HomeMy WebLinkAboutSD-23-11 - Supplemental - 1200 Dorset Street (2)
180 Market Street, South Burlington, Vermont 05403 | 802-846-4106 | www.southburlingtonvt.gov
TO: South Burlington Development Review Board
FROM: Marty Gillies, Development Review Planner I
SUBJECT: #SD-23-11, 1200 & 1220 Dorset Street, Preliminary & Final Plat Application
DATE: September 6, 2023 Development Review Board meeting
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Preliminary and final plat application #SD-23-11 of Casey Douglass to amend a previously approved 5.52
acre 6-unit planned unit development. The amendment consists of subdividing lot 6, developed with a
single-family home and barn, into two lots of 0.69 acres (Lot 6A) and 0.60 acres (Lot 6B) for the purpose
of demolishing the existing single family home and barn and constructing a new single family dwelling
on each lot, 1200 Dorset Street
CONTEXT
The Board began review of this preliminary & final plat application on August 1, 2023, and continued the
hearing for the purpose of allowing the applicant time to revise plans and work with City Staff to address
the issue identified at that initial meeting. Staff has included in this memorandum only criteria for which
the Board provided specific direction to correct at the 8/1/2023 hearing date; criteria that were
considered met or the Board agreed to a condition of approval to correct are excluded.
COMMENTS
Development Review Planner I Marty Gillies and Development Review Planner Marla Keene, hereafter
referred to as Staff, have reviewed the plans submitted by the applicant and offer the following
comments. Numbered comments for the Board’s attention are in red.
The application is subject to zoning district and dimensional standards, subdivision standards, general
planned unit development standards, site plan and conditional use review standards, the general
regulations of Article 3 and the supplemental regulations of Article 13.
SUBDIVISION STANDARDS
15.A.18 Infrastructure, Utilities, and Services
B. Potable Water Supply and Wastewater Systems
The applicant must demonstrate that adequate potable water supply and wastewater facilities exist
to serve the subdivision at buildout, and for each phase of development, in accordance with the
following:
The project is served by a private wastewater pump station that is approved to remain private. Staff
recommends the Board require the applicant to demonstrate adequate capacity in the existing pump
station, or a plan to make the necessary upgrades.
The Director of Public Works reviewed the plans on 7/19/2023 and offered the following comments:
• I’d like to better understand the existing wastewater infrastructure that this project proposes to
utilize. Does the engineer have as-built information for the pump station and force main that will
accept wastewater from this subdivision? This includes information related to where the force
main heads after it leaves the property as it heads north?
• There also appears to be a force main located on the east side of the Foulsham Hollow
subdivision. I’m not seeing these easements shown on the plat.
The applicant had not sufficiently addressed the comments of the Director of Public Works at the time
that this report was finalized. Staff will provide a verbal update on this item at the hearing. In the
meantime, Staff continues to offer the comment below:
1. Staff recommends the Board direct the applicant to address the comments of the Department of Public
Works Director prior to closing the hearing.
The Superintendent of the South Burlington Water Department had noted in his initial comments that the
FFEs for both newly proposed single-family homes are above the maximum elevation that can be supplied
from the Dorset Street water storage tank and meet the minimum water pressure of 35 PSI. However, the
applicant testified that the proposed homes will both be served by the Vermont National Country Club
water distribution system which utilizes the VNCC water booster pump station to elevate the pressures
for those lots located at the highest portions of the VNCC property and will not be directly served by the
gravity service from the Dorset Street water storage tank. As such, Staff considers this criterion met as it
pertains to purpose of potable water supply.
D. Stormwater Facilities
The applicant must demonstrate that stormwater management system serving the subdivision has
been designed to meet City standards and specifications under Article 13 of these regulations and the
South Burlington Ordinance Regulating the use of Public and Private Sanitary Sewerage and
Stormwater Systems.
The South Burlington Stormwater Superintendent reviewed the plans on 7/1/2023 and offered the
following comments:
1. As this is an amendment to an existing planned unit development with more than ½ acre of
existing impervious, and the applicant is proposing more than 5,000 square feet (12,595 square
feet proposed) of new or redeveloped impervious, the applicant is required to provide
stormwater treatment for the entirety of the new and redeveloped impervious on Lots 6A and
6B. This stormwater treatment must meet the standards laid out in the Land Development
Regulations Article 13.05 – Stormwater Management. Please provide information on how this
site will meet stormwater treatment standards.
2. Staff recommends the DRB include language requiring the applicant to properly maintain EPSC
measures for the duration of site work and construction.
The applicant had not sufficiently addressed the comments of the Stormwater Superintendent at the
time that this report was finalized. Staff will provide a verbal update on this item at the hearing. In the
meantime, Staff continues to offer the comment below:
2. Staff recommends the Board direct the applicant to address the comments of South Burlington
Stormwater Superintendent prior to closing the hearing.
PUD & GENERAL PUD STANDARDS
15.C.07 General PUD
I. General PUD Design Standards
5) Civic Spaces and Site Amenities. Civic Spaces and/or Site Amenities must be compatible with
the existing or planned development context. General PUDs must comply with applicable Civic
Space and/or Site Amenity requirements in Subdivision (Section 15.A.16(C)(4)) and Site Plan (Section 14.06(4)).
b. In a General PUD, Civic Spaces required under Subdivision Regulations (Section
15.A.16(C)(4)) and under Site Plan Regulations (Section 14.06(4)) can be satisfied by a
combination of Civic Spaces, Site Amenities, or a combination, applied across the PUD
area.
