Ordinance No. 20395 - Laserfiche WebLink

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During the development of the Chase Node plan, FAR minimums were considered and, ultimately, not adopted. At the time, it was believed that a 1.0 FAR was not possible for the types of uses anticipated for Chase Node, such as a grocery store and high density residential development, particularly given the parking requirements; and the standard was not easy to regulate where development was to be phased in over time. Alternatively, there are standards that establish minimum residential densities, and building heights of at least 2 floors in certain areas. Maximum building heights are 50 feet in commercial areas, or 120 feet in mixed use areas. The Royal Node special area plan sets building height limits of 50 feet in commercial and mixed use areas, and established a minimum FAR of .50 for stand-alone commercial uses. An FAR of.4 or .5 is not unreasonable outside of the downtown. In the C-l zone's "small business incentive," the individual business size limit may be increased to 10,000 s.f., provided it meets an FAR of .65. As another comparison, Crescent Village to the north of the site is being developed as a mixed use center intended for neighborhood commercial uses, community commercial uses (a grocery store), and high density residential development. Much of this is now constructed or under construction. Crescent Village policy language adopted in the W AP allowed a significant reduction in FAR to .40. Testimony during that refinement plan amendment indicated that it was difficult to achieve FAR 1.0 without cost-prohibitive structured/underground parking, due to code requirements for parking, landscaping, setbacks, etc. Although this argument was based on assumptions for a mix of GO, C-2 and R4 uses for a much larger site, some reduction in FAR may be appropriate for similar reasons for the Summer Oaks-Crescent Center site. The proposed amendments, zone change and FAR reduction are generally consistent with the types of zoning and FAR levels seen in other mixed uses/nodal development areas. Zone Chan2e Approval Criteria The proposal is to rezone the subject property from the existing zoning of C-l/SR/ND, Neighborhood Commercial zone with Site Review and Nodal Development overlay to C-2/SR/ND, Community Commercial zone with Site Review and Nodal Development overlay. The proposal is found to be consistent with the zone change approval criteria. Findings relative to the amendment criteria (with criteria in bold italics) are presented below. Comoliance with EC 9.8865 EC 9.8865 requires that the zone change meet the following criteria: (1) The proposed change is consistent with applicable provisions of the Metro Plan. The written text of the Metro Plan shall take precedence over the Metro Plan diagram where apparent conflicts or inconsistencies exist. (2) The proposed zone change is consistent with applicable adopted refinement plans. In the event of inconsistencies between these plans and the Metro Plan. the Metro Plan controls. (3) The uses and density that will be allowed by the proposed zoning in the location of the proposed change can be served through the orderly extension of key urban facilities and services. (4) The proposed zone change is consistent with the applicable siting requirements set out for the specific zone in: (a) EC 9.2150 Commercial Zone Siting Requirements. (5) In cases where the NR zone is applied based on EC 9.2510(3), the property owner shall enter into a contractual arrangement with the city to ensure the area is maintained as a natural resource areafor a minimum of 50 years. Summ(;r Oaks-Crescent Center - r'indings, St'ptembcr! 7, 2007 Page 15 of 19