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Home My WebLink AboutStaff Report STAFF REPORT Project Manager: Lindsay Boyer Report Date: November 17, 2005 Email: lboyer@cstx.gov Meeting Date: December 6, 2005 APPLICANT: Natalie Ruiz, IPS Group REQUEST: Parking variance LOCATION: 1351 Earl Rudder Freeway South PURPOSE: To reduce the number of required parking spaces for the Varsity Ford Auto Dealership by 77 spaces General Information Status of Applicant: Land Planner and agent for the owner Property Owner: Anthony Majors Ordinance Section: UDO Article 7, Section 2.H, Number of Off-Street Parking Spaces Required Physical Characteristics Zoning/Land Use: Subject Property: The subject property is zoned C-2 and the Comprehensive Land Use Plan indicates this area as Retail Regional Adjacent Property: North: C-1 and C-2 East: C-2 and R-1 South: C-1 and C-2 Frontage: Approximately 635 feet on Earl Rudder Freeway South Access: One entrance on Earl Rudder Freeway South Topography & Vegetation: This site slopes roughly 4% to the northeast from an elevation 286 feet to an elevation of 258 feet at the rear of the property along the limits of the floodplain. The site is fully developed as an auto retailer, and vegetation is limited. Floodplain: Approximately 1.5 acres at the northeast end of the property lies in the Carter Creek floodplain. Variance Information Background: This property was annexed in 1958 and subsequently zoned R-1. In 1989, the property was rezoned in 1989 to C-2. The property was platted in 1993, and 10 acres was developed as the Varsity Ford Dealership in 1994. This development included 29,450 square feet of service area and body shop, which requires parking at a ratio of 1 space per 100 square feet of building area. The total parking required at this time was 348 spaces, and 396 O:\group\deve_ser\stfrpt\zngstfrpt\honda.doc PARKING ANALYSIS Varsity Ford Repair Body Shop City Vehicle Repair/Body Shop Reqs. #Spaces Req'd. Dallas 1/500 sf GSA 73.66 San Antonio 1/500 sf GSA 73.66 Corpus Christi 1/400 sf GSA 92.08 Grand Prairie 1/400 sf GSA 92.08 El Paso 1/300 sf GSA 122.77 Austin 1/275 sf GSA 133.93 Fort Worth 1/250 sf GSA 147.32 Round Rock 2 spaces/service bay 174.00 Bryan 1/200 sf GSA 0.00 New Braunfels 1/200 sf GSA 184.15 San Marcos 1/200 sf GSA 184.15 Temple 11200 sf GSA 184.15 3 spaces/service bay+ 1 per employee+ 1 Plano per tow truck/service vehicle 317.00 College Station 1/100 sf GSA 368.30 Parking Requirement for entire facility 422 spaces Office/Showroom Area 54 spaces Varsity Ford Repair-36,830 sf GSA 368spaces Repair&Body Shop Employees-54 Repair&Body Shop Stalls-87 1/60 - - 1-1(° -1-S- 1l_- 1/9-00 _ �S a5 o. spaces were provided at the time of development. The property was replatted in 2003 into its current configuration. In 1998, Varsity Ford sought to expand its service area body shop by 7,380 square feet. This expansion resulted in the loss of 98 required spaces on the lot, and an additional 74 that were accommodated in a satellite parking lot on the property to the north. Overall the required parking for the site became 422 spaces. With the development of the satellite parking, the total number of spaces provided was 496. The satellite parking lot contains a total of 151 spaces. This variance request is being sought by the owner in order to sell the adjacent property on which the satellite parking lot is located. The applicant maintains that the required parking ratio is excessive. The 1 space per 100 square feet ratio was set by the Planning and Zoning Commission in 1984 for the development of Allen Honda. This ratio was included in the Unified Development Ordinance, adopted in 2003. Staff agrees that the parking is excessive. Of the 10 acres of the property located out of the floodplain, nearly 100% of the area is impervious cover. A retail or office building of the same size would result in only 118 required parking spaces, rather than 294. A survey was completed of 37 of cities by both the City and the applicant, finding that College Station requirements result in the highest number of spaces required for body shops and automobile service areas (see attached). Additionally, the only uses in the City with parking requirements equal or greater than an automobile service area are restaurants and nightclubs. In the coming months, as part of next year's annual UDO review, staff will be recommending a change to the required parking spaces for automobile service shops. The effective parking ratio, should the variance be granted, would be 1 space per 127 square feet of building area. For comparison purposes, the City of Grapevine and the City of Georgetown are the only cities with a parking ratio that this variance would not meet. During recent site visits, staff has noted that the parking lot has never been fully utilized. Approximately 30 to 50 percent of the parking remains vacant in the rear parking areas. Recommendation: Staff recommends approval of this request. O:\group\deve_ser\stfrpt\zngstfipt\honda.doc Special Conditions: 1.3 acres of the property remains undeveloped, but lies in the Carter Creek floodplain. Additional development on this site would further impact this floodplain. Hardships: The City's requirement for the number of parking spaces creates difficultly for auto dealerships with service shops to develop. In this instance, the number of spaces required to be dedicated to the body shop is over 85 percent of the required parking, leaving only 54 spaces for customer and employee parking, as well as new and used car sales. Alternatives: In addition to an amendment to the Unified Development Ordinance, the site could be further developed for parking. However, this parking would require additional fill of the floodplain. Special Information Ordinance Intent: The purpose of the off-street parking standards is to establish the guidelines for off-street parking spaces consistent with the proposed land use to: 1. Eliminate the occurrence of non-resident on-street parking in adjoining neighborhoods; 2. Avoid the traffic congestion and public safety hazards caused by a failure to provide such parking spaces; and 3. Expedite the movement of traffic on public thoroughfares in a safe manner, thus increasing the carrying capacity of the streets and reducing the amount of land required for streets, thereby lowering the cost to both the property owner and the City. Similar Requests: There have been several instances of variances requested from the minimum parking requirements, but none have been for auto dealerships. The majority of these requests were heard prior to 1990, and a majority were approved. For reference, only two other dealerships are located in the City. Douglass Nissan has 6,340 square feet of service area, and Allen Honda has 4,965 square feet. Owners Notified: 5 Responses: None at the time of the staff report Attachments 1. Location Map 2. Aerial Map 3. Application 4. Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes 5. Parking Ratios of cities surveyed by applicant 6. Parking Ratios of cities surveyed by City staff O:\group\deve_ser\stfrpt\zngstfrpt\honda.doc Parking Survey City Automobile Repair/Body Shop #of spaces Arlington 1 per 500 GSA 74 Baytown not specified Carrollton 1 per 500 GSA 74 Cedar Park 1 per 300 GSA 123 Flower Mound 1 per 250 GSA 147 Frisco 3 per bay+emplyee parking 315 Galveston 1 per 1000 GSA 37 Georgetown 5 per bay 435 Granbury 1 per 200 GSA 184 Grapevine 1 per 125 GSA 295 Killeen 1 per 500 GSA 74 Lewisville 1 per 200 GSA 184 Longview 1 per 200 GSA 184 Lubbock not specified McAllen not specified McKinney 2 per bay+tow 176 Odessa not specified Richardson 5+2 per bay 179 Southlake not specified Sugar Land not specified Tyler 3 per bay+tow 263 Victoria 4 per bay 348 Waco 1 per 200 GSA 184