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CARMEL PLAN COMMISSION
DEPARTMENT REPORT
APRIL 19, 2022
2. Docket No. PZ-2021-00139 DP/ADLS: Oberweis – That Burger Joint – Woodgrain Pizzeria.
The applicant seeks site plan and design approval for a restaurant on a 1.15 acre vacant parcel. The site is located
at 10920 N. Michigan Road, which is the SW corner of Weston Pointe Blvd. and Michigan Rd./US 421. It is
zoned B-3/Business and is located in the US 421 Overlay Zone. Filed by Joe Oberweis, owner.
*Updates to the Report are written in blue
Project Overview:
The Petitioner proposes a new restaurant with dine in and drive thru options. To the west is the Aria Apartment project
owned by Cityscape Residential and located in Zionsville (Boone Co.). North across Weston Pointe Drive is a multi-
tenant retail building, zoned B-3 and within the US 421 Overlay. Immediately adjacent to the south is Kindercare and
further south is Christian Bros. Automotive site. Both are zoned B-3 and in the US 421 Overlay. To the east across
Michigan Road are additional outlots and multi-tenant retail buildings. They are zoned B-2 and also within the US 421
Overlay Zone. Please see the Petitioner’s Information packet for more details.
Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) Standards this project MEETS:
US 421 Overlay Zone:
• Permitted use: Restaurant with walk up/drive-thru
• Architectural Design Theme: complementary to
Italianate style
• Building materials chosen – 3 colors of brick, split
face CMU, stone, EIFS (cornice), and glass
proposed
• 30’ greenbelt required & provided
• Minimum site acreage for DP: 3 acres required; 6.68
acres proposed through overall DP for site (Docket No.
19020009 DP)
• Vehicular parking: 53 spaces required (1 space per 80
sq. ft. of floor area); 47 spaces provided, 6 additional
spaces can be covered through shared parking with
adjacent daycare lot, as it is within 300’.
• Min. front yard: 30’, 104’ proposed (east)
• Max. front yard: 120’ allowed, 120’ proposed (east)
• Minimum rear yard: 15’ required, 35’ proposed (south)
• Access road to rear of parcel provided for connectivity
• Minimum gross floor area: 2,500 sq. ft. required; 4,256
sq. ft. provided
• Lighting plan meets 0.3 footcandle maximum
at property lines
• Landscaping plan approved by Urban
Forester
• Trash Enclosure is architecturally compatible
with principal building
• Ground sign height: 6’ proposed & allowed
• Ground and menu board sign locations: 5’
minimum setback from ROW required and
proposed
B-3/Business:
• Minimum Lot Area: 10,000 sq. ft. required;
1.13 acres (49,222.8 sq. ft.) provided
• Minimum Lot width: 100’ required, 180’
provided
• Maximum Building Height: 35’ allowed,
25’8” proposed
• Maximum Lot Coverage: 80% allowed,
78.4% proposed
• Bicycle parking: 4 spaces required and
provided
UDO Standards NOT MET, therefore a variance must be requested:
• UDO Section 3.95.F.: Drive Thru location: Must be located to the rear of the parcel, Site has three frontages
therefore, this requirement cannot be met
• UDO Section 3.88.C.: Maximum Building Height adjacent to residential: 20’ allowed, 21’ to 25’8” proposed
• UDO Section 5.39.H.2.a.: Signage – Number: 5 proposed, 3 allowed
Site Plan, Parking and Engineering:
The Petitioner seeks approval for the Development Plan and ADLS for a restaurant with drive thru. This site is on the
west side of Michigan Rd., adjacent to the Boone County border. This is one of four outlots created through the Michigan
Road Retail project (Docket No. 19020009 DP/ADLS). Weston Pointe Drive (north) and Redd Road (west) are both now
complete providing vehicular and pedestrian access from Bennett Parkway to 106th Street. The Petitioner will need to
seek variance approval for the location of the drive thru being visible from the front yard/adjacent streets. This site
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is on a peninsula, with three street frontages. They have worked with staff on the placement of the drive-thru where it is
located today, and staff is supportive of the needed variance, as there really is no way to be compliant with this
requirement.
The main entrance for the restaurant is on the west side of their parcel off Redd Road and will be a shared access with
Kindercare to the south. 47 parking spaces are provided, when 53 are required. Restaurants with drive thru require one
space per 80 sq. ft. of floor area. The UDO does allow for shared parking, and the daycare to the south meets their
minimum parking requirements with two extra spaces. Based on the off-hour peak times of the two businesses, this is an
ideal situation for shared parking.
