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HomeMy WebLinkAboutA001 - Commission Action Form dated July 20, 2016 F ITEM # 10 DATE 07-20-16 COMMISSION ACTION FORM SUBJECT: ZONING TEXT AMENDMENTS RELATING MIXED USE DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS IN CAMPUSTOWN SERVICE CENTER (CSC) ZONING The developer of the 1.8 acre site within the 2700 Block of Lincoln Way requested the City Council Initiate a text amendment to allow for a mixed use development to be constructed in a manner similar to mixed use developments in Campustown Service Center (CSC) zoning, but to allow for some household living residential uses on the ground floor. City Council consented to initiating a text amendment at its June 14, 2016 meeting to consider either changes to the CSC base zoning requirements or to potentially create a new combining district for mixed use along the Lincoln Way. A map of the Campustown area is Attachment 1. Campustown has long been recognized as a center of activity and intensity of use in Ames due to proximity to the University and its historical roots as a commercial area. There are significant differences in the zoning standards for Campustown compared to the typical commercial zoning districts in the City, such as HOC. A primary interest within CSC zoning is to allow for intense development in an urban rather than suburban format that maintains Campustown's identity as a pedestrian oriented commercial area. This approach fulfills the vision of the Land Use Policy Plan for the Service Center designation. This goal of creating a walkable urban environment with commercial uses is built into the zoning standards. Restricting household living (apartments) to floors above the first level of a building to ensure there is commercial frontage is a key component of this approach. Additional related standards include: no building setbacks along a street, no parking allowed between a building and a street, requirements for 50% of street facades with windows or display cases along the ground level, use of clay brick on 50% of each fagade for quality and interest, minimum height and Floor Area Ratio requirements, and reduced parking requirements. The full list of uses and development standards is Attachment 2 to this report. These standards are designed to work together to shape the built environment for mixed use development that supports an engaged pedestrian streetscape environment and to support compatible commercial development in general for Campustown. The only comparable zoning districts to CSC in terms of standards for urban development and mixed use are the Downtown Service Center (DSC) zoning and the Village zoning. However, DSC has fewer design requirements than CSC and the Somerset Village does not allow for the intensity of use of CSC. Although the City's High Density Residential Zoning District does permit for commercial development with a mixed use building, i.e recent Aspen Heights project, it still requires full parking compliance and setbacks for the site. The Lincoln Way Mixed Use Overlay district for HOC zoned sites restricts development to three stories and does not provide for setback or parking reductions. The 2700 Block developer desires the ability to build a mixed use development that includes commercial on the ground floor of a building, but could also have household living or a hotel. The two main issues for the upcoming project are that it may include a hotel component with apartment units above or to include some ground floor apartment units where they do not believe commercial space is viable. To fully meet this interest for household living to occur without being above commercial uses, staff believes three provisions of CSC zoning are likely to need changes to permit the developer's plan. 1) Allow for household living on the ground floor of a "non-commercial street" 2) Allow household living above a short term lodging (hotel) use. (note that hotels are already an allowed use, but not with apartments above) 3) Reduce the window percentage requirement for residential facades, but maintain the 50% requirement for commercial uses. The developer's request for the text amendment is rooted within the location of the 2700 Block site as having close proximity to campus and also ties to the commercial areas of Campustown, although not the core areas. The developer believes that due to the periphery location of Campustown that the project could not successfully tenant a development that provided 100% commercial space on the ground floor of the Hyland, Lincoln Way, and Sheldon street frontages. However, the site is appropriate for siting of a large scale student housing development and some commercial uses Staff estimates that under the current CSC language for a mixed use development on the developer's 1.8 acre site would likely result in a range of 10,000 to 20,000 square feet depending upon building configuration and size of apartment. The developer believes that well less than 10,000 square feet is marketable when considering the site location and the competition of available space under construction further