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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDepartment Report 02-22-218 of 17 CARMEL BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS DEPARTMENT REPORT MONDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2021 (V) The Avenue at Bennett Farm Variances. The applicant seeks the following development standards variance approvals: 3. Docket No. PZ-2020-00200 V UDO Section 3.88.D Min. 8-ft building façade offsets required, 4-ft proposed. 4. Docket No. PZ-2020-00201 V UDO Section 3.88.K.2 Red brick or stone required, Gray brick requested. 5. Docket No. PZ-2020-00202 V UDO 5.28.G Min. 25-ft wide drive aisle widths required, 23-ft proposed. 6. Docket No. PZ-2020-00203 V UDO Section 3.95.F Drive Thru Stacking permitted along rear of structures, Stacking requested in front/sides. 7. Docket No. PZ-2020-00204 V UDO Section 5.19.F.1 10-ft wide West Bufferyard required, 6-ft width proposed. 8. Docket No. PZ-2020-00205 V UDO Section 5.19.F.3 5-ft wide building foundation planting beds required, none proposed in parts. 9. Docket No. PZ-2021-00004 V UDO Sec. 5.39.I.5.b.ii Ground sign required to be located at rear of site at vehicular entrance, Sign located along Michigan Rd. proposed. The site is located at 11100-11150 N. Michigan Rd. (Block A, Bennett Technology Park subdivision). It is zoned B3/Business and US 421 Overlay Zone. Filed by Steve Hardin and Mark Leach of Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, on behalf of Joe Farr of JDF Development LLC. General Info & Analysis: The Petitioner proposes a new multi-tenant building and a single tenant building, each with a drive thru, on a vacant 2.07-acre parcel at the northwest edge of Michigan Road and the City limits. The site has three street frontages: Bennett, Redd, and Michigan roads. To the west is a residential apartment community called the Domain at Bennett Farms, located in Zionsville. To the north is a small parcel still in the Carmel City limits, zoned S1/Residence and within the US 421 Overlay Zone but is owned by and is a part of the Advent Lutheran Church located in Zionsville. To the east across Michigan Road is the Weston Pointe retail development, zoned B2/Business and also within the US 421 Overlay Zone. Due to the site’s depth, a few challenges exist to its development. Several variances are requested relating to the building design, parking and drive thru areas, landscaping, and signage. Please see the Petitioner’s informational packet for more detail on the variance request. At the February 2, 2021 Plan Commission Commercial Committee meeting, the DP/ADLS and Zoning Waiver applications for the project’s site plan and architecture, design, lighting, landscaping, and signage (ADLS) were approved. The docket numbers were: • Docket No. PZ-2020-00198 DP/ADLS: Development Plan & ADLS for The Avenue at Bennett Farm. • Docket No. PZ-2020-00206 ZW: 20’ Maximum Building height allowed, 22’6” and 22’4” requested. • Docket No. PZ-2020-00207 ZW: 30’ minimum Greenbelt width required, 28’ requested. • Docket No. PZ-2020-00208 ZW: Number of Parking spaces – 88 required, 77 requested. BZA Variances Requested: Building Façade Offsets: Minimum 8-ft building façade offsets are required, and 4-ft offsets are requested. This is a variance of 4 feet, or 50% reduction. Building offsets will still be provided and will complement the scale and massing of the building. 9 of 17 Brick Color: Red brick or stone is required as an exterior building material, and gray brick is requested. The building will still utilize brick, and the color helps provide diversity within the corridor, while still complementing surrounding buildings. Drive Aisle Width: Minimum 25-ft wide drive aisle widths are required in parking lots, and 23-ft wide aisles are requested. This is a variance of 2 feet, or 8% decrease. Two-way vehicular traffic will still be able to occur on the site, and patrons will still be able to pull into and out of parking spaces without difficulty. (The Petitioner submitted a vehicle maneuverability exhibit that shows this.) Drive Thru Stacking Location: Drive Thru Stacking of cars is permitted along rear of structures, and stacking is requested along the front/sides. This parcel is surrounded on three sides by public streets rights-of-way, therefore there is no “rear” of the parcel/buildings. The Petitioner has designed the site the best they could, and they have provided a bufferyard along Michigan Road that will help screen the cars from view from that busy street. Landscaping Bufferyard Width: A10-ft wide Bufferyard is required along the west side of the site along Redd Road, and 6-ft width is proposed. This is a variance of 4-ft, or 40 % decrease. Plantings will still be provided in this area, and 6-ft is still wide enough to allow shade trees to thrive with adequate soil volume. Building Base Foundation Plantings: 5-ft wide building base foundation planting beds are required, and none is requested in some parts. Sidewalk areas are proposed in parts of areas surrounding the building base. Some landscaping will still be provided, too. Ground Sign Location: A ground sign is required to be located at rear of site, at vehicular entrance, and a sign located along Michigan Rd. is proposed. Michigan Road is the primary front of the site, with the buildings proposed to be facing towards it. The natural location for a ground sign would be along Michigan Road, as most traffic would view the site from Michigan Road. The Petitioner addressed all the planning/zoning review comments, and the Planning Dept. supports the variance requests. Petitioner’s Findings of Fact: Please refer to the petitioner’s Findings of Facts included in their info packet. Recommendation: The Dept. of Community Services recommends positive consideration of Docket Nos. PZ-2020-00200 through PZ-2020-00205 V and PZ-2021-00004 V.