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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDepartment Report 06-07-221 Carmel Plan Commission RESIDENTIAL COMMITTEE Tuesday, June 7, 2022 Department Report 1. Docket No. PZ-2022-00025 PPA: Five-Ten Subdivision Amendment. 2. Docket No. PZ-2022-00053 SW: Five-Ten Subdivision Street Frontage Waiver - UDO Sec. 7.17.A: Lots shall have direct access to a public street, Access from an alley and an access easement requested. The applicant seeks primary plat amendment approval to reconfigure 2 lots and 2 blocks into 3 lots on 1.95 acres. The applicant also seeks a design standards waiver to allow to 2 new lots to be created that front on the Monon Trail instead of a street. The site is located at 510 1st Avenue NW and is zoned R2/Residence within the Old Town Overlay Zone and Monon Greenway Overlay. Filed by Tom Lazzara of Custom Living USA. *Updates to the Report are written in blue Project Overview: The Petitioner seeks to amend this 2-lot subdivision and make it into a 3-lot subdivision. The two existing lots will be combined with Block B into one large lot and Block A will become two new lots. The primary plat amendment also includes the request for a Waiver to allow the two new lots to be created without having direct access to a public street. Instead, the 2 southern lots will have access from an alley with Lot 2 having access to the alley via a cross access easement. The existing historic home will remain on Lot 3 with the smaller house becoming an accessory dwelling. 2 new homes are planned to be built on the new southernmost lots. The property is zoned R-2 within the Old Town Overlay and the Monon Overlay. To the north, east, and south are single family residential homes zoned R-2 within the Old Town Overlay as well. To the west is the Monon Greenway and apartments zoned R-4 within the Monon Overlay. Please see the Petitioner’s Information Packet and supplemental information submitted for more details. UDO Standards this project MEETS: 1. Minimum Front Yard Setback – 20 ft. along 1st Ave. NW and 22.8 ft. along the Monon 2. Minimum Side Yard Setback – 5 ft. 3. Minimum Rear Yard Setback – 5 ft. 4. Minimum Lot Area – 10,000 sq. ft. 5. Minimum Lot Width – 50 ft. UDO Standards NOT MET: 1. Lots shall have direct access to a public street, Access from an alley and a cross access easement requested. Waiver requested. Comprehensive Plan Analysis: The Comprehensive Plan calls for this area to be an Area for Special Study. However, if the existing residential area of Old Town was classified through the Land Classification Plan, it could be considered Urban Residential because it is mostly single-family detached residential with a grid street system, alleys, and homes which are generally deeper than they are wide with front porches and detached or rear load garages. The proposed replat meets these goals of the Comp. Plan for Urban Residential and is therefore considered a Best Fit next to the surrounding properties. Additional Analysis: Site Plan and History: This subdivision was originally created back in 2001, and it included 2 lots and 2 blocks. It was created because there were 2 homes on 1 lot and the owner wanted to have each home on its own lot so it could be sold separately. At that time, the owner said they did not have any intent on building on the parcels adjacent to the Monon and there was concern from some neighbors that this was possible. Because the owners were not planning on building on the Monon adjacent lots, they made those parcels into blocks and put a stipulation on the Primary Plat that Blocks A & B were ineligible for Improvement Location Permits because they did not satisfy the requirement of having access from a public street. This stipulation was supposed to be put in a Deed Restriction on the lots, however, that appears to not have been done as a deed restriction for those blocks could not be found and the secondary plat for those blocks was never recorded. There was also a large 150 ft. legal drain easement that took up almost half of Block B and almost all of Block A, further making those blocks unbuildable. Since the approval of the original primary plat, a lot has changed in this area of town. 1. The 150 ft. Legal Drain has been vacated per the approval of the Hamilton County Drainage Board, on this property and on others. 2 2. The parcel directly south along the Monon was split and a new home was built around 2012. 3. The two homes south of that along the Monon have been added onto and expanded. 4. A little further south along the Monon, the Mulberry Lane subdivision was approved which allowed for 4 new homes accessed off of a private drive, 2 of them adjacent to the Monon. 5. The parcel directly to the north of this site was split to allow a new home to be built behind the existing home, closer to the Monon. Additionally, Old town in general has seen a lot of redevelopment of homes and demolition of older homes with newer, larger homes going up in their place. All one has to do is drive around the Old Town neighborhood to see that this area of town is not the same as it was 20 years ago. And with all of this redevelopment, the city has tried to maintain tree preservation and buffer along the Monon, which will be done with this development as well. This replat to create a 3-lot subdivision from a 2-lot subdivision is following a similar pattern of development that has been seen in the Old Town area and has been contributing to its popularity as a place to live. The 2 new lots that are adjacent to the Monon (Lots 1 and 2) will meet the zoning requirements of the Old Town Overlay and will be of a similar size and width as the properties to the east and to the south. Access to Lots 1 and 2 will be from an existing alley and a shared drive will serve both lots. Dry detention is planned along the east perimeter of the lots and tree preservation will be required along the Monon Greenway. The Engineering Department has requested a drainage report from the petitioner and will need to review that before they can approve the replat. Lot 3 will be around 1.38 acres and contains the existing historic home and the smaller home that will become a guest house or accessory dwelling, as permitted in the Old Town Overlay. As a part of this Primary Plat Amendment, the petitioner is proposing to remove the stipulation on the original plat that says Blocks A & B are ineligible for development. The Department is in support of this replat and the removal of the plat restriction for several reasons: 1. The new lots are in character with surrounding properties. 