HomeMy WebLinkAboutA004 - Commission Action Form dated July 19, 2006 1
ITEM# 7
DATE 07/19/06
COMMISSION ACTION FORM
SUBJECT: AMENDMENT TO THE ZONING ORDINANCE TO ESTABLISH THE
SOUTHWEST GATEWAY OVERLAY DISTRICT (O-GSW)
BACKGROUND:
At its meeting of June 21, 2006, the Planning and Zoning Commission reviewed a draft
of the proposed zoning ordinance establishing the Southwest Gateway Overlay District
(O-GSW), which creates additional development standards consistent with the City's
land use policies on community entryways. The Commission tabled the ordinance in
order for a property owner to have more time to review the standards and for further
consideration of potential incentives for developing pedestrian and other gateway
amenities around the pond in the southeast corner of the proposed overlay district.
The interested property owner, Bryan Kinnear, has reviewed the ordinance and met with
staff on the design standards and on the potential for gateway amenities. Attachment A
is a copy of a letter from Mr. Kinnear.
Three questions were raised about the design standards:
1. If separate sites are developed following the Collective Parking option under item 5,
how is the parking divided among the sites and how is the minimum landscape area
under item 6 divided among the sites? Staff response is that each site or parcel
should stand on its own, which the revised item 5 and 6 on Attachment B describes.
If a different distribution of parking among different parcels is desired, then the
developer can follow the current "Remote Parking" zoning standard (Zoning section
29.406(18)). The proposed Collective Parking standards provide a simpler process
for the developer and the City.
2. Under the Collective Parking standard, when does the parking need to be
developed? Staff's response is that parking needs to be developed to support a
use, before an occupancy permit will be issued for a building containing that use. If
this were split between separate parcels, then staff would set an expiration date for
site plan approval that would encourage development to proceed on all parcels
within a reasonable period of time.
3. Under the landscape standard calling for one additional tree per 60 feet of street
frontage, does this include U.S. Highway 30 frontage? In other cases where the
zoning ordinance refers to street frontage, highways have been included. An
analysis of the number of trees to be provided indicates this does not create a
disproportionate burden on the property with highway frontage.
Entryway amenities are discussed below under Recommended Action.
ALTERNATIVES:
1. The Planning and Zoning Commission can recommend to the City Council
approval of the proposed Southwest Gateway Overlay District (O-GSW)
ordinance.
2. The Planning and Zoning Commission can recommend to the City Council denial
of the proposed Southwest Gateway Overlay District (O-GSW) ordinance.
3. The Planning and Zoning Commission can recommend to the City Council
approval of the proposed Southwest Gateway Overlay District (O-GSW) ordinance
with modifications.
4. Action on this proposal can be postponed and referred back to City staff for
additional information.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
In the area to which this proposed zoning district is applied, its provisions would provide
guidance for future development to be consistent with the City's land use policies for the
community's entryways. Therefore, City staff recommends that the Planning and Zoning
Commission adopt Alternative No. 1, thereby recommending to the City Council
approval of the proposed Southwest Gateway Overlay District (O-GSW) ordinance.
Entryway Amenities. As indicated in the letter from Bryan Kinnear, his intention is to
create an attractive amenity around the lake and he is very interested in any support the
City can provide to make an even more attractive entryway. This support could take the
form of property tax abatement, grants, loans, or other City investment. It also leads to
the questions of who will own the entry amenity and who will maintain it. Not much
progress can be made on any of these issues without some conceptual design of what
could be accomplished here and appropriate public review of that design. No design for
this water feature or the area around it has begun.
Any of this must begin only with City Council direction. While the public investment,
incentives, ownership, and maintenance are issues for the City Council, it would be
appropriate for the Planning and Zoning Commission to express their interest in and
support for City involvement in entryway amenities in the area of the pond. The
Commission can make a recommendation to the City Council on this matter separately
from the above zoning ordinance amendment. The Commission can also request the
opportunity to review any further design or land use policy related to the entryway that
the Council initiates, which was the case with the Southeast Entryway planning.
S:\Council Boards Comm issions\PZ\Commission Action Forms\Text Amendments\O-GSW Ordinance-07-19-06.doc
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• ATTACHMENT A
Dear City Council:
My brother and I recently purchased 7 acres of land on the corners of Hwy 30, Mortensen
Rd and Dickensen Ave. We intend to develop this land into a family destination. This
area will include a large, family, bowling center. It could also include several restaurants
in a park like setting.
After some discussion with P &Z and Jeff Benson we understand that this area is
currently being considered for a rezoning(Gateway Overlay).
