Board OKs Ledgerock development
A zoning change and site plan approved earlier this week for two parcels fronting Bull Bayou will enable a residential development on Ledgerock Road.
The Hot Springs Board of Directors approved applicant Joe Goslee Jr.’s request earlier this week to rezone the 1.29-acre area from medium high density residential to planned development. The site plan the board approved calls for a 19 townhome development named River Bluff Town Homes.
The board approved a voluntary annexation of the southernmost parcel in May. River Bluff Development LLC’s annexation petition included an adjoining parcel to the south owned by another company. The two parcels formed an unincorporated enclave inside a small outgrowth of the city map extending north off Highway 270 west near the Bull Bayou arm of Lake Hamilton.
The planning commission determined the site plan met two of the five criteria for a planned development, which, according to the zoning code, encourages innovate design through less restrictive regulations. In approving the zoning change and site plan in a 6-0-1 vote last month, the planning commission determined the proposal
would provide housing for a broad spectrum of income levels and use the flexibility afforded by the planned development designation to achieve innovative urban design.
Goslee, who is on the planning commission, did not vote on the site plan or zoning change.
In addition to the criteria River Bluff met, development of an infill parcel that would be impractical under normal regulations, eliminating slums or blight and dedicating 30 percent of the development to permanent open space qualify a site plan for the designation.
Letters submitted to the planning commission expressed concerns about additional traffic on Ledgerock, which dead-ends, and congestion at the Albert Pike-Ledgerock intersection.
The site plan said 10 townhomes will front the lake. The one-way road traversing the gated property will be maintained by a property owner’s association. Amenities include a 200-foot boardwalk along the lake and sun deck set against a waterfall overflowing from an infinity-edge pool.