west along Lincoln Way. Although one project is motivating this change, as a text amendment it important to remember any change would apply to all CSC zoned properties. Altering the CSC base zone requirement in regards to apartment development could have potentially significant effects on other parts of Campustown and how future redevelopment occurs. For any change that is approved to the zoning standards, staff believes that key requirements of requiring commercial along the primary commercial streets and that there is transparency (windows) that allow for visual interest and an engaging activated pedestrian environment are maintained. With these concerns in mind, staff believes there three primary approaches to addressing the developer's request. Once an option is selected the language of text amendment would be created for City Council adoption. Option 1- Require a specified amount of commercial floor area based upon street frontage or lot area. This approach would specify that a mixed use building must provide for a certain defined formula of commercial square footage, however, it would provide flexibly that once the minimum square footage or linear frontage requirement is met that other uses could be located along the ground floor. One example of this approach would be to state that 70% of your street frontage must be a non-residential use, this would dictate the size of the building to be built and the amount of commercial. A slightly different variation would be for 70% of the building length to be commercial, which would not dictate the size of the building, just that 70% of what is built would have commercial. A second example would be to require that front lot line requires a minimum of 2,500 square feet for every 100 linear feet of frontage, but no requirement calculated for side lot lines that would occur with corner or through lots. With this approach, there would no longer be a restriction on apartments being located above commercial uses, but it would require commercial be included within any mixed use building and that any area not used for commercial could be uses for residential uses or accessory uses. A standalone use of residential would not be permitted in this scenario. The 70% limit would be reserved for non-residential uses and not include residential uses, lobbies, amenity spaces, or parking garage entrances. This approach could meet the developer's interest depending on how low the formula is set and if a hotel would count as part of the square footage. The ramifications of this approach would be to maintain a commercial requirement, but in many circumstances household living uses and amenity spaces would likely be located along the street level. Option 2- Allow for sites with multiple street frontages to place residential uses across from another residentially zoned site. This approach would only be applicable to the periphery of Campustown and to corner properties with multiple frontages. The core areas in center of Campustown would not abut residential zoned land and would not be able to locate residential uses along the street. This change would allow for residential uses to be proposed along a street that is across from an already existing residential area. This approach allows for streets that are not two sided commercial streets to consider the viability of commercial uses and the compatibility of residential to residential uses. All other properties than the developer's site along Lincoln Way are across from the University which is zoned S-GA and these properties would not be able to avoid having commercial uses on the ground floor. The ramifications of this approach would be that there is no certainty on the amount of commercial space that would exist in a project; however, there would be very few sites that would be able to meet the requirement of being across from residential zoning requirement to not have commercial uses. This type of change would allow for residential units and amenity spaces to exist along the street level and not have such uses restricted to being above commercial. This approach could meet the developer's interest because two of the street frontages (Hyland and Lincoln Way) are across from residentially zoned land. Development along Sheldon would need to meet the commercial requirements and have apartments located only above the commercial uses. In this case staff would advocate the developer keep commercial along Lincoln Way as well as Sheldon. Option 3-Residential and Mixed Use Combining District. This type of zoning tool would rely upon many of the base zone standards for uses, but create either allowances for variations to the base zoning district standards or a permitting process that allows for a variation in development requirements based upon a specific site's circumstances. This approach would have the fewest predictable standards due to the inherent flexibility of the approval process to design a mixed use project for a specific site. This approach would be time intensive in that an applicant would be subject to a rezoning process and a project approval process to vet a project