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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDepartment Report 06-02-201 Carmel Plan Commission RESIDENTIAL COMMITTEE Tuesday, June 2, 2020 Department Report 1. Docket No. PZ-2020-00028 PUD: Courtyards of Carmel PUD The applicant seeks approval to rezone 59 acres to PUD/Planned Unit Development in order to develop approximately 170 single-family dwellings. The site is located at the NE corner of Keystone Parkway and 136th Street. It is zoned 2724 E 136th Street PUD, Ordinance Z-639-18. Filed by Steven Hardin of Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath, on behalf of Epcon Carmel, LLC. *Updates to the Dept. Report are written in blue This proposed PUD seeks to create an age restricted residential neighborhood of single family homes. There will be 20% open space and tree preservation designed into the neighborhood. Currently the property is zoned 2724 E 136 th Street PUD (Z-639-18), which allows for a maximum density of 2.81 lots/acre with a mix of single-family homes and townhome/attached residential. The petitioner is proposing a maximum of 2.88 lots/acre with only single-family homes. Surrounding residential subdivisions are Yorktown Woods to the west, Foster Estates to the north, Smokey Ridge to the east, Smokey Hollow to the southeast, and a nursing home facilit y to the south. Please see the petitioner’s information package for more information. Comprehensive Plan Analysis: The Comprehensive Plan (Comp Plan) classifies this area as Suburban Residential, which is meant to “establish housing opportunities for people who desire moderately dense subdivision living.” The suggested density is between 1.4 and 4 units/acre. The characteristics of Suburban Residential, according to the Comp Plan include single-family detached residential, one-story ranch and cottage homes are encouraged, gable and hip roofs, attached garages with either side, rear, or courtyard loading, and structures generally wider than they are deep. North, east, and south of the project the land is a lso classified as Suburban Residential. To the west is Keystone Parkway and across Keystone the land is classified as areas for Special Study. The proposed PUD project would meet the descriptions for the Suburban Residential Classification and is considered a best fit next to the surrounding develop ments which are also classified as Suburban Residential. The proposed PUD is accomplishing this by allowing only single-family homes, staying within the suggested density of the Comp Plan, providing primarily one-story homes, and having a minimum 20% open space. There are many other City-Wide Policies and Objectives that the PUD helps fulfill, such as: - Be very sensitive to connectivity and transitions between adjacent areas. Discourage unplanned or harsh contrasts in height, building orientation, character, land use, and density. - Local streets should be designed to connect to existing (when practical) and future neighborhoods so that existing connected streets do not become overburdened - Continue to encourage a variety of housing options to meet the needs of the market place. - Enhance a bicycle- and pedestrian-connected community through expanded installation of multi-use paths, sidewalks, bike lanes, and off-street trails. Overall, the proposed PUD meets the goals and plans of the Comp Plan. Additional Analysis: Site Plan: The site plan fits in amongst the surrounding neighborhoods by providing a mix of curvilinear and grid style, connected streets with some alleys to access rear load garages. All 4 of the existing stub streets that surround the propert y will continue into this development as local public streets per the planning and foresight that went it the development of the surrounding neighborhoods. This will help provide several access points instead of funneling everyone onto 1 road. These street connections would likewise provide more options for the adjacent neighborhoods to access 136th St. or Keystone Parkway, instead of restricting them to mainly use Carey Rd. Street connectivity is also important to ensure sufficient access for emergency vehicles and other public services. The UDO and Comp Plan require that new developments connect to existing stub streets, and the proposed PUD meets this requirement. Tree preservation is required per the PUD and is especially focused along the perimeters to provide a buffer. The retention pond is located adjacent to Keystone Pkwy., helping to provide a buffer from the major thoroughfare. There will be an entrance from Smokey Row Rd that will require approval by the City Engineer. There wi ll be sidewalks along all the streets, and the proposed street cross section for the subdivision will be 52 ft. wide. This allows for 5 ft. sidewalks a nd 6 ft. tree lawns on both sides of the street, as well as parking on both sides of the street. 