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Home My WebLink Aboutstaff report STAFF REPORT The item before you is a variance request to Section 7.2 of the Unified Development Ordinance to reduce the number of required parking spaces for the College Station Shopping Center located at 2700 Texas Avenue South by 8% or 37 spaces The property is zoned C-1, General Commercial and currently under construction for façade and site improvements for the shopping center. Last summer, a site plan was submitted by the owner for site and building improvements that included a new pad site for the recently completed AutoZone, as well as a redesign of the entire parking lot. An addition, and several storage areas were included which increased the total building size to 116,940 s.f. The UDO requires 468 spaces for a building of this size (ratio of 1:250) At that time, an Administrative Adjustment was granted to cover 47 spaces in order to accommodate requirements of the Non-Residential Architectural Standards such as landscaping and parking island requirements. With the adjustment the total number of spaces that must be accommodated on the site is 421. In November a site plan was approved that accommodated all of the required parking. In the recent months, it has come to light that a portion of the property that was planned for parking is not owned or controlled by Mr. Cottrell. The property in dispute contains required spaces (65) that must be accommodated on the site. The site plan provided in your packet shows a redesign of the site that recovers a portion of the spaces, however, it still lacks 37 spaces to meet the ordinance. That pr. serty contains required •a•-s that must be accommodated elsewhere on the site, o' N a var'-- a must b: grante. covering th- 'aces. Accor.'' •• • the .'te plan th':t •:er •v • the =is •- - =• =bled •. •o '.n of s, ' • ever, a is s ' : king .. s to m • - • • nan . J If a variance is not granted, or an acceptable alternative reached, then the City cannot grant a Certificate of Occupancy as the site will not be in compliance with an approved site plan. Alternatives: There are several alternatives for this site. A parking and access agreement could be executed between the two property owners for the parking area in question. However, this agreement would restrict further development of that property because the parking is required for the existing uses. Another alternative identified by staff is to remove portions of buildings to lower the number of parking spaces that are required. Because these buildings have already been previously approved and building permits issued, this would be detrimental to the O:\group\deve_ser\stfrpt\zngstfrpt\honda.doc trI e-?(t 1 Ili' 6-1/. redevelopment of the entire property. A final alternative would be to reduce portions of the end islands which are required for Ley v v\-- compliance with the Unified Development Ordinance. The �,� applicant has indicated that there is the ability to locate parking 1�' E'�� in the rear, however staff cannot approve this parking as it would interfere with sanitation routes. (l �n Recommendation: Staff is recommending approval of this request. Responses Received: 1 inquiryhis \-0(G(,v SPECIAL INFORMATION �' � , 664?4) e,,t (\C\1 Number of Property ��` �� Owners Notified: 6 ` '. Y � • cal CL ,v'`� c� -( Rdk Zoning and Land Use • Subject Property: C-1, General Commercial • North: Across Valley View Road: C-1, General Commercial and R- 6, High Density Multi-Family • West: Across Longmire Drive: C-2, Commercial Industrial • East: Across Texas Avenue: C-1, General Commercial • South: Across Harvey Mitchell Parkway; C-1, General Commercial Frontage: This property has frontage on Longmire Drive (650 feet), Harvey Mitchell Parkway (360 feet), Texas Avenue Access Drive (800 feet), and Valley View Road (900 feet) Access: The subject property has access from the Texas Avenue Access Road, Valley View Road, and Longmire Drive. Ordinance Intent: The purpose of the off-street parking standards is to establish the guidelines for off-street parking spaces consistent with the proposed land use to: 1. Eliminate the occurrence of non-resident on-street parking in adjoining neighborhoods; 2. Avoid the traffic congestion and public safety hazards caused by a failure to provide such parking spaces; and 3. Expedite the movement of traffic on public thoroughfares in a safe manner, thus increasing the carrying capacity of the streets and reducing the amount of land required for streets, thereby lowering the cost to both the property owner and the City. O:\group\deve_ser\stfrpt\zngstfrpt\honda.doc Topography & Vegetation: The property is relatively flat with little vegetation. The current site plan as built will include a number of new trees and shrubs throughout the site. Flood Plain: None Currently, they are providing 384 spaces on the property owned by Mr. Cottrell. Although this variance is less than 10%, it is being brought forward because with the administrative adjustment, its cumulative effect is greater than 10%. Overall, the total variances for this property will be 18% of the required parking. O:\group\deve_ser\stfrpt\zngstfrpt\honda.doc STAFF REPORT Project Manager: Lindsay Boyer, Staff Planner