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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDepartment Report 05-05-201 Carmel Plan Commission RESIDENTIAL COMMITTEE Tuesday, May 5, 2020 Department Report 1. Docket No. 19120006 PP: Legacy Townhomes– Primary Plat Docket No. 19120007 ADLS: Legacy Townhomes– ADLS The applicant seeks primary plat and site & architectural design approval for 14 2 lots (single-family attached) on 12 acres. The site is located south 146th Street and west of Community Drive. It is zoned Legacy PUD/Planned Unit Development (Z-501-07). Filed by Jim Shinaver of Nelson and Frankenberger on behalf of Lennar Homes of Indiana. *Updates to the Dept. Report are written in blue Project Overview: The petitioner is proposing to build new townhomes in the Legacy PUD District. The Legacy PUD permits this use as attached dwellings and requires not only primary plat approval, but also ADLS approval for review of the design. The project is located north of Cherry Creek Blvd. and west of Community Dr. To the east of the site is the Play School at Legacy, South is an unbuilt section of The Grove at the Legacy, and north is undeveloped land. Please see the Petitioner’s Information packet for more details. PUD requirements the project MEETS:  Minimum front yard  Minimum perimeter yard  Maximum height of building  Permitted building materials  Required window openings  Each entry will have a covered stoop PUD requirements the project Does Not meet therefore adjustments or a variance request will be required:  All windows shall be fully framed and trimmed. Front windows do not have trim all around the window where siding is present. Primary Plat, Site Plan, Parking and Engineering: This primary plat includes 142 townhome units in 22 buildings, common areas, sidewalks, guest parking, and private streets. The Legacy PUD specifically allows for private streets with approval from the Plan Commission. There is currently only one way in and one way out of the development by way of Equality Blvd. In the future, the subdivision will connect to the south through 2 other streets, however The Grove at the Legacy Subdivision will need to be completed to build those street connections. The drainage will be handled through a master planned swale to the south of the property that is shared by other developments. Only part of the swale is built today, and it is not on the land included in this project. Therefore, the subdivision would not be able to get their stormwater permit until there are plans to build the drainage swale. The Engineering Dept. is still reviewing the Primary Plat and has several outstanding comments. The minimum amount of parking required is 1.5 spaces per dwelling. The subdivision meets this requirement by providing garages for all units, driveways behind the garages, and 36 guest parking spaces. There will also be on street parking along Equality Boulevard, which the developer enlarged per the request of staff. Active Transportation: A 12’ bike promenade is required along Larson Drive per the PUD. This path will eventually connect 146 th Street with Cherry Creek Blvd. Sidewalks are provided throughout the townhome development along the public and private streets to connect common areas as well as provide access to the guest parking. Staff has requested short term bicycle parking at a rate of 0.1 spaces for each bedroom. Architectural Design: The proposed townhomes incorporate 2 main materials; brick and siding. Both are permitted materials in the PUD. The front elevations of the townhomes alternate the material between units from br ick to siding. A small pediment is located above the front entry doors to act as a covering for the stoops. The rear loaded townhomes have brick along the garage level in the rear, but the rest of the rear façade is siding. All the backs of the front-load townhomes have siding as the only material. This makes for a very plain rear façade as can be observed in the previously built townhomes in the Prairie at Legacy. (See photos below). The Department would like 2 to see more variation on the rear elevations by adding more brick and using different colors for the siding to increase the architectural aesthetic. This is especially important for the 8-plex buildings that have long facades and for the backs of the rear load townhomes as the back will face t he front of another townhome. The side elevations that face a street should also have more details, and the Dept. would like to see a full 3 stories of brick along these sides. Windows are provided on every level on every façade, per the requirements of the PUD. The PUD also requires trim around windows, but the front windows do not have trim all the way around the windows where siding is present. This needs to be revised. Lighting: Lighting will be provided with streetlights and wall mounted lights on the fronts and rears of the townhome units. The Department would like to confirm that the acorn style street lights have a downlight reflector in the top of the acorn to reduce light loss and light pollution into the homes and the night sky. Landscaping: Landscaping is provided per the requirements of the PUD for townhomes. Trees and shrubs will be planted along the front elevations of the townhomes that abut a public street. The Department would also like to see some additional landscaping added to the rears of the townhomes with rear load garages. This will help screen the a/c units in the back and soften the look of the rear facades that are across the street from front facades. There are some trees pro posed in the common areas, but some more trees and some shrubs should be added near the guest parking areas. Signage: Entry column signs will be provided at the main entrances to the subdivision and will complement the other signs in the Legacy development. April 21, 2020 Public Hearing Recap: The P etitioner went over the proposed project and site plan. There were no letters submitted from adjacent property owners. The Plan Commission members asked questions about the architecture related to adding additional colors on the elevations, size of the front stoops, masonry water table for front elevations with siding, and the monotonous ridge line of the 8-plexes. The Plan Commission also asked about pedestrian connectivity for the front load garage buildings, how buses will access the neighborhood, and how these townhomes compare to the others built in Legacy. The Plan Commission forwarded this item to the Residential Committee meeting on May 5th, with the full Plan Commission having final voting authority. DOCS Remaining Comments/Concerns : The Dept. would like to continue to see an improvement in the proposed architecture and hopes this can be worked out with the Committee. Some of the outstanding comments include: 1. When will the drainage south of the property be built? 2. When will the streets connect to the south? 3. Add Short term bike parking to the site plans. 4. The Department would like to continue to work on tweaking the architecture to reduce the amount of siding and enhance the overall aesthetics. a. Add trim around the front windows where siding is present b. Provide more siding colors throughout the development c. Add full brick to the sides of the units facing a street d. Add full brick to the rear units that are visible from a street when driving north or south. 5. Please confirm the street lighting type to reduce light pollution. 6. Add landscaping to the rear elevations of the homes with rear load garages. 7. Add landscaping near the guest parking areas 8. Where will mailboxes be located, and will there be pedestrian access to the mailboxes? Recommendation: The Department of Community Services recommends the Committee discuss this item and then continue this item to the Residential Committee meeting on June 2, 2020 for further review and discussion. 3 Prairie at the Legacy townhomes built by Lennar. 4