Board of Adjustment - Regular Meeting

What we saw? I don't know. All right, we'll go ahead and call this meeting to order. Uh, let's go ahead and knock out attendance.

Miller Straoud here. Cummings here. Catherine here. Clear here. We have a quorum. Perfect. Um, so according to staff, uh, they are requesting that we postpone the old Oh. Oh, that's right. Good one. Yeah. Uh, let's go ahead and approve the minutes from last month's meeting. So move. Second. Okay, it's passed. Uh, all right. So, we'll postpone uh item number one for the old business. Good.

Yeah. Yeah, that's fine. Okay. Um All right. So, um I don't Thank you. Appreciate that. That we postpone item one. Perfect. You got a second? Second. Perfect. Pass. All in favor? Any opposed? Pass. Perfect. All right. So, we've got we've got to to the election for the vice. Yes. President. So if anyone has any nominations nominations, I name nominate Josh Tra. No way.

And then do you have a nomination then for secretary since Josh is the acting secretary? I'll I'll nominate one. Both together would probably be the easiest. I think I think Mr. Cthron would make a good secretary. Perfect. Perfect. Okay, we need a second on that. I'll second that. Can I Can I second? I'll second. Perfect. Perfect. Um, all in favor of the nominees say I I. Any opposed? So, pass. Perfect. All right. Uh, you want to take off on item number two?

Sure. Sure thing. Okay. Um, so as always, we do have a staff presentation on that. Um kind of the the housekeeping item we always start with uh when reviewing a variance, the following items must be addressed. The first and kind of our our typical most important is that the applicant demonstrates that special conditions and circumstances exist which are peculiar to the land structure or building involved and which are not applicable to other land structures or buildings in the same district. The second is that no other uh non-conforming uses of neighboring land, structures or buildings shall be considered as grounds for the issuance of a variance. Third, the board of adjustment shall further make a finding that the reasons set forth in the application justify the granting of the variance and that the v variance is the minimum variance that will make possible the reasonable use of the land, building or structure. Fourth, the board of adjustment shall further make a finding that the granting of the variance will be in harmony with the general purpose and intent of the zoning code. Fifth, in granting any variance, the board of adjustment may prescribe appropriate conditions and safeguards in conformity with this zoning code. And then six, under no circumstance shall the board of adjustment grant a variance to allow a use not permissible um under the terms of the code in the district involved. So with that out of the way, um this is a variance for 401 East Herald Drive. Um, this is located again at 401 East Herald Drive within the Highway 7 interchange district. This is the existing location of IHOP, um, which is currently being renovated to be a combined Applebees and IHOP. It is a C2 highway commercial zoned property surrounded by other C2zoned properties. In this area, you will find a mixture of commercial development, including retail establishments, uh, self- storage facility, restaurants, and overnight accommodations. um and I40.

The application is to allow a 100 foot tall uh sign along I40 despite the 50- foot aotment and a 50- foot tall sign despite the 35- ft aotment. Additionally, the application is to is requesting a variance from the square footage allotment of 70 square feet along I40 and 56 feet along East Herald Drive. So, in our review, staff has not found that the applicant has demonstrated that special conditions or circumstances exist. The applicant has cited visibility concerns and the surrounding signs in the area as a reason for the granting of the variance. Um, staff has found that driving down the interstate, the billboards uh cited and trees from the other direction do not block the current view of their signage. Um, that's kind of shown in the two pictures there. The top is going to be um point of reference is going to be heading eastbound. Um, so none of the referenced signage around their sign um are visible before you reach exit 81. So the increase in height would not um would not make them visible before that exit. And then point of reference heading westbound from the east, um the IHOP existing sign is already clearly visible before exit 81 and it is circled there. Um so it's not blocked by the other current signage. Um, and then regarding the uh referenced surrounding signage, those signs are non-conforming and per the zoning code, no other non-conforming uses in the area shall be considered as grounds for granting a variance. Um, regarding the East Herald sign, the applicant has again stated that mature trees are blocking his signage. Um, and it is hard to tell that his business is at the end of East Herald. Upon a site visit, staff did find that um the signage is visible and not blocked by the trees prior to reaching other businesses such as Cracker Barrel. Um the applicant is requesting to create a

nonconformity with their new requested signage. Um previously, I guess as precedents has been set variances for freestanding signs. um they have been granted in the past when an applicant is coming closer into compliance, not taking signs further out of compliance um with the regulations. The granting of this variance is not with uh within the harmony or intent of the zoning code as the code already includes a built-in allowance for larger signs along the interstate ride of way. Um, as a result of this, staff is unable to make a recommendation of approval based on the findings that the applicant has not demonstrated that special conditions exist and the variance is not the minimum variance allowing reasonable use of the land. That is my staff report. Are there any questions for staff? I also know the applicant is here and would like to speak. Just giving you a heads up. if you'll come approach the mic and state your name for the record.

