HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda 06_MP-21-02_Response to Staff CommentsBETA TECHNOLOGIES December 21, 2021
S40 CAMPUS MASTER PLAN APPLICATION #MP-21-02
Responses to Staff Comments Page 1 of 7
B) ZONING DISTRCIT TABLES
Setbacks, Coverages & Lot Dimensions
1. Staff recommends the Board require the applicant to work with Staff to understand the required
dimensional computations and require the applicant to provide corrected dimensional values prior
to closing the hearing.
Requested setbacks, coverages, and lot dimensions are summarized below:
AIR-I Zoning
District
Requirement
AIR-I Zoning
District
Proposed
I/C Zoning
District
Requirement
I/C Zoning
District
Proposed
Min. Lot Size 3 ac 747.9 ac 40,000 sf 747.9 ac
Max. Building Coverage 30% 24.3% 40.0% 5.5%
Max. Overall Coverage 50% 54.5% 70.0% 43.9%
@ Max. Height (Flat Roof) 35 ft. 45 ft. 35 ft. 35 ft.
Max. Front Setback Coverage 30% N/A 30% 13%
The master plan project limits as being considered does not include the geothermal field location,
which was inadvertently not included. When including this area, which is 2.83 acres, the Max.
Overall Coverage would be 49.1%, not the current as calculated 54.5%, meeting the AIR-I zoning
district requirement.
Figure 1 - AIR-I PUD Max. Overall Coverage Diagram
BETA TECHNOLOGIES December 21, 2021
S40 CAMPUS MASTER PLAN APPLICATION #MP-21-02
Responses to Staff Comments Page 2 of 7
C) APPROVAL AND AMENDMENT OF MASTER PLAN
(a) Floor Area Ratio (FAR)
2. The applicant has further requested in their cover memo a waiver of the requirement to establish a
floor area ratio. Staff consider establishment of this and the other four master plan criteria to be a
critical part of master plan review and does not support the request for waiver. Staff recommends
the Board discuss the requested waiver with the applicant. The Board could establish a slightly
higher FAR maximum as part of this master plan so as to give some room for modifications.
The applicant’s original request was to waive the requirement to calculate FAR for the AIR-I district
as it originally included the entire Airport parcel for said calculation. However, with the proposed
master plan now sitting separately, the applicant requests the following FAR’s to provide for
current and future growth:
AIR-I District Parcel 26.07 Acres FAR = 0.75
IC District Parcel 11.52 Acres FAR = 0.75
(b) Site Coverage
3. This application is for the 37.6 acre master plan area. The applicant has provided a table of lot
coverages for the 747.9 acre parcel of which the master plan is a part, but since this master plan
approval will not apply to the entire 747.9 acre parcel, Staff considers this information to be
irrelevant. As discussed above, the applicant’s computations of coverages appear to be erroneous,
and Staff recommends the Board require the applicant to correct them before closing the hearing.
Staff considers the Board is approving a layout, and that the actual values should not play a major
factor in the Board’s decision making.
Calculations corrected to consider the 37.6 acre master plan area.
(c) Open Space
4. Staff recommends the Board ask the applicant to discuss the location of each of the significant
spaces mentioned in the application narrative and demarcate these open spaces on a plan for the
Board’s review. Staff recommends if the Board considers these open spaces as integral to the
master plan that they be established as permanent open spaces in support of this criterion.
The figure below provides the location of each of the proposed open spaces.
BETA TECHNOLOGIES December 21, 2021
S40 CAMPUS MASTER PLAN APPLICATION #MP-21-02
Responses to Staff Comments Page 3 of 7
Figure 3 - Open Space Diagram
BETA TECHNOLOGIES December 21, 2021
S40 CAMPUS MASTER PLAN APPLICATION #MP-21-02
Responses to Staff Comments Page 4 of 7
(d) PM Peak Hour Vehicle Trip Ends
5. The applicant indicates in their application narrative that the project is proposed to generate 526
PM peak hour trips. The applicant says this is supported by a submitted analysis, but Staff has been
unable to locate that analysis. Staff recommends the Board require the applicant to provide an
analysis of how the trip generation was calculated for review prior to closing the hearing.
Project Calculated Trip Generation. The table below shows the assumptions and calculations used
to estimate the 526 PM peak hours trips generated by the full master plan build-out.
Traffic Overlay District Trip Budget Calculation. The Traffic Overlay District trip budget in the
Traffic Impact Study assumed a land area of 500,000 square feet based on the size of the
parcels fronting Williston Road that are part of the Phase 1 development. This calculation
has been updated to include the full planned unit development lot size of 37.6 acres
(1,637,856 square feet), which yields a trip budget of 1,843 trips as summarized in the
table below.
D) CRITERIA FOR REVIEW OF MASTER PLANS
(1) Water supply and wastewater disposal capacity.
