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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSP-23-043 - Decision - 0530 Community Drive#SP-23-043 - 1 - CITY OF SOUTH BURLINGTON DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING & ZONING 30 COMMUNITY DRIVE, LLC – 530 COMMUNITY DRIVE SITE PLAN APPLICATION #SP-23-043 FINDINGS OF FACT AND DECISION 30 Community Drive, LLC, hereinafter referred to as the applicant, is seeking site plan approval to amend a previously approved site plan for a 275,000 sq. ft. commercial and industrial building consisting of 152,240 sq. ft. of general office, 14,560 sq. ft. of warehouse use, 10,000 sq. ft. indoor recreation use, 2,000 sq. ft. retail food establishment use, 59,500 sq. ft. research and testing use, 400 sq. ft. of short- order restaurant (accessory) use, 25,500 sq. ft. radio and television studio use and 10,800 sq. ft. of child care facility, licensed non-residential use, 125 student total. The amendment consists of increasing the day care facility use by an additional 2,667 sq. ft (previously general office) for a total of 13,467 sq. ft. of day care use, 530 Community Drive. Based on the document file for this application, the Administrative Officer finds, concludes, and decides as follows: FINDINGS OF FACT 1. The applicant is seeking site plan approval to amend a previously approved site plan for a 275,000 sq. ft. commercial and industrial building consisting of 152,240 sq. ft. of general office, 14,560 sq. ft. of warehouse use, 10,000 sq. ft. indoor recreation use, 2,000 sq. ft. retail food establishment use, 59,500 sq. ft. research and testing use, 400 sq. ft. of short-order restaurant (accessory) use, 25,500 sq. ft. radio and television studio use and 10,800 sq. ft. of child care facility, licensed non-residential use, 125 student total. The amendment consists of increasing the day care facility use by an additional 2,667 sq. ft (previously general office) for a total of 13,467 sq. ft. of day care use, 530 Community Drive. 2. The owner of record of the subject property is 30 Community Drive, LLC. 3. The street numbers for Community Drive were updated in 2020 to comply with Vermont’s Enhanced 911 system. This property was previously addressed as 30 Community Drive. 4. The subject property is located in the Mixed Industrial & Commercial (Mixed IC) Zoning District. 5. The application was received on October 30, 2023. 6. The subject property most recently received Site Plan approval via SP-21-049 (approved 1/14/2023) to increase the existing day care use from 6,000 sq. ft. and an enrollment of 105 children, to an increased size of 10,800 sq. ft. and 125 children. This approval included the payment of Traffic Impact Fees to offset the trip end increases associated with a 125-student childcare facility, and a confirmation that the subject property had enough wastewater allocation to service the entire building including a 125-student childcare facility. Despite receiving municipal approvals for this change, the property never received State licensing for more than 105 students, and therefore has only been operating as a 105-student childcare facility. The present application seeks to increase the square footage of the childcare facility on the subject property in an attempt to receive State #SP-23-043 - 2 - licensing for an increase in enrollment to 121 students. The applicant is not seeking to increase enrollment beyond the 125 student capacity that was approved as part of SP-21-049. As such, there are no traffic and wastewater impacts associated with the present application. This Finding of Fact & Decision pertains specifically to the commercial square footage at this property that is changing from general office use to childcare facility use. 7. The plans submitted consist of: Sheet No. Title Prepared By: Last Revised Date: C2-02 Site Plan TCE 08/22/2019 A0.0 Cover Sheet S2 Architecture 9/11/2023 A0.1 General Information S2 Architecture 9/11/2023 A0.2 Location Plan S2 Architecture 9/11/2023 A1 Demolition Floor Plan S2 Architecture 9/11/2023 A2 Proposed Floor Plan S2 Architecture 9/11/2023 ZONING DISTRICT & DIMENSIONAL REQUIREMENTS There are no exterior alterations or changes to the dimensional requirements proposed. SITE PLAN REVIEW STANDARDS Only the standards below are affected by this application. All other standards will continue to be met. 14.07 Disposal of Wastes Per Section 14.07.I, dumpsters “shall be accessible, secure and properly screened with opaque fencing to ensure that trash and debris do not escape the enclosure(s)”. The existing dumpsters and screening fences meet these standards, and no changes or alterations to the dumpster enclosures are being proposed as part of this application. As such, the Administrative Officer finds this criterion met. OTHER STANDARDS 13.03 Bicycle Parking and Storage This property is required to have 48 short-term bike parking spaces as required per the configuration of 74,060 sf of warehousing/light industry and 200,940 sf of retail/restaurant/office space. This configuration is not proposed to change as part of this application. The property has previously been approved to provide 6 ‘inverted-U’ style racks at the southwest corner of the building, 12 ‘inverted-U’ style racks at the east side of the building and 6 ‘inverted-U’ style racks are on the south side of the building, for a total of 24 ‘inverted-U’ style racks that provide 48 short-term bike parking spaces distributed across various entrances to the building, meeting the short-term bike parking requirement. This project does not