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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDepartment Report 06-25-18 1 CARMEL BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS – HEARING OFFICER DEPARTMENT REPORT JUNE 25, 2018 TABLED TO JULY 23 - (V) Honda Express Service. The applicant seeks development standards variance approvals for signage and lighting: 1. Docket No. 18040010 V UDO Section 5.03.B.4 Max. 0.3 foot-candles at property lines, Avg. 8 foot-candles proposed. 2. Docket No. 18040011 V UDO Section 5.39.E.8 Ground sign must be at least 5-ft out of street right of way, existing ground sign in street right of way proposed. 3. Docket No. 18040012 V UDO Section 5.19.F.1 North/East Perimeter Bufferyard Landscaping: 163 plantings required, 59 proposed. 4. Docket No. 18040013 V UDO Section 5.19.F.4 Parking Lot Landscaping: 42 plantings required, 35 proposed. The site is located at 4146 E. 96th Street (the former Harley Davidson site). It is zoned B3/Business. Filed by Allen Dresselhouse of Penske Automotive Group. This item is tabled to the July 23 BZA Hearing Officer meeting, due public notice issues. 2 CARMEL BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS – HEARING OFFICER DEPARTMENT REPORT JUNE 25, 2018 (V) Starbucks at Michigan Rd. Kroger. The applicant seeks development standards variance approval for a wall sign: 5. Docket No. 18050005 V (was 18050007) UDO Section 5.39.H.2.a Maximum one sign per frontage required, 2 signs facing south proposed (106th Street). The site is located at 10679 N. Michigan Rd., the former Marsh grocery store. It is zoned B2/Business and US 421 – Michigan Road Corridor Overlay District. Filed by Sandy Gayle of SignDoc Identity, LLC. General Info & Analysis: The Petitioner seeks approval to add an additional wall sign to the south-facing building façade, rather than to the west-facing building facade. The wall sign will be 19.62 sq. ft. in area. It will be an internally illuminated circle logo sign with a 5-ft diameter. This sign placement will make both a Kroger wall sign and a Starbucks logo sign face south towards 106th Street and towards the Kroger parking lot. The Sign Ordinance only permits one sign per street frontage. The site does have street frontage on both Michigan Road and on 106th Street. Please see the Petitioner’s informational packet for more detail on the variance requests. The Planning Dept. supports this variance request. Petitioner’s Findings of Fact: Please refer to the petitioner’s Findings of Facts included in their info packet. Recommendation: After all comments and concerns are addressed, the Dept. of Community Services recommends positive consideration of Docket No. 18050005 V. 3 CARMEL BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS – HEARING OFFICER DEPARTMENT REPORT JUNE 25, 2018 (V) Clay Terrace, Pies & Pints Signage. The applicant seeks development standards variance approval for signage: 6. Docket No. 18050012 V PUD Ordinance Z-386-02, Section 10.3.D Two signs allowed, Three signs requested. The site is located at 14550 Clay Terrace Blvd. It is zoned Clay Terrace PUD/Planned Unit Development. Filed by Gavin Jones of Pies & Pints. General Info & Analysis: Two wall signs are proposed, as well as a secondary projecting sign and an elephant silhouette cut out sign. The Petitioner seeks variance approval for four total signs (instead of three) and for the height/size of the fourth sign/graphic (exceeding the height of the spandrel panel area). The variance request is to have a sign that is larger than what is allowed, as well as greater than the total number of signs allowed. Please see the Petitioner’s informational packet for more detail on the variance requests. Per the Sign Ordinance, the elephant silhouette is considered a sign. The elephant cut-out silhouette sign could possibly be considered more of an architectural feature, since it is an unconventional type of sign. However, it is a means of marketing for the restaurant, since it is part of their trademark and logo for advertising, with it being their mascot. Clay Terrace is governed by its own PUD Ordinance (where a maximum of 3 wall signs is allowed for this tenant space/type), and the overall development also received variance approvals for signage in the past. The UDO’s Sign Ordinance requires the sign size be no larger than 70% of the spandrel height and 85% of the spandrel width. The elephant silhouette will be 8-ft tall, and the height of the spandrel panel area is only 4-ft tall. All the proposed signs comply with both PUD and Sign Ordinance requirements for size, number, lighting, placement, etc. Two exterior corners of the tenant space / building footprint are chamfered. And, the site has frontage on two vehicular streets; the third ‘frontage’ is for pedestrian traffic only. Please see the Site Plan in the BZA Info Packet. The Planning Dept. supports this variance request, and if possible, recommends approving the variance for the time limit that this specific tenant occupies this space (to expire when this specific tenant leaves). Petitioner’s Findings of Fact: Please refer to the petitioner’s Findings of Facts included in their info packet. Recommendation: After all comments and concerns are addressed, the Dept. of Community Services recommends positive consideration of Docket No. 18050012 V, with the above-mentioned time limit for this specific tenant. 