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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDepartment Report 10-20-207 CARMEL PLAN COMMISSION DEPARTMENT REPORT OCTOBER 20, 2020 I. Old Business 1. Docket No. PZ-2020-00069 (PUD): Ambleside Point PUD Rezone The applicant seeks PUD rezone approval to allow a new development consisting of single-family detached and attached residential. The site is located at 2135 W 146th Street on approximately 56.5 acres. It is currently zoned S-1/Residential. Filed by Jim Shinaver with Nelson & Frankenberger, LLC on behalf of Hoffman Developer, LLC. Project Overview: This proposed PUD seeks to create a mixed residential neighborhood of single-family homes and townhomes. There will be 30% open space and tree preservation designed into the neighborhood. Currently the property is zoned S-1 Residential. Surrounding residential subdivisions are Saddle Creek to the west, south, and east, and Autumn Wood Farms to the northeast. North of the development is 146th Street. Please see the petitioner’s information package for more information. Comprehensive Plan Analysis: This area is shown as Vision 2020 Plan Very Low Intensity in the current Comprehensive Plan (Comp Plan). Very Low Intensity Residential is generally characterized by single-family detached housing with densities between 1.0 and 1.3 units per acre. South, east, and west of the project the land is also classified as Very Low Intensity Residential on the Comp Plan, but the adjacent subdivision themselves are more similar to the classification of Suburban Residential as they have a density of about 1.78 lots per acre. To the north is land in Westfield’s jurisdiction. The proposed subdivision would fall under a mix of classifications of Suburban Residential, Urban Residential, and Attached Residential. Suburban Residential is considered a best fit next to Suburban Residential. Urban and Attached Residential are considered a conditional fit next to Suburban Residential. Conditional Fits are deemed appropriate when the more intense development is installed with sensitivity to the adjacent land classification. This development is doing that through the tree preservation on the west side, the pond as further buffer on the south, placing larger lots around the perimeter, and having an additional buffer behind the homes along the east side. There are many other Policies and Objectives of the Comp Plan that the PUD helps fulfill, such as: 1. Be very sensitive to connectivity and transitions between adjacent areas. Discourage unplanned or harsh contrasts in height, building orientation, character, land use, and density. 2. Local streets should be designed to connect to existing (when practical) and future neighborhoods so that existing connected streets do not become overburdened 3. Continue to encourage a variety of housing options to meet the needs of the marketplace. 4. Enhance a bicycle- and pedestrian-connected community through expanded installation of multi-use paths, sidewalks, bike lanes, and off-street trails. 5. Conservation subdivisions and innovative residential community designs that protect vegetation, slopes and are non-monotonous in terms of architecture and material selection are preferred. Please note that the C3 Plan states that the Land Classification map should not be construed as representing the precise location of land classifications but used as a foundation for support and influence with land use and development form decisions and zoning map changes. The Land Classification Map does not establish the right to a certain density or intensity. The C3 Plan is a broad-brush approach to future land planning. Each development proposal should be reviewed with consideration of all sections of the C3 Plan in addition to site features, context, design standards, transition, buffering, and development standards. Additional Analysis: Site Plan: The site plan consists of a mix of residential uses from townhomes along busy 146th St., and then transitioning down to 50 ft. wide, alley loaded single-family lots with larger 65 ft. and 80 ft. wide single-family lots around the perimeter. The petitioner adjusted the site plan based on comments from the Plan Commission and the adjacent residents. There is now a larger central green space, the quaint grid style blocks for Area B have been changed to long blocks with 8 some homes facing the green space, and the pond on the south side has been reduced. The blocks in Area B will be broken up with alley access and pedestrian access points. The PUD allows for up to 260 total dwelling units and 4 vehicular access points are proposed. 