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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSD-22-11 - Supplemental - 0760 Shelburne Road - SD-22-11_760 Shelburne Road_Bourne_SK_SC_2022-08-02 #SD-22-11 CITY OF SOUTH BURLINGTON DEVELOPMENT REVIEW BOARD SD-22-11_760 Shelburne Road_Bourne_SK_SC_2022-08- 02.docx DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING & ZONING Report preparation date: July 28, 2022 Application received: June 17, 2022 760 Shelburne Road – Gary Bourne Sketch Plan Application #SD-22-11 Meeting Date: August 2, 2022 Owner Gary J. Bourne & 764 Shelburne Road, LLC 414 West Grove Middleboro, MA 02346 Applicant Jeff Nick 29 Church Street, 3rd Floor Burlington, VT 05401 Property Information Tax Parcels 1540-00760, 1540-00764, 1700-00031 Commercial 1-R15 Zoning District, Traffic Overlay District, Transit Overlay District, Urban Design-Secondary Node Overlay District Parcel size: 1.43 acres Location Map #SD-22-11 PROJECT DESCRIPTION Sketch plan application #SD-22-11 of Gary Bourne to create a General Planned Unit Development consisting of consolidating three existing lots into one lot, removing three existing buildings and fully redeveloping the resulting 1.39 acre lot with a 3,500 sf financial institution, a 2,500 multi-tenant commercial building, and a 3-story 27-unit multifamily building, 760 Shelburne Road. PERMIT HISTORY This project consists of three existing lots currently developed with a restaurant, a convenience store, a service station, and an auto & motorcycle service and repair use. Currently the only occupied use is the auto & motorcycle service and repair use. The other two lots have been vacant for some time. None of the three properties has received any approvals more recently than 2012. COMMENTS Development Review Planner Marla Keene and Director of Planning and Zoning Paul Conner, hereafter referred to as Staff, have reviewed the plans submitted by the applicant and offer the following comments. NOTE: As this is a Sketch Plan review, only criteria relevant for review at this stage are addressed. Numbered items for the Board’s attention are in red. This project can only meet the regulations if it applies for approval as a General Planned Unit Development. The PUD regulations are significantly changed since the Board’s last review of a new PUD, therefore Staff has taken extra time to provide context and purpose statements to enhance the Board’s understanding of the regulations. General PUDs are subject to the requirements of 15.C.04 and 15.C.07, as well as site plan review standards, general provisions, and supplemental regulations as applicable. A) PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT The applicant is proposing one lot for all three buildings. However, this is not currently allowed under the LDR (see 3.09). Instead, the applicant’s proposal requires creation of three lots, one for each principal structure, and modification of the minimum lot size because the LDRs prohibit more than one principal unrelated building on a lot and the minimum lot size in the C1-R15 zoning district is 3 acres and 2,900 sf per unit for multifamily residential. Modifications of lot sizes is potentially allowable if the project is reviewed as a PUD. 15.C.03 Planned Unit Development Review All PUDs are subject to master plan review unless the DRB waives the requirement. The Board may waive this requirement for a PUD of less than four acres to be developed in a single phase of no more than three years. 1. Staff recommends the Board discuss with the applicant whether they are seeking waiver of the requirement for a master plan. Staff notes the advantage of a master plan is vesting of the regulations at the time of master plan approval and the ability to phase the construction of buildings. There is a list of specific application requirements for PUD review. These requirements must be met at the preliminary plat stage of review, and include demonstration of compliance with the comprehensive plan. There are three types of PUD. The potentially applicable PUD type for this project is a general PUD, #SD-22-11 described in LDR 15.C.07. General PUDs are a type of planned development that allows for relief from the strict dimensional standards for individual lots in order to encourage innovation in design and layout and efficient use of land consistent with the Comprehensive Plan. The current PUD regulations include specific objectives for Planned Unit Developments as a whole, and specific objectives for each PUD type. 15.C.07B General PUD Description, Purpose, and Characteristics. A. General PUD is a type of planned development that allows for relief from the strict dimensional standards for individual lots in order to encourage innovation in design and layout and efficient use of land consistent with the Comprehensive Plan. Defining characteristics of a General PUD include well-planned, -sited, and -designed development projects that: • Conform to the goals in the City of South Burlington Comprehensive Plan and South Burlington City Council’s Resolution on Climate Change dated August 7, 2017. • Support and enable affordable housing development. • Contribute to the City’s economic vitality, in response to changing markets and consumer demand, by providing needed housing, goods, services, and employment opportunities. • Redevelop underperforming properties and commercial strips (retrofits), contaminated sites (brownfields), and large expanses of parking (gray fields) into more compact forms of walkable, pedestrian-oriented, mixed-use development. • Extend or re-establish existing street, sidewalk, and recreation path connections. • Incorporate a density of development that supports walkable residential, mixed use, and transit-oriented