Report Date: May 22, 2006 Email: Iboyer(c�cstx.gov Meeting Date: June 6, 2006 Project Number: 06-00500086 APPLICANT: David Cottrell REQUEST: Parking Variance LOCATION: 2700 Texas Avenue South PURPOSE: To reduce the number of required parking spaces for the College Station Shopping Center by 8% or 37 spaces. GENERAL INFORMATION Status of Applicant: Owner Property Owner: David Cottrell Applicable Ordinance Section: UDO Article 7, Section 2.H, Number of Off-Street Parking Spaces Required PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS Zoning and Land Use • Subject Property: C-1, General Commercial • North: Across Valley View Road: C-1, General Commercial and R- 6, High Density Multi-Family • West: Across Longmire Drive: C-2, Commercial Industrial • East: Across Texas Avenue: C-1, General Commercial • South: Across Harvey Mitchell Parkway; C-1, General Commercial Frontage: This property has frontage on Longmire Drive (650 feet), Harvey Mitchell Parkway (360 feet), Texas Avenue Access Drive (800 feet), and Valley View Road (900 feet) Access: The subject property has access from the Texas Avenue Access Road, Valley View Road, and Longmire Drive. O:\group\deve_ser\stfrpt\zngstfrpt\honda.doc Topography & Vegetation: The property is relatively flat with little vegetation. The current site plan as built will include a number of new trees and shrubs throughout the site. Flood Plain: None VARIANCE INFORMATION Background: The subject property is currently developed as the College Station Shopping Center with Tractor Supply and Goodwill as major tenants. Last summer, a site plan was submitted by David Cottrell for site and building improvements that included a new pad site for the recently completed AutoZone, as well as a redesign of the entire parking lot. At that time, staff recognized the difficulty in bringing an old site into full compliance with the current Non-Residential Architectural Standards and an Administrative Adjustment was given to 10 percent of the required parking (47 spaces) to allow the site to meet the landscaping and parking end island regulations. The total number of required spaces for the site is 468. With the administrative adjustment, the required spaces were reduced to 421. These spaces were accommodated on the site, and the site plan was approved in November of last year and all building permits have been issued for the construction. In the recent months, it has come to light that a portion of the property that was planned for parking is not owned or controlled by Mr. Cottrell. That property contains required spaces that must be accommodated elsewhere on the site, or else a variance must be granted covering the spaces. The site has been redesigned to recover a portion of the spaces, however, the site is still lacking 37 spaces to meet the ordinance. Currently, they are providing 384 spaces on the property owned by Mr. Cottrell. Although this variance is less than 10%, it is being brought forward because with the administrative adjustment, its cumulative effect is greater than 10%. Overall, the total variances for this property will be 18% of the required parking. ANALYSIS Special Condition & Hardship: The portion of the property in question was previously believed to be under the ownership of Mr. Cottrell. The building permits have been issued, and the site is currently under construction. O:\group\deve_ser\stfrpt\zngstfrpt\honda.doc Alternatives: There are several alternatives for this site. A parking and access agreement could be executed between the two property owners for the parking area in question. However, this agreement would restrict further development of that property because the parking is required for the existing uses. Another alternative identified by staff is to remove portions of buildings to lower the number of parking spaces that are required. Because these building have already been previously approved and building permits issued, this would be detrimental to the redevelopment of the entire property. A final alternative would be to reduce portions of the end islands which are required for compliance with the Unified Development Ordinance. The applicant has indicated that there is the ability to locate parking in the rear, however staff cannot approve this parking as it would interfere with sanitation routes. Recommendation: Staff is recommending approval of this request. SPECIAL INFORMATION Ordinance Intent: The purpose of the off-street parking standards is to establish the guidelines for off-street parking spaces consistent with the proposed land use to: 1. Eliminate the occurrence of non-resident on-street parking in adjoining neighborhoods; 2. Avoid the traffic congestion and public safety hazards caused by a failure to provide such parking spaces; and 3. Expedite the movement of traffic on public thoroughfares in a safe manner, thus increasing the carrying capacity of the streets and reducing the amount of land required for streets, thereby lowering the cost to both the property owner and the City. Number of Property Owners Notified: 6 Responses Received: None as of the date of the staff report ATTACHMENTS 1. Application 2. Small Area Map (SAM) and Aerial Map 3. Site Plan O:\group\deve_ser\stfrpt\zngstfrpt\honda.doc