Good evening, members of the board. My name is Joe Kaitton. I am the owner of the Applebee's IHOP that is going in at 401 East Herald. Forgive me. I'm going to read my speech because I have so many things going through my head with the remodel that I don't want to forget anything. I am here today to respectfully request approval for a variance to raise the height of my signed pole along the freeway and Herald Drive. The purpose of this request is not simply about advertising. It is about visibility, safety, and fairness. At present, my business signs are severely obstructed. On the southeast side, a billboard blocks the view entirely until motorists are already passing my property. On the northwest side, mature trees and other signs obscure my pole signs. Drivers traveling at highway speeds 70 to 75 miles per hour have no opportunity to see my business in time to safely slow down, signal, and exit. I have no ability to remove these obstructions or otherwise increase the v visibility of my signs without raising them. These problems create an undue hardship by placing my business at a distinct disadvantage compared to similarly situated businesses along this corridor. Allowing me to raise my sign poles to be level with the exist with the existing signs already present present on this stretch of the highway would solve this problem. I am not asking to go higher than any other business only to be treated equally so that my business has a fair chance to be seen. There are three main reasons this variance is reasonable and necessary. Number one, safety. Drivers need advanced notice to prepare to exit when they cannot see a business until the

last moment. It increases abrupt lane changes, sudden breaking, and overall risk to traffic safety. Clearer signage creates safer driving conditions. Number two, fairness and consistency. Other businesses along this corridor corridor already benefit from signage at the higher pole height. My request is simply to be consistent with the existing landscape and not to exceed it. Economic impact. My business serves the local community as well as visitors passing through. Improved visibility means stronger sales, stronger tax revenue for the city, and greater long-term stability for the business and its employees. Raising my signs is not just for me. It supports the economic ecosystem of this community. I take pride in investing in my property and in being part of the Russellville business community. All I'm asking for is the opportunity to be seen and to compete at the same level as my neighbors. What I would like to do is if I can ask Victoria to please pull up her picture again of the Herald Drive sign. Is that okay?

Right. Right. Yeah. If we can put that. Thank you.

If you look at the sign right there, she is taking that picture right there at the Fairfield in right across from the Cracker Barrel. Further down the street, you cannot see that IHOP is down there. That is with me removing trees that the storage uh facility gave me permission to trim down to show my sign. It's hard to find my business. I own it and I couldn't even find it when I first came to Russellville. I turned into Burger King. So, I I'd like to get better signage and be visible to the residents, to tourists that are coming into town or to someone that's exiting the highway just to give us a fair shot. As far as the other two pictures on

Yes, thank you. As far as these two pictures, and forgive me, but driving at 70 75 miles an hour, I don't know if anyone else has tried to take a picture driving those speeds while someone else is driving. You're not going to get a clear picture like that. There's there. It's hard to see the sign. Granted, coming from Little Rock, you have a little bit more advantage, but coming from Clarksville, you do not. You do not see it till you're way past the exit. So, I'm I would like to get the variance. I can understand that there are zoning laws in place and respect those. I'm just asking to be treated the same as every other business on that stretch right there. question.

Yes, sir. As the treated fairly portion of it, the Cracker Barrel is already lower than that. So, who who is barrel is way higher than mine on the south side on East Harold? Yeah, they are lower than me on there. However, they have an additional sign down at the corner. Gotcha. That they got from Hampton in Yeah. And that's fine. But who else who else is on the Fairley portion of it?

I'm trying. Fairfield ends got their sign up. I'm want to say about the same height as mine or they did. I think they just changed signs if I remember correctly. So, I'd have to look at it again um further down without looking again. I don't honestly remember, sir. The biggest thing for me on it is just the tree growth and stuff that the um that's right there around that storage unit that blocks it. Yeah, I understand. I was just trying to put put it all together here. My concern is that there was a tall sign for Old South restaurant and it blew down because we get high winds here,

right? And there have been a lot of high winds here and a lot of storm damage. And I think the signs are visible. And I also think when you pair Applebees with IHOP, people will come out of the woodwork for that because they they complain there are not chain restaurants here.

Well, I while I don't disagree with you on that, people have to know how to get to me. That's where my issue is. There's I mean, if I could put a sign down there at Arkansas Avenue in Herrell, I'd be happy with that, but there's no way for me to do it. I've talked to Arkansas Department of Transportation. There's no options there. I think the people that are going to go to your restaurant are going to be using Google. Just saying. They're not going to be looking for signs. Okay. Thank you. Appreciate it. Thank you.

Hey, Victoria, I got a I've got a question for you on the interstate signs. Is Cracker Barrels a different type of sign? Is that why they're allowed to go higher?

