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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDepartment Report 02-16-21 10 CARMEL PLAN COMMISSION DEPARTMENT REPORT FEBRUARY 16, 2021 2. Docket No. PZ-2020-00155 Albany Village PUD. The applicant seeks PUD rezone approval to allow a new subdivision consisting of single-family detached and single-family attached residential. The site is located at 14407 Shelborne Rd. on approximately 36.7 acres. It is currently zoned S-1/Residential. Filed by Jim Shinaver and Jon Dobosiewicz of Nelson & Frankenberger on behalf of the Logan Group, LLC. Project Overview: This proposed PUD seeks to create a residential neighborhood of single-family detached homes and single-family attached homes and 25% open space. Currently the property is zoned S-1/Residential. Surrounding the site are other residential properties that include: Tallyns Ridge Subdivision to the east; a large estate lot and Albany Place Subdivision to the south; a large estate lot and land recently purchased by Carmel Clay Parks to the west. North of the development is the 146th Street frontage road and then the enlarged 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 subdivisions themselves are more like the classification of Suburban Residential which typically has densities between 1.4 and 4 units per acre. The property to the west could be considered Estate Residential and to the north is land in Westfield’s jurisdiction. The proposed subdivision would also fall under Suburban Residential with a density of 2.29 units per acre. This would be considered a best fit next to the other Suburban Residential neighborhoods and the Parks and Recreation land and a conditional fit next to the Estate Residential. Conditional Fits are deemed appropriate when the more intense development is installed with sensitivity and transitions to the adjacent land classification. The Albany Village neighborhood is providing many transitions to the surrounding developments through perimeter buffering along Shelborne Rd. and the 146th St. frontage road.; tree preservation on the east and south side; and placing the single-family detached lots adjacent to the existing single-family neighborhoods. 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. 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 nice mix of single-family detached and single-family attached dwellings. The PUD allows for up to 82 total dwelling units and 3 vehicular access points are proposed. The main entrance will be from Shelborne Rd. with 2 other access points from existing public street connections to the neighboring residential subdivisions. Staff has continually requested that an additional street connection be made to the 146th St. frontage 11 road to give direct access for residents to that road and to provide more options for emergency vehicles to get to their destination in an emergency. The Developer has declined to make this connection because they worry that people will use the subdivision street to access the 146th St. frontage road from Shelborne Rd. While some people may decide to use the new public street to access the frontage road, we do not see it being an issue as most people will choose the direct access to the frontage road from Shelborne Rd. The route through the subdivision will not be as efficient a choice because drivers will have to slow down on the residential street, watch for parked cars and people pulling out of driveways, and have to stop to turn right once they reach the frontage road. The Engineering Dept. is not opposed to this connection and would support it, and the UDO supports this connection. Section 7.28 of the UDO requires developments with 40 or more lots to have at least 2 access points from a perimeter street. It goes on to say that the Planning Administrator may require 1 additional access point for every 40 lots in the development, including the first 40 lots. Since there are 82 lots proposed, this would add up to a total of 4 access points and only 3 are proposed. At this time, the Department is not inclined to support the PUD moving forward without the connection to the 146th St. frontage road. Stormwater drainage is accommodated through 2 detention ponds on the site which will be landscaped with native, aquatic shoreline vegetation. 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. Active Transportation: 5 ft. sidewalks are proposed on both sides of streets and a 10 ft. path will be installed along Shelborne Rd. A sidewalk will also be located along the 146th St. frontage road from the cul-de-sac to the crosswalk that connects to the path along 146th St. There will be a 6 ft. path installed within the common area along the gas easement and there is also path shown along the southern edge of the property that connects into the Albany Place Subdivision. If Albany Place does not allow this path to connect to theirs, then it would continue east to the sidewalk at the street instead. These internal paths will provide a nice amenity to the neighborhood and make better use of the gas line easement. The development will also connect to path along the 146th St. via a crosswalk and path. Architectural Design: The PUD requires all dwellings to comply with the architectural standards. The standards for the detached dwellings are modeled after the neighborhood to the south, Albany Place. A brick or masonry wainscot is required on all facades for all the homes and 50% of the fronts of the detached homes will be brick or stone. 