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Home My WebLink AboutA002 - Council Action Form dated November 28, 2006 ITEM # DATE 11/28/06 COUNCIL ACTION FORM SUBJECT: CODE AMENDMENTS RELATED TO FRONTAGE REQUIREMENT BACKGROUND: Minimum Frontage Required. The Ames Zoning Ordinance requires that all lots in the community have "frontage" on a public street. Lot Frontage is defined in Section 29.201(71) as: "the distance for which the front boundary line of the lot and the right-of-way are coincident." The minimum amount of frontage required varies, depending upon the zoning district. Frontage on a public street is required for the following reasons: • Frontage on a public street assures the property owner that access to their property is assured and cannot be eliminated, or changed by another private property owner. • Frontage on a public street assures access by emergency services, public utilities, etc. • The Subdivision Ordinance requires that streets be dedicated to the public (City) so that every lot has a guaranteed means of access. This requirement assures that the property owner can reach a public street from the subject property, and it assures the public that the City can access the property with emergency services and all required public improvements, such as utilities. The developer of the Lifestyle Center and the Power Center proposed for the "O-GNE" (Northeast Gateway Overlay) district at 1-35 and East 13th Street is requesting that the City amend the zoning regulations for the "PRC" (Planned Regional Commercial) district to eliminate the requirement for frontage of every lot on a public street. The developer indicates that some potential occupants of this development insist upon owning the lots upon which their buildings sit, rather than leasing their sites. This separate lot ownership is reportedly needed in order for these tenants to secure financing for their buildings. A minimum of fifty (50) feet of frontage is currently required on a public street in the "PRC" zoning district. Granting this request would allow for separate ownership of lots on the interior of the Lifestyle Center and Power Center which abut the common drives that are under private ownership. As shown on the proposed Master Plan for the "O-GNE" (Northeast Gateway Overlay) District (attached), the customers of many of the businesses would park in large parking lots located between the buildings and the exterior boundary of the site. The owners of the buildings and the owner(s) of the parking lots would be different. Therefore, lots on which many of the buildings would be constructed would be separated from public streets on the exterior of the development site unless public streets were constructed throughout the Lifestyle Center site. There is no public advantage to having public streets, as opposed to private roads, throughout the site. In checking with other cities throughout the United States that have large regional commercial developments, staff finds that regional commercial centers are often times zoned as "Planned Unit Developments", which include lots that do not have frontage on a public street. Lots on the interior of these developments are accessed through cross access easements that connect the interior lots to the public streets on the exterior of the developments. The City of Ames allows "PRD" (Planned Residence Districts) for residential developments only. The "PRC" (Planned Regional Commercial) district includes the "O- GNE" (Northeast Gateway Overlay) District, which has been applied to the Lifestyle Center site through rezoning by the City Council. The "O-GNE" requires a Master Plan, which functions much the same as a Planned Unit Development in that it is a development that must follow a coordinated plan for a combination of properties. There are unifying standards which are applied to the overall design, site layout, access and circulation, landscaping, building design, signage, and lighting of the entire regional commercial development. Staff can justify an exception to the lot frontage requirement on a limited basis in this particular "Planned Regional Commercial District" in combination with the "O-GNE" overlay regulations. In this case, there would be a "Master Plan" approved by City Council that assures coordinated access, circulation, and development throughout the entire site. There are other means to guarantee access to each property besides the requirement for frontage. Cross access easements are the primary example. Easements are already used as a means to provide some public services to private property, as is the case with underground and overhead utilities. Access to a property by easement, across private property, eliminates the City's responsibility to maintain the condition of the access provided to the private lot. On balance, it seems appropriate to allow very limited application of platting lots without frontage as long as appropriate safeguards are in place. Having reviewed the methods used by other communities to accommodate large commercial anchor stores in regional commercial developments, and given the fact that the "O-GNE" overlay district requires a "planned" development much as a Planned Unit Development, staff recommends that the City Council consider an amendment to the zoning regulations of the City that would allow the platting of lots for regional commercial development in the "O-GNE" (Northeast Gateway Overlay District), within the "PRC" (Planned Regional Commercial) district, without frontage of the lot on a public street. The following conditions would be necessary to grant such approval by the City Council: • Permanent cross access easements to allow access to the subject property would be required. 2 • The City of Ames would be a party to each of the cross access easements to ensure that access could not be changed or eliminated in the future without approval by the City Council. (This condition requires a change to the City of Ames Subdivision regulations for "access".) It is important to note that this zoning ordinance exception for frontage requirements would apply only to properties located in the "O-GNE" overlay district. ALTERNATIVES: 1. The City Council can direct staff to prepare zoning and subdivision ordinance text amendments to eliminate the requirement for lot frontage in the "PRC" (Planned Regional Commercial) district, in combination with the "O-GNE" (Northeast Gateway Overlay) district. 2. The City Council can decide to maintain the requirements for lot frontage in these districts. 3. The City Council can refer this issue back to staff for further information. MANAGER'S RECOMMENDED ACTION: Staff has verified that large-scale regional commercial developments in other parts of the nation allow platted lots without street frontage as a part of a Planned Unit Development. The City of Ames actually allows this exception as a part of planned residential developments. Extension of this exception to planned regional commercial developments seems appropriate as long as a comprehensive master plan has been approved by Council, and cross access easements are executed with the City named as a party to the easements. Therefore, it is the recommendation of the City Manager that the City Council adopt Alternative No. 1, thereby directing staff to prepare zoning and subdivision text amendments to eliminate the requirement for lot frontage in the "PRC" (Planned Regional Commercial) district, in combination with the "O-GNE" (Northeast Gateway Overlay) district. Upon this action, staff would draft these text amendments and schedule initial review by the Planning and Zoning Commission. The City Council would then hold a public hearing on the proposed text amendments. 3 �TA7E NOMWAY>� M7EpETAT1 HIWI 'AY a 1,fa l� It F ; � � r I i I t /�--f 1 ! i1b lI -- -------- -----------------11 ! r� ill fill Jill i i fr ftt� 3l !! j II"i IM" i s ttttt tttltl I! ttttl tttit � . . 4Its > it ii ii 4A I � i Y I I � �F I 1 I "JT- - ----- - ------ 2 �.---------._.--- —'---- i C M g - a c, � a o � EF '- (D — 1 Cy MASTER PLAN Architect Webb M Clyde M. , Y Regional Commercial Development ClyfthrtecWre • Northeast Gateway Overlay District m ft°•„M y Ames,Iowa I*—L..W—7M I