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Minutes for the Land Use Advisory Committee meeting on January 8, 2014
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Members present: Bill Hall (chair), Dr. Jim Sanders, Mark Enos, Pamela Alexander, Rusty Trevathan, Carroll Caldwell (left at 3:20 p.m.) and Terry Bare
Members absent: Darren May, Joey Roach, Steve Smith, Councilman Todd Burton, Eric Scarbrough, Jerry Halsey, Jr., Kevan Inboden, Nadine Straitt, Shawnie Carrier and Wixson Huffstetler
Chairman Hall stated a draft of the Land Use Plan has been provided to the committee members. Right now, City Planner Otis Spriggs just needs any last comments or final revisions the members would like to be seen.
Mr. Spriggs discussed the changes made since the last meeting based on the comments from the last meeting. Mr. Enos noted the flow chart had two boxes that said the same thing. Mr. Spriggs stated he would fix that.
Mr. Enos asked for clarification regarding the traffic count requirements for each intensity. Mr. Spriggs explained it each sector has density, height and traffic requirements that will fit each land use, which are also shown in the pictures.
Mr. Spriggs stated they also received comments from Councilman Burton, who was unable to attend the meeting, that referred to the description of a Residential Neighborhood Commercial node (RNC). Councilman Burton wanted to ensure that property would have to be rezoned to become an RNC. Mr. Spriggs further explained properties subject to the Land Use Plan would have to be taken the MAPC first and go through the rezoning process. He added this is not a regulating document and cannot change the rezoning process; rather, it is just a recommendation as to what the land use should be. Dr. Sanders suggested adding the verbiage "in accordance to the Zoning Ordinance" to the last sentence. Mr. Spriggs stated he can make that change.
Mr. Bare then suggested changing the wording in that same section that said "such development should only be allowed at the intersection." It was decided to take out that word "allowed" and replace it with "considered" and to replace the word "at" with "near."
Ms. Alexander asked if that documents addresses the reasoning behind some of the decisions that were made that influenced the document. Mr. Spriggs explained that was part of the reason he added the flow chart to the document, so the flow of decision making could be understood easier. He noted a lot of what she is referring to is in the document narrative and the Growth Sector Category chart. He stated that it could be crafted in the next month or so in a way that people can easily understand the intentions of the document.
Discussion was then held regarding parks. Mr. Spriggs recommended a separate document be made concerning parks within the city. He noted on the last page of the document he listed several recommendations the committee has made, including a parks plan. Mr. Enos added the Downtown Jonesboro Association is working on a standards document that they will present to the city for adoption.
City Engineer Craig Light pointed out that the density for Low Intensity Single Family Residential is not the same as the city's standards. Mr. Spriggs agreed, stating he will amend the plan to reflect the city standard of 1/5 of an acre lot minimum for low intensity.
Mr. Light then referred to the density for Moderate Intensity dwelling units per acre for Multi-Family. Mr. Bare motioned, seconded by Mr. Enos, to change the maximum to 8 dwelling units per acre instead of the current 6.
Discussion was held concerning the traffic restrictions for each of the growth sectors. Mr. Bare referred to the page in the document discussing "How the Land Use Plan Relates to Zoning" and expressed concern about some of the language in that section. He explained part of the language seems contradictory because it says the Land Use Plan is flexible, but then lists requirements that must be met. Chairman Hall suggested changing the sentence stating "Traffic produced by the development will not
" to read "should not" instead of "will not" so it will fall more in line with the flexible statement. Mr. Bare agreed. Mr. Light added that in the descriptions for Low Intensity and Moderate Intensity it states "No more than" for each of the traffic sections. He asked if that should be changed as well to be more flexible. Mr. Spriggs recommended adding language to specify that the traffic counts are for commercial only. It was also decided to change the language to say "Approximately" instead of "No more than."
Mr. Bare referred back to the paragraph discussing how the plan relates to zoning. He suggested changing "
type listed for each zone and are confined to the intersection" so it reads "near" instead of "to."
It was also decided to add to the committee recommendations that further research needs to be done concerning open spaces/green spaces in the city. Ms. Alexander agreed, stating open spaces should include flood ways, power line areas, etc. Mr. Spriggs stated he will add that to the last page with the recommendations, as well as putting more of a description in the open spaces paragraph that describes what are considered to be open spaces. Mr. Light also asked that green spaces be added to the map. Further discussion was held concerning what would be considered green space.
Discussion was then held regarding the height restrictions with Moderate Intensity. Mr. Bare recommended changing the height restriction to add more stories. Mr. Spriggs cautioned the committee that changing the height restrictions to add more stories may make it harder for the staff when it's put in place with other restrictions. It was decided to change the height restriction for Moderate Intensity to "No more than 4 stories." Mr. Light noted High Intensity height restriction is 10 stories, yet High Intensity Commercial Nodes have a height restriction of 6 stories. Mr. Spriggs stated he would change the High Intensity Commercial Node height restriction to 10 stories.
Discussion was then held regarding the map under Downtown-University Corridor. Mr. Light expressed concern that the map was not reflective of the same suggestions for that area. It was decided to take out the map and eliminate any wording that refers to the map. Mr. Enos also noted the third paragraph refers to the Wolverine site. He suggested changing the wording because not everyone knows that area as the Wolverine site. Ms. Alexander also added there is a typo with the word provide in the same paragraph, as "provide" does not have a hyphen in it.
Mr. Spriggs asked the committee members to continue reading the document, so small changes can be made, such as correcting typos. Ms. Alexander noted a headline for Medical center in the Downtown section of the document is missing.
Mr. Spriggs explained this document is just a draft that will be presented at the public hearings. They will take the input from the public hearings and add that to the draft before presenting this document to the City Council.
Mr. Bare expressed concern that the intent behind the part of the document discussing High Intensity Commercial Nodes, as well as the rest of the document. He suggested changing the document to be "Future Land Use Guide" instead of "Future Land Use Plan." Mr. Light stated he thinks this is a plan and that state law requires cities to come up with a plan. Mr. Spriggs added he will work with Mr. Light to clarify the intent of the document.
Dr. Sanders motioned, seconded by Mr. Enos, to approve the draft of the Land Use Plan. All voted aye.
Ms. Alexander motioned, seconded by Mr. Enos, to approve the minutes from the November 20, 2014, meeting. All voted aye.
With no further business, the committee adjourned.