Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutDept Report 03-02-10 CARMEL PLAN COMMISSION SPECIAL STUDIES COMMITTEE DEPARTMENT REPORT March 2, 2010 5. Docket No. 09100011 DP /ADLS: CVS Pharmacy at Rangeline Rd. The applicant seeks site plan and design approval for a new retail building. The site is located at 1421 S. Rangeline Rd. and is zoned B -8 /Business within the Carmel Dr. Rangeline Rd. Overlay Zone. Filed by Craig Forgey of Gershman Brown Crowley, Inc. The applicant seeks site plan and design approval for new retail building and site plan which will encompass both the current CVS and Taco Bell sites. The site is approximately 1.5 acres in size. The building is mostly comprised of brick veneer and Indiana limestone. On- street parking is provided, in addition to the parking lot. Adjacent to the site is a multi tenant retail center to the west, Day Furs to the north, AutoZone to the south, and Carmel Care Center retirement community to the east. Please refer to the petitioner's informational packet for more detail. While the project is close to receiving 100% support from the Planning/Zoning Department, there is still Staff objection to the building's orientation which "turns its back" to the intersection of Rangeline Rd and Medical Dr. by not having a door /entrance at the corner. This design /floor plan has been promoted by CVS as `good enough' for this location, regardless of the City's objection and design goals. It does not go along with the City's vision for this corridor or the intent of the Carmel Drive Range Line Road Overlay Zone. While the building is designed to appear as if it has an entrance at the corner, it does not, which may lead to confusion or frustration of pedestrians/ bicyclists trying to access the store, in addition to creating a "dead" corner. The Department of Community Services knows that two entrances can be accomplished because it found a number of examples of recently constructed CVS stores including suburbs such as Westerville, Ohio and Worthington ,Ohio, located at a corner of a street intersection that have two entrances, one near the parking lot and one at the street intersection. The Carmel Drive Range Line Road Overlay Zone was established to support an uptown business district that will support a range of activities and opportunities to all segments of the community; with mixed -uses in multi- story buildings; is pedestrian oriented and supportive of multiple modes of transportation; with buildings and a streetscape which are attractive and safely designed in order to enhance the livability of the city in part, by providing controls for architecture and landscape design to establish continuity of design between projects and to improve the physical relationship between new buildings and overall community. While the Department supports the proposed plan to redevelop with a larger, more modern CVS store, the fundamental design flaw of backing the building onto the corner violates the cardinal rule of good urban design for building permeability, and disregards the pedestrian nature of a street intersection. Staff asks the Commission to stand firm on this issue. BZA variance requests were approved (with the condition that no signs ever are installed in the windows the store) at the January 26 Board of Zonings Appeals meeting for: building must occupy a minimum 70% of frontage required number of parking spaces total number of signs for building sign facing north, not towards a right of way minimum floor area ratio Jan. 21 Plan Commission meeting overview of public hearing comments /concerns: a. There is a north to south grade change of 12 -feet. b. The Commission needs a statement from the Engineering Dept: is on street parking safe? Can the petitioner commit to installing on street parking if /when Range Line is safer for it? c. There seems to be a blind spot with dumpster enclosure; look at traffic flow and sightlines. d. Is the sidewalk wide enough for pedestrians /bicyclists, even with the street trees planting areas? 6 e. Bike parking location and design of racks f. CVS window advertising/photos will not be allowed. g. Petitioner should supply photos examples of a CVS with historical photos in the windows. h. The false entrance is bad. It is too confusing, because it looks like an entrance. Staff's outstanding issues or comments: 1. DOCS would like the building to have a functional door to the second level that is sited at the southwest corner of the building. It could be a future office entrance to the second floor. 2. Please add a door /entrance to the building at/near the corner of Rangeline Rd Medical Dr. 3. Label the building materials on the revised building elevations on Sheet A -4.1. 4. The Forestry Dept has no issues with the Landscape Plan. 5. Please consider adding additional green /sustainable site and building practices. See Green Checklist. 6. Update the lot cover percentage on sheet C2.1 to show both pavement building footprint, to equal 83.7 7. Please show a pedestrian/bicycle connection from the southeast corner of the site, along the area east of the building, per Section 23F.14.04. Perhaps with striping of the crosswalk across the drive or with decorative pavers. 8. The Hamilton County Surveyor's Office has no comments, since this is outside of their jurisdiction. 9. This project is outside the jurisdiction of the Hamilton County Highway Dept. 10. Petitioner should provide the status of the Dept of Engineering's (DOE) approval. Also, DOE does not think on- street parking should be installed at this time, but road right of way should be reserved for future installation of on- street parking for the whole corridor. 11. Referring to the BZA packet for January 26 (because it has more updated sign info than the PC packet for December 15` there are some discrepancies between the renderings under tab 6 and the sign package under tab 7. Please clarify if sign #s 8, 9, 10, 15, 16, 17 of the sign packet are still being requested. This will help determine the actual number of signs less than 3 sq. ft. on the site. Without the clarification, it appears that there are 12 signs less than 3 sq. ft. on the site. This totals to 29.59 sq. ft. of additional signage. The Department would prefer to see this number reduced significantly, particularly reducing the two directional signs at the entrance /exits. Only one sign is necessary to identify the entrance /exit. 12. Please provide new renderings of Signs #11 -14 in the packet showing the directional signs at 3'0" tall. 13. Also please update the sign package to reflect the latest design of the building and an accurate signage proposal. 14. Alternative Transportation Systems: The original development plan of this site showed a 5 -ft wide sidewalk along its street frontages. The Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan indicates a 10 -ft wide multi -use path along Range Line and an urban commercial sidewalk along Medical Dr. The plans have not been updated yet, but the applicant indicated that they would work with the Engineering Dept. to determine the appropriate design for these paths. 15. Can a green roof or partial green roof be added to help reduce the need for underground storm water detention? The Dept of Community Services (DOCS) recommends that the Committee discusses this item briefly, and then continues this item to the Thursday, April 1, committee meeting.