4 CARMEL BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS – HEARING OFFICER DEPARTMENT REPORT JUNE 25, 2018 (V) 4114 Armon Ct. Fence. The applicant seeks development standards variance approval for a fence in the front yard: 7. Docket No. 18050011 V UDO Section 5.09.B Maximum 42-inch fence with at least 25% visibility required in the front yard, 6-ft tall solid wood fence proposed. The site is located at 4114 Armon Ct. in Woodland Green, Section 2, Lot 99. It is zoned R2/Residence. Filed by Charles and Jade Wallace, owners. General Info & Analysis: The Petitioner seeks approval to erect a 6-ft tall fence in the front yard that is an opaque privacy fence made of wood. Per the Ordinance, fences in the front yard can only be 42 inches tall and must have at least 25% visibility (envision a picket fence). Please see the Petitioner’s informational packet for more detail on the variance request. The subject site is a ‘corner lot’ that has frontage on a residential through street, as well as on a cul-de-sac. The front of the house faces the street (east), and the garage side of the house faces south towards the cul-de-sac. The southwest portion of the property serves as the back yard area. The fence will be set back from the sidewalk approximately 20-ft, and it will also be landscaped to soften the view from the street and cul-de-sac. The Planning Dept. supports this variance request. Petitioner’s Findings of Fact: Please refer to the petitioner’s Findings of Facts included in their info packet. Recommendation: After all comments and concerns are addressed, the Dept. of Community Services recommends positive consideration of Docket No. 18050011 V, with the Condition that landscaping is planted between the fence and the sidewalk (i.e. decorative grasses and arborvitae shrubs) as was described in the Petitioner’s Info Packet. 5 CARMEL BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS – HEARING OFFICER DEPARTMENT REPORT JUNE 25, 2018 (V) Hunter's Knoll Sign. The applicant seeks development standards variance approval for a subdivision entry sign: 8. Docket No. 18050015 V UDO Section 7.11 Sign must be located at least 5-ft outside street right of way, sign located within ROW proposed. The site is located just south of 13638 Eglin Drive (Hunter’s Knoll, Lot 39). It is zoned R1/Residential. Filed by E. Davis Coots of Coots Henke & Wheeler, P.C. on behalf of the Hunter’s Knoll Homeowners Association, Inc. General Info & Analysis: Now that the roundabout construction at 136th Street & Rohrer Rd. is completed, the Petitioner seeks approval to re-establish their subdivision entry sign at the intersection of Elgin Dr. and Rohrer Rd.; however, the sign is proposed to be placed within City right of way, rather than being placed on private property. Please see the Petitioner’s informational packet for more detail on the variance requests. The Petitioner will also need to seek Consent to Encroach approval from the Board of Public Works and Safety, to have the sign structure be located within public right of way. (Petitioner, what is the status of your BPW request via the Carmel Engineering Dept.?) The Planning Dept. supports this variance request. Petitioner’s Findings of Fact: Please refer to the petitioner’s Findings of Facts included in their info packet. Recommendation: After all comments and concerns are addressed, the Dept. of Community Services recommends positive consideration of Docket No. 18050015 V with the Conditions: Consent to Encroach approval from the BPW and securing a Sign Permit. 6 CARMEL BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS DEPARTMENT REPORT JUNE 25, 2018 1. TABLED TO JULY 23 - (A) Lucas Estate Appeal: Docket No. 17120006 A. The applicant seeks to appeal the 11/09/2017 Determination Letter written by the Carmel Department of Community Services’ Director. The site is located at 1143 W. 116th Street. The site is zoned S1/ Residence and partially lies within the West 116th Street Overlay Zone and the Floodplain Zone. Filed by Timothy Ochs of Ice Miller LLP, on behalf of The Lucas Living Trust. The DOCS Director tabled this item to the July 23 BZA meeting. 