HomeMy WebLinkAboutSP-22-008 CU-22-01 - Supplemental - 0255 Kennedy Drive (15)#SP-22-008 & #CU-22-01
Staff Comments
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CITY OF SOUTH BURLINGTON
DEVELOPMENT REVIEW BOARD
SP-22-008 CU-22-01_255 Kennedy Dr_SC_2022-03-15.docx
DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING & ZONING
Report preparation date: March 9, 2022
Plans received: February 3, 2022
255 Kennedy Drive
Site Plan Application #SP-22-008 and Conditional Use Application #CU-22-01
Meeting date: March 15, 2022
Owner/Applicant
O’Brien Home Farm, LLC
1855 Williston Road
South Burlington, VT 05403
Engineer
Krebs & Lansing
164 Main Street, Suite 201
Colchester, VT 05446
Property Information
Tax Parcel 0970-00255
Residential 12 Zoning District & Commercial 1-Limited Retail Zoning District
4.3 Acres (Lot 17)
Location Map
#SP-22-008 & #CU-22-01
Staff Comments
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PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Site plan application #SP-22-008 and conditional use application #CU-22-01 of O’Brien Farm Road, LLC to
construct a 52-space commercial parking lot on an existing 4.3 acre undeveloped lot for the use of
tenants on the adjoining multifamily residential lots, 255 Kennedy Drive.
PERMIT HISTORY
The Project is located in the Commercial 1 Limited Retail (C1-LR) and Residential 12 (R12) Zoning
Districts. It is also located in the Transit and Traffic Overlay Districts. The property is currently
undeveloped. The most recent approval for the property was preliminary plat approval #SD-20-40,
which preliminarily approved a 102.6 acre PUD consisting of 147 homes, 19 commercial development
lots, and 25.1 acres of undeveloped space (O’Brien Eastview). In approval #SD-20-40, the area of the
subject application was conceptually represented as containing commercial parking, though the details
of that proposal were not reviewed as part of the preliminary plat since it was represented as a
“commercial lot,” for which the applicant only requested review of the subdivision of land, not of the
proposed uses on the lots. Therefore Staff considers this application to be the first application for
commercial parking on this lot.
The parking lot will be for the use of the residents on Lots 13 and 15, and as noted in concurrent final
plat application #SD-22-05, is necessary to meet required parking minimums for the homes proposed on
those lots. The proposed area of this parking is not within the Master Plan or Preliminary Plat for O’Brien
Hillside.
CONTEXT
The project is subject to site plan review. Conditional use review is required because commercial
parking is a conditional use in the C1-LR zoning district. Commercial parking is a prohibited use in the
R12 zoning district.
COMMENTS
Development Review Planner Marla Keene and Planning Director Paul Conner (“Staff”) have reviewed
the plans submitted on 2/3/2021 and offer the following comments. Numbered items for the Board’s
attention are in red.
Since the applicant has elected to not subdivide the lands such that the proposed parking are is included
in Lot 13 (see applicant’s cover letter “The reasons that this land is not simply incorporated into Lot 13,
is simply to allow for the underlying density of the land to remain available to the Eastview planned unit
development.”), the only way to approve parking on a lot without a principal building is to consider it a
commercial or public parking facility. Such use is prohibited in the R12 zoning district. The R12 zoning
district extends approximately 110 ft into Lot 17, therefore the Board cannot simply apply the
regulations of the C1-LR zoning district to the lands on Lot 17 that are contained within the R12 district
pursuant to the split lot provisions of 3.03C. Staff considers the proposed development of a commercial
parking lot to not be approvable as designed.
#SP-22-008 & #CU-22-01
Staff Comments
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1. Staff recommends the Board require the applicant to revise the plans to show the location of the
zoning district boundary line and remove parking on Lot 17 within the R12 zoning district. The
Board may discuss whether to extend the regulations of the C1-LR district up to 50’ into The R12
district.