design, which would be merited due to uniqueness of such a project. The benefit of this option is the level of flexibility to meet project objectives for a site. We currently do not have a "Planned Commercial" zoning type that has this type of flexibility. Planned Commercial was a zoning district that existed in the prior Zoning Ordinance before 2000. The concern with this type of zoning tool is the amount of time that can go into project review for concepts that may not meet the desires or goals of the City. The Combining District could be limited to applicability to a CSC or DSC base zoning district to mitigate these concerns for undesirable projects in other commercial areas. This type of combining district may be a recommendation for implementation of the Lincoln Corridor Plan where focus areas have been identified that needs support for redevelopment with flexibility in design. However, it may be premature to expect that such tool would be needed as a result of the Corridor Plan as the focus area planning stage has not yet been completed for the draft Corridor Plan. Option 4- Allow for a short term lodging use on the ground floor with household living above. This option would allow for hotel to be on the ground floor of a mixed use building and to have apartments located above it. No apartments or accessory uses would be permitted on the ground level. There would be no other change to the CSC development standards concerning commercial square footage due to likely market constraints on construction of hotels in Campustown. This options would provide for the fewest changes to the CSC zoning, but opens up questions about oversight of "short term lodging" versus household living. This has been a concern in other mixed use areas as it is difficult to monitor lease lengths and renewals to ensure a facility operates as a hotel with changeover of guests on a regular basis. This change to allow hotel with apartments above would meet the developer's interest in some of the design scenarios presented to staff. It may not fully meet their interest depending on the constraints of hotel design and the requirement for commercial to be built along all other frontages of the project for which apartments are proposed in the upper levels of the buildings. Approval Process for Mixed Use Buildings With all of the options described above there is a layer of permit authority that can be added to review individual requests if changes are made to the standards. Currently, almost all development in CSC is approved at the staff level. If the Commission believes that a public hearing for a project specific review is needed it could recommend that a permit process of a Major Site Development Plan or a Special Use Permit be required to take advantage of any of the zoning options described above. A Major Site Development Plan would require a noticed public hearing before the Planning and Zoning Commission and then with the City Council to receive approval. A Special Use Permit relies upon more qualitative standards to determine appropriateness of use through a noticed public hearing subject to the Zoning Board of Adjustment for approval. ALTERNATIVES: 1. The Planning & Zoning Commission can recommend that the City Council adopt changes to the CSC Zoning that include: a. Allow for household living and accessory uses along the street level of a mixed use building when 70% of the site's total frontage include non-residential uses.(This excludes parking garage entrances and residential uses from 70% of the site frontage) b. Allow for short term lodging to be located on the ground floor and to allow household living located above. c. Reduce the window percentage requirement for residential facades to a minimum of 30% and maintain a requirement for 50% for non-residential facades. 2. The Planning and Zoning Commission can recommend that the City Council adopt changes to the CSC Zoning that include: a. Allow for a short term lodging (hotel) use on the ground floor with household living located above.( no changes to permit household living along the ground floor) b. Reduce the window percentage requirement for residential facades to a minimum of 30% and maintain a requirement for 50% for non-residential facades. 3. The Planning and Zoning Commission can recommend that the City Council create a Mixed Use Combining District for the CSC and DSC base zoning districts that permit a site specific approval through a Major Site Development Permit. 