Maumelle planning panel approves UNIF warehouse site and landscape plans

The Maumelle Planning Commission on July 24 approved a site plan and accompanying landscape plan for an 18,000-square-foot warehouse and office to be built at the end of Lewis Nelson Drive, north of a cold-storage complex and adjacent to a new substation. Planning staff said the industrial (I-1) use is permitted and recommended approval contingent on city engineer, staff and commissioner comments.

“I’m Jay Birfield,” the applicant’s representative said, giving his address as 302 Campus View Drive in Columbia, Missouri, and stating the developer will build the facility and lease it to UNIF, which plans to consolidate its Little Rock and Maumelle operations into the new building. The applicant told commissioners he agreed with the staff report and was ready to proceed.

Staff said the proposed site meets required front and rear setbacks and that significant existing tree coverage along the east side will be retained to provide a visual buffer to adjacent institutional uses. The landscape plan calls for frontage screening at the cul-de-sac entry; staff noted the applicant removed internal parking landscaping from a prior submission because it was not required.

Commissioners moved and voted to approve both the site plan (STP-25-2) and its landscape plan, with votes conditioned on final review by the city engineer and any remaining staff or commissioner comments. No council action is required for the site-plan approval, but staff noted that engineering sign-off is needed before a building permit can be issued.

The meeting record shows the approvals were unanimous for the landscape plan and passed for the site plan; both motions included the standard contingency that final civil and engineering documents be reviewed and approved by staff before permits are issued. The developer and staff emphasized the project will keep UNIF’s operations in Maumelle.