2. The proposal meets the goals of the Comp Plan and is considered a best fit next to surrounding properties. 3. The Old Town Overlay Standards and Monon Overlay standards will be met. 4. Tree preservation will be required along the Monon. 5. The Fire Department has approved the development. 6. Access to the lots will be from an existing public alley that currently is serving only 2 homes. Two new families having access to the alley will not cause a backup or a hazard on the use of the alley as it currently exists. 7. The plat restriction is currently limiting the property rights on this piece of property while surrounding properties are able to use their land without the same restriction. 8. Building 2 single-family homes next to existing single-family homes will not have a detrimental effect on surrounding properties, and will likely only increase property values, as has been seen to happen throughout the Old Town Area. Active Transportation: There is an existing sidewalk along 1st Ave. NW which runs in front of Lot 3. There are no sidewalk requirements for Lots 1 and 2 as they have access from an alley. The Monon Trail will have a 33 ft. half right- of-way. Architectural Design: Because the site lies within the Old Town Overlay Zone, administrative review and approval of the site plans and of the exterior building architecture is required. This is done as a separate Site Plan & Design Review (SDR) for each home. The Old Town Overlay has specific architectural requirements for new buildings that help preserve the character of the neighborhood. Landscaping: Since this is a replat of two single-family lots into three single-family lots, no additional buffering is required. However, tree preservation is required along the Monon Greenway per the Monon Overlay Standards. A 25 ft. wide tree preservation easement has been added along the west border of all 3 lots. The Urban Forester has not approved the plans yet as he is still awaiting revised plans. Waiver: The proposed waiver is to allow Lots 1 and 2 to have access from the alley and a shared driveway instead of fronting directly on a street. This waiver should not have a negative effect on surrounding properties as it will be in character with other homes in the area. The alley is already used for access to 2 other homes and the 2 new lots will be of a similar size and quality as surrounding lots. The new homes will have to follow the architectural requirements of the 3 Old Town Overlay. The waiver will allow the new homes to be built with frontage on the Monon, following a similar pattern as previous development, but keeping the single-family residential character. All of these factors will contribute to the waiver not having a detrimental effect on the public health, safety, or welfare; property values; or the community at large. The Department is in support of this waiver request. Clearly there is a trend of development along the Monon and people desiring to be near the Monon, and the City has supported this trend. The petitioner is requesting to use his property in a similar way as his neighbors have been allowed to use their property. He is not asking for anything out of the ordinary, but only to be allowed to use the property as is permitted for 2 new single-family homes that will be in character with the surrounding homes. May 17, 2022, Public Hearing Recap: The Petitioner went over the project details and history of the site as well as the waiver request to allow access from the alley. A fire hydrant will be added near the new lots and a 20 ft. wide access easement will connect from the alley to the backs of the homes for fire truck access. Utility and drainage improvements will be done. Petitioner showed exhibit of other lots in the area that have had new homes built or remodeled. 3 remonstrators spoke opposed to the project. Their concerns included: the restriction that was put on the plat 20 years ago that says Blocks A and B are ineligible for improvement location permits and they don’t think this should be removed; and concern that adding 2 homes will cause traffic and safety hazards to the alley that currently serves 2 homes. The Plan Commission asked questions about the deed restriction, the possibility of turning the alley into a public road or accessing the 2 new lots from an access point to the north next to the existing historic home, tree preservation required from the Monon Overlay, if the Fire Dept. and Police Dept. had reviewed the plans, and what the landscaping and tree preservation plans will look like. The project was sent to the June 7th Residential Committee meeting with the Plan Commission having final voting authority. DOCS Remaining Comments/Concerns: The Dept. does not have any major concerns with the proposed Primary Plat Amendment or Waiver. We have requested some changes be made to the plat like changing some labels and setback lines. The Tree Preservation Easement has been added to the Plat. Recommendation: The Department of Community Services recommends the Committee sends this item to the Plan Commission with a Favorable Recommendation.