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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDepartment Report 08-18-204 CARMEL PLAN COMMISSION DEPARTMENT REPORT AUGUST 18, 2020 I. Old Business 1. Docket No. PZ-2020-00028 PUD: Courtyards of Carmel PUD The applicant seeks approval to rezone 59.43 acres to PUD/Planned Unit Development in order to develop approximately 150 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 Project since Plan Commission are written in blue This proposed PUD seeks to create an age restricted residential neighborhood of single-family homes. There will be 30% open space and tree preservation designed into the neighborhood. Currently the property is zoned 2724 E 136th 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 2.52 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 facility 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 also 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 land-use classification and is considered a best fit land-use next to the surrounding developments 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 30% 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 marketplace. - 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. 3 of the 4 existing stub streets that surround the property will continue into this development as local public streets per the planning and foresight that went it the development of the surrounding neighborhoods. The fourth stub street to Smokey Ridge Trail will no longer be connected and lots that were south of the historic home have been removed. Street connectivity is important to ensure sufficient access for emergency vehicles and other public services as well as to provide residents with multiple options instead of funneling everyone onto the major roads. The UDO and Comp Plan require that new developments connect to existing stub streets. Tree preservation is required per the PUD and is especially focused along the perimeters to provide a buffer. A 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 will 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 and 6 ft. tree lawns on both sides of the street, as well as parking on both sides of the street. 5 Engineering: The proposed retention ponds will be located adjacent to Keystone Pkwy and the historic home. 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. Mini roundabouts were added to the site plan per the request of the City Engineer, and the first street connection to Smokey Ridge Trail was removed. Active Transportation: 5 ft. sidewalks are proposed on both sides of all streets as is required by City Standards. 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 136th 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. This is written into the PUD. A sidewalk is now required from the front porch to the sidewalk at the street when the grading doesn’t require a step. 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 most 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. and masonry on the front elevation. The architectural diversity requirements have been expanded and now include a minimum of 8 color palettes, 3 colors of masonry, and 40 elevation offerings; with the same elevation not allowed within 2 lots of the subject lot. The character images of the homes included in the PUD are aesthetically pleasing and have a good level of architectural detailing and diversity. The petitioner has added requirements in the PUD regarding the side and rear elevations to enhance those facades. The sides of a home facing an adjacent courtyard must have 2 transom windows and a minimum of 5 shrubs. All rear elevations will now have 1 to 2 windows and all rear elevations along the perimeter of the site will also have a masonry base. 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 rehabilitated by an individual homeowner. 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. Where trees are missing in the bufferyard, additional trees will be required. The width of the tree preservation areas shall be a minimum of 20 ft and the petitioner will work with the City to preserve additional trees in the bufferyard during the site plan review process. Additional landscaping requirements have been added for perimeter lots to further soften the look of the rear of the homes and the fencing. Open space is shown on the Concept Plan and the PUD now requires a minimum of 30% of the site to be Open Space. The concept plan also shows a Club House near the large pond with a pool, pickle ball courts, bocce ball court, lawn games, and paddle boats. 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. Density: The Department finds the density with this proposal to be appropriate and a good fit at this location for a number of reasons: • The proposed 2.52 u/a (149 lots plus the historic house) is less than the previously approved PUD (2.81 u/a) • The proposed 2.52 u/a is lower than the density allowed with R-1 (and R-2) zoning which surrounds the site (2.9 u/a) • The proposed 2.52 u/a complies with the planned density for this area found in the Comprehensive plan (1.4 to 4.0 u/a) • The proposed lots sizes and project open space are consistent with an empty nester type subdivision with smaller homes on smaller lots. 6 Layout: There are several other aspects to this proposal that make it worthy of approval. This neighborhood is well designed with a modified curvilinear grid street system with sidewalks on both sides, which will promote good traffic flow and make for a more walkable/bikeable neighborhood. The homes will all have front porches, front load garages will be setback from the porch, and some homes will be rear loaded. 