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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDepartment Report 01-09-202 CARMEL BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS DEPARTMENT REPORT THURSDAY, JANUARY 9, 2019 (UV, V) Willow Haven Senior Home. The applicant seeks the following use variance and development standards variance approvals for a 12- bed memory care assisted living home: 2. Docket No. 19090019 UV UDO Section 2.03: Permitted Uses, Memory Care use proposed. 3. Docket No. 19090020 V UDO Section 5.19: Min. 30’ wide side bufferyards required, 10’ and 20’ requested. 4. Docket No. 19090021 V UDO Section 2.04: Min. 200’ lot width required, 155’ proposed. 5. Docket No. 19090022 V UDO Section 2.04: Max. 35% lot cover allowed, 43% proposed. The 1.3-acre site is located at 13145 West Rd. It is zoned S1/Residence. Filed by Matthew Griffith of Griffith Xidias Law Group, on behalf of Willow Haven Senior Homes, LLC. General Info & Analysis: The Petitioner seeks use variance & development standards variance approvals related to a proposed 12-bed memory care group home. The residents living in this facility will not be driving, as they will have dementia and Alzheimer’s diseases. Due to the total number of beds proposed, the closest fitting land use is a nursing home/retirement/convalescent facility. (Had the number of beds in the group home been reduced to 10, then the proposal would have been considered a Single Family Dwelling - see definitions below). The variance requests relate to perimeter landscaping bufferyard width, lot width, and lot coverage. Please see the Petitioner’s informational packet for more detail on the use variance request. The zoning ordinance definition of Dwelling, Single Family states the following: A residential Building containing only one Dwelling Unit and not occupied by more than one Family. Pursuant to IC 12-28-4-7, a Group Home for the mentally ill shall be treated as if it were a Single Family Dwelling, unless the Group Home will be located within 3,000 feet of another Group Home for the mentally ill, as measured between lot lines. Pursuant to IC 12-28-4-8, a Group Home for not more than 10 developmentally disabled individuals which is established under a program authorized by IC 12-11-1.1-1(e)(1) or IC 12-11-1.1-1(e)(2) shall be treated as if it were a Single-family Dwelling. The zoning ordinance definition of Home, Group states the following: Any of the Following: 1. A residential Structure (licensed under IC 12-17.4) in which care is provided on a 24 hour basis for not more than 10 children; or 2. A facility (licensed under IC 12-28-4) that provides residential services for developmentally disabled individuals in a program described in IC 12-11-1.1-1(e)(1) or IC 12-11-1.1-1(e)(2); or 3. A facility (licensed under IC 12-28-4) that provides residential services for mentally ill individuals in a program described in IC 12-22-2-3. Project Proposal: The 1.3-acre site is located on the east side of West Road, three properties north of 131st Street. Single Family Detached homes surround the site. Also, Bellewood subdivision is located to the west, and Glen Oaks subdivision is located to the north. Architecture - From the street, the building will look like a single family detached home with Hardie siding and brick/stone materials, with residential architecture and massing/scale. The building does not exceed the maximum allowed 35’ height for the S1 Zoning District; it will be 23’ to the roof peak. Site Design – The site plan shows the group home located 112’ off the street, to complement the front setbacks of the adjacent homes. A circular driveway will exist in the front yard, as well as a native plantings landscaped 3 dry detention basin. A courtyard and gazebo will be located in the rear yard, and the parking area will exist behind the house, as well. Lighting – Lamp post design light fixtures will exist as wall sconces, mostly in the parking lot and courtyard areas. Some will exist on the front and north building façades, too. A flush mount light will exit in the front porch area. The 0.1 foot-candle limits at the property lines are being met. Landscaping – There will be some tree preservation, in addition to additional plantings required in the bufferyard areas and around the building foundation. Signage – A small post and arm suspended sign will be located out front, around 5 sq. ft. in area and 5-ft tall. The sign will be set back 5-ft from the future street right of way. The base of the sign needs to be landscaped. Variances: Bufferyard Width: Use Variance petitions are required to follow the commercial landscape ordinance for perimeter bufferyard regulations. (Single Family Dwellings do not need to follow this requirement.) A 30’ wide side bufferyard width is required along the side property lines. However, 10’ and 20’ bufferyard widths are requested. This is a variance of 67% and 33%. The overall required number of plantings for the site will be met, as the City Forester will credit existing trees and trees planted throughout the property towards the required number of plantings. Lot Width: For all other land uses (other than single family), the required minimum lot width for properties within the S1 zoning district is 200’, and 155’ is proposed. This is a variance of 45 feet, or 22.5 %. This