HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff ReportStaff Report
Date of Meeting: August 19, 2004
Project Manager: Trey Fletcher, AICP
Email: tfletcherOcstx.gov
Item: Public hearing, discussion, and possible action on an Ordinance
amending the Comprehensive Plan by amending the Land Use Plan for 14.57
acres on F &B Road west of Harvey Mitchell Parkway (FM 2818). Refer to
attached map. (04 -166)
Staff Recommendation: Staff recommends denial of the comprehensive
plan amendment request to modify the Land Use Plan from Regional Retail to
Residential Attached (10 -20 dwelling units per acre).
1) Applicant: Great Western Land & Recreation, Inc.
2) Applicant Request
The applicant is requesting to amend the Comprehensive Land Use Plan from
Regional Retail to Residential Attached (10 -20 dwelling units per acre) to
"facilitate the development and construction of a 100+ unit townhome
project." The applicant further states that repeated efforts to consolidate
adjacent parcels for commercial use have been unsuccessful, and as the
populations of College Station and Texas A &M University continue to grow,
the need for quality homes will be paramount where the west side of the
community will continue to grow.
A) Current Land Use Plan Designation: Regional Retail
According to the Comprehensive Plan, this designation is intended to
provide for "areas permitting regional scale development of tax
generating developments such as retail centers, service commercial,
restaurants, etc. These uses are generally dependent on good access to
highways and major arterials." This is the primary designation for the
majority of commercial development in College Station. In addition, the
F &B Small Area Plan, adopted in February, 2004 also suggests that some
C -2, Commercial - Industrial uses may be considered. A Floodplain /
Streams designation exists on both parcels as well.
B) Proposed Land Use Plan Designation: Residential Attached
The applicant is requesting the land use classification Residential
Attached. This classification is for multi - family residential developments
with densities ranging from 10 to 20 dwelling units per acre. The applicant
also proposes to retain the Floodplain / Streams designation on part of
the property.
3) Property Background
The request involves two parcels on the south side of F &B Road. The eastern
parcel and a small portion of the western parcel were annexed into the City
in 1970. The remaining portion of the western parcel is in the City's extra-
territorial jurisdiction (ETJ). In late 2003, staff initiated the F &B Small Area
Plan as an interim effort to update the College Station Comprehensive Plan in
this area. The purpose of the plan was "to project future land uses and
evaluate thoroughfare plan issues" in support of future annexation and utility
planning functions. The study area included the subject parcels and adjacent
areas lying between Turkey Creek Road and Harvey Mitchell Parkway (FM
2818) north of Raymond Stotzer Parkway (FM 60).
A) Zoning — While no zoning exists on the portion of the western parcel
lying outside the City, the remaining portion of the parcel is R -1,
Single- family Residential and the eastern parcel is C -1, General
Commercial. The latter zoning was established in 1999.
B) Existing Land Use — The parcel located in the ETJ has a single - family
residential dwelling and the adjacent parcel in the City remains
unimproved.
C) Access — Both parcels have frontage on F &B Road, which is classified
as a Major Collector. F &B Road connects to Turkey Creek Road to the
west, and Harvey Mitchell Parkway (FM 2818) to the east, terminating
at Wellborn Road.
D) Utilities —
i) Water - Both parcels are in the College Station CCN area. Per the
F &B Small Area Plan, water lines serving this area are not up to
City standards and must be upgraded to support pressures
necessary for fire suppression and additional development. An 18-
inch water line stub has been recently installed on the west side of
FM 2818 at F &B Road. Future phases per the West Side Utility
Master Plan involve the construction of a 12 -inch line westerly to
Turkey Creek Road.
ii) Wastewater — No public wastewater facilities exist in this area.
Alternative provisions would have to be made as noted in Section
4C.
-9- nA_1 RR
4) Staff Analysis
In general, the following concepts have been reviewed for the request:
A) The Unified Development Ordinance states that the Land Use
Plan "shall be amended only based upon changed or changing
conditions in a particular area or in the City."
According to the applicant's request form, "As the populations of
College Station and Texas A &M continue to grow, the need for quality
homes will be paramount. Although recent growth has focused
primarily on the south side of the community, the west side will
continue to grow as well, as evidenced by the Traditions Golf course,
the Texas A &M Research Park and Texas A &M Veterinary & Medical
Schools." Staff, however, believes that the land use plan and
development assumptions developed in 2003 -04 for the F &B Small
Area Plan remain valid for similar reasons.