2. Staff recommends the Board enter into a discussion of what they will allow to be constructed in
the portion of Lot 17 which is within the R12 zoning district. Staff considers the applicant has
added 30 units in the buildings on Lots 13 & 15, while simultaneously reducing the area of open
space on those parcels. While Staff acknowledges the need for an adequate amount of parking,
there is nothing prohibiting the applicant from using more of the C1-LR for parking and retaining
the R12 portion of the lot as open space. Such a modification would not affect the ability of the
applicant to use the underlying density of Lot 17 to apply towards the Eastview planned unit
development, and such parking beyond the required minimum for Lots 13 and 15 could be
subject to a shared use agreement in the future.
Alternatively, the applicant could propose to amend the Hillside Master Plan to include this area.
That would allow the area to be used for parking in support of the buildings on lots 13 and 15
without being a commercial use. In this scenario, however, the density from this portion of Lot 17
would be unavailable to the adjacent development.
Standards which will apply to the commercial parking once the prohibited parking is removed are
provided below. Additional standards may apply. Staff has not performed an analysis of compliance
with these standards because Staff anticipates that the plans will need to be significantly modified to
accommodate the prohibition on parking in the R12.
The applicant is also proposing a sidewalk serving Lots 13 and 15 on Lot 17. Staff will incorporate review
of the sidewalk into review of the revised parking proposal.
A) ZONING DISTRICT & DIMENSIONAL REQUIREMENTS
Commercial 1-LR12 Required
Min. Lot Size 40,000 sq. ft.
Max. Building Coverage 30%
Max. Overall Coverage 40%
Max. Front Setback
Coverage
30%
Min. Front Setback 30 ft.
Min. Side Setback 10 ft.
Min. Rear Setback 30 ft.
Building Height 4 stories
B) SITE PLAN REVIEW STANDARDS
14.06 General Review Standards
A. Relationship of Proposed Structures to the Site.
(1) The site shall be planned to accomplish a desirable transition from structure to site, from
structure to structure, and to provide for adequate planting, safe pedestrian movement, and
adequate parking areas.
#SP-22-008 & #CU-22-01
Staff Comments
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(2) Parking:
(a) Parking shall be located to the rear or sides of buildings. Any side of a building
facing a public street shall be considered a front side of a building for the purposes of
this subsection.
C. Relationship of Structures and Site to Adjoining Area.
(1) The Development Review Board shall encourage the use of a combination of common
materials and architectural characteristics (e.g., rhythm, color, texture, form or detailing),
landscaping, buffers, screens and visual interruptions to create attractive transitions between
buildings of different architectural styles.
14.07 Specific Review Standards
In all Zoning Districts and the City Center Form Based Codes District, the following standards shall
apply:
B. Site Design Features. All proposed development shall comply with standards for the
placement of buildings, parking and loading areas, landscaping and screening, open space,
stormwater, lighting, and other applicable standards related to site design pursuant to these
Land Development Regulations.
These standards are contained in Article 13.
C. Access and Circulation. All proposed development shall comply with site access and
circulation standards of Section 15.A.14.
Much of 15.A.14 pertains to the construction of streets, which are not applicable to this
application. The applicable sections of 15.A.14 follow.
15.A.14(E) Access and Circulation. The applicant must demonstrate that the street network
is arranged to meet applicable access management, traffic, and pedestrian circulation standards under these Regulations, including criteria for site plans under Article 14,
Transect Zone Subdivisions under Article 9, or a type of Planned Unit Development under
Article 15.C; and, for state highways, VTrans Access Management Program Guidelines in
effect at the time of application. Unless otherwise specified under these regulations, the
street network, including the location and arrangement of streets, must be designed to:
(1) Provide a minimum of two (2) entrances or access points from an arterial or collector
street to a subdivision with more than fifty (50) dwelling units on four (4) or more lots or
within four (4) or more principal buildings, unless otherwise approved by the DRB in
consultation with the City Engineer and Director of Planning & Zoning.
(2) Separate subdivision entrances by a minimum distance of four hundred (400) feet on
either side of a public street, as necessary to ensure safe access and traffic movement
into and out of the subdivision. Subdivision entrances on opposite sides of a public street
may be allowed by the DRB if substantially aligned with each other.
(3) Provide for street intersections as close to ninety (90) degrees as physically possible.