4. The Planning & Zoning Commission can recommend alternative language for the proposed amendments regarding fences. RECOMMENDED ACTION: The intent of CSC zoning is to ensure that it continues to be a walkable commercial environment while allowing for intensification of housing in a well served infill area of the City. Any text amendment needs to ensure that the basic design and use interests for the area are preserved to meet the goals for Campustown as identified within the LUPP. Mixed Use development is a complicated process with many competing interests. In Ames, the primary driver of mixed use is the apartment use and the commercial space is a secondary concern to most developers. Staff believes ensuring that well designed and located commercial spaces is critical to supporting Campustown as it grows and evolves and it cannot solely cater to the market for apartment development. Redevelopment in Campustown over the past three years has resulted in demolition of approximately 83,000 square feet of buildings replaced with approximately 43,000 square feet of ground floor commercial and 49,000 square feet of upper level office space (Kingland Building). This redevelopment has also resulted in the construction of approximately 1,000 additional bedrooms as well. With that said, there are limits on commercial viability related to both market size and location. Not all areas of Campustown are created equal in regards to the need and desire for commercial development along all street frontages. The edges of Campustown are a transition away from the pedestrian oriented commercial areas and begin to compete with other commercial areas outside of Campustown, this is evident to the west as over 25,000 square feet of new commercial development is under construction and will be completed in the next year. With a need to maintain a commercial identity for Campustown, any of the options described above will address that goal and provide some additional flexibility in the configuration of a mixed use building. In effort to set an expectation for commercial and to allow some flexibility, Alternative 1 would meet this interest and allow for staff level approvals of development. Therefore, the Planning and Housing Department recommends the Planning and Zoning Commission support Alternative 1. Attachment 1 Campustown Zoning Map _ Fesd�ibei ,fit m - Lu Cj - + j}� Res njW.. 1on U,aw bero t} f - Zone w 1 q _ W Ell _a> uj t _ m Gmern"nCAirport j WS I .. WEST ST j UNIGN DP U N R District o .., N/p >( Lu > •0 UNION DR 01 tot OR N' yD>a�ri$4V YOnB '.73 �+ .4 1 - r INCOLN,._..„'m'R �I, LINCOLN LINCOLN. Q -- -n-- _--WAY iducivanx:' WRY LINCOLN WAY LINCOLN:WAY WAY LINCOLNWAY LINCOCNWAY °s —'` m c CCt WOOD ST.. - <. a;. zy4 `��� Q ? Z= ♦ > n C Qq z tow Gensy. i -:" zon" d tt t va MBERLAtN rnnVA CtiAMBERLAtN ST �{ t to o ST z rne 6isirict w, ARBOR, ARBOR ST AR-ST z' Si4 Wm3a �.�'' a 4 F UNTST v . s, J il Proposed CSC ;v�i H `HUNT S T > -. ...,.t Expansion z r � $t @z � i t z =d ! d> -- -�-� KNAPP ST KNAPP ST KNAPP ST KNAPP 3T— . o dental ow GovernmenvAiwt _ <� - - Lu- - 4—f3er+eny2anE.... s Gzx rnme lv, 'wt z— -- x o. �9 e 1 BAKE . . w. pa>�srt � �� ST - '( o LITTLE 3T 3 f. Campustown Zoning a 3 Attachment 2 (CSC Zoning Requirements) Sec. 29.809. "CSC" CAM PUSTOWN SERVICE CENTER. (1) Purpose. The Ca mpustown Service Center(C SC)zone is intended to pro vide high-density d evelopmcnt within an area of the city adjacent to Iowa S tatc U niversity.Abroad range of uses is allowed to serve the needs ofpcople who wish to be near IS U,inc lu ding students and staff,and their families. Development is intended to encourage lively commercial activity in the building at the street level and pedestrian activity,with a strong emphasis on safe, vital and attractive streets. D evelopment is intend edto be very dense with high building coverage,large buildings in scale with the pred ominant buildingpattern in the Cam pustown commercial area,andbuildings placed close together,while also conserving and preserving existing valuable characteristics b y assuring comp atibility between existing and new developmen t. B wilding placement,scale at the street,design and materials reinforce a dynamic, pedestrian- friendly neighborhoo d character. (2) Permitted Uses. The uses permitted in the CSC Zone are set forth in Table 29.809 below: Table 29.809(2) Cantpustown Service Center (CSC) Zone Uses APPROVAL APPROVAL USE CATEGORY STATUS REQUIRED AUTHORUI N RESIDEN-I 1AL USES Group Living N Housing Living N,except in combination with SDP Minor Staff permitted non-residential use or uses,in which case Household Living,shall be located above the first floor. Short-terns Lodgings Y SDP Minor Staff OFI-'I(.',E USES Y SDP Minor Staff TR.kDE USES Retail Sales and Services— Y SDP Minor staff General Retail Trade—Automoti ve.etc. N Entertainment,Restaurant and Recreation Trade Y SDP Minor Statf Wholesale Trade N INIWSTRIAL USLS Industrial Service N Small Production Facility Y SP ZBA INS-1 I"FUTIONAL USES Colleges and Universi ties Y SP ZBA Community Facilities Y SDP Minor Staff —Social Service Providers Y SP ZBA Medical Centers N Parks and Open Areas Y SDP Minor Staff Reli6ous Institution,,, Y Sp ZBA Schools N TRANSPORTATION. COM N1 tA I("A,r IONS AND UTILIT) USES Passenger Tenninals Y SDP Minor Staff Basic Utilities Y SDP Major City Council Commercial Parking Y SDP Minor Staff Radio and TV Broadcast Y SP ZBA Facilities Rail Line and Utility Corridors Y SP ZBA Railroad Yards N �I IS(''EHANOUS USES —Commercial Outdoor Recreation N Child Day Care Facilities Y SP ZBA Detention Facilities N Major Event Entertainment y Sp ZBA Vehicle Set,ice Facilities N Adult Entertainment BusinessY SDP Minor staff Y =Yes:permitted as indicated by required approval N =No:prohibited SP =Special Use Permit required:See Section 29.1503 SDP Minor =Site Development Plan Minor:See Section 29.1502(3) SDP Major =Site Development Plan Major:See Section 29.1502(4) ZBA =Zoning Board of Adjustment (Ord. No. 3872, 03-07-06; Ord. No. 3949, 3-4-08; Ord. No. 4216, 5-12-15) (3) Zone Development Standards.The cone development standards for the CSC Zone are set forth in Table 29.809(3)below: Table 29.809(3) Campustown Service Center(CSQ Zone Development Standards DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS CSC ZONE Minimum FAR 1.0[1], Except that the Zoning Board of Adjustment may determine through review of a use subject to approval of a Special Use Permit Use that such a proposed use and design is compatible in character with its surrounding and is exempt from meeting minimum FAR and minimum height. Minimum Lot Area No minimum,except for mixed uses,which shall provide 250 sf of lot area for each dwelling unit Minimum Lot Frontage No minimum,except for mixed uses,which shall provide 25 ft. Minimum Building Setbacks: Front Lot Line 0 Side Lot Line 0 Rear Lot Line 10 ft. Lot Line Abutting a Residentially Zoned Lot 10 ft. Minimum Landscaped Area No minimum Landscaping in Setbacks Abutting an R Zoned 5 ft.@ L3.See Section 29.403 Lot Maximum Buildingoverage 100% Openings between buildings In order to provide access for vehicles and/or utilities to the interior of the block,there shall be a twenty foot wide opening between buildings, at the approximate mid-point of each face of each block. In addition to this mid-block areaway or drive,any lot without other means of access from a public street or alley may have one driveway from the street of up to 20-11 in width. Minimum Height 5 feet[l], Except that the Zoning Board of Adjustment may determine through review of a use subject to approval of a Special Use Permit Use that such a proposed use and design is compatible in character with its surrounding and is exempt from meeting minimum FAR and minimum height. Maximum height in portions of CSC bounded 115 feet by: Lincoln Way Stanton Avenue Hunt Street Hayward Avenue Maximum height within fifteen(IS)feet of the 30 feet,except buildings of three stories height or fewer with frontage right-of-way lines of: on Lincoln Way and without residential use Lincoln Way from Hayward Avenue to Stanton Avenue Welch Avenue from Lincoln Way to Chamberlain Street Maximum Height in all other locations 75 feet. Parking Allowed Between Buildings and No Streets Windows More than 50%of the area of primary or secondary fagade between the ground line and the second floor line shall be windows that allow views into the interiors ace or be a display window. Building Materials Clay brick shall comprise more of the exterior wall surface of the building than any other material. Exterior surface does not include windows or doors or their trim. This requirement does not apply to additions to buildings which do not have brick as an exterior material. Entrance There shall be at least one functional pedestrian entrance facing a street. Balconies There shall be no exterior balconies above the third floor. Site materials No rocks,brick fragments or other hard,loose material over'/a-inch in size shall be used. Drive-Through Facilities Permitted Yes Outdoor Display Permitted Yes,See Section 29.405 Outdoor Storage Permitted No Trucks and Equipment Permitted Yes (4)Standards for the Granting of Exceptions to the Minimum Requirement for Two Story Buildings in the CSC(Campustown Service Center)District.Before an exception to the requirement for two-story buildings in the CSC(Campustown Service Center)can be granted,the Zoning Board of Adjustment shall establish that the following standards have been,or shall be satisfied: (a)Standards.The Zoning Board of Adjustment shall review each application for the purpose of determining that each proposed one-story building,in the CSC zone,meets the following standards: (i)Physical circumstances exist for the property which result in a lot with a size and shape that is not conducive to a multi-story structure,and (ii)It can be demonstrated that there is a direct benefit to the community to have a one-story structure,at the proposed location,as opposed to a multi-story structure. (b)Procedure.The procedure to follow for an"exception"is described in Section 29.1506(3). (5)Compliance.New buildings shall be constructed in full compliance with the above standards for building design.In building additions or remodeling it is not required that the entire building be brought into full compliance with the above standards for building design.It is only required that the addition or remodeling comply.It is required that the addition or remodeling does not have the effect of increasing the level or degree of nonconformity of the building as a whole. (Ord.No. 3872, 03-07-06) [1] Except that the Zoning Board of Adjustment may determine through review of a use subject to approval of a Special Use Permit Use that such a proposed use and design is compatible in character with its surrounding and is exempt from meeting minimum FAR and minimum height.