is the existing condition of the parcel today. If it were to be a single family home, then the required minimum lot width is 120’, and the site would be in compliance. Lot Coverage: The maximum allowed lot coverage in the S1 zoning district is 35%, and 43% is proposed. This is a variance of 8%. The biggest reason for this additional lot coverage is the requirement of the Fire Dept. for adequate access and turn around areas for their vehicles, causing the need for slightly more pavement area. The building footprint will be around 6,200 sq. ft. in area, which is comparable to a lot of the homes in the area, especially in Glen Oaks and Bellewood. Technical Review: The petitioner appeared at the October 16 Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) meeting. There are close to 28 members, representing city and county agencies, utility companies, etc. Items reviewed for this project ranged from utilities, drainage/engineering, signage, architecture, landscaping, lighting, life/safety issues, traffic, and much more. The Carmel Fire Dept. had concerns as it related to life/safety aspects of the site and building code. Those have been resolved. Also, when asked, the Dept. noted that their standard operating procedure would be to not turn lights and sirens off on emergency vehicles until they arrive at an emergency call location, for ambulances, fire trucks, etc. . Any change to this practice would have to be ordered by the Fire Chief. Regarding the number of runs to the site, it is difficult to determine how many runs they would have to a memory care facility. It only takes one very sick person and they can respond to a location on a frequent basis. Additionally, fire alarms would also result in calls to memory care facilities. As a minimum, at least 12 runs per year to a facility such as this can be expected. The Carmel Engineering Dept. does not expect a lot of traffic being generated by the site. They are not going to require an acel/decel lane to be installed. The only road/right-of-way improvement requested was for multiuse path to be installed along the lot frontage. Overall, they are supportive of the land use and project as long as the Petitioner is able to comply with all of the standards/requirements (which, so far, looks like they can). 4 The Petitioner continues to work with each TAC Member to address any outstanding review comments; however, the plan is generally viewed favorably. Comprehensive Plan: The Comprehensive Plan is a guide for growth for the City. City-wide goals and objectives encourage a variety of housing options to meet the needs of the market place. West Carmel policies and objective generally encourage preserving the estate character of the area with large setbacks, landscaping, and open space. The Comp Plan’s Land Classification Plan Map shows the immediate area as suggesting Estate Residential uses as a guide for growth. Existing conditions for the area are Estate Residential, as well as Low Intensity Suburban Residential uses, and densities of around 1.0 – 1.5 units per acre exist in the immediate area, today. A nursing/retirement/convalescent facility land use is listed as a Residential Use in the UDO – Unified Development Ordinance, and is mostly permitted in the Business Zoning Districts. A typical nursing home is not permitted in the S1 zoning district. However, this smaller ‘group home’ model is smaller in scale and more residential in how it looks and operates, to create a home environment for its residents. It is important to note that the Comp. Plan contains an Appropriate Adjacent Land Classifications Table, which shows the Best fit vs. Conditional Fit land uses. “B” stands for Best Fit and “C” stands for Conditional Fit, meaning it is appropriate when the more intense development is installed with sensitivity to the adjacent land classification. The Dept. thinks that a cottage group home can be installed with sensitivity adjacent to Estate Residential, as well as Low Intensity Suburban Residential land uses. By using setbacks, landscaping, and residential architecture, the proposed use can fit into the context of the neighborhood. Neighbor Concerns: The Petitioner should address these concerns at the meeting:  Noise from ambulances and emergency vehicles  Potential Traffic  Number of visitors, medical reps, etc.  Site circulation  Commercial food and delivery trucks  Pavement amount & parking lot  Bike loop, safety  Current 2-lane road width  Business use, employees  Privacy & quality of life  What if they go out of business Planning Staff’s Final Comments: The Petitioner addressed all major planning/zoning review comments, and the Planning Dept. supports the use variance and development standards variance requests. The Petitioner continues to work with TAC members to address remaining technical review comments about the project, and Planning Staff thinks those can all be addressed by the Petitioner. The proposal can be installed with sensitivity next to the surrounding single family detached homes. The memory care group home concept is fairly new, but is becoming more mainstream. The residential scale and feel of the facility helps patients feel at home and less stressed. And, the smaller scale also can fit into a residential area. 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 Nos. 19090019 UV-22 V.