adopt an ordinance approving application PD26. 6101 for part of lot 13 of Brown's

subdivision allowing the following exceptions to district regulations and accessory use standards for the plan development subject to the approved development plan with conditions and there are three. Number one, after development plan approval, the development plan will constitute the regulations applicable to the subject property. The plan development must be developed in accordance with the development plan rather than the RN2 zone district regulations otherwise applicable to the property. Violation of any condition is a violation of this code and constitutes grounds for revocation of all approvals granted for the plan development. Number two, the engineering department requires that the following be satisfied prior to the issuance of a building permit. A, a final plan and engineers calculations are required. B, the 20 foot deep parking spaces shall be located within the property boundaries and not in the right ofway. And number three, the utilities department requires the following to be satisfied prior to the issuance of a building permit and that is that the applicant needs to submit engineered utility plan and details and that completes the staff report.

All right. Thank you, Director Shelman. Would the applicant please come forward? Give your name and address for the record. Let us know if there's anything else you'd like to add. You You have five minutes. Thank you. Um it's going to be hard for me to explain it any better than Miss Selman has, but I will give it a try. My name is Thomas Moore, and with me I have my uh partner, Kim Williams. And you do you want my home address? That's for the record, please. Sure. 109 Southern Charm Loop and it's 71913. Thank you.

Yes, sir. To give you I wanted to do two things real quick. I wanted to give you a little background on us and why we're doing this and then to give you an idea of where this concept came from. Kim and I uh were colleagues for a long time, probably 10, 15 years at a large firm. We both come from the corporate world, but we both after years of working together, we both kind of found out that we had a passion for residential work. Um we both like the design challenges that come with creating neighborhoods like this, especially in urban areas. And this is kind of our flagship project. We have other projects going on in the city um such as Habitat, their main offices, and their construction warehouse. But this is really where our passion lies. We um for lack of a better term want to create more of an attainable type environment for people in the city. Um and this we feel that this is one way to do that. We call it a pocket neighborhood. Um I think that is the kind of the sociological term for it. Some people call them tiny homes. Um, some people call them micro homes. Some people call them micro neighborhoods. But there are benefits to this. We feel inserting them into already established neighborhoods. And we have found that out by being over there clearing the the property was in some amount of disarray as you can

imagine. The farmhouse was built in 1921 and we don't think the property had been mowed since then, but we we've we spent all winter kind of clearing out all the brush and making the property um look look better. But what we want to do is create these around the city, these little pocket neighborhoods, these little places where people and families can live and feel safe and have that sociability that that Miss Selman mentioned. Um, in other parts of the world, they're they're maybe not common, but they're more prevalent. Um, and we realize this is there's no precedent for this here. Um, you know, if you were a real estate agent trying to sell these, it would be hard to come up with a comparable wi for it. Um, but we feel that we've done a good job with the help of the city. Um both the planning and development department, Rick, Don, and Kathy are, you know, instrumental in coming getting this to come to life and the engineering department as well. Um but while we were over there, we we met our neighbors. Ken lives to the west. Um Deanna lives to the east and Jeff Olsen lives to the south. Um, and Miss Sims lives across the street, which we know her son comes over and takes care of her because he mows Ken's yard on Saturdays for him. And this is the kind of environment that we want to expound on. And as you know, when you drive through an older established neighborhoods, you you get that feeling. There's the large

trees, there's the sidewalks, there's the people that have lived there for 30, 40, 50 years. And you can't replicate that in a new development. So, our idea is to try to replicate that in a more dense version in an already established neighborhood. Okay. And I think that's kind of the gist of it. I don't want to go over my time, but do you want to add anything, Kim? I think that's beautiful. Uh it's hard to find um quality design the smaller the home get. You want to come to the podium there.