2 access points will be from the 146th St. frontage road, and 2 will be from existing right-of-way connections to the neighboring residential subdivision. The design of the access points that connect to Saddle Creek have been improved to lessen the impact of the new development. A 10 ft. asphalt path will connect residents to the undeveloped property to the west to allow even better access and connectivity for everyone if that property develops in the future. A large tree preservation area is planned along the western border and will have a dog park and a walking trail meandering through it. Stormwater drainage is accommodated by utilizing and shifting an existing pond in Hamilton County right-of-way, through a central pond, and through a pond on the south that will connect to the existing pond in Saddle Creek through the county legal drain that flows into the pond today. Petitioner, has agreed to incorporate natural vegetation around the ponds where possible, for a more natural rather than engineered appearance. There will be sidewalks along all the streets, and the proposed street cross section for the subdivision will meet the City’s requirement at 56 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. The alley sizes were increased to 20 ft. wide to ensure appropriate access for fire trucks. Active Transportation: 5 ft. sidewalks are proposed on both sides of all streets. A pathway will be installed along the western north/south road and will connect all the way from 146th Street down to the southern edge of the property. There is a 10 ft. path along 146th Street and petitioner has agreed to connect a path across the frontage road to the path along 146th St. A 10 ft. asphalt path will connect residents to the undeveloped property to the west to allow even better access and connectivity for everyone if that property develops in the future. Architectural Design: The PUD has specific architectural requirements based on the Village of WestClay (VOWC) architectural guidelines. The style of architecture in the VOWC is very aesthetically pleasing with a diverse mix of homes that follow the desirable traditional neighborhood design with front porches, garages in the back, pedestrian friendly streets, and high level of architectural detail. The VOWC architectural guidelines will lend itself well to this neighborhood that is also following some traditional neighborhood design aspects with some alley loaded homes, smaller lots and front setbacks, and pedestrian friendly residential streets. There is also an anti-monotony clause in the PUD to limit repetition of front building elevations, siding color, and masonry color. The townhomes along the 146th Street frontage road and those interior to the site will be 3 stories with a maximum height of 40 ft. The townhomes will face 146th Street and be alley loaded, and 40% of the front of the buildings that face a street will be masonry. Historic Home: There is an existing home on this property that is marked on the Carmel Historic Preservation Architecture Survey as a Contributing building. The home is a 1.5-story, 2-bay house in the vernacular style, built ca. 1847. The Historic Preservation Commission has been made aware of the plan to demolish the home, and the petitioner has been working with Indiana Landmarks to discuss the options for moving the home. Landscaping: The PUD requires a minimum of 30% of the subdivision to be common area. This is made up through pond areas, a large central common area, and a tree preservation area as shown on the Concept Plan. The PUD also requires certain amenities in the Common Areas, including: a dog park, a Playground area and Play Fields in the central common area. Per the request of staff, a shade tree will be required in the rear yards for Area A to help increase our urban forest and provide the residents with all the benefits trees bring. Tree preservation is provided as a buffer to the Autumn Wood Farms neighborhood and additional evergreen trees will be planted to buffer Saddle Creek to the east. Signage: All signage shall comply with the UDO and “No Construction Traffic” signage will be installed at the street connections to Saddle Creek. Public Comments: 9 The Dept. received many letters from concerned citizens as well as petitions opposed to converting the existing green space in platted right-of-way into a city street. The common concerns that have been brought up include: -Increased vehicles using the public streets in their neighborhood - The number of units proposed - Constructing a street on the platted stub street that is currently a green space -Concern of future Ambleside Point residents using Saddle Creek common areas and amenities. - Drainage and maintenance of shared pond - Concern that this development would cause a negative impact on property values -Fear of increased crime -Impact on wildlife - Impact on schools Throughout this process the developer, staff, and plan commission have discussed these concerns, made changes where feasible, and provided further explanations where needed. Since the Public Hearing and after changes were made to the plans, the Department received letters of support for the project from some neighbors. July 21, 2020 Public Hearing Recap: The Petitioner went over the proposed project layout, enhanced architecture, street connections, transitions, and Comp Plan. The President summarized