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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDepartment Report 12-01-206 Carmel Plan Commission COMMERCIAL COMMITTEE Tuesday, December 1, 2020 Department Report 3. Docket No. PZ-2020-00128 ADLS: North End Apartments 4. Docket No. PZ-2020-00129 ZW: North End Apartments Parking Waiver The applicant seeks ADLS and zoning waiver approval for 2 new apartment buildings and one mixed use building on 7 acres. Approximately 168 units are proposed, 28,125 sf of office/retail space, and 295 parking spaces. The site is located at approximately 506 W. Smokey Row Rd. It is zoned UR/Urban Residential. Filed by Rebecca McGuckin of Old Town Design Group. *Updates to the Dept. Report are in blue. Project Overview: The petitioner is proposing to build 3 new buildings with 168 apartments and 28,000 sf of office in the North End development which is located north of Smokey Row Rd. and just east of Meridian St. and Rohrer Rd. As a part of the project, 40 of the units will be dedicated to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). A parking waiver is requested to reduce the number of required parking spots required for these IDD units as well as reduced parking for the mixed-use building, Building A, which has uses with different peak parking hours. The property is zoned UR/Urban Residential. The Primary Plat for this project was recently approved by the Plan Commission in 2019 and the Secondary Plat is currently being finalized by the Technical Advisory Committee. Please see the Petitioner’s Information packet for more details. Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) requirements the project MEETS: • Permitted Uses • Minimum Building Height 2 stories – 3 to 5 stories proposed • Minimum Front Yard Setback 0 ft. allowed – 20 ft. proposed • Minimum Rear Yard Setback 0 ft. – 3 ft. proposed • 2 windows per unit on upper floor facades • Primary Facades: Any facade fronting on a public street shall be a Primary Façade Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) requirements the project does NOT Meet: • Lots that are 200 feet wide or greater shall have at least two (2) principal buildings, cumulatively covering at least seventy percent (70%) of the lot’s width. A variance has been requested to allow less than 70% along North End Dr. – APPROVED at November 23rd BZA meeting. • Stepback: Buildings greater than 3 stories shall be stepped back resulting in no more than 3 stories of facade being on the same vertical plane. A variance has been requested - APPROVED at November 23rd BZA meeting. • Maximum Height of 3 stories when adjacent to residential districts. A variance has been requested for more than 3 stories for Bldg. A. - APPROVED at November 23rd BZA meeting. • Minimum Parking Standards – Zoning waiver has been requested to reduce the parking Site Plan, Parking and Engineering: The Primary Plat for this project was recently approved by the Plan Commission in 2019 and the Secondary Plat is still being finalized with the Technical Advisory Committee. This ADLS request is mostly looking at the architectural design of the apartment buildings. However, a Zoning Waiver is also being requested with this ADLS to reduce the parking requirements. The UDO requires 1.5 spaces per dwelling unit for apartments in the UR zone, and the petitioner is requesting a ratio of 0.5 spaces for the 40 IDD units. In addition to that, the petitioner is requesting a reduction in the parking spaces provided for Building A by 15 spaces because this is a mixed-use building with office on the first floor and apartments above. The complimentary uses will have opposite peak parking needs and will be able to share some of the spaces provided. The Department is supportive of the requested parking waiver. Active Transportation: Sidewalks and paths are provided throughout the North End development along the public streets. The UDO requires short term bike parking at a rate of 0.1 spaces for each bedroom and highly encourages long term spaces. Bicycle parking is provided for the 3 buildings with 52 short term bike spaces provided outside, and 30 total long term spaces provided inside. Petitioner has provided a general location of where the interior bike parking spaces will be located in each 7 building and character examples of what they might look like. Architectural Design: The proposed apartment buildings take on a slightly modern look with some traditional residential features. This is done through the sloped roofs at the ends/corners of the buildings with a peaked roof used in the middle. There are also large windows, metal balconies, metal canopies on the first floor, and a mix of building materials. The primary building materials include brick along the first floor and higher up at the ends of the building, fiber cement lap siding along the middle portions of the building, and a faux wood siding to accent and break up the facades. A mix of inset and protruding balconies are used and the facades do have some setbacks to break up the long facades. The southeast façade of Building A has been improved to break up the tall retaining wall by splitting it into 2 walls with landscaping in between. The raised patio area on the southeast corner now connects all the way to the stairs at the entrance. The buildings do provide a lot of details to create aesthetically pleasing building designs with variation along the façade. The petitioner has also added more brick at the ends of the buildings per request of the Dept. and continues to work with us on tweaking the design. Overall the Dept. is supportive of the proposed architectural design. Lighting: Lighting will be provided with streetlights and wall mounted lights on the fronts of the buildings. A photometric plan has been submitted, as well as the locations for the building mounted lighting. Landscaping: The landscape plan for the foundation plantings around the buildings is provided and is under review by the Urban Forester. Native species are being used that will help reduce outdoor water use and encourage pollinators and benefit plant diversity. Landscaping along the base of the buildings where there are blank walls and a grade change or the podium parking will be especially important. The planting area in between the retaining walls on the south side of Building A has been increased to 5 ft. Signage: No signage is proposed at this time and so an ADLS Amendment will be required to approve the signage for the development at a later date. However, proposed signage locations are shown on the elevations with dimensions listed so that we can make sure there will be enough room for signs without covering architectural features. Also, per the commitments with the primary plat approval, internally illuminated cabinet signs shall not be used for the south side of Building A. October 20, 2020 Public Hearing Recap: Petitioner gave an overview of the project. One neighbor spoke and asked if there were now going to be apartments in Building A because the original plans showed only office/retail. Petitioner stated they originally planned to just have office on Smokey Row, and the buildings were not connected. Now there will be apartments on the upper floors and they wanted to connect the buildings for the user experience, especially with the IDD units. Plan Commission asked about bike parking spots for 3 wheeled bikes, if the roof top mechanicals will be screened (they will), and asked about where Kensington Place is in relation to Building A. They also asked to see the color schemes with more definitive colors. The time limit for this project was discussed due to the request for tax credits, and the petitioner said they need to be under construction by March 2021 and complete construction by end of 2022. The item was sent to the Commercial Committee with final approval authority. November 5, 2020 Commercial Committee Recap: Petitioner went through changes made to the building designs and explained the reason for the height of Bldg. A and that they believe it is a 3 story building, but they have filed for a variance. A bike parking breakdown was provided, the trail and path network was shown, and metal screen examples were shown. The Committee made comments on trike parking and being able to get them in a building, the parking waiver, the height of the wall on the north end of Bldg. B and trying to soften that, and crosswalks shown on the streets. The Committee agreed that the building was only 3 stories. The item was continued to the Dec. 1 Commercial Committee. DOCS Remaining Comments/Concerns: The Dept. has the following outstanding comments. - Can you provide a final selection of what the metal screens for the podium parking in Bldg. B will look like? These should have an ornamental component to help improve the views as you are walking, biking, or driving down the street where the podium parking is visible. 8 - What is the material of the built-up terraces and retaining walls? - What is the material of the Meter Center Screen Walls? Recommendation: The Department of Community Services recommends the Committee discusses this item and after all comments have been addressed votes to Approve it.