HomeMy WebLinkAboutSP-22-020 - Supplemental - 0039 Bowdoin Street (33)
TO: South Burlington Development Review Board
FROM: Marty Gillies, Development Review Planner I
SUBJECT: #SP-22-020 39 Bowdoin Street
DATE: November 15, 2022 Development Review Board meeting
PROJECT DESCRPTION
Site plan application #SP-22-020 of Neagley & Chase Construction to construct a 12,840 sf contractor or
building trade facility with supporting parking and infrastructure improvements, 39 Bowdoin St.
CONTEXT
The Board held a hearing on this application on June 21 and October 4, 2022. The Board reviewed the
application with the applicant, provided feedback, and continued the hearing on both of those dates for
the purpose of allowing the applicant to make necessary modifications to the project for the project to
be compliant with the City’s Land Development Regulations.
The applicant provided revised materials on November 8. Review of these revised materials is
incorporated herein; criterion which Staff considers to have been addressed have been removed from
this report.
COMMENTS
A) SITE PLAN REVIEW STANDARDS
14.06 General Review Standards
C. Site Amenity Requirement
(1) The required area shall be:
(a) For Non-Residential development, a minimum of 6% of non-residential building gross
floor area.
(b) For Residential development, determined by number of units as:
(i) For fewer than 10 units, 100 square feet per unit;
(ii) For 10 to 19 units, 85 square feet per unit; or
(iii) For 20 or more units, 60 square feet per unit.
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The proposed 11,317 sf building requires a minimum of 680 sf of Site Amenity. The applicant has
revised the plans to propose a 1,338 sf parklet located near the southwest corner of the building,
directly adjacent to the proposed primary entrance and the existing public sidewalk. The minimum
size of this amenity is 600 sf, it must be directly adjacent to the public right of way and sidewalk or
operable building entry, and must have seating as the main focus of the space. Additionally, the
landscaping requirement for parklets states that “Landscaping shall also be a primary component of
the space. Because the space is inherently small, it shall be carefully landscaped in a higher proportion
than larger spaces. Landscaping should not interfere with seating, but instead complement it.”. The
proposed Site Amenity features four paperbark maples and four metal picnic tables.
1. Staff recommends the Board review the applicant’s plans and determine whether this criterion has
been met.
14.07 Specific Review Standards
In all Zoning Districts and the City Center Form Based Codes District, the following standards shall
apply:
A. Environmental Protection Standards. All proposed development shall be subject to the
applicable requirements of Article 12, Environmental Protection Standards.
The property contains a wetland, wetland buffer, and river corridor. The river corridor is
contained entirely within the wetland and wetland buffer. The applicant is proposing minor
grading outside of the wetland buffer and is proposing to appropriately fence the fill used for
this project in order to avoid impacts to the wetland buffer. The applicant has revised the plans
to connect the proposed project to the existing City sewer line outside of the Class II wetland
buffer. As such, Staff considers this criterion met.
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 (D) Functional Capacity and Transit Oriented Development. The nearest signalized
intersection or those intersections specified by the DRB shall have an overall level of
service “D” or better, at the peak street hour, including the anticipated impact of the fully
developed proposed PUD or subdivision. In addition, the level of service of each through
movement on the major roadway shall have a level of service of “D” or better at full
buildout.
The applicant has estimated traffic based on 5,490 sf of Warehousing use (ITE LUC #150)
and 7,710 sf of Specialty Trade Contractor use (ITE LUC #180) and estimates that the project
weekday PM peak hour trip generation will be 16 VTEs per hour. Staff considers this
criterion met.
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
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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:
(8) Align access point with existing intersections or curb cuts and consolidate existing
access points or curb cuts within the subdivision, to the extent physically and
functionally feasible.
Staff considers the pedestrian access to be adequate and supports the proposed
driveway widths.
At previous hearings, the Board asked the applicant whether the curb cut on Bowdoin St
could be re-configured to align with the existing curb cut on the opposite side of the
street. One potential advantage is that this would result in trucks making their
maneuvers on the site rather than in the public way.
The applicant has reviewed a variety of options and concludes that the request from the
Board to re-align the proposed curb cut in the manner suggested is not functionally
feasible.
2. Staff recommends the Board review the applicant’s plans and determine whether this criterion has
been met.
B) 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.
As discussed above, Staff considers cross-lot connections to not be viable. However, in the case
of a site plan, the Board only has the authority to waive dimensional requirements. The
applicant has provided a draft deed for a 25-foot-wide access easement between the subject
property and the property to the north. As such, Staff considers this criterion met.
13.03 Bicycle Parking and Storage.
The applicant has provided two bicycle racks, providing short-term parking spaces for four bicycles, and
a bicycle storage space & locker.
Required Bike Parking Required
Short Term (1 per 5k sf office, 1
per 20k sf contractor facility,
minimum 4)
4
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Long Term (50% of short term
retail and office, 1 per unit)
2
Clothes Lockers 1
The applicant has revised the plans to provide the required short-term and long-term bicycle parking
spaces and meet the design standards for these spaces. As such, Staff considers this criterion met.
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.
(4) Landscaping Requirements
(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.
23 parking spaces are provided, requiring 5 shade trees. The applicant has revised the plan to
provide 6 shade trees distributed between both sides of the parking area. Staff considers this
criterion met.
(c) 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.
The applicant has revised the plan to propose sixteen trees representing six different species. As
such, staff considers this criterion met.
(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.
Snow storage areas have been revised, and Staff considers this criterion met.
G(3) Landscaping Budget Requirements. The Development Review Board shall require minimum
planting costs for all site plans, as shown in Table 13-4 below. In evaluating landscaping requirements,
some credit may be granted for existing trees or for site improvements other than tree planting as
long as the objectives of this section are not reduced. The costs below are cumulative; for example, a
landscaping budget shall be required to show a planned expenditure of three percent of the first
$250,000 in construction or improvement cost plus two percent of the next $250,000 in construction or
improvement cost, plus one percent of the remaining cost over $500,000. The landscaping budget shall
be prepared by a landscape architect or professional landscape designer.
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The applicant has not provided a total estimated project cost calculation. The minimum landscaping
budget is calculated as a percentage of the total estimated project cost. As such, it is impossible to
calculate whether the applicant has met the minimum landscaping budget requirement.
3. Staff recommends the Board require the applicant to provide a project cost estimate before the
conclusion of the hearing.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the Board work with the applicant to address the issues identified herein.
Respectfully submitted,
Marla Keene, Development Review Planner