PC Minutes 6-1-2021L A RTUM6 I �Mo a
111 North 12�` Street •Van Buren, Arkansas 72956
PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES
Van Buren Public Library
June 1, 2021
I. Call To Order. The Van Buren Planning Commission held its monthly meeting on
Tuesday, June 1, 2021, at 5*30 P.M. The meeting was held in the Van Buren Public Library meeting
room.
II. Roll Call. The following Commissioners were present: Chairman Andy Dibble, Vice -
Chairman Philip Bagby, Mark Evans, Lynne Graham, Jason Myers, Mason Shirey, John Symonds, and
Jay White. Also present were Planning Director Wally Bailey, City Inspector David Martin, Secretary
Jennifer Willoughby, City Attorney Jacob Howell, Robert Bowen of Burrough Brasuell Corp. for
Bekaert Stell & Wire, Paul Sellers for Bekaert Steel & Wire, Ricky Hill of Satterfield Surveyors, Chad
BrLxey of Brixey Engineering, Steven Franklin of Franklin Construction, Tina Thompson and
Shannon Scott of WAPDD, Brad and Haley Hall of Keypers Storage, Andrew Erickson of Schwob
Co. for Southeastern Freight Lines, and Chad Adams of ARDOT. Members of the public in
attendance included Ragon Clements of Ronald Ragon Realty; Attorney John Alford for Kyle, Melissa,
and Connor Catron of E. Uniontown Road, Paul Hodgens, Diane Bryant, Kiln Doss, and Ed Johns
also of E. Uniontown Road; John Swanson of Oliver Springs Road; and Jenny Guinn-Raymondi and
Lillie O. Aguilar of Jefferson Street. Commissioner Tiffany Webster was absent.
III. Approval Of Minutes From April 6, 2021. A motion to approve was made by
Commissioner Jason Myers and seconded by Commissioner Jay White. The motion was approved
unanimously.
Recess Planning Commission
Convene Board of Adjustment
IV. Public Hearing for Variance #2-2021—Bekaert Steel &Wire, 1881 Bekaert Drive;
to expand inside 25' yard setback in I-2.
A motion to approve was made by Commissioner Jay White and seconded by Commission Mark
Evans. The motion was approved unanimously.
Robert Bowen of Burrough Brasuell Co. for Bekaert Steel &Wire presented the request for variance
from the 25 feet setback requirement to 4 feet 9 inches. Bekaert Steel &Wire is proposing an
approximate 50,000 square foot warehouse addition. Sixty feet of the northwest corner of the addition
encroaches on the required 25' setback for yards in I.2.
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Cossion Chairman Andy Dibble and Chairman Jason .Myers voiced concerns over setting a
precedent. Attorney Jacob Howell made sure it was clarified the distinction for justification in an
Industrial Zone versus a Residential Zone and that this is an isolated Industrial Property in an I-2
Leavy Industrial District.
ecess oard o ..just ent
onvene Planning Commission
A motion to approve was made by Commissioner John S�Tonds and seconded by Commissioner
Jason Myers. The motion was approved unanimously.
Ricky Hill of Satterfield Surveyors submitted this plat for review. Tl1e propert�T is within the planning
jurisdiction of the CitT of Van Buren.
A motion to table this agenda item was made by Con��nission Vice -Chairman Philip Bagby and
seconded by Commissioner John Symonds. The motion to table was approved unanimously.
Ricky Hill of Satterfield Surveyors submitted this plat for review. The propert�T owner, Chip Jeremiah,
was not present. The property is within the city limits of Van Buren.
The unresolved issues that led to the item being tabled are:
1. No public road, private road, or access easement is shown to Tract 2. Also, no utility
easements are shown to serve Tract 2.
2. Fire Department access and water supply is a concern. It is not clear who will provide water
service, whether it is VBMU or Cedarville Water.
3. Ruby Drive needs to be constructed between Broken Hill Drive and this property. The road
must be constructed according to the City's minimum street standards. This will provide
access to a public road and access to existing fire hydrants.
4. If any private access roads are proposed, the access road must be engineer designed and built
to comply with the minimum requirements of the Arkansas Fire Code.