The land that Kinneer Land Development purchased has a substantial amount of water on
it. This "lake" covers over 2 acres of the 7 which we purchased. It also happens to be
very visible to the Ames' Gateway. Every car that enters Ames from the South
Dakota/Hwy 30 exit will view this water. It is the predominate feature of this gateway.
Currently there are no incentives to improve this water. We would like to ask Council
to investigate tax abatement, grants, partnerships, etc. to help us beautify this
feature. We envision a large fountain, landscaping(to include retaining walls), and
walk/bike paths around the lake that connect to the Ames path system. This area could
be both beautiful to our visitors and useful to our citizens.
We welcome an opportunity to discuss this plan in further detail with Council prior to
amending the current zoning ordinance.
Sincerely,
Bryan W. Kinneer
Bryan Kinneer
bk@westtownepub.com
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Attachment B DRAFT July 13, 2006
Sec. 29.1112 "O-GSW" SOUTHWEST GATEWAY OVERLAY DISTRICT
(1) Purpose. The purpose of the Southwest Gateway Overlay District is to
provide a distinctive entry to Ames and to major destinations in this area.
Its provisions are intended to enhance arrival, direct traffic, accentuate
access to and identify the community commercial areas at the South
Dakota interchange with U.S. Highway 30 and the western residential
areas of the community. The following provisions are intended to provide
for land uses and site and building design characteristics that enhance the
appearance of this relatively small but highly visible entry area.
(2) Applicability. The O-GSW District shall be designated by ordinance
amending the official zoning map
(3) Permitted Uses. The underlying, base zoning establishes permitted uses.
However, the following uses are prohibited in the O-GSW District.
Recreation vehicle parks
Commercial parking
Adult entertainment facilities
Recreation vehicle and boat sales
Cemeteries
Stables
Recycling centers
Passenger terminals
Detention facilities
Agricultural, industrial or construction machinery sales
Radio & TV broadcast facilities
Sales of manufactured housing
Vehicle storage facilities
4) Pedestrian and Vehicular Circulation.
a) The internal vehicular and pedestrian circulation within a development
involving multiple buildings or lots must interconnect in an obvious and
direct manner.
5) Collective Parking. The total minimum number off-street parking spaces
required for a variety of different uses may be reduced to eighty-five (85)
percent of the sum of the required off-street parking spaces for each use
computed separately, under the following conditions:
a) Different uses and/or separate primary buildings located on a single
parcel.
b) Uses located on two or more separate parcels when those parcels are
adjacent to each other and when site plans for all parcels are submitted,
reviewed, and approved concurrently. Each site shall include the share of
the total parking attributable to the uses located on that site and each site
shall meet all other zoning requirements.
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Attachment B DRAFT July 13, 2006
The total number off-street parking spaces required shall not be less than
largest amount required for any of the uses computed separately.
6) Landscaping.
a) Any site where the Collective Parking standard as defined in Section
29.1112(5) is applied shall provide at least 20% of the site area as
Minimum Landscaped Area.
b) Integrate storm water management systems into the site in ways that
enhance the public space and sustain landscape plantings native to the
area.
c) Use native tree and shrub species, or their cultivars, for the majority of
trees and shrubs planted on the site.
d) Achieve unity of design by repeating plant variety groupings and other
materials, and by coordination with landscaping on adjacent properties
where appropriate (including right-of-way streetscape designs).
e) Design parking areas with a combination of landscape plantings,
screening, and buffers to avoid the visual appearance of vast expanses of
hard-surface paving, to avoid narrow strips of grass and/or plantings and
to provide larger landscape areas in strategic locations rather than smaller
landscape areas scattered throughout.
f) Provide one deciduous (overstory) of 1-1/2-inch caliper in size, measured
four(4) feet above the ground, for every 60 feet of street frontage, in
addition to all other landscaping required under Article 4 Development
Standards.
g) Fencing shall be integral and consistent with the overall design of the
building and the landscape and also shall include materials of the same
type, quality and color as the principal materials of the building or
landscape.
h) Chain link fences and fences containing barbed wire, electric charges or
sharp materials are prohibited.
7) Mechanical Equipment.
a) Comply with the standards of this section for all
i) cooling or heating equipment,
ii) pumps
iii) generators
iv) communications equipment
v) private utility cabinets
vi) meters
vii)other such mechanical equipment
b) Locate and screen such mechanical equipment so it is not visible from
adjoining properties or public streets or sidewalks and to minimize
acoustic impacts of this equipment in these areas.
c) Screening shall be integral and consistent with the overall design of the
building and the landscape. At a minimum, screening materials shall meet
the L3 or F2 standards set forth in Section 29.403 and
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Attachment B
DRAFT July 13, 2006
i) shall include materials of the same type, quality and color as the
principal materials of the building or landscape, and
ii) at the time of installation, shall be at least six inches higher than the
height of the mechanical equipment.