Few regional retail sites are available or established in this sector of
the community. Future regional retail development areas, as indicated
on the Land Use Plan, should be preserved in accordance with the
City's development policies to serve nearby residential areas as they
emerge. Several residential parcels exist along F &B and Turkey Creek
roads, but in a rural to low density context. Over time, the Land Use
Plan suggests that lots may be consolidated to facilitate greater
density (3 -6 dwelling units per acre) as utilities become available.
The F &B Small Area Plan also acknowledged that the Traditions
development in Bryan would influence this area due to its situation
between the various functions of the University and residential golf
course development. The master plan for Traditions indicates that
connection will be made to Turkey Creek in the long run. For now,
access is primarily to W. Villa Maria (FM 1179), therefore impacting
the F &B area very little.
B) The proposed amendment should be consistent with the goals,
objectives, policies and overall vision of the Comprehensive
Plan.
As already alluded to, the proposed amendment is not generally
consistent with the Comprehensive Plan given the following:
• "Locations for the development of support retail and business
services [should be] provided within close proximity to future
residential developments in order to decrease the need of
traveling to the existing core' of College Station for these
services."
- 1 4- rld -1 AR
• Objective 3.1 - College Station should continue to protect the
integrity of residential uses by minimizing intrusive and
incompatible land uses and densities.
C) The subject parcels should be suitable for the proposed land
use designation(s) based upon access, availability of utilities,
consistency with existing and planned uses, environmental
constraints and compatibility with neighborhoods.
i) Access to the larger area designated as Regional Retail on the
Land Use Plan is somewhat dependent upon consolidation of the
parcels on F &B Road associated with this request. FM 2818 is a
state facility, and as such, TxDOT is increasingly concerned with the
driveway spacing conditions on major corridors resulting in the
possibility that access may not be permitted to parcels designated
for Regional Retail having frontage on FM 2818.
ii) Utility extensions to serve this area are in the planning stages at
this time. Historically, little development pressure has occurred in
this area. The applicant has indicated willingness to extend water
service to this site from the stub located east of FM 2818 along F &B
Road. Wastewater infrastructure does not yet exist, however, an
existing Inter -local Agreement (ILA) with the City of Bryan would
allow this development to tie into sewer lines in the nearby
Traditions development.
iii) The consistency with existing and planned uses is not meritorious.
Property owned by TAMU to the west would provide a buffer
between the single - family residential uses and the proposed use;
however other issues associated with the density differences are
not those that can be buffered, such as increased traffic generation.
iv) Staff is not familiar with any state or Federal environmental
constraints which may impact these parcels. Any proposed
development should however preserve the floodplain as is and
where is on the parcels.
v) The proximity of Easterwood Airport, south of these parcels,
should be considered as well. Since the adoption of the F &B plan,
the Easterwood Airport Master Plan Update has been completed.
(1)For the following, a dnl (Day Night Average Sound Level) is a
measure of cumulative noise exposure occurring over a 24 -hour
period, averaged over the entire year. (Easterwood Airport
Master Plan, p. 6 -6)
(2) Based on the 2002 noise contours, existing and proposed
residential land uses are shown to be outside of the 60 dnl noise
contours. In this condition, residential uses are deemed
compatible without restrictions.
(3) Based on the 2022 noise contours developed for the purpose of
anticipating a future runway addition portions of the parcels are
-A- rIA -1 AR
shown to be within the 60 dnl contour. In this future condition,
residential uses could be allowed, but building code
modifications should be incorporated. According to Section 6 of
the plan,
"While the [airport] master plan does not contemplate the construction of
any additional runways, the long -range compatibility of the airport with
surrounding land use is an item of concern that was examined ... The analysis
revealed that additional land use north and south of the airport would be
encompassed by the noise contours. The 60 and 65 dnl noise contours with
the approach to proposed Runway 16R would encompass existing residential
land use along Turkey Creek Road [and portions of F &B Road] ... the
construction of additional residential land use within this area will
significantly reduce the compatibility of any future parallel runway."
D) The proposed amendment will not create pressure to change
the land use designation of other properties, unless the change
is in the long -term interests of the community.
This comprehensive plan amendment request is on the heels of the
F &B Small Area Plan. Previous failures to develop non - residential uses
in this area have generally been attributed to the lack of utilities.
5) Staff Recommendation
Staff recommends denial of the comprehensive plan amendment request to
modify the Land Use Plan from Regional Retail to Residential Attached (10 -20
dwelling units per acre).
_ %_ nd_1 AR