HomeMy WebLinkAboutDepartment Report 05-17-224
CARMEL PLAN COMMISSION
DEPARTMENT REPORT
MAY 17, 2022
I. Old Business
1. Docket No. PZ-2022-00001 DP/ADLS: Culver’s.
The applicant seeks site plan and design approval for new Culver’s restaurant. The site is located at 431 E. Carmel
Drive. It is zoned B-8/Business and is not located in any overlay zone. Filed by Bob Goins of K & J Investments
XVL, LLC.
*Updates to the Report are written in blue
Project Overview:
The Petitioner proposes to construct a new restaurant with drive thru where the Rama Car Wash was previously located.
Immediately adjacent to the east is Fazoli’s. West is the Flanner and Buchanan Funeral Home. South of the site is the Post
Office. These surrounding uses are all zoned B-8/Business. North across Carmel Drive is the Hunter’s Glen condo
community, zoned R-4/Residential. Please see the Petitioner’s Information Packet for more details.
UDO Standards this project MEETS:
B-8:
• Permitted Use: Restaurant with walk-up/drive-thru
• Minimum Front Yard setback: 25’ required, 104’ proposed
• Minimum Side Yard setback: 10’ required, 35’ proposed east, 54.4’ proposed west
• Minimum Rear Yard setback: 10’ required, 153.9’ proposed
• Maximum Building Height: 50’ allowed, 23’3” proposed
Article 5:
• Bicycle parking: 3 racks (6 spaces proposed), 2 racks (4 spaces) required
• Bicycle parking location: within 50’ of front door required, approximately 30’ to patio door (north) proposed
• Dumpster enclosure: matches building design and materials
• Accessory Drive thru canopy: matches building design and materials
UDO Standards NOT MET, therefore Variances were requested and approved at April 25, 2022 BZA meeting:
• Docket No. PZ-2022-00040 V: 70 parking spaces required; 46 spaces provided
• Docket No. PZ-2022-00042V: 60% Lot Coverage allowed, 68.3% proposed
• Docket No. PZ-2022-00043 V: Signage – One sign allowed, two signs proposed (wall and ground)
Site Plan, Parking, and Engineering:
Access to the site will remain as it is today, shared with the Fazoli’s restaurant to the east. There is also a cross access
easement through the Fazoli’s site to AAA Way, which will also remain. Parking will be added along the north property
line and in front of the building. Traffic will flow one way around the site to access the drive thru at the back (south) of
the site. The drive thru will have two lanes that will funnel into one lane as it approaches the pick-up window. Then it will
split off into two areas of pull ahead parking and one through lane for “food runners” to bring out the orders. There are 46
parking spaces proposed on the site. Restaurant with drive thru calls for one space per 80 sq. ft. of floor area. This
building requires 70 spaces; therefore, a variance will be required. The Petitioner still has work to do with the
Engineering Department on detention and water quality for the site. Reviews will continue in Project Dox on this
item.
Active Transportation:
Carmel Drive has an existing 5’ wide sidewalk along this frontage. However, the Thoroughfare Plan requires a 10’ asphalt
path along Carmel Drive. The Petitioner has decided to work with the Engineering Dept. on a contribution to the Non-
Reverting Thoroughfare Fund in lieu of constructing the path improvement. The Petitioner plans to install a new 5’ wide
sidewalk to connect the front door to Carmel Drive. Sidewalk is also proposed around the building and leading back to the
order canopy area behind the building. Bicycle parking is now shown adjacent to the patio on the north side of the
building. It is about 30’ away and is now in compliance with the 50’ maximum distance allowed from the front door.
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Architectural Design:
The building design has evolved over the course of this project and now has full support from Staff. Brick and stone are
the primary materials, with a small amount of EIFS used at on the (rear) sides of the building. Decorative “blade banners”
are now shown over these EIFS sections on the sides of the building. They provide additional architectural interest but are
not functional. The architects have modified the entry towers on each façade of the building to 1. All have the same
height, 2. Stone is carried up to the top of the tower for the pilasters (columns), and 3. Brick has replaced stone as the
main material on these tower elements. The drive thru canopy on the back of the site has the same stone for the columns.
The roofline has now been modified to have a dark top and a lighter cornice to match the design of the building. The new
trash enclosure also matches the building with stone pilasters at the corners and brick as the main material. It has a dark
gray cap as the “cornice.”