6. The applicant has not provided an estimate of water and wastewater demand. Staff recommends
the Board require the applicant to do so for review by the South Burlington Water and Water
Quality Departments prior to closing the hearing to identify whether a project of this scale would be
expected to encounter any major capacity issues. Staff recommends the ultimate finding on this
criterion establish a general finding of sufficiency but leave detailed review of the water distribution
and wastewater collection systems for individual final plat applications.
Applicant will provide estimated water and wastewater demand for review by the South Burlington
and Water Quality Departments.
Figure 4 - Trip Generation Calculation Table
Maximum Number of Peak Hour Trip Ends
per 40,000 SF of Land Area 45
Approximate Total Parcel Area (acres)37.6
Approximate Total Parcel Area (square feet)1,637,856
Maximum PM Peak Hour Trip Budget 1,843
Figure 5 - Traffic Overlay District Trip Budget Calculation
BETA TECHNOLOGIES December 21, 2021
S40 CAMPUS MASTER PLAN APPLICATION #MP-21-02
Responses to Staff Comments Page 5 of 7
E) PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS
Traffic Circulation and Management Strategies
7. Staff recommends the Board require the applicant to prepare a TIS addendum taking into
consideration the entirety of the master plan development, or whether they will allow this criterion
to be evaluated for each final plat application. Preparing a traffic study addendum will require
additional investment prior to final design of the project, and the traffic study would likely need
minor updates as each final plat is developed, but it would be beneficial to the applicant to have
some certainty that the project will not be prohibited based on anticipated traffic volumes, and
establishing the maximum PM peak hour trips do not result in unreasonable congestion of adjacent
roadways one of the five principal parameters of master plan review.
Applicant will prepare a TIS addendum for the entirety of the Master Plan
Pedestrian Circulation within the Development
8. A sidewalk along Williston Road is proposed in concurrent final plat application #SD-21-28 but is not
shown on the master plans. Staff recommends the Board require the applicant to include the
proposed sidewalk on the master plan documents.
Sidewalk was inadvertently omitted on drawing MP-003, which has been revised to include the
sidewalk. The proposed location is shown correctly on sheet L-002 and below.
Figure 6 - Proposed Williston Road Sidewalk - Illustrative (WHLA)
BETA TECHNOLOGIES December 21, 2021
S40 CAMPUS MASTER PLAN APPLICATION #MP-21-02
Responses to Staff Comments Page 6 of 7
E) REQUESTED WAIVERS AND FINDINGS
1. 15.07(D)(2) Level of Review and Process Required for Subsequent Master Plans
9. The applicant has not made a specific request regarding this criterion. Staff recommends the Board
include a finding that the applicant may proceed directly to site plan of the application which are
consistent with the plans presented at master plan and does not involve subdivision of land. Sketch
plan is required should the applicant wish to deviate from the approval (see Section C of this report
above).
Applicant supports Staff’s recommendation.
Figure 7 - Proposed Williston Road Sidewalk - Landscape Plan (WHLA)
BETA TECHNOLOGIES December 21, 2021
S40 CAMPUS MASTER PLAN APPLICATION #MP-21-02
Responses to Staff Comments Page 7 of 7
3. 15.07(D)(5) Minor Land Development Activities that will not require DRB action
10. The applicant has not made a specific request regarding this criterion. Staff recommends the Board
discuss with the applicant whether there are any elements of the project, such as installation of
solar equipment, that may be approved by a zoning permit only.
As recommended by Staff, Applicant requests zoning permit only for installation of the following
items:
• PV Solar Equipment
• Battery Backup Equipment
• Assembly Process-related Equipment
• Utility Transformers, Pedestals, and associated appurtenances
• Electric Aircraft and Car Chargers
4. Phasing
11. Staff recommends the Board include a requirement that the applicant submit complete site plan or
preliminary plat applications for each of the remaining three phases within 5 years from the date of
approval of this master plan. Staff recommends the Board discuss the feasibility of this timeline with
the applicant.
While the Applicant anticipates meeting the five (5) years proposed by Staff, to recognize the
unforeseen impacts of market dynamics, the Applicant requests no timeline be established.
a. Parking
12. 15.02(A)(4)(c) prohibits the Board for granting waivers for parking not in compliance with
14.06(B)(2). Staff recommends the Board discuss whether they will allow the applicant’s
proposal to phase the parking so that it does not meet 14.06(B)(2) in the short term but will
meet when the master plan is fully constructed. Staff considers a surety is not an
appropriate failsafe in this case since the City would not be likely to construct a building
between the parking and the street. Staff recommends the Board ask the applicant how
they would propose to guarantee the building is built. What condition would they propose
that would require it to exist, and within what timeframe, that gave the City an actionable
enforcement?
As noted in the response to SD-21-28 Staff Comment 3, the Applicant believes the DRB
does have the authority to waive this requirement under provision 14.07(E) – Modification
of Standards due to the “unusual hardship” created by the Land Development Regulations
as applied to this specific project.