7 CARMEL BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS DEPARTMENT REPORT JUNE 25, 2018 (V) 2070 W. 106th St. Privacy Wall. The applicant seeks development standards variance approval for a brick wall in the front yard: 2. Docket No. 18040009 V UDO Section 5.09.B Maximum 42-inch fence with at least 25% visibility required in the front yard, 6-ft tall solid wall proposed. The site is located at 2070 W. 106th Street. It is zoned S1/Residential. Filed by Joe Logan with Timothy Homes, LLC, on behalf of Hari & Saranya Nagireddy, owners. General Info: The Petitioner seeks approval to construct a 6-ft tall brick wall with wrought iron like sections intermixed, in the front yard. It will sit 5-ft off the street right of way (and approximately 13-ft off the multi-use path). The ordinance requires fences in the front yard to be at most 42 inches tall and also have at least 25 % visibility (similar to a picket fence). Tracts of land that are greater than 3 acres in size are exempt from this regulation; however, the subject site is 0.76 acres. Please see the Petitioner’s info packet for more detail. Analysis: The fence/wall design has been modified since its original filing to allow for more see-through ‘open areas’ so that it is not a solid brick wall the entire length. The fence/wall is proposed to sit 5-ft north of the street right of way (around 13-ft north of the multi-use path). There is also opportunity for plantings to be installed between the wall and the path to help ‘soften’ the area, and the location of some of those plantings might have to go within the greenspace area of the street right of way. This landscaping location will require Consent to Encroach approval from the Board of Public Works & Safety. The landscaping surrounding the gate area should be kept low profile, shorter than 3-ft tall, so that sight distances along the walking path are not a problem. Related to this, the Petitioner will also need to seek Consent to Encroach approval from the Board of Public Works and Safety, to have the fence/wall structure be located within a platted 15-ft wide drainage easement which runs along the front of the lot. Their BPW request was submitted to the Engineering Dept. on June 20. (The plat shows that a 5-ft wide landscape buffer is required along the south side of this lot, too.) The fence/wall would run the length of this one lot: 177 feet. (It is not proposed to be a subdivision perimeter wall, like Windemere has.) The Petitioner calculated a 40% visibility with the amended design, which has a blend of solid brick wall sections and wrought iron like segments. The house sits 15-ft from the street right of way, and around 27 feet from the path. This is because a BZA variance was granted, prior, to allow for the front yard building setback reduction of this lot and the lot to the west from a 40-ft minimum front yard building setback line. A 50-ft wide regulated drain easement runs along the rear/north side of the lot. There is also some floodplain and floodway along the north side of the lot. The homes along this stretch of road either have a timber farm fence, wrought iron fence, landscaping, or no fence at all. The only exception is the neighborhood in the immediate area south across the street (Windemere) that does have a perimeter subdivision wall that is of a design that blends the solid masonry wall segments with a mix of segments of wrought iron fence interspersed with brick columns. There are also decorative trees planted between that wall and the sidewalk. The wall location also jogs in and out, so that it has some variation, and is not as imposing and has visual interest. The speed limit along 106th Street is 40 m.p.h., and it is a straight two-lane road with no curves. The Planning Dept. generally supports this variance request, with the Conditions listed in the recommendation, below. 8 Petitioner’s Findings of Fact: Please refer to the petitioner’s Findings of Facts included in their info packet. Recommendation: After all comments and concerns are addressed, the Dept. of Community Services recommends positive consideration of Docket No. 18040009 V with the following Conditions: wall base landscape plan approval by the City Forester, as well as approvals from the Carmel Engineering Dept. and the Board of Public Works & Safety. 