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HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff ReportCITY OF COLLEGE STATION VARIANCE REQUESTS FOR 901-917 William D. Fitch Parkway REQUEST: Setback Variances for Low -Profile Signage LOCATION: 901-917 William D. Fitch Parkway, located within the Tower Point Subdivision APPLICANT: Chuck Ellison, The Ellison Firm PROPERTY OWNER: College Station Marketplace, L.P. PROJECT MANAGER: Lauren A. Hovde, Staff Planner Ihovde@csbc.gov RECOMMENDATION: Approval. BACKGROUND: The Tower Point Subdivision, located at the northwest corner of State Highway 6 South and William. D. Fitch Parkway has three existing freestanding signs. At the developer's discretion, the existing freestanding signs have been limited to two hundred square feet in area, in contrast to the three hundred square feet that are allowed, in order to utilize Section 7.4.N.10 which allows pad sites to have a low -profile sign to compensate for this reduction. The subject tract, situated between the existing Chase Bank and Arrington Road, consists of future pad sites that will each be eligible for a low -profile sign. As proposed, though subject to change, there are approximately eight to ten pad sites within this subject tract that are affected by the variance request. Though low -profile signs must be setback a minimum of ten feet from the right-of-way, they are also required to be located outside of any public easement. In this situation, there is a twenty - foot private pipeline easement directly abutting the right-of-way which is followed by a twenty - foot public utility easement. The applicant has received permission to install a low -profile sign in the private pipeline easement, but due to the setback requirement, they are able to use only ten feet of this private easement before encountering the public utility easement. A representative graphic of this situation is provided below. In addition to the easement conflict mentioned above, the property line varies between 75 feet and 100 feet from the edge of pavement. Therefore the applicant is requesting a five-foot variance to the required ten -foot setback for low -profile signs. Edge of William D. Fitch Parkway Pavement 1 William D. Fitch Parkway Right -of -Way jVa ries — 75'-100' .......... 20' Private Pipeline. Easement_._._._._. L 2 20' Public Utility Easement Site 10' Low -profile sign setback Proposed Sign Location scale APPLICABLE ORDINANCE SECTION: Section 7.4.F "Sign Standards" of the Unified Development Ordinance states that low -profile signs must be setback ten feet from the right-of- way, and may be 60 square feet in area and four feet in height. ORDINANCE INTENT: To establish clear and unambiguous regulations pertaining to signs in the City of College Station and promote an attractive community, foster traffic safety, and enhance effective communication and exchange of ideas and commercial information. NOTIFICATIONS Advertised Board Hearing Date: February 9, 2011 The following neighborhood organizations that are registered with the City of College Station's Neighborhood Services have received a courtesy letter of notification of this public hearing: None Property owner notices mailed: Four Contacts in support. None Contacts in opposition: None Inquiry contacts: None ZONING AND LAND USES Direction Zoning Land Use Subject Property C-1 General Commercial and OV Urban Greens Prairie Overlay District North C-1 General Commercial and OV Urban Greens Prairie Overlay District South N/A FreewayiExpressway East C-1 General Commercial and OV Urban Greens Prairie Overlay District West C-1 General Commercial and OV Urban Greens Prairie Overlay District PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS 1. Frontage: William D. Fitch Parkway directly abuts the southern side of the subject property, which is approximately 1465 feet in length. On the southwestern edge, there is also approximately 250 feet of frontage along Arrington Road. 2. Access: The subject property will have access to William D. Fitch, as well as a private drive connecting each future lot at the rear. 3. Topography and vegetation: The subject property has been cleared and graded. Sporadic trees remain within the William D. Fitch right-of-way. 4. Floodplain: There is no FEMA floodplain on the subject property. REVIEW CRITERIA 1. Extraordinary conditions: The existence of forty feet of easement, both private and public, directly against the right-of-way creates a situation not commonly found within the City. In addition, the distance between the edge of pavement within TxDOT right-of-way and the property line creates an additional setback that is not required by the Unified Development Ordinance. 2. Enjoyment of a substantial property right: Strict application of this ordinance will prohibit the property owner from utilizing the full 60 square feet of low -profile signage as allowed by the Unified Development Ordinance. As shown in Graphic A, the setback reduces the sign width by five feet, which equates to a loss of 20 square feet when allowing a four foot tall sign. 3. Substantial detriment: The granting of these variances will not be detrimental to the public health, safety, or welfare, or injurious to other property in the area or to the City in administering this UDO. 4. Subdivision: All private property that directly abuts the subject property is located within the Tower Point Subdivision. Variances should have no impact on the future development of those properties. 5. Flood hazard protection: There is no floodplain within the subject property. 6. Other property: The easement and right-of-way conditions that exist on this property are similar to those found on the eastern side of State Highway 6. However, neither situation is considered commonplace, and the subject property is a wider distance from the edge of pavement in some areas. 7. Hardships: A reduced sign square footage or increased setback would reduce the effectiveness of the signage that is allowed to this site by right due to the reduced square footage of the freestanding signs. 8. Comprehensive Plan: The Comprehensive Plan designates this site as Urban and as being part of Growth Area 11 which allows for the General Commercial development that is proposed for the subject property. As an early image -setting gateway, this location is intended to offer the first experience of College Station to a visitor. Therefore, the site is important in providing a first impression to traffic entering the City from the south, and is intended to be the location of enhanced City identification signage. 9. Utilization: The application of the UDO standards to this particular piece of property could prohibit or unreasonably restrict the applicant in the utilization of commercial advertisement by either reducing the square footage of the signage or increasing the setback that in an extreme placement could be at least 165 feet from edge of pavement. ALTERNATIVES The applicant has stated that an abandonment of the easement parallel to William D. Fitch Parkway is the alternative to setback variances. Several City departments have discussed this option and do not believe this alternative to be advisable. Staff has identified another possible alternative to the variance requests is to place the low -profile signage behind the 20-foot public utility easement and 20-foot pipeline easement to allow the allocated 60 square feet to be used. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends approval based on combined special conditions of 40 feet of easements abutting the extended distance to the edge of pavement. Staff believes that the special condition creates a hardship due to the applicant's inability to make reasonable use of the property in accordance with the literal requirements of the Unified Development Ordinance, in terms of low -profile signage. SUPPORTING MATERIALS 1. Application