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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDepartment Report 12-12-234 CARMEL PLAN COMMISSION DEPARTMENT REPORT DECEMBER 12, 2023 I. Old Business 1. Docket No. PZ-2023-00138 DP/ADLS: LEO Cottages and Multi-family at The Legacy. The applicant seeks site plan and design approval for a new apartment complex with 350 units made up of cottage style homes and three 4-story buildings as well as a future commercial parcel. The site is located at the southwest corner of 146th Street and Community Drive. It is zoned Legacy PUD (Z-501-07 and Z-679-22). Filed by Jim Shinaver and Jon Dobosiewicz of Nelson & Frankenberger, on behalf of Advenir Oakley Development, LLC. *Updates to the Report are written in blue Project Overview: The Petitioner proposes a single-family-rental and multi-family development in the Legacy PUD. To the north of the project is 146th Street and then a single-family neighborhood and an apartment neighborhood. To the east is retail development and apartments, to the south is a daycare facility and a townhome neighborhood, and to the west is a single-family neighborhood. Please see the Petitioner’s Information packet for more details. Legacy PUD Standards this project MEETS: • Permitted uses: Apartments • Maximum building height: 60’ required, 58’ proposed • Minimum front yard setback: 8’ • Minimum side setback along a street: 5’ • Minimum distance between buildings 10’ • Minimum rear yard setback: 8’ • Masonry wainscot on 30% of cottage units • Minimum retail area: 6,000 sq. ft. required; about 6,105 sq. ft. provided • Maximum number of dwellings: 350 • Fence along 146th Street provided • 70 bike parking spaces provided Site Plan, Parking and Engineering: • Site plan follows the Concept Plan that was presented with the PUD Amendment. • 3, multi-story apartment buildings are proposed on Community Dr. and Equality Blvd. similar to the Legacy Towns and Flats apartments on the east side of the street. This will continue the intended character of this main street in this Village Core area. • The parcel at the southwest corner of 146th St. and Community Dr. will remain an open parcel to be developed for commercial/retail uses as permitted in the Village Core. • The site transitions to smaller scale attached and some detached 1 and 2 story dwellings to the west. • Some public streets are continued from existing streets developed in Legacy. • Amenity Center with a pool and workout facility is proposed for this development. • Parking is made up through garages, on-street, angled parking, and parking lots. 525 spaces are required and the petitioner has provided over 600 spaces. Active Transportation: • The Bike Promenade in the Legacy PUD continues north along Larson Dr. all the way to 146th Street. • Sidewalks and paths connect throughout the development to create a walkable neighborhood. • The PUD requires bicycle parking to meet City standards, and bike parking is shown on the site plans. • The Transportation Systems Administrator will need to approve the final bike parking plan. Architectural Design: • The designs for the cottage style buildings are in substantial compliance to the character imagery included in the PUD Amendment. • The architectural style is similar to the craftsman style with front porches, smaller front setbacks, and 5 sidewalk connections to the street. • Multi-story apartment buildings have brick along the first floor. • The petitioner has been working with the Department on architectural improvements to the multi-story buildings. • Building A has been amended with features that enhance the architecture and creates a more unique frontage at this prominent corner. • Building B was also amended so the side façade facing Equality Boulevard looks more like a front. • The petitioner rearranged the locations for some of the units with masonry to have more facing the public streets. Lighting: • A legible photometric lighting plan has been provided. • Locations of streetlights and parking lot lights are shown on the lighting plan. • Parking lot light poles will be 20 ft. tall • Streetlights will be about 18 ft. tall and will be consistent with other streetlights in Legacy. Landscaping: • A 15’ greenbelt is required along 146th Street. Plantings are now shown in this area on the plans. • Street trees and parking lot plantings are provided. • There is also a pool, pool house, fitness building, pickle ball courts, and dog park provided as amenities. • Building base landscaping is shown along the front of the cottages and around the apartment buildings. • Petitioner has worked on a more detailed landscape plan for the open space at the northeast corner of Building A to show seating areas and a more pedestrian friendly and active space. • Petitioner agreed to add additional trees around the plaza area to provide shade. Signage: • Signage will match the concept designs provided during the PUD Amendment. • There will be 3 ground signs at the vehicular entrances to the development. • The main sign off of 146th St. will be 5 ft. tall, and the secondary entrance