So, the Cracker Barrel and there's one other sign I can't remember off the top of my head. Is it Hampton in? Maybe it's one of the Ruby Tuesday is existing. Um so both of those are historic signs that have basically been legacied in. Um they were prior to myself or Sarah starting and have been there for quite some time. They would not be allowed if if theirs blew over in a storm like Old South, they would not be allowed to replace those as they are existing. They would have to come get a variance if they wanted to do that. Um so at this point they're just legacied in. They're allowed to stay standing until, you know, an act of God takes them down or if they decide to. So, is his sign the max height that he can go right now?

Um, I don't know off the top of my head what your existing sign is. I believe it's 50 foot. Yeah. So, his his sign is where our current code allows it. Yes. Okay. Thank you. Anybody else? Any other questions for me? Thank you guys. Thank you, guys. What do you want to do? I move we approve the variance.

I got one more, Mr. C. Hang on. How How high are you want to go? How much bigger than the 70 foot aotment? I'm not

I can address that. Sorry. Um, so on the I40 side sign, they are wanting to go 70 square feet more than they're allowed. They're allowed 300 square feet. So, they're wanting approximately I believe it's 300 square feet. I'm so sorry. Um on the East Herald side or on the I40 side, on the East Herald side, they're wanting 56 square feet more. They are allowed. I I do know 150 square feet along East Harold Yeah, if you don't care, you can go back up.

You mind if I ask Victoria and them a question real quick? Yeah, if you don't care, just make sure you speak into the microphone.

Can y'all come look at this drawing? Because I guess I'm confused at the 370 because my sign drawings show 93 square foot on the IHOP sign and 77 square foot on the Applebees. So where are we getting 370? I don't know if that's the numbers I had. I could be wrong. I'm just going off what the drawing. All right. Okay, let's see which Sorry.

Um, okay. So, he changed it. The measurements are different. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Because this is 18. Okay. So, he did change it and I did not know he changed it. Wow. So, that square footage would be So, that's within along along I40 would be acceptable. Yes. So, hold on. Let me look at that one real quick. What's this?

That one? Yeah. How how big is the sign on East Harold going to be square feet? The sign on East Harold. Let's see. I think that's on the next page. That's going to be uh let me see what you you show.

Quick and dirty. It looks like approximately 200 square feet and our aotment is Oh, tall. Uh 50 feet tall and uh the aotment is 35 ft. So he's about 25 feet. No, sorry, 15 feet over. It's bad at mental math. See that? That clears it up. When I asked him, he said 100 on both sides. Pardon? When I asked him, he said 100 on both sides. So there was some No, 100 on the Sorry, I misspoke. It's 100 foot tall on the highway side, 50 foot on And you're at 35 now. Yes. Okay. What? Um, what's the on Harrow Drive? Huh?

Square footage or height? Square footage? Uh, 150 150 square foot on Harrow Drive. Yes. And you've got about 200. So 100 ft along the interstate, 50 along East Terrell. Right. Yes. That's what I I move that we approve the variance. Second. Uh anybody else? All in favor? I.

Any opposed? So moved. Pass. So moved. Thank you very

All right, we'll go ahead and uh jump into item number three. Miss Victoria, we'll give it to you.

Yes, absolutely. Let's see. Here we go. Okay, so this is two variance requests. at 703 through 7:15 South Glennwood. This is located in the Glenwood neighborhood. This is a proposed site of a new duplex development. It's an R2zoned property surrounded completely by R2zoned properties including uses such as single family homes and a church. The application again is for two variance requests at the same location. The first is a variance, pardon me, to the sidewalk requirement along West 12th Street and the second is to the lot width requirement to allow a variance of um 17 ft on the smallest lot. Uh staff has found that the applicant has demonstrated special conditions exist regarding the sidewalk requirements due to a lack of intent on this city's part to construct sidewalks along the south side of West 12th Street now or in the future. Um there have been a series of meetings between staff, the applicant, um our engineering team, the mayor on this project. Um originally they were asking for the variance along the Glenwood side. There is a pretty high demand for sidewalks in that area. Um so the public works department is um has reached an agreement with the applicant along the south Glenwood side and um is going to work with them on an inlu fee and the city's going to go through and do a project um for connectivity through there. Um staff has also found that the applicant has demonstrated special conditions exist in regard to the lot width variance um as these are all historical lots of record um and were sub subdivided many many moons ago. Um, additionally, all of the the proposed units um will meet all of the other require sorry, all of the other area requirements. This includes um lot square footage setbacks and maximum

building footprint coverage. So, the only thing they're varying from is that lot width minimum. Um and then after extensive meetings with the city and the applicant, um the granting of the variances is in harmony with the purpose and intent of the zoning code. It is staff's recommendation that the board of adjustment approve these variance requests to the sidewalk requirement and the lot width requirement on um based on the findings below that the applicant has demonstrated that special conditions exist and the applicant has met all other variance requirements. Are there any questions for staff? Thank you.

Do you want you want to say anything? Good. All right, guys. Do we have a motion? I move we approve the variance. Second it. All in favor say I. I. Any opposed? Passed. And that'll conclude our meeting for tonight. Thank you.