VII. Legacy Place II —Final Plat Review—Brixey Engineering.
A motion to approve was made by Commissioner Jason Myers and seconded by Commissioner Mark
Evans. Vice -Chairman Philip Bagby abstained. The motion was approved unanimously.
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Brixey of Brixey Engineering submitted this plat for review. Planning Director Wally Bailey and
Chad Brilxey of BrilYey Engineering made note that BrilYey Engineering will provide a paid
Performance Bond for the unfinished work on the detention pond.
VIII. Legacy Creek Subdivision
a.) Review of Annexation Petition —Proposed Legacy Creek Subdivision —
Franklin Construction.
A motion was made to recommend the annexation to the City Council by Vice -Chairman Philip
Bagby and seconded by Commissioner Jay White. The motion was approved unanimously.
Although not present at the meeting, Attorney Sean Brister for Franklin Construction, Inc.
submitted the petition for annexation of property owned by Franklin Construction, along with the
signed Crawford County Court Order.
This is the same property that encompasses the proposed Legacy Creek Subdivision. The property is
contiguous to the existing city limits.
b.) Public Hearing for Rezone #1-2021—Legacy Creek Subdivision —Franklin
Construction; Un-zoned to R-2.
A motion to approve was made by Vice -Chairman Philip Bagby and seconded by Commissioner John
Symonds. The motion was approved unanimously.
BrilYey Engineering for Franl�lin Construction, Inc. applied for the rezoning of this undeveloped and
in -zoned land to become zone R-2 Family Residential District.
Planning Director Wally Bailey presented to the committee that the rezone will facilitate the
construction of a proposed residential subdivision to be known as Legacy Creek. The full build out
of the subdivision will include a street connection at Dava Street and Delta Street.
The Master Land Use Plan shows a large area of C-2, as well as R-3 and G, but the area has primarily
developed as residential. A future Master Land Use Plan amendment appears to be warranted. The
proposed rezoning is consistent with the surrounding developments.
The property was recommended for annexation into the city limits of Van Buren in the above agenda
item.
IX. Public Hearing for Conditional Use Permit 4+1-2021—Keypers Storage, 1527
Pointer Trail East; To add additional mini -storage in C-2.
A motion to approve was made by Commissioner John Symonds and seconded by Commissioner
Jason Nlyers. The motion was approved unanimously.
Brad Hall of Keypers Storage submitted the conditional use application for the proposed construction
of four new mini -storage buildings at the existing development in a Commercial-2 zoning district.
X. Public Hearing for Conditional Use Permit #3-2021—Curie Pies Daycare, 803
Broadway Street; To operate a daycare in C-1.
The motion to table was made by Commissioner John Symonds and seconded by Commissioner Jay
White. The motion to table this agenda item was approved unanimously.
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Although not present at the meeting, Shanee West of Cube Pies Daycare submitted an application for
the conditional use of a daycare in a Commercial-1 zoning district. Currently this property is vacant.
Approval is contingent upon DIIS and Fire Marshal approval. I he Planning Commission would hke
to see a better site plan with an explanation of child-pick-up/drop-off and parking.
Li11ie Aguilar and Jenny Guinn-Raymondi reside on Jefferson Street near the proposed daycare, They
both voiced their concerns about the lack of parking, the plans submitted show the daycare using the
alley as parking, and the high traffic volume being a danger to children.
�=� motion to deny was made by Commissioner John Symonds and seconded by Commissioner Lynne
Cj-raham. The motion was denied unanimously.
�-Andrew Ericl�son of Sch�vob Companies spore for Southeastern Freight Lines `vho submitted the
application of conditional use for a proposed dock and canopy expansion of sixty doors to the existing
thirty-four door facility. Mr. Erickson explained that the existing tree line buffer will be replaced by
an approximately 10' retaining wall at the Western property line with a 6' sound wall at the top of the
retaining wall; to provide an approximately 16' sound wall between the proposed expansion and the
neighboring western residential property.
