DATE: December 4, 2019
TO: Franklin Municipal Planning Commission
FROM: Emily Hunter, Director of Planning and Sustainability
Amy Diaz-Barriga, Current Planning Supervisor
Joey Bryan, Principal Planner
Subject
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PUBLIC HEARING: Consideration Of Resolution 2019-119, A Resolution Approving A Development Plan For The Meadows And Villages At Southbrooke PUD Subdivision, For The Two Properties Located East Of Lewisburg Pike And North And South Of The Intersection Of Stream Valley Boulevard, At And Near 1445 Lewisburg Pike. (FMPC 12/12/19, 3-4; WS 1/14/20; BOMA 2/11/20, deferred to 2/25/20 )
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Project Information
COF Project Number: 7110
Applicant: Greg Gamble, Gamble Design Collaborative
Owner: Marvin Pratt
Background/Staff Comments
Envision Franklin places Area B south of Stream Valley Boulevard into the Conservation Subdivision Design Concept.
“Conservation Subdivision supports primarily single-family residential development that clusters lots and infrastructure and sets aside a substantial amount of property as permanently protected open space in its natural state. New development should preserve a minimum of 50 percent open space, strategically targeted toward scenic vistas, greenways, pastures, trails, woodlands, or other uses that maintain scenic character, protect habitat value, and contribute to the quality of life for residents.”
Envision Franklin places Area A, the northern property, in the Single-Family Design Concept.
“Single-Family Residential consists of single-family residential neighborhoods, which provide a range of single-family dwelling and lot sizes. New developments should transition from the existing development patterns in the adjacent neighborhoods.”
Both Design Concepts have similar recommendations to lot size and layout.
“Lots on the periphery of developments should be sized to be consistent with the existing lots of adjacent neighborhoods. Buildings and their main entrances should be oriented toward the street. Double-frontage, reverse frontage, and flag lots are discouraged. New developments should include a range of lot sizes…to provide more diverse housing options. Larger developments are expected to have a wide range of sizes. Single-family lots with dwellings accessed by an alley should have a minimum lot width of 45 feet and a minimum lot size of 4,950 feet.”
Conservation Subdivision also has a special consideration for Lewisburg Pike.
“New development should have deep setbacks to respect the existing character and should be sensitively designed around historic structures. Informal landscape design and rural features, such as stone walls, wood plank fencing, and informal tree plantings, should be utilized to sustain the scenic and rural quality of the area.”
The proposed development plan meets many of the goals for the Conservation Subdivision and the Single-Family Residential Design Concepts. It promotes lot placement that faces homes onto streets or open spaces, and avoids reverse frontage lots, even along Lewisburg Pike. In terms of Lewisburg Pike, this development does change the character of Lewisburg Pike, as any development of a certain density would. However, the plan has deeper setbacks, similar to the Stream Valley setbacks, and it has taken steps to make the development seem more organic in building placement than a typical subdivision. It uses wide setbacks (30’) between the buildings along Lewisburg, and staggers the front setbacks of the buildings, so there is variety in building placement along the corridor. It clusters the buildings into groups of three or four, providing open spaces in between these clusters. It also proposes an informal tree planting plan along the frontage of these buildings.
In terms of lot dimensions, this plan has about 77 lots that do not meet the minimum lot width policy in Envision Franklin. Envision Franklin recommends a minimum lot width of 45 feet for single-family lots accessed by an alley. These narrower lots account for 38% of the proposed dwelling units and 48% of the single-family lots within the development.
A policy for minimum lot dimensions was adopted as part of Envision Franklin for a variety of reasons: to address architectural considerations such as preferences regarding façade width/rhythm and proportion of front-facing garages along street frontage, to ensure adequate room for easements between lots as needed, and to give more specific land use and density guidance to other departments regarding sewer and infrastructure demands. The Envision Franklin minimum lot dimensions will be revisited in Spring 2020 through a separate study. Such a change to Envision Franklin may warrant sewer basin studies and transportation plans to be revisited, as well.
Recommendation
recommendation
Staff recommends disapproval to the Board of Mayor and Aldermen. The Planning Commission’s motion to recommend approval failed on December 12 by a vote of 3-4.
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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. The city’s project identification number shall be included on all correspondence with any city department relative to this project.