necessitate the creation of a long-term bike storage area. The Administrative Officer finds this criterion met. 13.04.B(7) Snow Storage Per Section 13.04(B)(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 water.” The snow storage areas are indicated on the site plan. The Administrative Officer finds this #SP-23-043 - 3 - criterion met. 13.07 Exterior Lighting Per Section 13.07.A, exterior lighting “shall have such shielding as will direct the light downward and will prevent the source of light from being visible from any adjacent residential property or street”. There are no lighting impacts proposed as part of this application. Traffic Impacts As part of previous Site Plan approval #SP-21-049, this property paid an impact fee of $2,999.58 to increase the traffic generation at this property to a maximum of 407 PM Peak Hour vehicle trips. That increase was calculated based on a proposed enrollment at the childcare facility of 125 students. Given that the State license for this childcare facility only approved a maximum of 105 students, this property has not been operating at its maximum approved traffic generation level of 407 PM Peak Hour VTEs despite receiving Site Plan approval to do so. The present application to convert the use of 2,667 sq. ft. from general office use to childcare facility use will increase the enrollment at this childcare facility to a total of 121 students, which is less than the enrollment of 125 students that was approved by the City as part of #SP-21-049. As such, this application will not increase the traffic generation at this property beyond that approved as part of #SP-21-049. The ITE TripGen 11th Edition calculates that a 125-student daycare (as is approved) generates 89 PM Peak Hour VTEs, a 105-student daycare (as is presently in operation) generates 77 PM Peak House VTES, and a 121-student daycare (as is proposed in this application) generates 87 PM Peak Hour VTEs. The Administrative Officer notes that Section 3(A)(1)(b) of the City’s Impact Fee Ordinance allows a pass-by rate reduction of 30% when estimating the traffic to be generated by child care – as such, the traffic impact of a 125-student daycare is 62.3 trips; the traffic impact of a 121-student daycare is 53.9 trips; and the traffic impact of a 121-student daycare is 60.9 trips. The total trip generation of the subject property, including the proposed 121-student daycare, is therefore calculated at 405.6 trips, which is 1.4 trips less than the maximum traffic generation level approved by #SP-21-049. As such, the Administrative Officer finds that the proposed change of use will have no additional traffic impact. Water & Wastewater Allocation The subject property is approved to generate 20,000 gallons per day of wastewater, as per State Permit WW-4-3040-4. The present configuration of uses, including a childcare use with 105 students and 26 teachers, generates 16,648 gpd of wastewater. The applicant has testified, and City Staff has confirmed, that the proposed expansion of the childcare facility will increase the estimated wastewater generation by 91 gpd. The proposed total for the entire building, including the proposed increase of 91 gpd, is 16,739 gpd. This figure is below the maximum approved wastewater generation of 20,000 gpd – as such, the Administrative Officer finds that the proposed increase will have no wastewater impact. DECISION Based on the above Findings of Fact, the Administrative Officer hereby approves site plan application #SP-23-043 of 30 Community Drive, LLC, subject to the following conditions: #SP-23-043 - 4 - 1. All previous approvals and stipulations which are not superseded by this approval shall remain in effect. 2. This project shall be completed as shown on the plan and shall be on file in the South Burlington Department of Planning and Zoning. 3. The Administrative Officer concurrently issues Zoning Permit #ZP-23-387. 4. Pursuant to Section 15.13(E) of the Land Development Regulations, any new utility lines, services, and service modifications must be underground. 5. Bicycle racks must meet the minimum requirements of 13.14 and Appendix G. 6. Any new exterior lighting must be installed or shielded in such a manner as to conceal light sources and reflector surfaces from view beyond the perimeter of the area to be illuminated. 7. The applicant shall obtain a Certificate of Occupancy from the Administrative Officer prior to use of the expanded childcare facility area. 8. Any change to the site plan shall require approval by the South Burlington Administrative Officer or the Development Review Board, as allowed under the Land Development Regulations. Signed on this 29th day of November, 2023 by ___________________________________ Marty Gillies, Acting Administrative Officer Please note: An appeal of this decision may be taken by filing, within 30 days of the date of this decision, a notice of appeal and the required fee by certified mail to the Superior Court, Environmental Division. See V.R.E.C.P. 5(b). A copy of the notice of appeal must also be mailed to the City of South Burlington Planning and Zoning Department at 575 Dorset Street, South Burlington, VT 05403. See V.R.E.C.P. 5(b) (4)(A). Please contact the Environmental Division at 802-828-1660 or http://vermontjudiciary.org/GTC/environmental/default.aspx for more information on filing requirements, deadlines, fees and mailing address. The applicant or permittee retains the obligation to identify, apply for, and obtain relevant state permits for this project. Call 802.477.2241 to speak with the regional Permit Specialist.