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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDepartment Report 01-17-23 1 CARMEL PLAN COMMISSION DEPARTMENT REPORT JANUARY 17, 2023 H. Public Hearings 1. Docket No. PZ-2022-00224 OA: BJ's Wholesale Club-146th & Keystone PUD Amend The applicant seeks to amend the PUD to add accessory uses and update various other development standards requirements to construct a BJ’s Wholesale Club building. The site is located at 14480 Lowes Way. It is currently zoned PUD: Z-344 - 146th & Keystone Ave. PUD. Filed by Marc LaVoie, PE, of BJ’s Wholesale Club, Inc. Project Overview: The Petitioner proposes to amend the current 146 & Keystone Ave. PUD to allow for a new user, BJ’s Wholesale, to occupy the remainder of the site. Lowe’s occupies the north portion of the property, and the south portion has two restaurants and a vacant parcel at the southernmost portion. US 31 and Keystone Parkway have had many improvements around this site, providing greater access to and from 146th Street. Danbury Estates residential subdivision is located across Lowe’s Way to the east, zoned R-4/Residential. To the southeast across Lowe’s Way and separated by Cool Creek is the Laura Vista Subdivision, zoned R-1/Residential. Please see the Petitioner’s Information packet for more details. PUD (Planned Unit Development) Standards this project MEETS: • Permitted Use: Retail • Minimum tract size: 5 acres required, 8.5 proposed • Min. Building Height: 14’ required, 39’4” proposed • Minimum Gross Floor Area: 15,000 sq. ft. required; 101,826 sq. ft. proposed • Maximum FAR is 0.7: 0.27 proposed (101,826 sq. ft./8.5 acres) • Architectural Design Requirements: o Minimum of 3 building materials required, brick, stone, precast concrete panel, and EIFS accents proposed o 8 eternal corners minimum required, 12 provided • Lighting Plan: No changes proposed to Section 9 • Loading berths: No changes proposed to Section 11.2 • Rooftop Mechanical equipment screening: No changes proposed to Section 11.4 • Cart Corrals: No changes to Section 11.5 Existing PUD Standards NOT MET, therefore NEW PUD standards proposed or items unknown: • Maximum Parcel Coverage allowed: 30% for retail permitted, percent proposed unknown • Minimum Building Setback: New proposed distance is 60’ from ROW, 90’ previously required, 65’ proposed with concept plan • Architectural Design Requirements: Golden Section – Petitioner please confirm this is met • Landscaping: o Greenbelt: New area shown along Keystone Parkway – minimum of 30’, 30’ was also required in existing PUD, however, INDOT has acquired much of the previous greenbelt for ROW for road improvements, however, remains landscaped 0.3 acres remains of original greenbelt, 0.15 acres proposed for new greenbelt – to preserve existing landscaping and vegetation, 0.37 acres new area at south no-mow area. This will help clean run-off and pollutants before getting to the creek. o Parallel roadways: previously required 10’ planting area adjacent to Keystone, proposal now is to have the 10’ area adjacent to Lowe’s way, about 16’ proposed currently o Section 7.2.C. – Building base plantings – does not appear to be met with concept plan, no changes to PUD proposed o Parking lot landscaping – 6% required, percent unknown • Parking requirements: UDO would require 1/200 sq. ft. of floor area = 509 spaces, 407 spaces proposed, PUD proposed change to allow the 407 shown on the concept plan. • Outside Storage of Refuse or Merchandise: Changed to only allow propane tanks as overnight outside storage and allows daily merchandise to be displayed adjacent to the front entrance. However, daily merchandise may not remain overnight. Meaning if something is brought out, it must be placed back inside the building overnight. • Signs: PUD changed to be more specific to BJ’s store proposal 2 • New PUD sections: o Bike Parking to follow UDO requirements o Overnight parking – not allowed except for trucks actively unloading at the loading docks o Offsite Roadway Improvements: adding dedicated right lane out of the round-a-bout, right turn only at south end of site, adjustments to 146th St. & Lowe’s Way intersection to improve traffic flow Concept Site Plan: The proposed concept site plan has the BJ’s building at the east side of the site, oriented west with the main entrance visible from US 31 and Keystone Parkway. The main vehicular entrance into the site from Lowe’s Way will remain as is constructed today, with a few proposed enhancements to accommodate additional vehicles. For example, BJ’s would construct a right turn lane at the round-a-bout going southbound on Lowe’s Way to aid in dispersing traffic. They also propose to add a right-out (only) cut at the south end of the site (to Lowe’s Way), for large trucks to have a secondary way out of the site. A fueling station and an indoor tire sales and service area are proposed as part of this PUD Amendment. Currently, Auto Service or Filling Stations are not allowed as primary uses in the PUD. The PUD also references Accessory Uses allowed in the B2 District would be allowed here. However, neither of these uses are allowed as accessory uses in the B2 District. So, the proposed PUD amendment would allow for these uses: auto service (meaning tire sales and service inside the building) and auto filling stations, to be accessory uses to the primary use of the retail building. Staff has worked with the Petitioner regarding the placement of the filling station, as we had concerns regarding the proximity of a filling station to Cool Creek, which runs directly south of the property. The Petitioner is proposing additional safety measures against fuel leaking and spilling, which are comparable to the precautions taken by the gas station at 146th and River Road. More info on this is included in the Petitioner’s Info Packet. Staff will also provide an update from the Engineering Dept. regarding the proposed improvements “above and beyond” State requirements. The fueling station and associated underground tanks are now proposed to run north/south at the SW corner of the property. The pumps and all aspects of the gas component are located more than 500’ away from the residential neighborhoods to the east, which complies with the recent City Code amendment restricting gas stations to be within 500’ of residential areas. Architectural Design: Staff has been working with the Petitioner on the design of the building to enhance the exterior design to be unique, have four-sided architecture, and be context sensitive. We worked to create symmetry throughout the facades and designate feature areas to break down the scale of the structure. The building will be constructed of pre-cast concrete panels, with brick inlay, a stone base, and a textured upper area (so it is not plain concrete walls) to give additional character (below the cornice line). A theme across most BJ’s buildings is a diamond shape as an accent. We encouraged them to use this design element around the building as an additional feature, and it has been incorporated into bump out/tower elements around the building. Faux windows have also been added to each façade at the upper levels, which help to give additional character and break up the scale of the building. The main entrance is located on the west elevation and has a very large entry feature parapet wall. The Petitioner has made progress to show modifications that include more detailing, and to break down the scale of the large area. However, Staff still believes we can enhance this area further. The amount of brick at the first-floor level should be increased, to balance the scale of the upper portion. The height of this parapet is also significantly taller than the rest of the building. Staff would like to see the back side of this parapet treated with similar colors to make it appear like a four-sided tower element, rather than a blank wall. One other item to note regarding building design details – the metal awnings over the entries around the building are all different colors. Staff would like to see consistency brought to these awning elements. Signage: More work will be needed to access the full signage proposal if additional changes are made to the building façade. 3 DOCS Remaining Comments/Concerns: Staff will continue to work through remaining comments mentioned in bold text above as this project moves onto Committee for review. Recommendation: The Department of Community Services recommends the Plan Commission sends this item to the Commercial Committee meeting on February 7, 2023, for further review and discussion.