The proposed amendment to an existing PUD involves the subdivision of one private lot
into two private lots to be developed with detached single-family homes and yard
space. The applicant has identified private yard space associated with each unit and has
demonstrated that both proposed units will each have at least the minimum
requirement of 100 square feet of Site Amenity space. As such, Staff now considers this
criterion to be met.
SITE PLAN & CONDITIONAL USE 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. The DRB shall consider the following:
(e) Solar Gain. Orient their rooflines to maximize solar gain potential, to the extent possible within
the context of the overall standards of these regulations.
The Board on 8/1 indicated a preference to revise the condition recommended by Staff - which
required rooflines to have a principal face oriented south to meet this standard - in favor of a
broader condition that requires rooflines to maximize solar gain potential regardless of
orientation.
3. Staff recommends the Board include a condition of approval requiring rooflines to maximize solar gain
potential.
B. 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.
The provided elevations and landscaping plan demonstrate that the proposed single-family
homes will be of relatively similar architectural style to one another and to the adjacent homes
on Foulsham Hollow Road. As such, Staff considers no ‘attractive transitions’ need to be provided
as per this section, since the proposed and existing buildings are not shown to be of different
architectural styles. Staff notes the elevations are merely concepts. Although the proposed
elevations may meet the relevant criteria at this stage of review, they are technically non-binding
and therefore could be modified in such a way to reduce compliance with the relevant criteria.
Based on the direction of the Board, the applicant has committed to including the following
characteristics in the proposed single-family homes:
• On Lot 6A, the northern proposed lot, the applicant is committing to constructing a two-
story single-family home with a dark roof, a ridge line running east-west, a front porch
facing south, a recessed garage façade, and a private yard area of at least 100 square feet.
• On Lot 6B, the southern proposed lot, the applicant is committing to constructing a two-
story single-family home with a dark roof, a front porch facing Foulsham Hollow Road, a
rear porch facing Dorset Street, a recessed garage façade facing north, and a private yard
area of at least 100 square feet.
4. Staff recommends the Board include a condition requiring the applicant to include the characteristics
enumerated above in any Zoning Permit application for the construction of either of the proposed single-
family homes.
OTHER APPLICABLE STANDARDS
13.17 Residential Design for New Homes
C. Standards.
1. Building Orientation. Residential buildings must be oriented to the street, to an
approved civic space, or to a courtyard. Primary entries for single family and multi-
family buildings must face the street, civic space, or courtyard. Secondary building
entries may open onto garages and/or parking areas. Buildings should be oriented to
maximize living space and windows to the south, east and west. Residential buildings should orient their rooflines to maximize solar gain potential, to the extent possible
within the context of the overall standards of the regulations.
The building on Lot 6B is proposed to face the cul-de-sac portion of Foulsham Hollow
Road, with a front door and entry porch oriented to that portion of the street, a side-
facing garage abutting the driveway & additional parking area, and a rear porch oriented
towards Dorset Street. The building on Lot 6A is proposed to face south, generally
oriented towards the cul-de-sac portion of Foulsham Hollow Road. The Board indicated
at the August 1st hearing that the proposed orientations were acceptable. As such, Staff
recommends the Board include in the decision that the above-enumerated aspects of
the proposed configuration are a requirement of the approval and considers this
criterion met.
2. Building Façades. Building facades are encouraged to employ a theme and variation
approach. Buildings should include common elements to appear unified, but façades
should be varied from one building to the next to avoid monotony. Front porches,
stoops, and balconies that create semi-private space and are oriented to the street are
encouraged. Residential buildings with rear facades that orient towards a public
recreation path should employ rear porches, balconies, or other features to enhance
their architectural detail.
The applicant has provided sample elevations for the home proposed to be constructed
on Lot 6B that include a rear entrance, a rear porch, and several windows along the west
façade that faces Dorset Street and a front porch along the east façade that faces the cul-
de-sac portion of Foulsham Hollow Road. The applicant has not provided a sample
elevation of the south façade, which faces the straight portion of Foulsham Hollow Road.
The north façade of the home proposed to be constructed on Lot 6A includes a rear
entrance and a deck and is proposed to be screened via the retention of an existing
hedgerow. The west façade of that home has very few architectural details or windows
but is proposed to be screened from Dorset Street via the retention of an existing
hedgerow.
5. Staff recommends the Board consider whether number of windows or building orientation are important
factors in assessing compliance with this criterion. If they are, Staff recommends the Board include a
condition requiring the applicant to include the characteristics identified as being critical for compliance
with this standard in any Zoning Permit application for the construction of either of the proposed single-
family homes.
18.03 Housing Preservation
If an existing home is to be removed, Section 18.03 requires a replacement home be constructed &
restored to residential use within two years of demolition of the existing home. The applicant has
indicated that they intend to complete construction on the proposed single-family home on Lot 6A within
two years of demolishing the existing single-family home on the lot. The applicant is aware of the penalties
that may apply should the single-family home on Lot 6A not be finished until more than two years after
the demolition of the existing single-family home. The standards of this section do not apply to the
proposed single-family home of Lot 6B.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the Board discuss the project with the applicant and close the hearing, provided that
the comments of the Stormwater Superintendent and Director of the Department of Public Works have
been adequately addressed by the time of this hearing.
Respectfully submitted,
Marty Gillies
Development Review Planner I