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Home My WebLink AboutSD-19-05 - Supplemental - 0002 Holmes Road (6)CITY OF SOUTH BURLINGTON DEVELOPMENT REVIEW BOARD SD-19-05_2 Holmes Rd_DS LLC_Sketch_2019-03-05.docx DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING & ZONING Report preparation date: March 1, 2019 Plans received: February 2, 2019 2 Holmes Rd Sketch Plan Application #SD-19-05 Meeting date: March 5, 2019 Owner/Applicant DS, LLC 286 Tamarack Drive Williston, VT 05495 Engineer O’Leary-Burke Civil Associates 13 Corporate Drive Essex Junction, VT 05452 Property Information Tax Parcel 0870-00002 Commercial 2 District 8.80 acres Location Map / PROJECT DESCRIPTION Sketch plan application #SD-19-05 of DS, LLC for the construction of a parking lot for off-site storage of vehicles and associated stormwater treatment facility, 2 Holmes Road. PERMIT HISTORY The Project is located in the Commercial 2 (C2) Zoning District. It is also located in the Transit Overlay District. A portion of the property consists of wetland and wetland buffer. The most recent site plan approval issued for this property was in 1999, which approved a 8,400 square foot truck terminal with a vehicle fueling tank and pump. The current application is to add a parking lot for the use of an off-site facility. The parking lot will be unrelated to the current approved use. CONTEXT The project as presented will be subject to site plan review. Site plan review does not require a sketch plan, but the applicant has elected to apply for sketch plan review to gather Board feedback before proceeding with their detailed design. COMMENTS Development Review Planner Marla Keene and Planning Director Paul Conner (“Staff”) have reviewed the plans submitted on 2/2/2019 and offer the following comments. Numbered items for the Board’s attention are in red. ZONING DISTRICT & DIMENSIONAL REQUIREMENTS 5.05 COMMERCIAL 2 DISTRICT C2 A. Purpose. A Commercial 2 District is hereby formed in order to encourage general commercial activity. In addition to uses permitted in the C1 District, large lot-retail uses, such as sale of motor vehicles and building materials, may be permitted. A range of industrial uses as well as clustered residential development may be permitted in locations that are mutually compatible with general commercial activity. Development shall be subject to site plan review to coordinate traffic movements, encourage mixed-use developments, to provide shared parking opportunities and to provide a potential location for high-traffic generation commercial uses. Any uses not expressly permitted are prohibited except those that are allowed as conditional uses. 5.08 Supplemental Standards for All Commercial Districts A. Development according to commercial district regulations and multifamily development at the residential density specified for the applicable district shall be subject to site plan review, as set forth in Article 14, the purpose of which shall be to encourage innovation of design and layout, encourage more efficient use of land for commercial development, promote mixed-use development and shared parking opportunities, reduce stormwater runoff and maximize infiltration, provide coordinated access to and from commercial developments via public roadways, and maintain service levels on public roadways with a minimum of publicly financed roadway improvements. The Applicant has requested the Board provide feedback on the approvability of the proposed lot prior to investing in developing a full site plan. They have stated in their cover letter that the lot will be used for storage of vehicles for the automobile business located on the parcel to the south (Goss Dodge). Staff considers the proposed parking lot must be considered a commercial parking facility, which is consistent with the purposes of commercial district. “Commercial or public parking facility” is a conditional use within the C2 district, therefore the applicant must apply for site plan and conditional use review. Staff notes if the applicant does not wish to be classified as a commercial parking facility, then there is no permitted use category. Storage is not a permitted use by itself. It is allowable as an ancillary function to a use on the property or as a part of a use, but here there is no related use existing or proposed on the property. Uses which are not permitted are prohibited under the LDRs. SITE PLAN REVIEW STANDARDS General site plan review standards pertain to relationship to the Comprehensive Plan, relationship of structures to the site (including parking), compatibility with adjoining buildings and to other site features such as terrain. Specific standards speak to access, utilities, roadways, and site features. The proposed parking lot will be located to the rear of the lot at 2 Holmes Road. There is an existing driveway which creates connections between commercial properties and is proposed to access the lot. The applicant has stated in their cover letter that access to the driveway is gated and locked when Goss Dodge is not open. Staff considers that the operation of this driveway is not a factor in this application and that the gated condition does not need to be included as a condition of approval. Several sections of Article 13 address parking areas. Since the proposed parking lot is not required to meet minimum parking space count requirements, Staff considers no shared parking agreement is needed. Staff has excerpted relevant sections of Article 13 parking standards below. 13.01G(1) All paved parking spaces shall be striped or otherwise physically delimited. 13.01G(3) Provision shall be made for access by police, fire and emergency vehicles. 13.01G(6) Stormwater management strategies that facilitate infiltration including but not limited to recessed planting islands, bioretention facilities, and pervious parking spaces are encouraged in the design of any off-street parking or loading area. 13.01K Access Drives. Commercial or industrial access drives connecting parking areas to a public street or right-of-way shall be a minimum of fifteen (15) feet in width, or ten (10) feet if designated for one-way traffic. Aisles and access drives shall be privately owned and maintained. Required parking space and aisle dimensions are shown in Table 13-8 and Figure 13-1. 13.06B B Landscaping of Parking Areas. 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. (1) All off-street parking areas shall be landscaped around the perimeter of the lot with trees, shrubs and other plants. Perimeter planting shall be set back from the curb sufficiently to allow for snow storage. The purpose of perimeter planting shall be to mitigate the view of the parking lot from the public way and from adjacent uses and properties, and to provide shade and canopy for the parking lot. In some situations it may be necessary both for surveillance purposes and for the perception of safety to install the size and type of plants that leave visual access between the parking lot to the public way or other pedestrian areas. (2) In all parking areas containing twenty-eight (28) or more contiguous parking spaces and/or in parking lots with more than a single circulation lane, at least ten percent (10%) of the interior of the parking lot shall be landscaped islands planted with trees, shrubs and other plants. Such requirement shall not apply to structured parking or below-ground parking. (3) All interior and perimeter planting shall be protected by curbing unless specifically designed as a collection and treatment area for management of stormwater runoff as per 13.06(B)(5)(c) below. Interior planted islands shall have a minimum dimension of six (6) feet on any one side, and shall have a minimum square footage of sixty (60) square feet. Large islands are encouraged. (4) Landscaping Requirements (a) Landscaping shall include a variety of trees, shrubs, grasses and ground covers. All planting shall be species hardy for the region and, if located in areas receiving road runoff or salt spray, shall be salt-tolerant. (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. (c) Trees shall have a caliper equal to or greater than two and one-half (2 ½) inches when measured on the tree stem, six (6) inches above the root ball. (d) 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 not shown an interior parking lot layout therefore Staff considers compliance with the majority of these standards cannot be evaluated at this time. Staff recommends the Board direct the applicant to review these standards closely to understand how they would apply to this site and the proposed project. CONDITIONAL USE STANDARDS Staff has no concerns with the proposed project’s ability to meet the conditional use standards. RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends that the Board discuss the Project with the applicant and close the meeting. Respectfully submitted, / Marla Keene, Development Review Planner