8) Service Areas.
a) Comply with the standards of this section for all
i) loading berths, area or docks
ii) areas and equipment for trash collection or compaction
iii) truck parking
iv) other service areas and equipment
b) Cluster the locations of such service areas and equipment.
c) Locate and screen such service areas and equipment to minimize visibility
from adjoining properties or public streets or sidewalks and to minimize
acoustic impacts of the activities in these areas.
d) Screening shall be integral and consistent with the overall design of the
building and the landscape. At a minimum, screening materials shall meet
the L3 or F2 standards set forth in Section 29.403.and shall include
materials of the same type, quality and color as the principal materials of
the building or landscape.
9) Drive-through facilities.
a) Locate drive-through windows, menu boards, mechanical equipment, and
associated stacking lanes to minimize impacts on adjacent properties for
which zoning permits residential use.
b) Integrated such site features with the building design and screened from
off-site property with screening materials that meet at least the L2
standard.
10)Building Type. These standards are intended to promote building design
characteristics that enhance the appearance of this relatively small but highly
visible entry area. They are not intended to establish specific architectural
styles or building designs, but it is intended that each building have a unified
design character using architectural grade products and materials.
a) No pre-engineered buildings are permitted that are the vertical ribbed,
shallow roofed, all-metal buildings typically found in agricultural or
industrial applications similar to the hangar buildings located at the Ames
Municipal Airport or to the building at 925 Airport Road. However, the
regulations are intended to allow exterior metal material as one exterior of
the materials in designs similar to buildings located at 2321 North Loop Dr.
and 2711 and 2901 South Loop Drive.
b) To provide architectural interest and variety, incorporate in the
architectural design of all buildings variations in
i) building height
ii) building mass
iii) roof forms and rooflines
iv) wall planes
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Attachment B DRAFT July 13, 2006
v) building facades
vi) color
vii) materials
viii)texture
c) Use consistent architectural detail and character on all sides of the
buildings, which are visible from adjoining properties and/or public streets.
11. Building Materials.
a) Masonry materials comprised of brick, natural stone or reconstructed
stone, shall be used as architectural features or accents on all building
elevations that are visible to the general public.
b) Prohibited materials are:
i) smooth-faced concrete block
ii) painted masonry
iii) painted wood.
12. Roofs.
a) No ribbed or corrugated sheet metal or fiberglass panel products shall be
permitted as a roofing material on any pitched roof.
b) Pitched roof shall have a minimum pitch of 4:12.
c) Flat roofs are permitted, but only if concealed by parapets, sloped roof
forms or other architecturally integrated features and also variation in
height of these roof elements.
d) Employ roof forms that correspond to and bring attention to elements and
functions such as entrances, arcades, porches, building corners and/or
focal points.
13.Windows and doors.
a) Incorporate a combination of arcades, pedestrian-level display windows,
multiple fenestrations, storefronts, and store entrances into building
frontages and sides of buildings oriented to any street or highway.
b) The primary pedestrian entry of the building shall face or be no more than
90 degrees from facing a street and shall be identified, defined and
reinforced by significant architectural elements of mass, such as building
recesses, canopies or porticos supported by columns or protrusions in the
front facade, or if the entrance faces the street, significant variations in the
roof or parapet.
14. Signs and lighting.
a) Billboards are prohibited.
b) Any ground-mounted signs shall be monument style not exceeding twelve
(12) feet in height, with the exception that a maximum of two pylon signs,
not exceeding a height of thirty-five (35) feet, shall be permitted
c) Building-mounted lighting may be used only to highlight specific
architectural features or primary customer or building entrances. General
floodlighting of building facades is not permitted.
d) All outdoor lighting fixtures shall be fully shielded.
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Attachment B DRAFT Julv 13. 2006
e) All outdoor lighting fixtures shall be placed so as to minimize light trespass
and glare beyond the property boundary.
f) Light levels shall be limited to one hundred fifty thousand (150,000)
lumens per gross acre, with the exception that pedestrian circulation areas
and building entrances may be illuminated to twenty (20) foot candles
measured at ground level.
15. Design Review Process. City staff shall conduct pre-design conferences
as requested by any applicant to clarify the provisions of this ordinance.
Applicants are encouraged to request such conferences.
SAReports Studies\Design Guidelines\SW Gateway\SWGW Standards-07-13-06.doc
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