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HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff ReportSTAFF REPORT Case No.: 95-106 Applicant: Myrad Real Estate, Inc. for East By-Pass Development Group ITEM: A .rezoning. request for 69.842 acres from R-1 Single Family and A-O Agricultural Open to 22..514 acres of R- Single Family, 5.643 acres of A-P Administrative Professional and 34.020. acres of C-1 General Commercial. Property is located at the southeast quadrant of the intersection of Sebesta Road and the East By- Pass (S.H. b) North Frontage Road. ITEM SUMMARY AND STAFF RECOMMENDATION: This request includes property that was discussed twice in 1994 before the Commission and the Council. The first request (June and July,. 1994) involved 15 acres at the southeast corner of Sebesta and SH 6 stretching south along the SH 6 frontage road. The request was. for C-1 General Commercial. P&Z recommended approval, Staff recommended approval to Council conditioned. upon the. applicant submitting a larger rezoning request addressing buffering and step-down zoning issues. Council denied the .request because of a large amount of opposition from nearby neighborhoods and because there was no larger zoning plan. This denial was made without.. prejudice and the applicant came back with another request in September, 1994.. This. request included 69 acres-and .was for a combination of commercial, townhome and multi-family 'zones. The: Commission recommended denial. The Development Policies Council subcommittee met three times to discuss the case, (once with' the developer and once with representatives of the affected subdivisions and .once with staff). Council denied the request on 9-22-94. Originally staff supported the proposed commercial zonings. That was because the proposal included step down zonings. to buffer the low density residential areas. This request does not include this. step down approach and places the R-1 adjacent to the C-1. Staff is able to recommend approval of this. only with the establishment of buffer areas or landscape, reserves. The establishment of these buffers. would constitute a change of conditions in the area that would be a basis for a zoning change. Staff recommends approval of this request with the following conditions: 1. To insure that the existing and proposed single family neighborhoods are protected, the C-1 zoning should be conditioned upon final platting of the single family area. The C-1 zoning will not be effective until the R-1 development has final plats approved and filed for record. 2. There should be 25 feet of additional .landscape reserve adjacent to the proposed R-1 to increase the 10 foot buffer strip shown on the proposed R-1. The landscape reserve should be developed prior to any development on the C-l or A-P tracts and should include berms, .trees and other plantings as well as a brick wall along the common boundary. 3. Along the remainder of the common boundary between the C-1 and R-1, the landscape reserve area should be extended to include the creek. If leaving, the creek in its natural condition is preferable, staff would recommend that be done and be contained within the landscape reserve area. If the natural condition is not preferable, staff would recommend that it be improved and a minimum 25 foot landscape reserve be platted and developed as in item 2 above. This reserve should be in place prior to any commercial or A-P development. 4. A 20 foot landscape reserve should be provided adjacent to the existing Woodcreek development along the common boundary of the proposed A-P. This should consist of screen fencing .(which is required by ordinance) but should also consist of additional vegetation along the common property lines. This should be installed prior to any development on the. commercial. or A-P tracts. 5. Access should be denied to Sebesta for the commercial tracts. In the event that the corner is platted and developed as a neighborhood .convenience facility (i.e:; gas station, convenience store, cleaners, etc.) access should be :considered to Sebesta. This will allow the convenience goods to be accessible to the surrounding neighborhoods. 6. The entrance drive for the R-1 should be a boulevard section as shown to lessen the impact of a single access subdivision: .However, as the remainder of the property to the east develops, particularly if it is residentially zoned, there should be two access points on Sebesta to avoid. a single access subdivision. Secondary. access is :most important for efficient public and emergency service,:. as well as for convenient traffic circulation. 7. The Project Review Committee, in reviewing site .plans for the commercial and A-P tracts should use its discretion within the terms .allowed by the Zoning Ordinance to lessen as much as possible any negative impact of these developments on surrounding residential land uses.. COUNCIL POLICY ENDS. STATEMENTS - The following Ends Statements may or may not be met with the approval of this request. Council will decide,. based on the information in the staff report and staff presentations, whether these Ends Statements will be achieved with this request. Transportation/Mobility - "Cr"tizens benefit. from the ability to move into, out of, and within College. Station in a safe and efficient manner. " Parks. & Recreation - "Citizens benefit from parks space and recreational activities which are geographically and demographically accessible and serve a diversity of interests. " Health & Public Safety Education/Information. Quality Service Cultural .Arts Ennnlovment/Prosperity - "Citizens benefit. from an environment that is conducive. to providing diverse employment opportunities. " Civic Pride - "Citizens benefit from well planned, attractive residential and commercial areas. COMPREHENSIVE PLAN Complies with Future Land Use Plan Map?: The current Land Use Plan reflects the western portion of this area for office/commercial uses and the eastern portion for low density residential uses. The 2818 Extension Study, adopted in 1992, provided for additional office/commercial uses in the :area across. the By-Pass; that area had previously been shown for low density residential uses. This substantial change in the Plan in the vicinity of the subject tract. constitutes a change in conditions that justifies a use other than the office/commercial shown on the western portion of the. area under_consideration. The proposed single family and A-P portions of the request comply with the Land Use Plan as currently shown. The following are applicable Development Objectives and Policies from the City's adopted Comprehensive Plan. LAND USE Protection of residential uses: Development policies state that areas planned for low density residential uses will predominantly consist of single family dwellings. Other