To: Planning & Zoning Commission and City Council
From: Matthew Cyr, Planner I, and Julie Smith, Community Development Director
Subject:
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Consider a recommendation by the Planning and Zoning Commission, and approval of a resolution by the City Council, for a site plan with one variance to the Keller Parkway landscape buffer requirement related to the Altus development of two buildings (4,000 square-foot medical building and 16,722 square-foot general office building), located on approximately 2.42-acres of land on the north side of Keller Parkway, approximately 125 feet northwest of the intersection of Bloomfield Drive and Keller Parkway, being Lot 3, Block A of Bowden Event Center Addition and addressed as 1807 Keller Parkway. KP Bowden LLC, Owner/Applicant. Baird, Hampton and Brown, Engineer. (SP-20-0008)
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Action Requested:
Consider a request for a Site Plan for Altus with one variance request to encroach upon the 30-foot Landscape Buffer fronting Keller Parkway.
Background:
• The Applicant is proposing to construct a 4,000 square-foot medical office building and a 16,722 square-foot office building on this property. With the exception for the request for a parking variance, the Applicant is proposing to meet all the requirements of the Unified Development Code (UDC).
Variance Request:
Variance Request: Permit parking to encroach into the 30’ Landscape Buffer fronting Keller Parkway.
According to section 8.08 (F), landscaping requirements adjacent to rights-of-way must include the following:
a. Minimum four inch (4”) caliper canopy trees in a straight spaced based on projected mature tree canopy widths near the center of the thirty-foot (30’) landscape buffer adjacent to thoroughfares with four (4) or more lanes. To allow visibility of signage, trees may be planted in clusters to allow spacing between trees to be a maximum of sixty feet (60’). (Amended by Ord. No. 1799 on July 5, 2016)
b. Minimum two (2) ornamental trees per fifty linear feet (50’) of frontage planted in clusters or linear arrangement within the thirty-foot (30’) landscape buffer adjacent to thoroughfares with four (4) lanes or more.
For the uses proposed, the Applicant is required to provide a minimum of 76 spaces plus handicap parking. He may add an additional 10% of parking without having to also provide additional landscaping. In this case, that would be 84 spaces. The applicant is proposing 92 spaces along with the additional landscaping required. However, six of these spaces encroach into the above-described landscape buffer as part of an arc of eight spaces total. These eight spaces represent the “above-and-beyond” parking allowed by the UDC. (See Site Plan, attached.)
Given the emphasis on landscape buffers along major thoroughfares, especially Keller Parkway, and the basis upon which a variance may - or may not - be granted, staff cannot support the request. There is no underlying special condition nor consideration that merit an alternative approach to the landscape buffer and its particular design as required by the UDC (such as turn lanes or variable width rights-of-way). The basis for the request is only the desire for additional parking.
Elevations:
The elevations will conform to the standards of the UDC.
Traffic Impact Analysis:
The trip generation form included the buildout of offices on this property when the Bowden Event Center was approved back in 2015. Consequently, this did not trigger a Traffic Impact Analysis.
Citizen Input:
A Site Plan application, even with variances, does not require a public hearing, so no public hearing notifications were sent out to the surrounding property owners for this request. There has been no response from the public to this application. The public will have an opportunity to speak on this agenda item at the “Persons To Be Heard”.
Summary:
Section 2.07(A.2) of the UDC, lists criteria for approval of a variance.
a. That there are special circumstances or conditions affecting the land involved such that the strict application of the provisions of this Code would deprive the applicant of the reasonable use of his land.
b. That the granting of the variance will not be detrimental to the public health, safety or welfare, or injurious to other properties in the area.
c. That the granting of the variance will not have the effect of preventing the orderly subdivision of other lands in the area in accordance with the provisions of this Code.
d. That the granting of the variance will not constitute a violation of any other valid ordinance of the City of Keller.
e. That strict compliance with the regulations, and/or that the purpose of the regulations will be served to a greater extent by the alternative proposal.
Planning and Zoning Recommendation:
The Planning and Zoning Commission has the following options when considering a variance request
- Recommend approval as submitted (with requested variance)
- Recommend approval with modified or additional condition(s).
- Table the agenda item to a specific date with clarification of intent and purpose.
- Recommend denial.
City Council Action:
If the Planning and Zoning Commission takes action and makes a recommendation on this agenda item, then City Council will consider taking action on 4/14/2020 and will have the following options when considering the variance request:
- Approve as submitted (with requested variance).
- Approve with modified or additional condition(s).
- Table the agenda item to a specific date with clarification of intent and purpose.
- Deny.