development, compatible in design with the surrounding area. • Improve the physical appearance, walkability, and amount of civic and green space within existing residential neighborhoods, commercial centers, and commercial strip development. • Introduce missing or complementary uses, facilities, services, amenities, or civic space intended to serve the immediate and surrounding area. • Foster context-sensitive transitions among and between neighborhoods, commercial areas, mixed use areas, civic spaces, and natural resource areas. Staff calls the Board’s attention to the objective of dense, walkable, residential and mixed use development, and to the objective of redevelopment. In addition, 15.C.01 (applicable to all PUD types) indicates that PUDs are expected to adhere to higher standards of design than subdivisions or site plans. The General PUD allows the DRB to reduce, modify, or waive dimensional standards otherwise applicable to the site. The Regulations use the Development Context analysis as the foundation for the Board’s authority to grant these modifications as follows. 15.C.07F General PUD Compatibility and Context Analysis All General PUDs must provide an analysis of the development context of the area within ¼ mile of the project in order to evaluate compatibility of the PUD with the surrounding area. The LDR defines the development context as either what is around a property if it has been developed under regulations adopted in the last decade, or under the current regulations if it has not yet been redeveloped. If there is a single family neighborhood within the applicable area, the design is required to be sensitive to the characteristics of that development as well. This analysis is required to be a primary consideration in PUD project design, and is subject to DRB review and approval. The analysis must include a map and narrative, and provide a description of #SD-22-11 how the project is compatible with the existing and planned character of the surrounding area, the infrastructure, and the development patterns. Staff considers the planned character of the area to be strongly driven by the standards of the urban design overlay, and also by the recommended bike/ped improvements in the Queen City Park Road corridor. The applicant has provided an initial pass at the required context analysis. However there is no analysis of how the proposed project is compatible with the context analysis or how the required waiver better achieves the standards above based on the context analysis. 2. Staff recommends the Board discuss with the applicant how they will develop the project proposal to take the character of the area into consideration. 15.C.07G. General PUD Dimensional Standards. (2) In response to the existing or planned Development Context in the Planning Area, the DRB may modify, reduce, or waive one or more applicable dimensional standards as necessary to: (a) Accommodate reductions in the available area associated with infill or redevelopment, that result in insufficient acreage to meet applicable dimensional standards; or (b) Allow for more creative and efficient subdivision and site layout and design that advances the purposes of the underlying zoning district and/or the goals of the Comprehensive Plan, particularly in response to existing site limitations that cannot be eliminated; or (c) Ensure that the pattern and form of proposed development is compatible with existing or planned Development Context in the Planning Area determined under 15.C.07(F) and to Transition Zone standards in 15.C.04(E); or (d) Allow for greater energy efficiency, use of alternative energy, green building design, or otherwise furthering of the South Burlington City Council’s Resolution on Climate Change dated August 7, 2017. (3) Context shall be determined by the existing or planned Development Context in the Planning Area under Section 15.C.07(F) and (G). The authority above provides context for the Board’s authority to modify, reduce, or waiver the applicable dimensional standards. 3. Staff recommends the Board ask the applicant to describe how, in response to the planned Development Context in the Planning Area, the required modification better achieves the General PUD objectives above. 15.C.07H Development Density This project involves 1.43 acres. At an allowable density of 2,900 sf per unit, the parcel has a base density of 21 units. The applicant is proposing 27. For every one inclusionary unit, the applicant may construct one additional market rate unit beyond the base density. Since these are proposed to be rental units, two inclusionary units are required, bringing the allowable total to 23 units. 4. Staff recommends the Board ask the applicant to describe whether they propose to obtain the additional required density through transfer of development rights or through the addition of inclusionary units beyond the required minimum. If the units are proposed to be obtained through the additional of inclusionary units, the applicant will be required to demonstrate compliance with 18.01C(2) pertaining to the character, size, and integration of inclusionary units. If the units are #SD-22-11 proposed to be obtained through the use of TDRs, that option would only be available if the Planning Commission approves the draft amendments under consideration (public hearing August 8, 2022), the Council warns a public hearing on said amendments, and the applicant’s Master Plan or preliminary plat is received after this date. 15.C.07I General PUD Standards Civic Spaces and Site Amenities The applicant must provide civic spaces for the proposed residential and commercial buildings. Staff estimates the applicant must provide at least 4,330 sf of civic spaces or site amenities. These spaces should be of high quality and integrated into the design and be compatible with the existing or planned Development Context. 