signs will be about 4 ft. tall. • Ground signs will need to be a minimum of 5 ft. from the property line. • The petitioner has submitted a revised signage plan and has reduced the overall number of signs. • They have changed the design for the leasing office directional signs and the secondary entrance signs to make them look more permanent and sturdier. • The secondary entrance signs have improved and will look more similar to the primary entrance sign. • The Leasing Office directional signs are now 3 ft. tall, per the requirements. Green Building Designs: • Low-E windows, energy star appliances, low-e light fixtures, 14-seer minimum HVAC. • High-end building materials that do not need consistent replacement such as, Hardie Siding, 30-year shingles, and flooring with a 12-mil wearing layer. September 19, 2023 Plan Commission meeting recap: Concept plan and architectural design is matching what was presented with the PUD Amendment. There were several letters received from neighbors in opposition and 4 people spoke against the project at the meeting. Their main concerns related to the perimeter to the west and tree preservation, traffic and kids that live in the area, and the Better Business Bureau rating of Advenir. The Plan Commission asked what the parking ratio is, how wide the tree area is on the west side of the property, how trash would be collected, where the signage within the development will be placed, and what the lighting fixtures on the buildings will look like. They also requested more info on what the space outside of the retail will look like, more detail on the pool and amenity center, additional images on what the streets will look like and the mix of unit types on the streets, and if more 6 brick or other enhancements could be made to the apartment buildings. The Plan Commission voted to send the project to the Residential Committee with the full Plan Commission having the final vote. October 3, 2023 Residential Committee meeting recap: Petitioner presented some updates to the plans with some answers to questions brought up during the PC meeting. 655 parking spaces are provided and 525 are required. Bike parking is now shown on the site plan. Building base landscaping and landscaping along 146th St. are provided. Pictures of buildings from existing developments were shown. 30% of units have a masonry wainscot and an exhibit highlighting those units was provided. The Committee asked to increase the percentage of units with masonry wainscots. Petitioner will work with staff to reallocate the masonry units, so they are on corners or major roads. The BBB rating was discussed, and the petitioner said they have many good reviews, but you have to pay to be BBB accredited and that several other apartment companies have F ratings. The Committee also asked if any of the parking could be reduced or resized to provide more green space. Committee forwarded the project to the November 13th Residential Committee meeting. November 13, 2023 Residential Committee meeting recap: Petitioner presented new design for Building A with a white and gray coloring. The Committee would like to see the color samples. The revised plaza layout by building A was presented and the outstanding comments in the Staff report were discussed. The Committee asked about the building phasing, location of the pool, and masonry on the garages. Petitioner said the masonry on the garages might look weird because different units will have different heights for the masonry and the units are connected at the garages. Petitioner agreed to work with the Sign Permit Coordinator to show specific signs on the plans. ADA units will be provided according to the FHA requirements. The Committee continued the project to the December 5th meeting. December 5, 2023 Residential Committee meeting recap: Petitioner presented several revisions since the last meeting, including the revised secondary entry sign, revised Building B, revised bike parking plan, and BBB rating is now a B-. Color schemes were distributed. There was discussion about removing the phone number from the entrance signs. Petitioner brought examples of other apartment complexes in Carmel with phone numbers on their sign, and staff suggested that we cannot regulate content of signs due to freedom of speech and recent legal precedent that was established. No indoor bike parking is provided in the apartment buildings, and the bike parking plan still needs approval and a few tweaks from the City’s Transportation Systems Administrator. The committee asked if there could be additional shading for the plaza area and petitioner agreed to add trees near the plaza for shade. Committee voted 4-0 to send the project back to the Plan Commission with a favorable recommendation. DOCS Remaining Comments/Concerns: 1. Finalize the bike parking plan with the Transportation Systems Administrator. 2. Resubmit revised plans in ProjectDox. Recommendation: The Department of Community Services recommends the Plan Commission votes to Approve this project, conditioned upon final Engineering Department and TAC approvals through ProjectDox.