HomeMy WebLinkAboutstaff report STAFF REPORT
Project Manager: Jennifer Prochazka, Senior Planner Report Date: June 5, 2006
Email: jprochazka@cstx.gov Meeting Date: June 15, 2006
Project Number: 06-00500087
Item: Public hearing, presentation, possible action, and discussion on an Amendment to
the Comprehensive Plan - Land Use Plan from Industrial R&D to Residential Attached
and Regional Retail for 1300 Harvey Mitchell Parkway (FM 2818), generally located
south of and adjacent to Harvey Mitchell Parkway (FM 2818), between Holleman Drive
West and Luther Street West.
Applicant: Hammond Jones Development, agent for Linda Sue Gorzycki, property
owner.
Staff Recommendations: College Station has recently begun the process to update its
Comprehensive Plan. Since this update will be the first holistic review of the
Comprehensive Plan since its adoption in 1997, it is anticipated that there will be
substantial changes to the Land Use Plan. Because of the impending update, staff
recommends that there not be any ad hoc changes to the plan at this time.
Item Summary: This item is for consideration of an amendment to the Land Use Plan
for a vacant tract of land on the south side of Harvey Mitchell Parkway between
Holleman Drive West and Luther Street West. The property to the south is owned by
Texas A&M University. The surrounding area is largely undeveloped and is also
designated as Industrial R&D on the Land Use Plan. Because a change to the plan in
this area could affect future adjacent land uses, staff believes that a larger area needs to
be studied for the proposed land uses to be acceptable.
There is a considerable amount of floodplain throughout the property. The Land Use
Plan currently designates these areas as Floodplain / Streams. The applicant does not
propose to amend these areas. The City's Development Policies state that there should
be appropriate buffers to transition between low intensity land uses and high intensity
land uses and that multi-family should be coupled with open-space to soften the visual
impact; the location of the existing Floodplain /Streams accomplishes these objectives.
The proposed Regional Retail area is two acres in size and ranges between 100 and
200 feet in depth. The City's Development Policies state that strip commercial should be
avoided (general commercial should have a depth of at least 400 feet). The effects of
strip commercial may be congested traffic conditions, higher accident rates, a reduction
in the carrying capacity of streets and a lesser aesthetic appeal. One of the ways
identified to reduce these effects is to require adequate lot depth for general commercial.
In addition, commercial properties should be located at points of greatest access -
intersections of arterial and / or collector streets. There are no streets intersecting with
Harvey Mitchell Parkway in this area. A commercial property of this size may be more
appropriately designated as Neighborhood Retail.
The Thoroughfare Plan shows Harvey Mitchell Parkway as a Freeway in this area.
Item Background: The front portion of the property, adjacent to Harvey Mitchell
Parkway, was annexed into the City Limits in 1970. The remainder was annexed in
2002. The property is zoned R-1 Single-Family and A-O Agricultural Open, the holding
zones at the time of the respective annexations. The Industrial R&D designation was
placed on the property in 1997 with the adoption of the Comprehensive Plan.
Commission Action Options: The Commission acts as a recommending body on the
question of Comprehensive Plan Amendment. The options regarding the
Comprehensive Plan Amendment are:
■ Approval;
■ Denial;
■ Defer Action to a Specified Date; or
■ Table Indefinitely.
Supporting Materials:
1. Small Area Map (SAM) and Aerial Map
2. Application
3. Existing & Proposed Land Use Plan