Planning Report
ADP16-0020 / Mission Street Offices
City Council District 4
Planning & Zoning Commission
March 8, 2017
REQUEST:
Title
Consider a request for approval of an Alternative Development Plan for an initial phase of a proposed office park development on 1.65 acres located at the southeast corner of the intersection of Fort Worth Drive and Mission Street. (ADP16-0020, Mission Street Offices, Hayley Zagurski).
Body
OWNER:
Kent Key
APPLICANT:
Lee Allison with Allison Engineering Group
BACKGROUND:
The subject property is comprised of portions of two parcels of land currently zoned Community Mixed Use General (CM-G) District. The applicant intends to plat the property so that the subject property will be comprised of four lots.
Per Section 35.13.5 of the DDC, an Alternative Development Plan (ADP) provides the option to address the design criteria of Subchapter 13 of the Denton Development Code (DDC) through a discretionary site plan review process which includes review and consideration by the Planning and Zoning Commission. The applicant is requesting an ADP to deviate from the design requirements of Subchapter 13 of the DDC as it pertains to three aspects of site design:
1. Building orientation
2. Permeable paving for excess parking
3. Large scale development standards
a. Reduction in the minimum 100 foot distance between mechanical equipment adjacent to a single family use to approximately 30 feet.
b. The requirement for an 8-foot masonry screening wall located along the common boundary line of adjacent residential property.
The proposed development is intended to be part of a larger campus-style office park. The first portion of this request is to orient the buildings away from the street towards the interior of the office park. The applicant is also proposing to provide parking in excess of the required number of spaces and is requesting to deviate from the requirement to use permeable paving for those extra spaces. Additionally, due to the intended size of campus at full buildout, the development is also required to comply with specific large scale development standards that address design criteria to mitigate and screen the scale of such developments.
SITE DATA:
The subject property is located at the southeast corner of Fort Worth Drive and Mission Street. The property has approximately 430 feet of frontage of Fort Worth Drive and approximately 350 feet of frontage on Mission Street. Currently the property is comprised of the easternmost portion of two larger unplatted tracts of land. The parcels are currently developed with single family residences.
SURROUNDING ZONING AND LAND USES:
North: Property to the north across Mission Street is developed with a recycling facility and is zoned Employment Center Industrial (EC-I) District.
East: A single-family residence exists to the east on property zoned Neighborhood Residential 6 (NR-6) District.
South: Single-family residences exist to the south on property zoned NR-6 District.
West: To the west across Fort Worth Drive is vacant and commercially developed land zoned Employment Center Commercial (EC-C).
CONSIDERATIONS:
1. The non-residential site design standards in DDC 35.13.13.3.A.4 require that buildings have their primary orientation towards the street. The intent of this DDC requirement is to ensure that buildings present well to the street for aesthetic purposes and also provide clear means of access for the public. The applicant is requesting that all three buildings be primarily oriented towards the internal parking lot, as reflected on the attached site plan.
Because the property is located along a state highway where pedestrian activity is generally limited, the buildings’ orientation away from the street does not overtly violate the intent of the code so long as the buildings present well aesthetically to the street. At this time the applicant has only provided elevations for Building 1, which is located directly along Fort Worth Drive. The proposed building elevation has been attached for reference. The applicant has indicated that the exterior facades will be constructed of brick. Architectural elements such as windows and awnings will be used to minimize visual impacts from long uninterrupted walls fronting the roadways. The attached landscape plan indicates that five shrubs will be planted along the building frontage. To soften the transition between the road and buildings and create visual interest, staff recommends providing a minimum five-foot wide planting area to include the proposed shrubs as well as tall grasses planted in a curvilinear pattern. Staff recommends this planting area be provided along the building frontage on Fort Worth Drive.
2. Section 35.14.4.D.5 of the DDC requires one space for every 450 SF of gross floor area for general office use. Based upon the square footage of the three offices shown on the site plan, the required parking for this development would be 27 spaces. The applicant is requesting an ADP to deviate from DDC 35.13.10.B.1.d, which states that any parking spaces which exceed the required number of parking spaces must be constructed with pervious surface. The applicant is proposing to construct a total of 39 parking spaces with an impervious surface, exceeding the required number of impervious parking spaces by 12.
The intent of the requirement to construct excess parking with pervious surface is to reduce negative effects associated with extra parking, including the additional contaminants produced by excess impervious surface. To mitigate this excess runoff created by additional impervious parking spaces, the applicant has proposed to construct a detention pond on the southeast portion of the development. The detention pond would be designed to treat the runoff from the parking lot per the standards of the integrated Stormwater Management (iSWM) manual.
3. The large scale development standards in DDC 35.13.13.5 are intended to minimize potential nuisances generated by developments with a gross floor area of over 40,000 SF by requiring architectural variety in building design as well as buffering between the development and adjoining residential uses. The applicant has proposed to vary from these requirements as follows:
a. DDC 35.13.13.5.A.6 requires an 8-foot masonry wall of brick, stone, split block, or concrete cast to simulate such materials be constructed along the common boundary line of adjacent residential properties. A single-family residence exists on property to the south of the subject property in a Neighborhood Residential 6 District. A Type C buffer, which is a 15-foot planted area containing a combination of six (6) trees and twenty-five (25) shrubs per one hundred (100) linear feet, is also required between commercial and single-family residential uses per DDC 35.13.8. The intent of the required screening wall, as well as the buffer, is to minimize visual impacts and to mitigate potential nuisances from large scale developments, such as noise and light.