(4) – (5) N/A
#SP-22-008 & #CU-22-01
Staff Comments
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(6) Design intersections and other access points to City specifications to include curb radii
necessary to accommodate anticipated vehicle types and speeds while also minimizing
pedestrian crossing distances.
(7) Provide for safe access to abutting properties for motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians,
including safe sight distances, access separation distances, and accommodations for
high-accident locations.
(8) Align access points with existing intersections or curb cuts and consolidate existing
access points or curb cuts within the subdivision, to the extent physically and functionally
feasible.
(9) Minimize vehicular access points (curb cuts) to abutting properties and building lots
along pedestrian-oriented street frontage; and provide, where physically feasible,
shared vehicular access to frontage and other abutting building lots via rear alleys, side
streets, service lanes, shared driveways, or rear cross connections between adjoining
parcels.
F. Access to Abutting Properties. The reservation of land may be required on any lot for
provision of access to abutting properties whenever such access is deemed necessary to reduce
curb cuts onto an arterial or collector street, to provide additional access for emergency or other purposes, or to improve general access and circulation in the area.
See 13.02F below for discussion of access.
G. Utility Services. Electric, telephone and other wire-served utility lines and service
connections shall be underground insofar as feasible and subject to state public utilities
regulations. Any utility installations remaining above ground shall be located so as to have a
harmonious relation to neighboring properties and to the site. Standards of Section 15.A.18,
Infrastructure, Utilities, and Services, shall also be met.
C) SUPPLEMENTAL REGULATIONS
13.02 Off Street Parking and Loading
F. Access management Requirements. It is the intent of the City to minimize traffic and pedestrian conflicts caused by vehicular driveways on public roadways by reducing the
number of required driveways and by minimizing the number of vehicles utilizing such
driveways off public roadways. All applicants must make an effort to reduce these impacts. All
commercial lots (retail, restaurant, office, service uses, excluding residential, agricultural and
industrial uses) located adjacent to other commercial lots must provide a driveway connection
to any adjacent commercial lot. If the adjacent property owner does not want to provide for
that connection, the applicant must provide an easement to do so in the future when
circumstances may change. This driveway connection or easement should be located where
vehicular and pedestrian circulation is most feasible.
G. Design requirements for Parking Spaces, Parking Aisles, Lighting and Landscaping
(1) Design requirements for off-street parking and loading are provided in Table 13-2
and Figure 13-1, Section 13.04, Landscaping, Screening, and Street Trees, and Section 13.07, Exterior Lighting. All paved parking spaces shall be striped or otherwise
physically delimited.
#SP-22-008 & #CU-22-01
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(2) The location of parking areas and loading docks shall prevent conflicts with
entering and existing traffic onto a public street and prevent conflicts between
vehicles and pedestrians. The distance between access points and parking areas shall be adequate to minimize blockage and prevent back-ups onto the public street.
(3) Provision shall be made for access by police, fire and emergency vehicles.
(4) Pedestrian safety. Insofar as practicable, pedestrian and bicycle circulation shall be
separated from motor vehicle circulation. Safe and convenient pedestrian circulation,
including appropriate sidewalks, shall be provided on the site and its approaches. The
pedestrian circulation on site shall be designed to minimize adverse effects of
vehicular traffic on sidewalks and recreation paths.
(5) Bicycle parking or storage facility. See Section 13.03
(6) Stormwater management strategies that facilitate infiltration including but not
limited to recessed planting islands, bioretention facilities, and pervious parking
spaces are encouraged in the design of any off-street parking or loading area.
Stormwater management is discussed under 13.05 below.
13.04 Landscaping, Screening & Street Trees
B. Except for parking spaces accessory to a one-family or two-family dwelling, all off-street
parking areas subject to review by the Development Review Board, shall be curbed and landscaped
with appropriate trees, shrubs, and other plants including ground covers, as approved by the
Development Review Board. Sections of recessed curb are permitted if their purpose is to allow
stormwater runoff from the adjacent parking area to reach stormwater collection, treatment and
management infrastructure. The Development Review Board shall consider the adequacy of the
proposed landscaping to assure the establishment of a safe, convenient, and attractive parking area
and the privacy and comfort of abutting properties.
