HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff ReportSTAFF REPORT
Date: 4-26-00 ZBA Meeting Date: 5-2-00
APPLICANT: Tom Kirkland for The Tradition at Northgate, LTD
REQUEST: Building height variance
LOCATION: 301 Church Avenue
PURPOSE: To allow for the construction of the proposed dormitory with a
roofline that will screen roof top equipment
GENERAL INFORMATION
Status of Applicant: Project manager and property owner
Applicable
Ordinance Section: Table A District Use Schedule
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Zoning and Land Use:
Subject Property: NG -1 Historic Northgate; former church site with vacant land
North: NG -3 Residential Northgate; mixed residential
West: NG -1; mixed residential, vacant, Satchels restaurant
East: NG -1; current site of Presbyterian church; future city parking
garage
South: NG -1; parking lot and residential
Frontage: Roughly 500' along Church; 1200' along both Second Street and
Boyett Street
Access: Will be solely from Boyett Street into a parking garage that is
associated with the proposed dormitory. Two service access
points are shown, one off of Boyett and one off of Second.
Topography &
Vegetation: Relatively flat — existing trees will be removed in order to effect
an urban landscape plan that will meet the city adopted Northgate
Redevelopment Plan and the Design Guidelines.
Flood Plain: None
VARIANCE INFORMATION
P:AFITLTR\PZLTR\PROD\PZ2000\PZ02993.DOC
ANALYSIS
The area was rezoned in 1996 with the rest of the Northgate area subsequent to the City's
adoption of the Northgate Redevelopment Plan. That plan targets the Northgate area for
rehabilitation and redevelopment as an urbanized historic business area near the Wellborn
and University Drive with residential uses behind the commercial areas. The plan
provides for high density development in all three of the Northgate subdistricts with
pedestrian and bicycle -oriented uses. In an effort to achieve these goals, site design
review is discretionary through the Northgate Revitalization Board Review Subcommittee
(NRB). Future development and redevelopment is to occur in more of an urban, compact
style, rather than the suburban style that occurs in other parts of the City.
In November, 1999, the NRB and City Staff held a predevelopment meeting to discuss
the conceptual plan for the dormitory. At that time, the NRB expressed some concern
regarding the scale of the project, and gave the applicant direction to focus on the site
areas between the building and the streets such that these areas would create a semi-
public transition with landscaping and pedestrian -friendly facilities (sidewalks, benches,
lighting, etc.) The NRB recommended approval of a slight increase in height in order to
effect these goals on the rest of the site.
The overall permitted building height in this subdistrict is 50' — the visible roofline of the
proposed dormitory will be 53' 3". Therefore the applicant is requesting a variance of 3'
3", or 6.5%.
Special Conditions: The Board may wish to take into consideration the fact that the
area streets and blocks were created prior to the City's
incorporation, which makes consolidation of property and
redevelopment difficult.
Hardships: The alternative of additional land acquisition to make the
project feasible and to leave enough transition area is not as
feasible in the Northgate area as elsewhere in the City.
Alternatives: Acquire addition property or spread the building out to its zero -
setback lines.
SPECIAL INFORMATION
Ordinance Intent: The intent of the 1996 ordinance revisions to create and
regulate the 3 Northgate subdistricts was to encourage
redevelopment of the area into a older style, urban downtown.
The intent of the building height restriction is to assure that
future buildings fit in with the overall goal and that they relate
well to the existing structures.
Similar Requests: None in the Northgate districts. Recently, the Board approved
a height variance on an R-4 zoned tract on Southwest Parkway
to allow for a 3`d story in a proposed apartment development.
The special conditions and hardship in that case included a
desire for additional open space on the site.
Number of Property
P:AFITLTR\PZLTR\PROD\PZ2000\PZ02993.DOC
Owners Notified: 26
Responses Received: None as of date of staff report
ATTACHMENTS
Location Map
Application
Site Plan (will be available at meeting)
Building elevations
P:AFITLTR\PZLTR\PROD\PZ2000\PZ02993.DOC