Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutDepartment Report 05-26-207 CARMEL BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS | HEARING OFFICER DEPARTMENT REPORT TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2020 (V) Carmel Medical Arts Pavilion Variances (aka Carmel Medical Office). The applicant seeks the following development standards variance approvals: 6. Docket No. PZ-2020-00052 V UDO Section 5.19.F.3 Foundation Plantings on all four sides of building base required, two sides requested. 7. Docket No. PZ-2020-00053 V UDO Section 5.39.D.3 Off Premise Ground Sign requested along Illinois St. 8. Docket No. PZ-2020-00054 V UDO Section 5.39.I.2.c.i Number of Ground Signs along Illinois St. (Ritz Charles complex); 3 existing, 1 additional requested. The site is located at 12166 N. Meridian Street, just north of the Ritz Charles. It is zoned MC/Meridian Corridor. Filed by Mark Leach of Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, on behalf of Jeff Shively of Cornerstone Companies, Inc. General Info: The Petitioner seeks Board of Zoning Appeals variance approvals for a reduction in the area of building base foundation plantings and for a ground sign that will sit along Illinois Street (where variances are needed for it being Off Premise and for it exceeding the total number of ground signs for the overall Ritz Charles complex/campus.) Please see the Petitioner’s info packet for more detail on the variance requests. Analysis: The Carmel Hotel and Office overall development plan was approved in 2019 under Docket No. 19060018 DP; however, the hotel portion is not moving forward. (The south lot will be owned by a Cornerstone/Physician JV group. They will entertain any/all interested parties (including hotel uses), but based on preliminary conversations, a medical use will have the most immediate demand.) The multi-tenant medical office building on the north lot is moving forward and will be known as the Carmel Medical Arts Pavilion. The building will be located at 12174 N. Meridian Street, just north of the Ritz Charles. It has frontage on a Frontage Road that runs parallel to Meridian Street. The building is planned to be a 40,000 square foot, three-story development and will have at least four healthcare tenants with uses including orthopedics, rehab, dentistry and concierge medical services. The Petitioner received prior variances in 2019 (Docket No. 19090015 V) for a reduced bufferyard along the north property line (where a 20-ft width was required, but it was approved to go down to 5-ft width in some areas and will be 30-ft wide in other areas.) They also received prior variance approval for the building width/massing, so that two buildings could be built on the site (Docket No. 19090016 V). They also received variance approval for the shared property line between the office building and the proposed future hotel building, to not have any bufferyards between the two sites and to just consider the overall site as one development (Docket No. 19090017 V). The following additional variances are requested: Foundation Plantings: The first variance (PZ-2020-00052 V) is requested because foundation plantings are required on all four sides of the building base; however, the Petitioner requests to have foundation plantings on only the east and west sides of the building base. Cornerstone is proposing to maintain the overall planting quantities required, but to place them on the east and west sides, only. So, the variance is for the reduced amount of required planting area. There are no planting areas proposed along the north and south sides of the building base. Off Premise Sign: The second variance (PZ-2020-00053 V) is requested in order to have a ground sign along Illinois Street, which would be the main street that patients would use to access the property. The property does not have any frontage along Illinois Street, and therefore an off-premise sign is requested. The ground sign will comply with size, height, and setback requirements. 8 # Ground Signs: The third variance (PZ-2020-00054 V) is also requested in order to have a ground sign along Illinois Street because this would be the fourth ground sign along the Ritz Charles complex frontage. (The Hyatt Place Hotel is also part of this overall complex.) Due to the multi-tenant nature of this project, some planned and future tenants would not have any signage oriented toward Illinois Street without a multi-tenant ground sign. Therefore, the two sign variances are needed. The parcel has no frontage along Illinois Street, and only indirect access through the parking lot of the adjacent property. However, Illinois Street would be a primary way to access the parcel and having a ground sign adjacent to Illinois Street is important for identifying the location of future businesses. The adjacent Ritz Charles property has over 1,000 feet of frontage along Illinois Street, and the proposed sign would be an acceptable distance from existing ground signs located on the Ritz Charles property. Any future user or tenant in a development that occurs on the south side of the subject parcel (12164 N. Meridian Street) will also need access to this ground sign for wayfinding purposes. The Petitioner addressed all planning/zoning review comments, and the Planning Dept. supports these variance requests. Petitioner’s Findings of Fact: 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 Nos. PZ-2020-00052 through -00054 V. (Please note that sign permits are also required.)