HomeMy WebLinkAboutA002 - Council Action Form dated August 9, 2016 � f
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ITEM# 31
DATE: 08-09-16
COUNCIL ACTION FORM
SUBJECT: ZONING TEXT AMENDMENTS RELATING TO MIXED USE
DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS IN CAMPUSTOWN SERVICE CENTER
(CSC) ZONING
BACKGROUND:
The developer of the 1.8 acre site within the 2700 Block of Lincoln Way requested that
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 Lincoln Way.
City Council is now asked to provide direction on a specific approach for drafting
of an ordinance.
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. A
map of the Campustown area is included as Attachment 1. 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
floor of a building to ensure there is commercial frontage is a key component of this
approach. Additional related standards promoting commercial use 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 shown in 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
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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 (E.g., the 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 for apartments or a hotel on the first floor of a building. The two
main issues for the upcoming project are that it may include 1) a hotel component with
apartment units above, or 2) some ground floor apartment units where they do not
believe commercial space is viable. In either situation they desire to have residential
apartments in the rear of the building on the first floor. To fully meet this interest for
household living to occur, without being above commercial uses, staff believes two
primary provisions of CSC zoning are likely to need changes to permit the developer's
plan, and a change to one minor provision for window percentage is also likely. These
changes are described below:
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 in 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, 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 apartments. 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 potential change, as a text amendment it
is 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.
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For any change that is approved to the zoning standards, staff believes that key
requirements should be retained to require commercial along the primary
commercial streets and to require transparency (windows) that allow for visual
interest and an engaging activated pedestrian environment. With these concerns in
mind, staff believes there are four primary approaches to addressing the developer's
request. Once City Council provides direction on how to proceed, a specific text
amendment can be drafted for the Council's consideration.
Alternative #1 — Require a specified amount of commercial floor area based upon
frontage. This approach would specify that a mixed use building must provide for a
certain defined formula of commercial square footage. However, it would provide
flexibility so that, once the minimum square footage or linear frontage requirement is
met, other uses could be located along the ground floor. One example of this approach
would be to state that 70% of a building's frontage must be a non-residential use
(commercial use). This would not dictate the overall size of the building to be built, but
would affect how the building is configured. A slightly different variation would be for
70% of the street frontage to be commercial, which would dictate the size of the building
making a mandatory requirement to construct commercial.
With a building frontage standard, there would no longer be a restriction on
apartments being located above commercial uses, but it would require
commercial to be included within any mixed use building and that any area not
used for commercial could be used 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 would not include residential
uses, lobbies, amenity spaces, or parking garage entrances within the building.
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. Staff believes a hotel lobby
could count as non-residential, but hotel rooms themselves would not meet this
expectation. The ramifications of Option 1 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 and it would clearly allow for residential
uses on the first floor at the rear of the building.
Alternative #2 — Allow for sites with multiple street frontages to place residential
uses across from another residentially zoned sites. This approach would only be
applicable to the periphery of Campustown and to corner properties with multiple
frontages. The core areas in the 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 developers to
consider the viability of commercial uses when a site is not located along a two-sided
commercial street.
All properties within Campustown along Lincoln Way other than the developer's site are
across from the University which is zoned S-GA, and those properties would not be able
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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 and 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.
Alternative #3 — Residential and Mixed Use Combining District. This type of zoning
tool would rely upon many of the base zone standards for uses, but would 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 could be time intensive in that an applicant would be subject to a
rezoning process and a project approval process to vet a project design and to gauge
its merit against City expectations. The benefit of this option is the level of flexibility to
meet project objectives for a site. It could provide greater flexibility than what has been
requested by the developer. The City currently does 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 should 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 and need support for redevelopment with
flexibility in design. However, it may be premature to expect that such a tool would be
needed as a result of the Corridor Plan, since the focus area planning stage has not yet
been completed for the draft Plan.
This option would likely meet all of the developer's interests with potentially the
exception of the amount of time to enact the ordinance and review the project
concurrently. The developer may also seek other variations in design if this option was
selected. Approving the project under this method would not be a precedent for other
projects or affect how other Campustown properties are used unless they also sought
rezoning to the combining district.
Alternative #4 — Allow for a short term lodging use on the ground floor with
household living above. This option would allow for a hotel to be on the ground floor
of a mixed use building and to have apartments located above it. No apartments or
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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. Additionally, the hotel could be oriented along the street right-of-way and
preclude commercial uses that are desired along most streets.
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. If the developers were to pursue the large hotel that would
be standalone for the residential uses, then this option would not be necessary.
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 Council believes that
a public hearing for a project specific review is needed, it could require a permit process
for a Major Site Development Plan or a Special Use Permit before a project could 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 a hearing before 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.
Planning and Zoning Commission Recommendation:
At the meeting of July 20, 2016, the Planning and Zoning Commission discussed the
four options noted above. The Commission discussed the intended character of
Campustown and the need to have active and walkable commercial frontages. They
noted a concern about the management of short term lodging uses (hotel) long term
and the ramifications of allowing for such a use on the first floor if the use would be
discontinued in the future.