So Kimberly Williams and I'm 26 Cali Circle Arkansas 72173. So, uh, I find that whenever you get into smaller homes, you end up with just the fastest someone can throw up and the same thing. So for us, part of our passion is bringing high design, quality design, showing that you can create something that is affordable that also is functional and beautiful and um has plenty of uh living space because it's been well thought out, well planned, welldesigned. Um, where I live, I feel like they're popping up the small homes everywhere and just slapping whatever they can on it because it's cheap and it's fast. And that is not what we're trying to do. We're trying to create thoughtful, beautiful, well thoughtout spaces, layouts, and and this is it. This is our very first one. This is our baby. So, and that's exactly what it's going to look like.

So, we love the farmhouse. I don't know if y'all saw the pictures of what it looks like now. Yeah, it is scary. It is scary, but it is going to be beautiful. The bones are there. It is going to be beautiful when we're done with it. And we want to mimic the same thing with the um homes behind. So, keeping that farmhouse fill. Yes. Yes. Yes. Okay. Thank you very much. Uh I certainly feel the passion in your presentation. All right. Very good. So, uh Robin, do we have anyone signed up to speak? No, sir. Okay. Very good. Um, so the public portion of the meeting is now closed. Commissioners, do you have any uh questions?

Just have a point of clarification. This really is an interesting project and it does fit some of the new things we put into the code revisions. But when you said this is what exactly it's going to look like, I have a visual problem because I understand there's a twocar garage and I don't see that in these drawings. So, can you clarify how that looks? Yes, sir. If you could go to a plan perhaps. This is what this would be facing south the back side. Uh yes, sir. Okay. And the garage is around on the other side. Turn around and see the word images. Right ab up there is what the the garage view will look like. Yes, sir. All right. Okay.

Thank you. Uh I had a just a general question about the um public area. Yes, sir. Uh is that owned by the people? Uh, I mean, will there be a uh a neighborhood association type thing for for that or? Uh, no, sir. We won't require them to have any kind of HOA or an association. We will maintain the property for them. Okay. And that's that's a part of what's in the deeds, I guess, is that in the rental agreement. Yes. Okay. Okay. Very good.

I just had one quick question. First off, love the idea. We need more affordable housing in Hot Springs for sure. Um, could you give and you may not know this yet, but do you have an estimate about what rent would look like in one of these new buildings? We are trying to target the 12 to $1,400 a month. Okay. Thank you. Mhm. All right. Any other questions? All right. Very good. Um, Mr. Stouter, could you please call roll on the motion to approve? Walker approve. Bell approve. Lamont approve. Baker approve. Campbell approve.

Stone approve. And Stafford approve. All right. Very good. Thank you. Yes. Thank you all very much. The board of directors will hear this item on uh June 2nd, 6 o'clock, same room. Um, somebody will need to be there and uh, look forward to that. Thank you. Thank you all very much. You bet. Thank you. So, we are to the director's report. Director Selman, yes. You have anything to say?

I do. First of all, congratulations. We did it. We got the sign code done. uh made it through your public hearing, the board's public hearing, and um I'm going to spare you going through item by item on this checklist that you've probably seen at least 12 or 15 times, but what I did was create a new column on the right hand side. Um in the red was whether we wanted to keep or change the regulations as they were. Um and then that right hand column tells you um did the board agree with that and the board agreed with almost everything. Um, one change that they made was uh to increase the height of freestanding pole signs to 35 ft and also to uh reinstate the 250 foot 250 square ft maximum sign uh size for a pole sign. So that is as it was when we started our work on this. But you'll see in looking through this um that you were amazingly successful in coming up with something that appears to very well meet the needs of our community with regard to science. Not an easy task. And we we have the appointment calendars to prove that. I think we met uh 11

times and then two more times with the signed professionals going through uh trying to uh find common ground which amazingly you did and your hard work paid off and I could not be more excited. I hope I hope you're as excited as I am and we're never going to talk about it again. That's what I'm excited about. But great job. Absolutely great. Very good. Anything else? No. In that case, I'd like to call for a motion and a second to adjurnn.

Move we adjurnn. Second. And we are journ.