9 CARMEL BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS DEPARTMENT REPORT JUNE 25, 2018 (UV) 12166 N. Meridian Tru Hotel Development. The applicant seeks the following use variance approval for a hotel: 3. Docket No. 18050007 UV UDO Section 2.39 Hotel use permitted on upper floors only, hotel use proposed on ground floor. The site is located at 12166 N. Meridian Street. It is zoned MC- Meridian Corridor. Filed by Larry Longman of Lauth Group, Inc., on behalf of Dora Hospitality Group. General Info & Background: The applicant seeks use variance approval to allow a general hotel use on the ground floor, and not a Full Service hotel, as part of their proposed redevelopment of the site which will contain a 5-story hotel, a 4-story office building, and a parking structure. The site is located north of the Ritz Charles, south of medical offices, northwest of the Renaissance hotel, and east of Spring Lake Estates neighborhood. Please see the Petitioner’s info packet for more detail on the use variance request. The petitioner has been working with the Mayor’s Office and the Redevelopment Commission to create a viable project that incorporates a mix of land uses and provides some density. The site plan layout is not set in stone, as back and forth discussions are still being had. The latest idea presented by the City is potentially having townhomes incorporated along the western side of the parking garage structure. Discussions are on-going. Analysis: Prior to the Meridian Street Corridor’s January 1 rezone to MC, the US 31 Overlay Zone was in effect, and its regulations specified a 30% cap on the amount of Entertainment/Cultural land uses within a development. Hotels were classified as an Entertainment/Cultural land use. Today, the MC district permits a Hotel land use on the upper floors, only, and it permits a Full Service Hotel use on all floors. The Petitioner seeks approval for a general Hotel use, only, and would not provide a Full Service Hotel, since they want to have a partnership and synergy with the Ritz Charles, as far as that event venue providing conference and event space amenities. The new Unified Development Ordinance (UDO), which took effect on January 1, allows for hotel uses on the upper floors only of developments in the Meridian Corridor district. The Petitioner seeks use variance approval to also allow for a hotel use on the ground floor of a building, as well as a hotel use that is not Full Service. Along with the UDO adoption, the US 31 Corridor was also rezoned to the MC - Meridian Corridor District. The purpose of the Meridian Corridor District is to establish a tool for mixed-use development to encourage quality redevelop of and further build-out of the US 31 Corridor. The intent is to promote predominantly employment uses, with mixed-uses that are complementary to employers, community-serving retail and services, and the transient population traveling on US 31. The intent is also to transition the US 31 corridor into a more transit and pedestrian-oriented district with region-serving businesses and entertainment opportunities, employment, residences, and day and evening vitality and culture. Hotel Definition: Any Building or group of Buildings containing five (5) or more rooms without direct entrance to or from the outside, designed or intended to be occupied for sleeping purposes by guests for a fee, often with a common kitchen and dining room facilities provided within the Building or an Accessory Building, and which caters to the traveling public. Full Service Hotel Definition: A commercial Building or Buildings with guest rooms for sleeping, a common kitchen, and a full service dining room to provide meals for paying guests, a 24-hour reception desk, a lobby, and conference rooms with a minimum of 40 sq. ft. of conference room per guest room. The rooms shall be primarily designed for and occupied by transients renting them on a daily basis and usually stayin g less than seven days. Recreational amenities shall be included within the hotel, or within 300 feet (walking distance) of the hotel. 10 The Petitioner only seeks a vote on this Use Variance approval at this point in time. There are several development standards variance approvals they will need to come back before the Board for, but at this time they only want a vote on the Use Variance petition so that they know whether or not they can move forward with proceeding with plans for the full redevelopment project. The Petitioner appeared at the June 20 Technical Advisory Committee meeting. No major concerns were voiced by the TAC members. The Petitioner will work with TAC members in the future, should the BZA variance be approved, and then they will move forward with the Plan Commission review/approval process & with construction plans. The Planning Dept. generally supports this Use Variance request. Petitioner’s Findings of Facts: Please refer to the petitioner’s Findings of Facts included in their info packet. Recommendation: The Dept. of Community Services recommends positive consideration of Docket No. 18050007 UV, with the understanding that the site plan is not set in stone and that discussions between the City and the Developer are on-going, especially relating to the consideration of including attached residential land uses (such as townhomes) along Illinois St. 11 CARMEL BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS DEPARTMENT REPORT JUNE 25, 2018 (V) Home 2 Suites Hotel. The applicant seeks the following development standards variance approvals for a new 88-room hotel totaling 62,374 sq. ft., on 1.95 acres: 4. Docket No. 18050008 V ZO Chptr 20G.05.04.B.1.b: Max. 55-ft building height allowed, 66-ft proposed. 