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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDepartment Report 12-05-23 2 Carmel Plan Commission COMMERCIAL COMMITTEE Tuesday, December 5, 2023 Department Report 2. Docket No. PZ-2023-00254 ADLS Amend: Harvest Church – Phase 2 Expansion. The applicant seeks site plan and design approval to expand the building and parking lot, per the original plans filed and approved under Docket No. 13040011 DP/ADLS. The site is located at 14550 River Road. It is zoned PUD (The Legacy Z-501-07, Z-637-18, and Z-679-22: most recent update) and is not within any overlay district. Filed by Dustin Myers of Crossroad Engineers on behalf of the owner, Harvest Bible Chapel. Project Overview: The Harvest Bible Chapel was constructed in 2014 and originally approved as a first phase under Docket No. 13040011 DP/ADLS. It is located within the Legacy PUD as an allowed Special Use. Phase two will include a new worship center and parking lot expansion while phase one will be converted into group meeting rooms, offices, and classrooms used during worship services for childcare. Phase one indicated day care services would not be offered during the week. The parcel is 12 acres and located within the Neighborhood Residential Use Block of the Legacy PUD. As was the case in the review of phase one, there are no specific standards for churches in the Legacy PUD language. The Department is basing our review off the commercial building standards. Setbacks follow the general placement of the existing building as previously approved and surrounding parcels are zoned Legacy PUD and S-1 pending-PUD rezone (Conner Prairie). Please see the Petitioner’s Information packet for more details. Legacy PUD Standards this project MEETS: • Lot Coverage: No minimum required; 70% proposed. • Minimum Building Height: 1 story minimum allowed; 1 story proposed. • Maximum Building Height: 60’ maximum allowed; 36’ proposed. • 5.30 – Number of Parking Spaces: 320 spaces required (one space per 4 seats in main place of assembly for church use; one space per 250 sq. ft. of floor area for office use), 657 proposed (359 existing spaces from phase one, 298 new spaces for phase two). • Permitted Use: Church/Temple/Places of Worship • Dumpster enclosure shall be screened by an enclosure constructed with matching materials • Exterior materials shall be durable and of high quality, such as masonry, pre-cast concrete, concrete block, etc. • Primary entrances shall be defined and articulated by elements such as lintels, pediments, columns, porticos, porches, canopies, and other design elements appropriate to the architectural style and details of the Building as a whole. Legacy PUD Standards NOT MET; therefore, variances will be required if adjustments are not made: • 5.39.H.2 – Number of Signs: 1 sign allowed per street frontage, 2 proposed. No variance application received. • Maximum 0.5 foot-candles at the property line, multiple areas on photometric plan exceeding 0.5 foot-candles. Revisions are needed. • Exhibit 10: Commercial Building Architectural Standards – additional design enhancement needed. o 2.A: Pedestrian scale detailing shall be provided on the front elevation of the Building at ground level. o 2.A: Continuous facades more than sixty (60) feet wide shall be designed with vertical offsets at intervals which evenly divide the façade into halves, thirds, or quarters, etc., or shall be designed at intervals not less than sixty (60) feet, whichever is less. These offsets may be projecting, recessed, or may be a simple change in Building material or detailing. o 2.C: Materials – The materials in the rear of the Building must be coordinated with the front façade. o 2.C.3.A Windows – Windows should be provided on all facades. • 5.29 – Bicycle Parking: provided at a rate of 2% of the maximum capacity of the building/facility they serve. Maximum capacity unknown, bike parking not shown. 3 Site Plan and Automobile Parking: The site plan features a new parking lot along the southern side of the building, new trash enclosure, and an extension of the existing one-way access road along the rear property line. Vehicular access into the site will remain from the two existing curb cuts onto River Road with each providing access to the north and south parking lots. Petitioner, please confirm that 50-foot half right of way was dedicated for the entirety of the parcel. The UDO requires 320 parking spaces for both phases one and two. The new southern parking lot will have 298 new parking spaces and bring the site’s total parking count to 657 spaces. Staff previously expressed concern over the amount of impervious surface on site during the initial review in 2013; however, the subject site plan generally follows the plan presented