The applicant has proposed to provide the required Type C buffer, which will include a mixture of preserved existing trees and new required plantings. The applicant has proposed to intensify the length of buffer area included in the boundaries of this ADP with an additional five (5) trees and nineteen (19) shrubs in lieu of the required masonry wall along the property line. However, staff recommends a 6-foot opaque masonry screening wall compatible with the building facades be provided in addition to the required buffer to provide year-round screening of the property given the annual dormancy of vegetative screening.
b. DDC 35.13.13.5.A.9 requires that mechanical equipment not be located within 100 feet of residential property. The applicant is proposing to have mechanical equipment for Buildings 2 and 3 located within approximately 30 feet of the southern adjoining residential property boundary. The applicant has indicated that the mechanical equipment will be screened with architecturally compatible materials and plantings, which were not specified on the site plan and landscape plan. Staff recommends that these screening walls be constructed of masonry materials consistent with the building facades and that bushes and tall grasses be planted around the perimeter of the walls.
4. The proposed ADP satisfies the criteria for approval for an ADP outlined in Section 35.13.5.A of the DDC, which identifies the following goals and objectives to be met, and establishes the parameters by which the proposal will be judged.
a. Preserve Existing Neighborhoods.
The proposed development is permitted by right within the CM-G District, and the office park use would be appropriate along the Fort Worth Drive corridor. The request is not anticipated to negatively impact the surrounding area, which includes a mix of residential, commercial, and industrial uses. The applicant’s proposed buffer and the addition of the recommended screening wall would minimize potential nuisances to adjacent single family uses.
b. Assure quality development that fits in with the character of Denton.
The applicant’s narrative indicates an intent to design this office park development with building orientation away from the street to create a courtyard appearance that draws visual interest to the site as a whole. The overall site will meet the requirements for tree canopy and landscaping, and the parking lot will have a total of 23% canopy coverage, which exceeds the DDC requirement of 15% parking lot canopy cover. Site landscaping and buffering will mute potential visual impacts of the development from the surrounding properties. The site plan also indicates that sidewalk connectivity will be provided throughout the development, and bicycle parking will be provided to promote multi-modal access for future employees and customers.
c. Focus new development to activity centers to curb strip development and urban sprawl.
The proposed development is located along a state highway and is a logical location for an office/employment park. The site is generally located near several existing neighborhoods that could benefit from the future businesses and is in an area designated by the Denton Plan 2030 Future Land Use Map as a Community Mixed Use center. Community Mixed Use centers are intended for predominantly commercial uses that are in close proximity to one another, which is achieved by the office park design proposed.
d. Ensure that infrastructure is capable of accommodating development prior to the development occurring.
A preliminary plat has also been submitted by the applicant for approval. As part of this process, infrastructure requirements are analyzed to ensure the requirements of the development are met.
e. Ensure that the developer's alternative proposal results overall in a high quality development meeting the intent of the design standards in this Subchapter.
The proposed development meets CM-G District and Subchapter 13 requirements for landscape area and tree canopy and provides connectivity to promote multi-modal access for future users. The proposed buildings are intended to be constructed of masonry materials and include architectural elements to create visual interest from the street. The proposed detention pond meets the intent of the pervious parking requirement by mitigating the environmental impacts of the additional parking area.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends approval of the ADP with the following conditions:
1. The proposed development must substantially conform to the attached site plan.
2. The proposed development must substantially comply with the attached landscape plan with the following modifications:
a. a. In addition to the proposed shrubs located in front of the building along Fort Worth Drive, a minimum five-foot wide planting area consisting of the proposed shrubs as well as tall grasses must be planted in a curvilinear fashion along the building frontage to visually soften the transition between the street and building.
b. A 6-foot opaque masonry screening wall compatible with the building facades must be provided on the southern property line in addition to the required buffer to provide year-round screening of the property.
3. All screening walls for mechanical equipment must be constructed of masonry materials compatible with the building facades. In addition, a mixture of shrubs and tall grasses must be planted around the perimeter of the screening walls.
4. Building 1, as identified on the site plan, must substantially comply with the attached elevation. Buildings 2 and 3 must be constructed of masonry materials and must be similar in design to the attached elevation so as to create a cohesive sense of development throughout the office park.
5. Any future phases must be uniform as it relates to frontage, setbacks, building materials, and landscaping along Fort Worth Drive and Mission Street.
OPTIONS:
1. Recommend approval as submitted.
2. Recommend approval subject to conditions.
3. Recommend denial.
4. Table the item.
PROJECT TIMELINE:
Application Received: July 12, 2016
1st Submittal Sent to DRC Members: July 29, 2016
Comments Released to Applicant: August 12, 2016
2nd Submittal Sent to DRC Members: October 7, 2016
Comments Released to Applicant: October 21, 2016
3rd Submittal Sent to DRC Members: November 18, 2016
Comments Released to Applicant: December 2, 2016
4th Submittal Sent to DRC Members: December 28, 2016
Comments Released to Applicant: January 11, 2017
Business Days under DRC Review: 44
Business Day out to Applicant: 73
Total Business Days: 117
EXHIBITS:
• Aerial Map
• Zoning Map
• Site Plan
• Landscape Plan
• Building 1 Elevation
Respectfully submitted:
Shandrian Jarvis, AICP
Development Review Committee Administrator
Prepared by:
Hayley Zagurski
Assistant Planner