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HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff ReportSTAFF REPORT Case No.: 96-115 Request: Rezoning request for 589 Graham Road totaling 3.25 acres and located on the .northwest corner of Victoria and Graham Road from M-2 Heavy Industrial to C-2 Commercial Industrial Applicant: Lynn White ITEM DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATION CiJRRENT POLICY The current Land Use Plan shows the area as industrial.. The existing heavy industrial zoning was placed on the property shortly after annexation in 1993. At that time, the area was viewed to be one. of the few locations appropriate for existing and future heavy industrial uses; the other industrial areas were too close to residential subdivisions to be considered appropriate. for heavy industry. The Graham Road area .was zoned M-2 not only to accommodate existing uses but also to provide areas for future heavy industry should such uses come to College Station. The City for over a decade has had a policy of separating commercial uses from industrial uses. This policy was adopted in an effort to properly plan infrastructure for industry, and to reserve land for future industrial users. To further these goals, the Council removed all commercial uses from the M-2 district in 1984. A rezoning to C-2 would remove the heavy industrial uses from the list of permitted uses and add general commercial uses such as retail, restaurants, and theaters. As such, .the request is not in compliance with the current Land Use. Plan or with the policy to reserve this particular area for heavy industrial. CHANGE IN POLICY With this request the City. Council is being requested to change the Land Use Plan for this property. The main arguments for the :change include the nature of the existing uses on Graham Road as well as the growth of residential development in the vicinity. The applicant has submitted a list of companies and/or uses that currently exist on Graham Road. Most of them .would fit either into a C-2, C-1, or A-P classification. Currently, there .are no .uses on Graham Road that would be permitted solely in the M-2 district. Roughly half of the property zoned M-2 on Graham Road is vacant. According to the applicant, it is unlikely that the area will attract heavy industrial users due to existing patterns on Graham, the proximity of a new residential area, and the historical tendency of heavy industry to locate outside of College Station. There is also some indication that the lots within the area are too small to accommodate heavy industries. Despite the fact that the Graham Road area has been in the City for a relatively short period of time, the character of the area has changed. in the past three years. The area came into the City as an isolated, rural industrial area. The area to the north, Edelweis Estates, has .grown and continues to .grow behind it. That subdivision contains mostly single family lots with high density residential and a neighborhood park lying between the single family and the existing industrial zoning. IMPLICATIONS OF CHANGE OF POLICY Staff has reviewed the case in light of a potential change in the Land Use Plan in an effort to aid. the Commission and Council in .the decision regarding the existing policies. We have found that allowing general commercial uses on the subject site could result in the following: 1. A change in character of the subject site .could. justify further rezoning of the Graham Road area. Commercial zoning could be contained around the Victona/Graham Road intersection by way of the new land use plan or it could be extended along the entire length ofthe Graham Road corridor between Victoria and Wellborn Road. 2. The existing uses on Graham Road include a mix of office, warehouse, and light industrial uses. A change to a retail classification along the entire corridor would render the light industrial uses (laboratories and other research activities) nonconforming with the plan. 3. The'. existing site is located :within the Sanitary Sewer Service Area 92-O1. The land use assumptions for that study area will change and thus the study will need to be changed with the next :scheduled update of the report. However,. due to the fact that the assumptions in the calculations relating to utility usage are fairly broad, commercial .and industrial uses are aggregated within the same category for purposes of cost recovery. 4. The impact to the area road systems will .also remain the same whether the area remains industrial or changes to allow commercial. uses. While industrial traffic tends to be less, the traffichas a higher impact on the roadways on a per vehicle basis. 5. Aland use plan .change would essentially mean that the City will' have no land set aside exclusively for heavy industrial users. The draft land use plan that is currently under consideration by the City Council. includes an ndustrial/R&D .category, and does not accommodate heavy industry, The consultants recommend that no heavy industrial areas be specifically set aside, and that any future heavy industrial user be accommodated on a case-by-case basis. RECOMMENDATION The request does .not meet the existing. Land Use Plan nor does it meet the policy of separating .commercial and industrial uses. However, there has been some indication that the plan and policy may' change in relation to the. Graham Road area. As with any'other zoning request, Staff's recommendation is based on the past policies that have been adopted by the City.. In this particular case, .the past policies. that have been applied to the Graham Road area may change in the near future. The decision regarding the Land Use Plan must be made before the appropriate zoningcanbe established. From. a planning and zoning standpoint, both the past policy. to reserve the Graham Road area exclusively for industrial uses and the submitted request to allow commercial .uses within'the area have merit. Staff could only recommend approval of the request if the past policy to retain Graham Road as an area devoted exclusively to industrial uses is changed. ZONING AND LAND USE Subject Tract: M-2 Heavy Industrial; developed as office/warehouse North: A-O Agricultural Open; developed as Edelweis neighborhood park East: M-2; developed as vehicle and warehouse storage across Victoria South: M-2; developed as office/warehouse West: M-2; developed as laboratory Proposed Use: Gymnastics school has been requested in the recent past COMPREHENSIVE PLAN Land Use Plant Industrial Thoroughfare Plan: Graham Road. is shown as a minor arterial; Victoria is shown as a minor arterial as well. Development Policies: The City's planning goal is to guide locations of desired land uses through zoning .and capital improvements.. The Land Use Plan therefore should be followed unless .there has been a significant change in the character of the area to vary from the plan. If there is a change that would justify varying from the plan, it should be changed so that it may continue to act as .notice as to the City's intentions. Parkland Dedication: None is required for non-residential development. ENGINEERING Water: Water is adequate for industrial and for commercial uses. Sewer: Sewer is available and adequate. The property is within the Sewer Impact Fee area. Impact fees may change if the water usage changes on the property. The property owner wilt be responsible for payment of this fee should the need for additional sewer service arise. Streets: Graham Road is a major collector that is scheduled for an upgrade in 1999. Drainage: A drainage development permit would be required if additional impervious cover is added to the. site. Additional parking may be required if the existing. parking does not meet future uses.- Any new parking will need to meet all current .standards,, including the Drainage Ordinance. Flood Plain: N/A NOTIFICATION: Legal Notice Publication(s): 10-2 and 10-9-96 Advertised Commission Hearing Dates(s)t 10-17-96 Advertised Council Hearing Dates: 10-24-96 Number of Notices Mailed to Property Owners Within 200': 12 Response Received: None as of date of staffreport HISTORICAL OVERVIEW The subject property was annexed into. the City in 1992. Shortly thereafter, in 1993, the City initiated rezoning of the Graham Road area from interim A-O to M 1 and M-2. At that time, the Land Use Plan showed several locations for light and heavy industrial land, but only the area. on Graham Road .and the area on Wellborn adjacent to the Railroad tracks were specifically intended for heavy industry. The latest draft land use plan shows a considerable amount of future industrial property in the vicinity of Easterwood :Airport. Recent discussions regarding the new plan have left the Graham Road area in an industrial classification, I