(1) All off-street parking areas shall be landscaped around the perimeter of the lot with trees,
shrubs and other plants. Perimeter planting shall be set back from the curb sufficiently to allow for
snow storage. The purpose of perimeter planting shall be to mitigate the view of the parking lot
from the public way and from adjacent uses and properties, and to provide shade and canopy for
the parking lot. In some situations it may be necessary both for surveillance purposes and for the
perception of safety to install the size and type of plants that leave visual access between the
parking lot to the public way or other pedestrian areas.
(2) In all parking areas containing twenty-eight (28) or more contiguous parking spaces and/or in
parking lots with more than a single circulation lane, at least ten percent (10%) of the interior of
the parking lot shall be landscaped islands planted with trees, shrubs and other plants. Such
requirement shall not apply to structured parking or below-ground parking.
(3) All interior and perimeter planting shall be protected by curbing unless specifically designed as
a collection and treatment area for management of stormwater runoff as per 13.04(B)(5)(c)
below. Interior planted islands shall have a minimum dimension of six (6) feet on any one side, and
shall have a minimum square footage of sixty (60) square feet. Large islands are encouraged.
(4) Landscaping Requirements
(a) Landscaping shall include a variety of trees, shrubs, grasses and ground covers. All
planting shall be species hardy for the region and, if located in areas receiving road runoff or
#SP-22-008 & #CU-22-01
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salt spray, shall be salt-tolerant.
(b) At least one (1) major deciduous shade tree shall be provided within or near the
perimeter of each parking area, for every five (5) parking spaces. The trees shall be placed
evenly throughout the parking lot to provide shade and reduce glare. Trees shall be placed a
minimum of thirty (30) feet apart.
(c) Trees shall have a caliper equal to or greater than two and one-half (2 ½) inches when
measured on the tree stem, six (6) inches above the root ball.
The applicant has proposed 2 to 3 inch caliper trees. This does not meet the standard. Staff
recommends the Board require the applicant to provide trees with a minimum of 2 ½ inches at
the time of installation.
(d) Where more than ten (10) trees are installed, a mix of species is encouraged; the
species should be grouped or located in a manner that reinforces the design and layout of the
parking lot and the site.
(7) Snow storage areas must be specified and located in an area that minimizes the potential for
erosion and contaminated runoff into any adjacent or nearby surface waters.
C. Screening or buffering. The Development Review Board will require landscaping, fencing, land
shaping and/or screening along property boundaries (lot lines) whenever it determines that a) two
adjacent sites are dissimilar and should be screened or buffered from each other, or b) a property’s
appearance should be improved, which property is covered excessively with pavement or structures or
is otherwise insufficiently landscaped, or c) a commercial, industrial, and multi-family use abuts a
residential district or institutional use, or (d) a parking or loading area is adjacent to or visible from a
public street.
D. Front Yards of Non-Residential and Multi-Family Uses. In the case of non-residential and multi-
family uses, the required front yard and/or the frontage along designated arterial and collector
streets (see Article 3, Section 3.06 for this list) shall be suitably landscaped and maintained in good
appearance. Landscape elements that reduce stormwater runoff and promote stormwater infiltration
are encouraged. The Development Review Board shall require the applicant to meet the provisions of
sections 13.04(F) and (G).
13.05 Stormwater Management
Stormwater standards apply when one-half acre or more of impervious surface exists or is proposed to
exist, and where 5,000 sf of impervious is created or reconstructed.
13.07 Exterior Lighting
Lighting requirements are summarized as follows.
(1) Fixtures must be downcast and shielded
(2) Illumination must be evenly distributed
(3) Fixtures must be placed to minimize lighting from becoming a nuisance
(4) Poles shall be rustproof metal, cast iron, fiberglass, finished wood or similar structural
material, with a decorative surface or finish
(5) Poles & building mounted fixtures may be no higher than 30-ft
#SP-22-008 & #CU-22-01
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(6) Poles must be located in safe locations
Specific requirements for maximum illumination levels are included in Appendix A and are limited to 3
foot-candles average at ground level.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the Board work with the applicant to address the issues identified herein prior to
closing the hearing. Additional staff notes will be incorporated upon revision of the application.
Respectfully submitted,
Marla Keene, Development Review Planner