30% open space is provided with a pool, clubhouse, and amenity area for the residents. A 30 ft bufferyard and a 10 ft. asphalt path will be constructed along keystone from 136th St up to the northwestern edge. The developer has committed to extending that path further north to connect to the Hagan Burke Trail so long as easements can be acquired through the 2 common areas to the north. And the Developer is preserving the Historic Home located on the site on approximately 2 acres. So not only does the density meet the goals for this area, but the form the neighborhood takes is also well thought out and includes aspects of traditional neighborhood design that will enhance the community. 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. June 2, 2020 Committee Meeting Recap: Traffic and architecture were the main discussion topics. The City Engineer spoke about the entrance to the development and how it changed from the modified roundabout with the previous project to a right in, right out, left in with this project. The 55+ product does have a benefit on traffic because there are no school aged children. The regional project to connect the Lowes Way ramp to Keystone has taken some traffic off Carey Rd. The Engineering Dept. is still looking at having the right turn bypass lane from north bound Keystone onto 136th St, they would like the petitioner to look at smaller diameter roundabouts within the development, and they are in favor of full access to Smokey Ridge Trail. Architecture improvements the petitioner mentioned included front setbacks will be offset, masonry water table and windows for the rear facades along the perimeter, 2 transom windows and 5 shrubs along the blank side facades, and minimum standards for corner lots. A Committee member thought the similar project in Zionsville was very monotonous, and Petitioner stated this was a franchise project built to the Zionsville standards but that they are doing more here. Landscaping in the rear yard areas was requested, and more details about the type of façade materials was requested. The current zoning for the site is PUD and it does not revert back to R-1. The Committee Continued this item to the July 7th meeting. July 7, 2020 Committee Meeting Recap: Petitioner wanted to address the amenities in the neighborhood and the site plan. They added mini roundabouts to the layout, redesigned the first intersection north of the entrance, removed the historic home from the open space calculations, and increased required open space to 25%. More details were provided regarding the amenities and open space areas including: a pool, bocce ball court, pickle ball courts, perennial garden in the utility easement, community garden, and dock on the pond with paddle boats. The front setbacks will vary along the street to reduce monotony as well as having 40 different elevation combos with 8 color palettes. The petitioner stated they meet the Comprehensive Plan in regard to density and the type of home which is single story ranch cottage homes. Neighbors spoke opposed to: Smokey Ridge Trail connecting, looks too dense, not enough tree preservation, 70% lot coverage, safety of Smokey Ridge Ln. connecting and more people driving on that road. The Committee also had concerns about the density, the aesthetics of the homes, traffic, and tree preservation. They requested language in the PUD to require diversity in landscaping for each home, 4 sided architecture, and stronger commitments for preserving the historic home and to hear from the Historical Preservation Committee. The Committee Continued this item to the August 4th meeting. 7 August 4, 2020 Committee Meeting Recap: Petitioner listed updates that have been made to the plans and PUD including removal of 20 lots, removal of 1 street connection, addition of parkettes to break up the streetscapes, increase in open space to 30%, increased lots on the perimeter to 60 ft. wide, and added more architectural requirements. The Committee appreciated the changes made to the plan. The look of the fencing in the rear yards was discussed, and petitioner stated the fences are to offer privacy for the homeowners but they would be willing to do some vinyl and some black aluminum fencing if the PC desires. Petitioner answered additional questions and agreed that they will work with the City to save additional trees outside of the 20 ft. tree preservation easement and that the driveways will be long enough to park a car. Committee voted 4-0 to send back to full Plan Commission with a Favorable Recommendation. DOCS Remaining Comments/Concerns: None Based on the extensive changes made by the developer throughout this process, the thoughtful site layout, buffering, tree preservation, architectural improvements, historic home preservation, path connectivity, and proposed use for empty nester 55+ housing, the Dept. recommends favorable consideration of this project. Recommendation: The Department of Community Services recommends the Plan Commission votes to forward this item to the City Council with a Favorable Recommendation.