5. Staff recommends the Board discuss with the applicant their proposal for the required civic spaces or site amenities. As shown, the applicant has only provided for approximately 2,120 sf of civic spaces or site amenities Housing Mix For developments creating more than four units, a mix of housing types differentiated by number of bedrooms per unit is required. Demonstration of compliance with this criterion is required at the preliminary plat stage of review. B) URBAN DESIGN OVERLAY DISTRICT A. Purpose. It is the purpose of the Urban Design Overlay District to recognize the impact of simple design principles and to reflect a design aesthetic that fosters accessibility and creates civic pride in the City’s most traveled areas and gateways, while furthering the stated goals of the City’s Comprehensive Plan. The Urban Design Overlay District aids in fulfilling the City’s vision to enable infill and conversion development, encourage pedestrian movement, serve local and regional shopping and employment needs, and make use of existing public transportation. The City intends for the applicable areas to provide safe and inviting access to adjacent neighborhoods. Staff includes this purpose statement as context for the character analysis discussed above. The location of the UDO is along Shelburne Road, and includes primary and secondary nodes. The majority of the involved lands is located within a secondary node. In the below screen shot, the orange corridor is the UDO, the light blue dot is the secondary node, and the blue square approximates the subject properties. #SD-22-11 Applicable standards include the following. • Buildings must have a street-facing principal entrance with a direct connection to the street. The provided drawing indicates a street-facing principal entrance for the corner building but not the other buildings. • 60% of the width of the building facing the street must consist of glazing. • Buildings must have the appearance of at least two stories. The provided elevations for the Shelburne Road building do not have the appearance of two stories. • There must be a significant architectural feature at the corner of the corner building. The provided elevations for the Shelburne Road building do not have a significant architectural feature at the corner. • Front setbacks are 20-ft. The applicant has shown a setback of 10-ft for the corner building, approximately 15-ft for the second building on Shelburne Road and approximately 20-ft for the building on Swift Street. 6. Staff recommends the Board discuss with the applicant how they will modify their plans to meet the required standards. As discussed above, conformity with the planned character of the area is a required element of PUD review. The residential building is proposed to be three stories. C) SITE PLAN REVIEW 14.06 General Review Standards General site plan review standards pertain to relationship of proposed structures to the site, relationship of structures and site to the adjoining area, and site amenities. Staff considers the general PUD requirements to largely overlap the general site plan review standards and that additional discussion by the Board beyond that which is included above is not needed at this time. 14.07 Specific Review Standards Specific site plan review standards pertain to environmental protection, site design features, access and circulation, building form, streetscape, access to abutting properties, utility services, and disposal of waste. 13.02F requires cross-lot connections between all commercial lots: “All commercial lots located adjacent to other commercial lots must provide a driveway connection to any adjacent commercial #SD-22-11 lot.” The existing properties are connected to the adjoining commercial lot to the south as required, and are separated from the adjoining commercial lot to the east by a narrow (and level) grass strip. 7. The applicant has proposed to remove the existing connection to the south and is not proposing a connection to the east. It does appear the applicant has provided a pedestrian walkway to the adjoining property to the south that does not actually connect. Staff recommends the Board direct the applicant to provide connections to adjacent lots as required by the LDR. Such a connection should be designed to facilitate users of multiple properties to travel between properties and not be an attractive cut-through for users of the main roadway. The applicant is proposing a remote ATM on the property. In conversations with Staff, the applicant has considered a handful of different possible configurations for where to place the ATM in a manner that is convenient but does not obstruct use of the property. Staff recommends the Board invite the applicant to discuss the subject. The project is located in the traffic overlay district zone 1 and is limited to 15 trips per acre, or the previously approved trip generation as long as the proposed project does not exceed the trips generated by the previous approval. The applicant has submitted an initial analysis of trip generation concluding the number of trips will be reduced from the previous approval. Staff does not have any immediate concerns with the existing trip analysis and acknowledges that the proposed trip analysis will evolve as the project design is refined, therefore recommends the Board review the traffic generation estimates at the preliminary plat stage of review. RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends the Board discuss the project with the applicant and conclude the meeting. Respectfully submitted, Marla Keene, Development Review Planner