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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDepartment Report 09-15-201 CARMEL PLAN COMMISSION DEPARTMENT REPORT SEPTEMBER 19, 2020 1. Docket No. PZ-2020-00006 OA: Clay Terrace PUD Amendment The applicant seeks PUD Amendment approval to modify the existing Clay Terrace PUD in order to foster redevelopment of a portion of the site. The site is located generally at the SW corner of 146th Street and US 31. It is zoned Clay Terrace PUD Z-386-02. Filed by Steven Hardin of Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP. Project Overview: Clay Terrace is a regional shopping center that has been in existence for nearly 20 years. It is on the north border of Carmel and Westfield at 146th Street and US 31. To the west are single-family residential homes in the Rolling Meadows (R-1/Residential) and Stonehenge (R-2/Residential) subdivisions. To the south are additional single-family homes in the Walter’s Plaza (R-2/Residential) and Walter’s Rolling Acres (MC/Meridian Corridor) subdivisions. To the immediate east is US 31 and across US 31 is the Lowe’s retail development. It is zoned PUD. North of 146th Street is the Greyhound Plaza shopping development in Westfield. Please see the Petitioner’s Information packet for more details. Project History: This development was originally rezoned back in 2002 under Docket No. 127-01, which became Ordinance Z-386-02. The development plan for the roughly 56 acres came in early 2003 under Docket No. 03060018 DP. It was to be the first of its kind for the area, an outdoor lifestyle center. Buildings brought up to the street, multiple floors, and mixed uses were proposed to offer a different kind of experience for shoppers. It has been a very successful development over the years, and the owners are looking to take it to the next level. Comprehensive Plan Analysis: The Clay Terrace PUD area is called out as a Regional Vitality Node in the Comprehensive Plan (Comp. Plan). The current zoning classification is PUD and has been in effect for nearly 20 years. Clay Terrace is the example the City uses in the Comp. Plan as the example of a well-planned Regional Vitality Node. It is reached by most people by car; but is also well designed in that pedestrians are a priority and feel safe walking outside from shop to shop. Retail, service, hotel, entertainment, and restaurant are called out in the Comp. Plan as primary uses for Regional Vitality Nodes. Residential is stated to be appropriate if master planned into the development. The owner has recognized the need to expand into these other uses to ensure the viability of this center, and want to do so in a logical, planned way. Residential density would be limited to 16 units per acre under the Comp. Plan. Multi-family has always been an allowed use in the PUD, it just has not been built yet. Staff is in full support of incorporating multi-family into the development. Regarding height, the Comp. Plan states three story max or up to eight stories if in the US 31 overlay. This PUD is no longer in the US 31 Overlay, but that overlay area typically extended west and east to the next road, such as Illinois Street or Pennsylvania Street. In this case, it would have extended to about where Clay Terrace Boulevard is located. Thus, the proposal for up to 100’ height next to US 31 and east of Clay Terrace Blvd. is on par with Comp. Plan recommendations. Additional Analysis: General updates: Some general updates to the PUD include references to the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) instead of the Zoning Ordinance and the change of Range Line Road to Clay Terrace Boulevard. Other changes such as ones making references to the future US 31 ramp or expansion of US 31 have been removed as those improvements have occurred. PUD Uses remaining as currently approved and allowed: (not fully inclusive list) • Restaurant, Retail, Grocery • Professional and General office • Multiple Family Dwelling • Hotel • Financial Institution • College or University • Clinic or Medical Health Center • Movie theater 2 PUD New Uses proposed to be allowed: • Attached housing (such as townhomes) • General office now includes co-working spaces • Health and Fitness Facility • Restaurant may include a drive through pick up window • Outdoor sales no longer restricted to temporary • Farmer’s Market • Outdoor entertainment • Recreational Facility, Commercial Indoor • Food Truck • Daycare and Before and After School childcare • Day pet care (not overnight like a kennel) • Craft distillery/winery/brewery • Kiosks and other similar structures – either permanent or temporary PUD Excluded Primary Uses (meaning not allowed) being changed: • Miniature golf that is now specified as outdoor and permanent – is not allowed • Movie theatre outdoor that is now specified as permanent – is not allowed • Roadside sales stand is now removed from the excluded list, to allow things such as Food Trucks and Kiosks that may be located throughout the property. • Stand-alone restaurants with walk up and/or drive thru ordering and pick up windows has been modified to only prohibit drive thru ordering (in order to allow for a pre-placed online order pick up) Site Plan/Concept Plan: Changes are proposed to Clay Terrace Boulevard. Instead of two travel lanes in each direction, and a center median/turn lane, there would be one lane for each travel direction. The purpose of the reduction is to slow traffic and to reduce the space between buildings, creating a more intimate experience for patrons. Parallel parking would be installed along the northbound lane and the