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<br />businesses. Such small businesses, such as a shoe repair shop, delicatessen, or hair salon, are
<br />likely to be locally-owned, to support, and be supported by neighboring residences and
<br />employment centers. Certain large, C-2-type uses may not provide direct services to the area,
<br />and can even supplant smaller businesses. In addition, certain C-2 uses by virtue of their
<br />intensity and scale are potentially incompatible with surrounding neighborhood commercial
<br />uses. For example, the height limit in C-l is 35 feet, as compared to 120 feet in C-2.
<br />
<br />The owners' planned extended stay hotel and catering business are not allowed in the C-l
<br />zone. Both are too large for the current C-l size limit of 5,000 s.f., and the "small business
<br />incentives" in C-l that allows up to 10,000 s.f. if the Floor Area Ratio is at least .65. A hotel
<br />is excluded from the list of allowed uses in C-l, presumably because it typically draws from
<br />a more regional base, and rarely provides direct services to the neighborhood. However, an
<br />extended stay hotel may be a better "fit" than other types of lodging in a neighborhood
<br />commercial/nodal development area. These types of hotels generally see an average stay of 1
<br />to 2 weeks, and typically do not provide on-site services. As a result, extended stay hotel
<br />"residents" are more likely to use and support neighboring services, such as gyms, grocery
<br />stores (to supply kitchenettes), and specialty retail shops. In addition, as the applicant points
<br />out, an extended stay hotel can serve the residents of the area by providing lodging for
<br />visiting family within walking distance of high density residential areas. The planned
<br />catering business is on the scale of a wholesale distributor (the category used in the submitted
<br />Traffic Impact Analysis), will have very few employees, and very little direct exchange with
<br />the local neighborhood. It should be noted that the current PUD approval already allows a
<br />6,000 s.f. restaurant on Lot 4 and an 80,000 s.f. office building on Lot 5. Notwithstanding the
<br />owners' development plans, it must be assumed that, if the plan amendment and zone change
<br />are approved, other more or less compatible C-2 uses may occur on the site.
<br />
<br />A C-2/Community Commercial designation can provide for a wider range of uses, a wider
<br />range of services, more dense employment and residential centers, and higher development
<br />densities than can be achieved through C-l zoning. Most of the uses allowed in C-2 can
<br />provide the "direct services" anticipated by this policy. In addition, most uses allowed in the
<br />C-2 zone are not inherently incompatible with Neighborhood Commercial, a concern that
<br />arises usually because of their design or scale. Special development standards, such as
<br />required in Site Review or a PUD process, can address most issues of scale, form, character
<br />and relationship to surrounding uses. The Site Review process is already required for this site,
<br />as noted in the discussion under EC 9.8424(1)(c), Policy 5, above. Further, in order to
<br />implement the requested reduction in Floor Area Ratio, a PUD process will also be required
<br />by the proposed policy language.
<br />
<br />While the owners' planned uses may not further the above policy, these and other C-2 uses
<br />are not necessarily inconsistent with it. Policy 7 is "aspirational," in the sense that it uses the
<br />term "encourage" as opposed to mandating compliance with clear and objective standards.
<br />Another reason that C-2/Community Commercial designation does not conflict with Policy 7
<br />is that this policy does not specify that neighborhood commercial uses must be located within
<br />Summer Oaks-Crescent Center. The policy applies to the Coburg-Crescent subarea, which
<br />includes almost all of the nodal development area. As is typical for a nodal development area,
<br />the Crescent Avenue Nodal Development Area provides a mix ofC-l and C-2 zoning.
<br />Within the node, uses that provide neighborhood commercial services are provided
<br />elsewhere, in the Neighborhood Commercial area along Coburg near Kinney Loop, and the
<br />remaining Neighborhood Commercial area within Summer Oaks-Crescent Center (2.72 acres
<br />along Crescent, plus approximately 3 acres already developed with office uses). In addition
<br />
<br />Summer Oaks-Crescent Cenkr - r:indings. September! 7,2007
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<br />Pagt. !I) of 19
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