A rezoning application that would make way for another apartment development in west Little Rock off of Bowman Road is back before the Little Rock Board of Directors.
Developer Keith Richardson has been attempting to get a tract near his current development -- the Pointe at Brodie Creek apartments -- rezoned to accommodate multifamily housing since the latter part of last year.
His effort has been met by opposition from surrounding single-family neighborhoods, and consideration of his application has been put off several times at his own request and that of the city board.
In March, the city's Board of Directors was set to finally vote on the rezoning after Richardson offered three amendments as a concession to nearby property owners. But city directors determined that the amendments were substantial changes, and they sent the application back to the Little Rock Planning Commission to reconsider and make another recommendation to the board.
Initially, the Planning Commission had recommended approval in a 7-4 vote. The commission made the same vote on the amended version in May.
The issue is back before the city board, and on Tuesday directors will vote on whether to allow the proposed 408-unit Herrick Heights development on a 74-acre wooded site west of South Bowman Road. There also are plans for office space and single-family homes on the site.
Much of the neighborhood's opposition to the development was the additional traffic it would bring to what residents said was already a congested area during rush hours.
That opposition inspired Richardson's three amendments. They involve building a single-lane traffic circle or a traffic signal at the intersection of South Bowman Road and Brodie Creek, adding a 50-foot buffer along the northern boundary of the development to separate the multifamily area from single-family neighborhoods, and ensuring that the single-family homes planned on the property will be similar to those in Brodie Creek and Woodlands Edge.
All of these compromises would be included in a deed restriction on the property.
Some residents showed up in opposition to the amended request at the Planning Commission meeting in May. The last time the matter was before the city board in March, more than 75 people showed up to speak against Richardson's plan.
But Planning and Development Director Tony Bozynski told board members Tuesday that the Brodie Creek Property Owners Association recently revealed the results of a poll of its members: 36 people voted for the zoning request, 16 were against, four had no opinion and 26 didn't answer.
Richardson is planning to build Herrick Heights in four phases, having 120 units ready by 2017 and then adding 96 units each year for three years.
There are already 504 apartment units in the area at the Pointe at Brodie Creek. Another 500 are approved for Bowman Pointe, and a planned development of 250 units has been approved farther south on Bowman.
Those in opposition have said that in addition to increased traffic congestion, the multifamily developments lower their property values and diminish the green space that attracted them to the neighborhood.
City staff has advised the board that single-family developments actually generate more traffic than apartment buildings with a single family house generating about 10 vehicle trips per day, and an apartment unit generating six to seven trips.
Since the 74-acre site Richardson is planning to develop is already zoned for single-family use, he could theoretically put 296 to 370 homes on the property. If the average household size is 2.49 people, that would add 737 to 921 residents.
The population count for the 408-unit apartment complex is estimated at about 1,423 people, a city memo said.
Metro on 07/13/2016