pull in parking would remain adjacent to the southbound lane. The Comp. Plan classifies Clay Terrace Blvd. as an Arterial Street, which is specified in the Thoroughfare Plan as having 100’ of Right-of-way (ROW). The current ROW of Clay Terrace Blvd. is about 125’, so a reduction would be in line with the Thoroughfare Plan. Building A2 on the Concept Plan is a new office building proposed. This would take over the space behind the Old National Bank where the old Stanford’s/Henry’s Tavern restaurant was located. This new building would have surface parking around it and to the north. Apartments would be built over new retail space along Clay Terrace Blvd. and moving closer to US 31. The north side of this new building is envisioned to have a large outdoor venue/gathering space. A hotel is proposed on the north end of the expansion area. It would be visible from US 31 and be a part of the terminus for the center east/west road of the site. (The west end of this road is where Dick’s is located.) Parking: Parking requirements for a site with so many different uses will require finesse. Surface parking and a parking structure are proposed in the concept plan. The PUD as written now proposes to do a study for how much parking is needed across the different uses. The Department would like to continue working on this language in the PUD, to give it more rigidity and establish a base line for what will be expected. For reference, per the UDO, parking requirements are as follows: • Hotel = 1 per room • Apartments = 2 per unit plus one per 7 units for guest/visitor parking • General Retail/Service = 1 per 200 sq. ft. of floor area • General Office = 1 per 250 sq. ft. of floor area • Restaurant without drive thru = 1 space for every 2.5 patron seats + 1 space per employee per largest shift Engineering: Due to the location of utilities (such as water, stormwater, and sewer lines) under the northbound traffic lanes, the buildings cannot be placed over those. The plan is to leave those lines where they are, and have that be the new sidewalk, outdoor seating area and bike lane area. There is also a second set of lines running through the eastern parking lot closest to US 31. Where the new drive aisle is proposed between the parking garage and the new building is where this line is located. Having the building extend over this area allows for the maintenance and access to the lines, without potentially 3 damaging residential or retail units. Active Transportation: Pedestrian connectivity and accessibility are still major priorities for Clay Terrace. Large, enhanced sidewalks are proposed as part of this new plan for redevelopment. A dedicated bicycle lane is proposed as part of the new streetscape improvements. Short term and long-term bicycle parking are now included in the PUD language. Architectural Design: Character or Precedent imagery has been proposed to show the style of architecture proposed for the new buildings. In the future, the Petitioner also plans to remodel the existing buildings and give them a more modern style to connect them visually to the new buildings that will be constructed. New maximum building heights are proposed, going from 65’ to 100’ adjacent to US 31. Buildings more than 300’ away from the western property line are proposed to go from 55’ to 70’. Buildings closer than 300’ to the western property line are proposed to increase from 45’ to 55’. For reference, 300’ is located at about the front (NE corner) of Dick’s sporting goods. The Dick’s building as well as the other two-story buildings are about 40’ tall to the top of the parapet. Staff would like to look into these heights further to understand the requested increases, especially within 300’ of the single family residential along the Western property line. Lighting: Lighting standards remain the same to keep the requirements of 0.3 footcandles adjacent to commercial areas and 0.1 footcandles adjacent to single family residential areas. Landscaping: Street trees, general landscaping, and buffers are still included in this PUD update. The Petitioner is working with the Urban Forester on these details, especially regarding tree preservation. Signage: Clay Terrace is proposing new signage for future development. The current proposal includes large amounts of signage that are taller and larger than what is typically permitted within the City of Carmel. Staff is working towards reducing the amount, height, and size of the proposed signage. There are also on-going discussions with the petitioner to clean up and streamline the PUD language regarding signage. Four Center Identification signs are proposed at the north entrances, south entrance, and along US 31. Three of these signs are proposed at 14’ tall and 250 sq. ft. maximum. Staff is recommending 12’ tall and 100 sq. ft. maximum. The fourth sign is proposed to be placed along US 31 is 50’ tall and up to 300 sq. ft. in size. Staff is proposing a 30’ tall maximum and 100 sq. ft. maximum. DOCS Remaining Comments/Concerns: The Department continues to work on the PUD document with the Petitioner. Some key items for discussion as this project moves to Committee are the following: 1. New proposed uses such as dog day care, restaurant pick up/drive up window, outdoor entertainment, etc. 2. Density proposed for residential 3. Building heights 4. More detailed parking requirements 5. Landscaping requirements and tree preservation 6. Signage Recommendation: The Department of Community Services recommends the Plan Commission sends this item to the Commercial Committee meeting on Tuesday, October 6, 2020 for further review and discussion.