Con�_ini.ssion Chairman Andy Dibble brought up that access to Hwy 59 is already a serious traffic
problem in Van Buren. The question was asked to Mr. Erickson and to the Southeastern Freight
Terminal Manager, how many additional trucks/trips a day would this expansion bring. The answer
tivas vaguely 21-23 trips are made now and in 10 years it could be an extra 40 trips; it was also noted
that the expansion would be over time, probably only an additional 30 doors for now. Mr. Erickson
mentioned that there is an existing site plan, previously approved, for an additional 15-20 doors with
a future paved area. The city staff has no knowledge of that site plan.
Chad Adams of ARDOT explained that the City of Van Buren and ARDOT have been trying to come
up with a plan since 2014. In 2019, ARDOT partnered with the city in an agreement that the city will
contribute $3 million to the proposed design to help ease traffic concerns. Mr. Adams said
construction on the plan should start in April of 2022. The ARDOT roundabout plans will come
over onto the property owned by Southeastern Freight Lines.
Commissioner John Symonds made a motion to deny, stating that since Southeastern Freight Lines
said they have an existing approved site plan for 15-20 extra doors that they should expand on what
has already been approved. Commissioner Lynne Graham seconded the motion, agreeing that the
issue of concern is about the existing traffic problems and any additional traffic is just too much —not
about any conflicting plans between Southeastern Freight Lines and the ARDOT roundabout plans.
XII. Public Hearing for Proposed Landscape Ordinance by the City of Tan Buren.
Planning Director Wally Bailey commented that the commission had previously discussed the idea of
a landscape ordinance to improve the appearance of developments and commercial corridors in Van
Buren. The purpose of this agenda item is for the Planning Commission to assist with the direction
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that they want to see in the ordinance, the applicabililty of the ordinance, and now best to proceed
with future public meetings, discussions, and the possible adoption of a landscape ordinance.
The commission agreed to create a landscape comMttee of volunteers to explore te best landscape
ordinance options for the City of Van Buren, Chairman Andy Dibble, Commissioner Mark Evans,
and Commissioner John Symonds volunteered to be a part of the landscape committee.
A motion to approve both recommendations to the Cite Council was made by Vice -Chairman Philip
Bagby and seconded by Commissioner John Symonds. The motion was approved unanimously.
The recent review of Legacy Creep I has brought bacl� up the topic of adding a connecting street
between Northridge Drive and E. Uniontown Road. It was a unanimous decision to not pursue or
continue any discussion about a Northern route through the Legacy Creek Subdivision connecting
Northridge Drive to E. Uniontown Road. One alternative would be a future road and right-of-way
off Northridge Drive that is already on the Master Street Plan, located West of Lock -It -Down mini
storage, and meets engineering and Fire Department criteria. Also, Eastridge Road would need to be
made into a cul-de-sac with a turnaround.
Ed Johns spoke up `with his concerns for the future of E. Uniontown Road. Chairman Andy Dibble
and Vice-chairman Philip Bagby made it clear that there will be no further talk of any connection to
E. Uniontown Road.
The Legacy Creek plat (all phases) did not show the next phase connection from Delta Drive; the next
phase and second connection/access road for this subdivision is critical for Phase I and any future
phases. Planning Director Wally Bailey proposes that the Planning Commission request the developer
submit a Master (preliminary) Plat for review and discussion. This will provide direction for the
Planning Commission as additional phases are constructed and it will provide the developer assurances
for future development approvals.
c.) Horne - based Entrepreneurship —Act 659
At the January 2021 Planning Commission meeting it was discussed that the cit�T's home -based
business regulations need to be updated. The current ordinance has no specific criteria for home -
based businesses only that they are a conditional use.
Recently, the Arkansas General Assembly approved amendments to the Arkansas Code that
established standards for regulating home -based businesses and removing unnecessary barriers to
working from home. Now that legislature has been made, the city needs to discuss the direction and
specifics for its home -based business regulations, as well as establish criteria that follows state law by
August 1, 2021.
XV. Adjourn.
A motion to adjourn was made by Commissioner Jason Myers and seconded by Commissioner John
Symonds. The motion was approved unanimously.
Wally Bailey, Planning Director