housing types maybe used but the overall density of the area should remain low. Appropriate types. include patio homes, zero lot line housing and townhomes. Gross area densities should not exceed 6 dwelling units per acre. The existing residential developments in the .:area should be protected from impacts of more intense uses. The R-1 and A-P portions of this request help to buffer the existing neighborhoods from the proposed C-1. Buffers - A 10 foot wide landscape buffer is shown along the rear of the proposed single family lots. where the C-1 zone abuts along the western edge.. This buffer is not continued along .the southern edge. There is an existing creek along this :edge. The 10 foot wide buffer is not sufficient to protect the proposed single family. There should be additional reserve area to increase this buffer. This will protect against the negative impacts. of noise and lights that could be associated with large scale commercial developments. The A-P is-being used as a buffer between residential and .commercial land uses. It is placed in such a fashion as to separate existing Woodcreek lots from the proposed: C-1 along the Bypass. Additional buffering of potential A-P uses from the existing single family should be considered to lessen any possible impacts. This could consist of screen fencing (which is required by ordinance) .plus additional vegetation along the common property lines. Encourage use of .vacant eland w/ services: This is considered. nfill development. Avoid strip commercial: Development Policies state that commercial development on an arterial should be a minimum of 400 feet deep and should be located at points.. of high vehicular access. Points of highest access are defined by grade separations along controlled access roads (freeways). The location and lot configuration of the proposed commercial tracts meet these criteria. TRANSPORTATION Ensure safety and ease of maintenance: Although this is not a plat, .the applicant is showing a single access subdivision with approximately. 75 lots. The entrance is shown as a .boulevard section Driveway Access: The Development Policies address.. access by recommending that drive entrances should be minimized through the platting and/or site plan .process. At the previous public hearing before Council there was much concern about the drive-through traffic affecting the Emerald Forest Subdivision.: As mentioned in the previous hearing these problems are a result of residential cut-through traffic that will continue until .improvements are made' in the City's. thoroughfare plan to provide better access. on the"east side of the By-Pass. Development of the subject property will contribute to the traffic regardless of the land use. Access should be denied to Sebesta for large commercial development. However,. as the remainder of the property to the east develops, particularly if it is residentially zoned, it would be best to provide two access points on Sebesta to avoid a single access subdivision. Secondary access is most important for efficient public and emergency service as well as for convenient traffic circulation. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Compatible with: environment: Development can occur being sensitive to the creek area. Encourage retirees: Providing for additional housing stock. Encourage tourism:.. Depends on the ultimate development, PARKS AND RECREATION Link parks by pathways and natural features: The area shown can be preserved for either parkland or open space HOUSING Maintain integrity of existing supply: This can be accomplished through buffering and providing for comparable densities. Encourage diversified .housing: Can be accomplished by varying lot and housing sizes. COMMUNITY APPEARANCE Promote good site design: Good appearance, minimize .drainage impacts., and .increase pedestrian safety. Prevent .and eliminate unsig>ltly conditions: Developer will have to deal with possible floodplain and creek area. HISTORICAL REVIEW; Vacant .commercial property is located. along Texas Ave., Wellborn Road,. University and SH 6. Most of the available property along Texas and Wellborn is relatively small and would not support large users. Larger commercial lots are located along University and SH 6, but the commercial lots on University are more restrictive as they are zoned C-B. SH 6 properties are the only ones with enough area to allow for larger scale developments. These properties are located on either side of this property under consideration and. farther to the south in relatively undeveloped areas. ENGINEERING CQMMENTS Water: Water is not provided ,to these areas. It will have to be extended in accordance with the utility master plan when these properties are platted and developed. Sewer: Sewer is not provided to these areas. It will have to be extended when the area is platted and. developed.. Streets: Frontage for these properties is on the S.H. 6 By-Pass frontage road and. Sebesta Road. Drainage: Drainage is currently overland and will be addressed with the platting and development of the property. Flood Plaint None Traffic: Using standard ITE (Instate of Traffic Engineers) trip generation numbers and reasonable assumptions of what could develop locally on this site, staff can estimate the traffic that would be generated. at full build-out under various scenarios. If the entire 69 acres were to develop. residentially (this excludes the Ledbetter tract which is not under consideration) it would generate approximately 2800 vehicles per day. This traffic would be dispersed across both Sebesta and the Frontage Rd. Residential development would likely increase the cut-through traffic that has been a problem in the Emerald Forest Subdivision as a result of the conversion of the frontage roads to one-way. By comparison if the entire 69 acres develops as .proposed, it would generate approximately 20,400 vehicles per day. The net effect on surrounding residential areas would be about the same if access to Sebesta is denied from the commercial tracts. If the Ledbetter tract develops residentially (staff would not support (nor does the existing Land Use Plan) any uses other than. residential on this property) it will add an estimated 1880 vehicles per day to Sebesta Road. Sebesta Road and the Frontage Road are both designed to handle these increases and still maintain an acceptable level of service. Parkland: There is an area shown as parkland which is not included in the rezoning as it is currently zoned A-O. The Parks Board will discuss this property and make their recommendation at the time of platting. NOTIFICATION: Legal Notice Publication(s): Advertised Commission Hearing Date(s): 4-6-95 Advertised Council Hearing Dates.: 4-20-95 Number of Notices Mailed to Property Owners. Within 200' : 58 Response Received: Several Inquiries