Lighting:
The photometric plan has been updated and now meets the 0.3 footcandles at the property line. Eight pole lights at 25’ tall
are proposed around the site and referenced on the photometric plan. A detail of the fixture has now been provided. Other
light fixtures detail sheets are included in the Info Packet for decorative lighting around the building and down lights
within the canopies. A night-time view of the building has been provided and demonstrates only white light will be used
as architectural accents on the building.
Landscaping:
New landscaping will be installed around the site, including building base landscaping, perimeter shrubs, and trees.
Additional work is still needed to meet the UDO’s landscaping requirements. The Urban Forester has suggested clustered
evergreens or possibly donating to the Urban Forestry Fund in order to get the bufferyards into compliance. Staff
recommends PC approval conditioned upon receiving Landscape Plan approval from the Urban Forester.
Signage:
One main identification sign is allowed for this site as it faces one public street frontage. Two signs are proposed – one
ground sign perpendicular to Carmel Drive and one wall sign facing north towards Carmel Drive. A variance will be
required for the number of signs. The wall sign is 46.7 sq. ft. and is 59% of the height and 50% of the width. Up to 70% of
the spandrel panel height and 85% of the spandrel panel width is allowed. A design suggestion for the wall sign – it
should be centered within the spandrel panel instead of pushed all the way to the top. The ground sign is 6’ tall and
35 sq. ft. It also has manual changeable copy as part of the design, which is allowed. Directional signage will be installed
at 3 sq. ft. and 3’ tall as is allowed by the sign ordinance. One menu board is shown adjacent to the drive thru canopy. It
has been redesigned to now have a full masonry base, as is required. The size is 24.6 sq. ft. If there are any other
directional or safety signage such as canopy height limits, one way, etc., those can be submitted with sign permits and will
be limited to the incidental sign size of 3 sq. ft. or less.
March 15, 2022 Public Hearing Recap:
The Petitioner went over the project details and that a few variances requests will be necessary due to the size of the site.
Drive thru stacking will occur at the side and rear of the new building. They will continue to work with Staff on
outstanding comments. Staff discussed that progress has been made on the design of the building, but more work still
needs to be done – particularly to the faux EIFS windows and awnings on the back of the building. Plan Commission
members had concerns about the shared access drive at the entrance to the site off Carmel Drive, location of the sidewalk
coming in from Carmel Drive and pedestrian safety, potential overflow of customers/cars and how many seats are inside
the restaurant, and the faux EIFS windows with awnings over them are concerning. It was sent to the March 29, 2022
Commercial Committee meeting and returning to the full Plan Commission for a final vote.
March 29 Commercial Committee meeting Recap:
Changes to the building design include eliminating the awnings and faux windows at the rear of the building. Instead, the
designers have added small columns of EIFS with triangular blue blades as visual interest for that part of the building.
Signage has been reduced as recommended by staff. The drive thru stacking capacity was discussed. 22 vehicles will be
able to stack at the back of the building and around to the order pick up area. This does not include space in the drive lane
if there were a backup, which would offer addition relief. The trash enclosure was discussed and will only be opened
when the trash truck is there to pick up and take away the trash. Otherwise, it would block the drive thru lane. The
Committee continued this item to the Thursday, May 5, 2022, committee meeting.
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May 5 Commercial Committee meeting Recap:
The Petitioner made significant changes to the building design prior to the meeting, which included the following:
changing the tower heights around the building to the same height, reducing the use of the stone material to only at the
water table and as the pilaster/column material, removed stone as the main material from the tower elements to brick, and
updated the cornice for the drive thru canopy to be the same light color as the building cornice. The parking lot pole light
cut sheet was provided, as well as an updated menu sign design with stone base added to match the building as is required
by the UDO. The Committee was supportive of the proposed changes and recommended positive consideration back to
the full Plan Commission meeting on Tuesday, May 17, 2022.
DOCS Remaining Comments/Concerns:
1. Landscape plan approval
2. Finalize review process on Project Dox
Recommendation:
The Department of Community Services recommends the Plan Commission Approves this item this evening, subject to
the following conditions:
1. Monetary commitment to the Non-reverting Thoroughfare Fund the cost to build the required asphalt
path along the Carmel Drive frontage
2. Landscape plan approval by the Urban Forester
3. Finalize review process on Project Dox