2 windows per floor per façade will be required and 50% of the lots will have a side-load garage for the detached homes. The PUD also now requires 20% of the single-family detached homes to have a front porch with a minimum 5 ft. depth. This is an improvement, but the minimum depth really needs to be 6 ft. This is the minimum recommendation from the City’s Residential Design Standards & Guidelines, because it is really a minimum depth needed to allow outdoor furniture to be placed and still be able to comfortably move around. Anything less would be doing a disservice to the future homeowners. Front porches provide many benefits including potential for neighbors to interact and socialize creating a sense of community. When people have enough room to sit out and enjoy their front porch, there is also a benefit of “eyes on the street” which adds to the safety of the neighborhood. For the attached dwellings, the petitioner has added some requirements to enhance the side and rear elevations. They have also included some renderings in the packet of what the streetscape might look like. The look does seem improved, and since the developer is disinclined to change the overall composition of the homes, we ask that they at least increase the front porch depths to 6 ft. Landscaping: The PUD requires a minimum of 25% of the subdivision to be common area. This is made up through the pond areas, the gas line easement, and some smaller green spaces as shown on the Concept Plan. The Dept. asked the Developer to add some other features to the ponds like an overlook or viewing area so that the residents can interact with the ponds more as an amenity and the developer has added some benches and bicycle parking. A 10 ft. wide tree preservation easement is required along the east and the south perimeters. There are minimum landscaping requirements for each lot as well, including trees in the rear yard. The petitioner has also added a requirement to have 8 shrubs planted in the front yards of the two-family dwellings to create a hedge and help hide the driveways. 12 Signage & Lighting: All signage shall comply with the UDO. Street lighting will be provided at the entrance at Shelborne Rd. and at all internal street intersections. November 17, 2020 Public Hearing Recap: Petitioner gave an overview of the project. Several neighbors spoke with concerns about the development, including: the lot sizes proposed which are smaller than surrounding properties, retention of mature trees, lack of entrance onto Old 146th St, and the total number of units proposed. One neighbor spoke in favor of the project and the architecture standards and understood the constraints of the site. Plan Commission was in support of the connection to 146th Street and suggested adding a stop sign to help slow traffic down on the internal road. They also wanted to see a more creative design for the attached homes as well as views of the sides and rears and suggested a side load garage design. In addition, they brought up questions about streetlights, additional amenities, additional tree preservation, 4-sided architecture, a mowed path or play area in the pipeline easement, and a mid-block crossing across Shelborne Rd. to the park. The item was sent to the Residential Committee. December 1, 2020 Residential Committee Recap: Petitioner discussed tree preservation on site, concern with connecting to the 146th St. frontage road, the architecture of the homes and the sides and rears, crosswalk connection to the park across Shelborne Rd., and a crushed stone path in the pipeline easement. The committee still had several concerns, including the architecture of the attached units (front and back); wanting the connection to the 146th St. frontage road; the view from Shelborne Rd. and 146th St; porch enhancements; crushed stone can be hard to maintain; are garages large enough; and request to have an area for children to play. The item was discussed and then continued to the January 5, 2021 Residential Committee. January 5, 2021 Residential Committee Recap: Petitioner presented updates and showed additional landscape exhibits from the ground level view along 146th St. Exhibits were shown of the enhanced side and rear elevations of the two-family homes with dormers and gable roofs added as well as siding changes to compliment the fronts. Petitioner is still opposed to connecting the street to the frontage road and they spoke with the City Engineer who is fine with the street not connecting but will support either option. Many of the Committee members preferred separate colors for the two-family dwellings, wider lots along the east boundary for the single-family homes, and voiced concern regarding the looks of the two-family dwellings and the view from 146th St. Petitioner stated that there are not a lot of two-family homes in Carmel and it provides a transition from 146th St. and Shelborne Rd. Committee asked what the backs of the two-family homes would look like if each unit was a different color. The item was continued to the February 2, 2021 Residential Committee. February 2, 2021 Residential Committee Recap: Petitioner presented changes to the PUD and highlighted the benefits of the proposed plan. A rendering was shown of the streetscape of the two-family homes with the front landscaping and hedge row. 50% of the single-family lots will have a side load garage now. Petitioner stated they still do not want to connect to the 146th St. frontage Rd. and showed an image of what it could look like if they did. The committee was pleased with the side-load garage requirement, but still had concerns about the amount of buffer landscaping to the east and tree preservation. There was also support from the committee to connect to the frontage road and have 6 ft. front porches. The item was sent to the full Plan Commission with a 3-1 negative recommendation, so that the project could keep moving forward. DOCS Comments/Concerns: The Dept. has tried to make this neighborhood be the best it can be and though some changes have been made through this process, not all of our requests have been met. However, we only have 2 outstanding comments left that are very important to creating a successful, high-quality of living subdivision. If these items can be addressed, then the Dept. could recommend favorable consideration. - Connect the street to the 146th St. frontage road to allow better access and connectivity. - Require front porches (for those units that have them) to be a minimum of 6 ft. deep. Recommendation: The Department of Community Service does not recommend favorable consideration of this PUD to the City Council, unless the proposed cul-de-sac connects to the 146th St. frontage road and front porches are required to be 6 ft. deep.