The plan meets lot coverage requirements at 78.4%, when 80% coverage is allowed per the B-3 zone. Drainage for this
site is coordinated through planned detention for the Aria apartments project to the west of this site in Zionsville’s
jurisdiction. The detention will be coordinated and provided for all the outlots in conjunction with the installation of Redd
Road by the property owner, Cityscape Residential.
Active Transportation:
There are existing sidewalks along the perimeter of the site – Michigan Road, Weston Pointe Drive, and Redd Road. The
Petitioner proposes a new 5’ wide sidewalk along the south side of the building to connect the site from east to west to
Redd Road. Sidewalk, outdoor seating, and connection to the playground as well as Weston Pointe Road will be provided
along the front of the building (east side). Two bicycle racks (four spaces) are provided southeast of the front door.
Architectural Design:
Staff has been working with the Petitioner on the design of the building for quite some time. It is finally to a state that we
can support and has detailing meeting the US 421 corridor standards. The architect has designed the building to be
complementary to the Italianate architectural style. Some of these features are the dentil molding, enhanced brick detailing
around the pilasters of the front entry, symmetrical form of the building and window placement. The building will be
constructed of three colors of brick (red, brown, and tan) with a concrete masonry unit (CMU) block base in a tan color.
Stone will be used on the south end of the building as an accent material near the cornice. EIFS will be used for the
cornices and is less than 10% of the overall façade area. The height of the building ranges from 21’ to 25’8”. The US 421
Overlay specifies that the maximum height allowed adjacent to residential is 20’. A variance will be needed for the
increase. One other item to note on the building design is the very large window above the main entry. This entry feature
has been worked many times over. It is now in line with the rest of the building design. Within the window is a space for
advertising materials. The wall for the advertising materials will be located 3’ behind the window face. If signage is
utilized in this space, it would be considered part of the interior of the building and would be allowed.
The dumpster enclosure is located in the center of the site, away from the three street frontages and behind (west of) the
front of the restaurant. It will be constructed of brick to match the building with a concrete top to resemble stone.
Lighting:
Decorative wall sconces will be provided all around the building (15 in total). Utilitarian style down lights (2) will be
provided over the two employee-only doors at the northwest corner of the building. The parking lot will be lit by 5 pole
lights placed around the site at 22’ tall. The maximum height allowed for pole lights is 24’. The photometric plan is in full
compliance with the maximum 0.3 footcandle limit at the property lines.
Landscaping:
Updates have been made to the landscape plan to bring it into compliance with UDO requirements. The Urban Forester
has reviewed the updates and has now approved the landscaping plan.
Signage:
This site is located on three public streets; therefore, three signs are allowed. This is a single use building with a food
court style (3 types of food) restaurant, thus the reason a sign is proposed for each “tenant.” Eight wall signs are proposed
as well as one ground sign. This will require variances for the number of signs. The ground sign has been revised to
meet the 6’ height requirement. The Petitioner has agreed to remove wall signs facing south and west. This is a reduction
of 4 signs and allows the Department to be generally supportive of their overage request. One caveat is that more design
work is still needed for the ground sign, if it were to be approved. The revised design is disproportionate on signage to
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“columns”. Menu board dimensions have been provided and are in compliance with the UDO. A menu board is allowed in
addition to the main identification allowed for the site. Directional signage is allowed as long as it is 3’ tall and 3 sq. ft. or
less in area.
March 15, 2022 Public Hearing Recap:
The Petitioner gave an overview of the company and the proposed project. They have worked with Staff on the building
design to match US 421 Overlay requirements more closely. Staff commented on the use and complimentary nature/hours
of operation of the daycare to the south. This is an ideal situation for shared parking. Staff also mentioned the large
amount of proposed signage, which will need variance approval. Plan Commission members had questions regarding the
architectural style – needing more details to understand how it is complementary to the Italianate style, signage details,
drive thru location and flow of traffic, and drainage details. It was sent to the Commercial Committee meeting on
Tuesday, March 29, 2022 for further review, and will return to the full Plan Commission for a final vote.
March 29, 2022 Commercial Committee meeting recap:
The Petitioner discussed signage details for the project and changes that were made regarding menu signage sizing,
monument sign height, size and location, and removal of wall signs facing south and west. Building details were discussed
to provide examples of how the proposed design compliments the Italianate architectural style, rather than imitates it,
which is allowed by the Overlay. The building height might be able to be reduced, but do not want to have HVAC units
visible. The 3 in 1 restaurant concept was explained as well as the drive thru function. It was sent back to the full Plan
Commission on April 19, 2022 with a positive recommendation, subject to all outstanding items being resolved.
DOCS Remaining Comments/Concerns: None.
Recommendation:
The Department of Community Services recommends the Plan Commission votes to Approve this item tonight,
subject to BZA approval of necessary variances.