with and approved within the original DP/ADLS filing. A new trash enclosure is proposed for the building expansion and will be located in the new south parking lot. It is proposed to be constructed out of concrete brick with a precast concrete cap and fiber cement gate planks. The colors of this enclosure match the building materials and is architecturally compatible with the primary building. There is an existing trash enclosure on site in the north parking lot. Petitioner, will the existing trash enclosure will be removed from the site and replaced with the new one to the south? If not, please provide the same architectural screening for the existing enclosure as is proposed for the new trash enclosure. Active Transportation: Pedestrian access to the building is available through a 5’ sidewalk connection proposed from the path along River Road to a concrete slab near exit doors of the worship center off the side building façade, over 100’ from the main southern entrance. There is no direct connection to the building’s front façade from the multi-use path along River Road as the current building floor plan does not feature an accessible main entrance off of River Road. Petitioners, please explore alternative floor plan designs to accommodate a functional entry feature off of the front façade. The UDO requires bicycle parking for assembly uses to be provided at a rate of 2% of the maximum capacity of the building/facility they serve. Petitioner, please revise your plans to show the maximum capacity of the building and meet at least the minimum number of bicycle parking spaces to comply with the City's bicycle parking requirements. Architectural Design: Overall, the proposed building addition design complements the existing church. The proposed materials include precast concrete panels (72%), brick inlay (18%), storefront windows (7%), and reclaimed wood panels (3%). While the addition’s design complements the existing building, it fails to properly address the site’s primary street, River Road. Staff has asked the Petitioner to explore alternative floor plan designs to accommodate a functional entry feature off the true front façade facing River Road. Staff also requests additional enhancements to treat the front (east) more like a front with the addition of windows, more brick inlay, and more enhanced patterning (diamond shape) on the precast concrete panels. Lastly, Petitioner, please verify if rooftop equipment will be utilized, and if so, how it will be screened from view. Lighting: New bollard lighting and parking lot light poles will match the existing poles to the north within phase one. The photometric plan provided exceeded the maximum allowable 0.5 foot-candles at the property line. Petitioners are currently revising the photometric plan to meet City standards at the property lines. Petitioner, please confirm that the parking lot lighting fixture has a 90-degree cut off lens. Landscaping: The Urban Forester has requested revisions to the landscape plan including number of planting counts, names, and locations as well as a change in one of the proposed tree species to a more native option. Petitioner, please work with the Urban Forester to finalize an approved landscape plan. 4 Signage: The subject parcel is permitted one sign per street frontage. Presently, there is one ground sign at the existing entrance along River Road. The Petitioner wishes to keep the existing ground sign and add another by the new southern parking lot. Only one sign per street frontage is allowed and a second sign would require a variance from the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA). At the time of this report, no variance applications have been submitted for additional signage. Two canopy signs are also proposed at the two primary north and south entrances to the new addition. The UDO Sign Standards allow for an overage of square footage from ground signs to be applied to the proposed canopy signs. Petitioner, please work with the Sign Permit Specialist to finalize all signage details for this site. DOCS Remaining Comments/Concerns: 1. Building architectural modifications 2. Revised site plan 3. Revised landscape plan 4. Revised lighting plan 5. Bicycle parking: number and location of spaces not yet verified – dependent on building maximum capacity, which is unknown 6. Confirm 50-foot half right of way was dedicated for the entirety of the parcel 7. Trash enclosure and mechanical equipment screening details 8. Number of signs 9. Address outstanding TAC review comments through ProjectDox Recommendation: The Department of Community Services recommends the Commercial Committee discusses this item, then continues it to the Commercial Committee meeting on Tuesday, January 2, 2024 for further review and discussion.