5. Docket No. 18050009 V ZO Chptr 25.07.02-03.b.1: 1 sign allowed, 3 proposed. 6. Docket No. 18050010 V ZO Chptr 33.05.A.5: Min. 30’ wide bufferyard along south perimeter required, 4.32’ proposed. The site is located at 12845 Old Meridian St. on Lot 8A in RA Franke Addition. It is zoned UC Urban Core (was OM/MU Old Meridian/Mixed Use). Filed by Ice Miller on behalf of Witness Investment LLC. General Info: The Petitioner proposes to construct a new hotel within the Old Meridian District. The hotel will be 5 stories tall and have 88 rooms. The building will be pulled up to the street, with parking behind the building. Variances being sought are related to the building height, signage, and the southern bufferyard landscaping width. Existing on the site to the east is the VFW; directly south is a home, and further south is a retail building; to the west are the Avant apartments; north is vacant land. Please refer to the Petitioner’s informational packet for more details on the variance requests. Analysis: Building Height: The maximum allowed height by the Zoning Ordinance in place last year is 55-ft, and the petitioner proposed 66-ft). Some architectural details would extend upward past that for a total height of approximately 65’-10¾”. Otherwise, the proposed height measured up to the top of the parapet wall is 60’2”. On a related note, as of Jan.1 of this year, the Unified Development Ordinance took the place of the prior zoning ordinance. Also on Jan. 1, the zoning of this site changed to UC – Urban Core. The new regulations allow for a 5-story tall building, with no mention of maximum feet for height. Number of Signs: Two signs are proposed for the hotel; one is a wall sign and one is a ground sign. However, only one sign is allowed for the hotel per the Sign Ordinance. The proposed wall sign is 165.85 sq. ft. in size. The proposed ground sign is 29.46 sq. ft. in size. A new ground sign for the VFW is also proposed, and this is the 3rd sign being requested so that the VFW can have a ground sign out by the street. The VFW does have its own parcel, so it is allowed to have one sign. They already have a wall sign, so a ground sign for them would also require a variance approval. (Home 2 Suites is also asking for this variance since the VFW ground sign will sit on the hotel’s parcel). The Planning Dept. is in support of the ground signs; however, the Planning Dept. is not in support of the wall sign. The wall sign is not warranted, and it will be hard to read/see it, because that part of the building is pushed back from Old Meridian St. and because the building is so tall. Just a ground sign for the hotel will work. (However, if an ‘upper’ sign is also approved by the Board, then a projecting/blade sign type is recommended.) South Bufferyard Width: Due to the use of the land (house) just south of and adjacent to the site, the minimum allowed bufferyard width required is 30-ft. However, the zoning of the site to the south is now Urban Core (as of Jan. 1). It is highly anticipated that the land to the south will also redevelop and not remain a house. The proposed buffer yard width along (a small portion) the subject site’s south property line will get down to 4.32 feet wide in some places. However, the entire south property line still needs to be planted heavily with trees, grasses, and shrubs. The Urban Forester is comfortable with this variance request; however, he has outstanding review comments and concerns which were spelled out to the Petitioner in his 06-18-18 email. These items should get addressed 12 with the Petitioner’s DP/ADLS petitions for the site. Overall, the Planning Dept. supports the two variance requests for building height and for the south bufferyard width. However, the Planning Dept. does NOT support the variance request for total number of signs. Petitioner’s Findings of Facts: Please refer to the petitioner’s Findings of Facts included in their info packet, for the variance requests for building height and for the south bufferyard width. The BZA Attorney will prepare and provide the Negative Findings of Fact for the sign variance request. Recommendation: After all comments and concerns have been addressed, the Dept. of Community Services recommends positive consideration of Docket Nos. 18050008 V and 18050010 V (building height and south bufferyard width), and negative consideration of Docket No. 18050009 V (total number of signs).