the comments from the letters opposed to this project so far. Neighbors spoke at the meeting opposed to the project for the reasons listed above. The Plan Commission members commented on the density, tree preservation along the south, the grid street system (some liked and some did not), monotony mitigation, more specific architectural standards, buffer, and open space. The Plan Commission forwarded this item to the Residential Committee meeting, with the full Plan Commission having final voting authority. August 4, 2020 Residential Committee Recap: The petitioner presented some updates since the Plan Commission meeting. They met with the Indiana Landmarks regarding the Historic Home to discuss moving it. They have hired a company to do a survey regarding the bald eagle, and they hired an Arborist to do a survey of the trees along the south perimeter and he found some trees they should try to save. Traffic was discussed by the Traffic Engineer who completed the Traffic Analysis and by the City Engineer. There isn’t enough traffic to require improvements to the streets out there. Drainage was discussed and petitioner has redone the site layout to reduce the pond size on the south to save more trees. Other changes made include only single-family homes along the eastern border, added common area down the middle of the site, reduced the number of lots to 260, and added a dog park and playground area. The petitioner also showed other properties he’s developed with transitions and hasn’t seen property value degradation or crime. They will submit a condensed version of the VOWC Architectural Guidelines that will apply to the site. The item was continued to the September Residential Committee meeting. September 3, 2020 Residential Committee Recap: Petitioner presented updates to the plan. Density decreased from 285 homes to 260. More common area was added, townhomes along the east perimeter were changed to single-family homes, buffer provided along the east perimeter next to Saddle Creek, and 70 additional parking spaces will be required for guest parking. Several architecture improvements were presented and Beaument Blvd. connection will have a raised crosswalk as will Megan Drive with a common area adjacent to Saddle Creek. The Committee members liked the changes to the connecting streets, but a few were still concerned with the number of units proposed. The pond connection to Saddle Creek was discussed, and the Petitioner stated they were willing to do what the Committee advised. Committee requested the petitioner look at adding another common area along Megan Dr, side load garages instead of front load, increased architectural diversity standards, a unique playground, and more masonry on the fronts of townhomes facing a street. Committee voted to continue the item to the October Residential Committee meeting. October , 2020 Residential Committee Recap: Petitioner stated they have received a letter of support from the Saddle Creek HOA as well as some individual homeowners. The lots along the east that border Saddle Creek were increased to 80 ft. wide and additional trees will be planted on the neighboring properties. A tree preservation plan has been added to the PUD; architecture changes have been made; alleys were widened to 20 ft. in Area B, driveways will be a minimum 20 ft. long, parallel parking will be put in on the south side of Area B common area, and shrubs will be required to screen A/C units from the street. The Committee commented that they would still like to see less townhomes as currently 180 were shown on the concept plan. The petitioner committed to a maximum of 130. A committee member did show concern with some homes not fronting 10 on a street and asked if a one way street could be installed along each side of the common area. The architectural diversity requirements were discussed as well as the 16 ft. lot widths for the townhomes. Petitioner agreed to a minimum 20 ft. lot width. Construction traffic was also discussed and petitioner agreed to install signs at Saddle Creek connections for no construction traffic. The Committee voted 3-1 to send to Plan Commission with a Favorable Recommendation. DOCS Comments: The petitioner has made many changes over the course of this review process, and they have addressed all of our comments. We are supportive of this PUD due to the high level of architecture requirements, pedestrian friendly streets, walk and bikeability, mix of housing types and overall connectivity. In addition, the subdivision design provides a large amount of open space, tree preservation, and an appropriate transition from 146th St. by locating the townhomes along 146th St. and then moving to single family, alley fed lots to the south with slightly larger single family front load lots around the perimeter. Recommendation: After all Plan Commission comments are addressed, the Department of Community Services recommends the Plan Commission votes to send this item to the City Council with a Favorable Recommendation.