The Commission also discussed the concern for the loss of small commercial spaces
for larger corporate tenant spaces. With a vote of 5-0, the Commission recommended
that the City Council approve text amendments that allowed for the following
combination of requirements:
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a. Allow sites with multiple street frontages to place ground floor residential
uses across from another residentially-zoned site (Alternative 2).
b. Allow for short-term lodging to be located on the ground floor and to allow
household living located above (Alternative 4).
c. Reduce the window percentage requirement for residential facades to a
minimum of 30 percent and maintain a 50 percent requirement for non-
residential facades.
MANAGER'S 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, while 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 commercial building space (1st and 2nd levels)
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.
The overall structure of CSC zoning standards could be altered for a better approach to
guide commercial development in Campustown and meet our street level design
interests. However, due to time constraints staff believes a minor amount of
adjustments should be made at this time and that the four options described above are
generally appropriate choices. 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 at the 2700 block
of Lincoln way. The main question within these options is what degree of latitude is
needed to support the developer and ensure the remaining areas of Campustown also
meet the City's goals.
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Staff believes the most limited effect on Campustown overall is found in Alternatives 2
and 4, which allow for residential uses across from other residentially zoned properties
and for hotels with apartments above. Allowing residential across from other residential
would have no effect on the core commercial areas of Campustown, but would allow for
residential apartments to be on the ground floor when located in the periphery of
Campustown. There would be no obligation for commercial along residential areas if not
desired by a developer. Language to allow the hotel would need to be tailored to limited
situations with the allowance of residential.
In the case of 2700 Block project, Alternative 2 would work well with their large hotel
option since the hotel would be placed along Sheldon and apartments would then be
along Hyland (across from residential zoning). In the event the project is a version with
a boutique hotel along Hyland, the developer would need to adjust the Sheldon
configuration to remove most of the area that is shown as accessory to residential uses
above. An allowance for a lobby on Sheldon could still be made, but it would need to be
minimized in size to be consistent with the intent for commercial.
Therefore, it is the recommendation of the City Manager that the City Council
direct staff to prepare a zoning ordinance text amendment consistent with the
Planning and Zoning Commission recommendation to incorporate Alternative 2
and Alternative 4 with the change to window percentages for residential uses.
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Attachment 1 Campustown Zoning Map
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Attachment 2 (CSC Zoning Requirements)
Sex. 29'809. ^C8C" CAM P0STOvwN SERVICE CENTER.
(}) Purpnv*, ThuCumpvmown Service C enter(C8C)zone ix intended»o pro vide high-dcnoity
development within un area of the city adjacent to Iowa S tate U niversity.A bro ad range o f uses is allowed to serve
the needs ofpcoplcwho wish to bcnearlS U, inc lud in g stud cnts and staff,and their farn ilics. Development
is intended to encourage lively commercial activity in the building at the street level and pedestrian activity,with
omnnng emphasis onsafe, vital and attractive streets.
Dcv*\opmnnt is intend ed to be very dense with high building coverage,large buildings in scale with the
predominant buildingpattern in the Cam pustown commercial area,and buildings placed close together,while also
conserving and preserving existing valuable characteristics b y assuringcomp atibility between existing and new
development. Building placement,scale at the street,design and materialSTeinforce a dynamic, pedestrian-
friendly neighborhood character.
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(2) Permitted Uses. The uses permitted in the CSC Zone are set forth in Table 29.809
below:
Table 29.809(2)
Campustown Service Center(CSC) Zone Uses
APPROVAL APPROVAL
USE CATEGORY STATUS REQUIRED AUTHORITY
RESIDENTIAL USES
Group Living N
I I ousi ng 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. ---SDP Minor Staff
Short-term Lodgings Y
OFFICE USES Y SDP Minor Staff
TRADE USES
Retail Sales and Services— Y SDP Minor Staff
General
Retail Trade--Automotive,etc. N
Entertainment,Restaurant and
Recreation Trade Y SDP Minor Staff
Wholesale Trade N
INDUSTRIAL USES
Industrial Service N
Small Production Facility Y SP ZBA
INSTITUTIONAL USES
Colleges and Universities Y SP ZBA
Community Facilities Y SDP Minor Staff
Social Service Providers Y SP ZBA
Medical Centers N
Parks and Open Areas Y 95P—Minor' staff
Religious Institutions--i Y SP ZBA
I Schools r N
TRANSPORTATION,
COINIMUN ICAT IONS AND
rritxn' USES
Passenger Terminals 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
MISCELLANOUS t SES
Commercial Outdoor Recreation N
Child Day Care Facilities Y SP ZBA
Detention Facilities N
Major Event Entertainment Y SP ZBA
Vehicle Service Facilities :t N Staff-
I Adult Entertainment Business I Y I SDP Minor
Y =Yes:pen-nitttd 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)
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(3) "Zone Development Standards.The zone development standards for the CSC Zone are set forth
in Table 29.809(3)below:
'fable 29.809(3)
Campusto"n Service Center(CSC)'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 Building Coverage 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-ft 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(15)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.
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Site materials No rocks,brick fragments or other hard,loose material over 1/4-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.
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