DATE: March 15, 2017
TO: Franklin Municipal Planning Commission
FROM: Brad Baumgartner, Senior Planner
Amy Diaz-Barriga, Current Planning Supervisor
Emily Hunter, Director of Planning and Sustainability
Subject
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Avondale Cottages PUD Subdivision, Site Plan, 40 Residential Units And 5 Open Space Lots On 5.31 Acres, with 1 Design Modification (Street Facing Garages), Located South Of Avondale Drive And East Of Columbia Avenue.
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Project Information
COF Project Number: 6303
Applicant: Adam Crunk, Crunk Engineering
Owner: Scott Black, Avondale Park Partners LLC
Background/Staff Comments
This Site plan is for 40 residential units (1 single-family unit, 14 two-family/duplex units, and 25 townhomes) on a 5.31 acre site. The site plan is consistent with the Development Plan that was approved by BOMA on October 11, 2016. The applicant is requesting one design modification regarding garage orientation on some of the duplex units.
Design Modification
The applicant is requesting one design modification to allow attached residential units to have street facing garages and carports. The applicant is requesting a modification of Section 5.3.5 (g) (i) of the Zoning Ordinance, which states, “Garages and car ports serving attached residential structures shall be located to the side or rear of such buildings and shall be oriented perpendicular to the primary streets located around the perimeter of the development.” The applicant is proposing street-facing garages for 7 duplex units and street-facing carports for 4 duplex units. The garages are proposed to be for one car only and to be recessed 26 feet from the front façade of the home (36 feet from the R.O.W.). The carports are proposed to cover one car, as well, and to be recessed 10 feet from the front façade of the home (20 feet from the R.O.W.).
The Zoning Ordinance allows the Planning Commission to grant a design modification from Section 5.3, provided that the applicant has presented sufficient justification and documentation that:
1. The design modification will not be detrimental to the public safety, health, or welfare, or injurious to other property or improvements in the neighborhood in which the property is located;
2. The conditions upon which the request is based are unique to the design intent for the development which the design modifications are sought and are not applicable generally to other property;
3. The design modification is necessary because of the particular design intent of the development, which would not be achievable if strict adherence to these requirements was carried out; and
4. The design modification will not vary the provisions of the Franklin Land Use Plan.
The applicant’s statements and justification can be viewed on the upper right corner of the cover page of the proposed site plan set.
Staff finds that the request is not detrimental to public health, safety, or welfare (#1). Staff also finds that, while there are no unique conditions that directly dictate the request for a design modification, the context of the adjacent neighborhood show a mixture of street-facing garages, carports, detached garages, and no garages along the street, making the request consistent with the established pattern of garage placement and not generally applicable to other property (#2).
This design modification request varies from the provisions of the recently adopted Envision Franklin and its policies on garage location for attached residential units. However, this PUD Development Plan was approved under the previous Land Use Plan, where there were policies regarding infill sites and development that stated, “New infill development shall be designed in a way that is sensitive to existing uses.” Since a mix of street-facing garages and carports are currently existing in the area, staff finds this modification request to be justified. Furthermore, the proposed garages and carports will be recessed significantly from the front façade of the homes and street to minimize their impact on the design and character of the proposed neighborhood, which is consistent with the intent of Envision Franklin and the previous Land Use Plan (#4).
Based on the findings listed above, staff recommends approval of the Design Modification.
Recommendation
recommendation
Approval, with conditions.
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See attached pages for a list of staff recommended conditions of approval.
PROCEDURAL REQUIREMENTS:
1. The applicant shall upload the corrected plan to the online plan review website (<https://franklin.contractorsplanroom.com/secure/>). All revisions to the approved plans shall be “clouded.” With the resubmittal, each condition of approval/open issue in the online plan review system shall contain a full response from the applicant as to the satisfaction or completion of that condition.
2. Once the corrected site plan has been approved, one (1) full-size and one (1) half-size copy of the final approved landscape plans shall be submitted to the Department of Building and Neighborhood Services for future landscape inspection purposes.
3. Once the project has obtained Site Plan approval, the applicant will be notified by COF Engineering Department with instructions regarding the status of their digitally stamped construction plans.
4. The applicant shall upload complete building plans, including the approved, revised site plans, to the City's IDT site for Building and Neighborhood Services Department review and approval prior to the issuance of a building permit.
5. Prior to start of any excavation work, the developer and/or contractor shall notify AT&T and Comcast.
6. The city’s project identification number shall be included on all correspondence with any city department relative to this project.