2 Engineering: The proposed retention pond will be located adjacent to Keystone Pkwy. Petitioner, please consider requiring the pond to be landscaped with native aquatic plants for a more natural rather than engineered appearance. Wetland areas will need to be identified and preserved during the primary plat stage and the existing stream should be protected with a stream preservation easement. Active Transportation: 5 ft. sidewalks are proposed on both sides of all streets. A 10 ft. wide asphalt path already exists along 136th St. and the petitioner will install path along the western perimeter of the site all the way from 136 th St. to the northwestern boundary of the site. The petitioner has also agreed to work with the City to continue the proposed path along Keystone Pkwy. further north through Yorktown Woods and Laura Vista common area to connect to the Hagan- Burke Trail. T his is written into the PUD. Architectural Design: The proposed single-family homes are shown as 1 and 1 ½ stories, and the PUD limits the height to 35 ft. Front load garages will be setback a minimum of 10 ft. from the front of the home. The homes with alley access will have rear load garages, which will enhance the streetscape as you won’t have driveways and garages taking up a majority of the front facades. Architectural standards have been included in the PUD and require all homes to have a front porch with a minimum depth of 6 ft., masonry on the front elevation, and architectural diversity throughout the development. The character images of the homes included in the PUD are aesthetically pleasing and have a good level of architectural detailing and diversity. However, these architectural details do not wrap around all 4 sides of the building, and the Dept. would like to see additional requirements in the PUD regarding the sides and rear elevations. For instance, all rear and side elevations should have at least one window, and if there is masonry on the front then we would like to see that carry to the sides and rear as a water table. The Dept. will continue to work with the Petitioner to increase the architectural requirements in the PUD. Historic Home: There is an existing home on this property that the Developer has committed to saving. According to the Carmel Historic Preservation Commission (CHPC) and the Carmel Clay Historical Society (CCHS), the home dates back to 1834 when a two-story log cabin was built. Around 1853 a brick Georgian style addition was built on the west end of the cabin, which incorporated the cabin into the overall Georgian design. There was another addition built in 1909. This home has significant historic value, and is among the oldest homes still existing in Carmel. The PUD requires that the developer work with the Carmel Historic Preservation Commission and the Indiana Landmarks Foundation to preserve the home. The plan is for the home to be sold and rehabil itated by an individual home owner. If no purchaser can be found, then the Indiana Landmarks Foundation will rehabilitate the home itself and then market the home for sale. Landscaping: The PUD requires a 30 ft. greenbelt along Keystone and a minimum 40 ft. bufferyard around the perimeter of the rest of the site. Most of the bufferyards are in areas with existing trees that can be preserved, which will provide a better buffer as the trees are already full grown. The width of the tree preservation areas shall be a minimum of 20 ft. Open space is shown on the Concept Plan and the PUD requires a minimum of 20% of the site to be Open Space. The concept plan also shows a Club House near the large pond with a pool, tennis courts, and a bocce ball court. Signage: The PUD allows for a 50 square foot development entry sign at 136th St. as well as smaller 3 square foot neighborhood/block signs. Open space signs and historical plaque signs are also permitted and limited to 12 square feet. All signage would be submitted and approved with the Primary Plat. May 19, 2020 Public Hearing Recap: The Petitioner went over the proposed project and courtyard housing style. There were a lot of letters submitted from nearby residents that were not in favor of the project. Some of the main concerns included that traffic will increase along 136th St. which is already very busy during rush hour, opposed street connection to Smokey Ridge Trail, the housing style is different than adjacent homes, opposed the density, architecture needs improvement, opposed lot sizes and lot coverage, desired an increased buffer and requirements for restoration of the historic home. The petitioner noted that the buffers were not changing from the previously approved PUD, the overall development is less intense because this is only single family homes and no townhomes or condos, and the traffic impact will be less because this is an age restricted community. The Plan Commission members were concerned with traffic, how the historic home would be preserved, the density, the architecture, and the amount of open space. They asked about mailbox locations, size of driveways, adding a path around southern pond, four-sided architecture, naturalized ponds, varying the front setbacks, and how the 55+ restrictions work. The Plan Commission forwarded this item to the Residential Committee meeting, with the full Plan Commission having final voting authority. 3 DOCS Remaining Comments/Concerns: The Dept. continues to work through the PUD, site plan, and architectural review comments with the Petiti oner. Some key items that still need addressed include: - Some more specifics should be added to the PUD to require the level of detail and architectural elements on all 4 sides of the home. This includes windows, materials, and a masonry water table. - Require a minimum of 50 ft. for the roads that connect to the existing streets to match the width of the existing streets. - Finalize the plan for the entrance to the neighborhood with the Engineering Department. Recommendation: The Department of Community Services recommends the Committee continues this item to the Residential Committee meeting on July 7 for further review and discussion.