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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/24/2003 - Regular Minutes - Design Review Board (2)Minutes Design Review Board October 24, 2003 10:30 AM Board Members Present: Scott Shafer, Stanton Ware, Dr. Tabb, Alan King Richard Benning & Bill Trainor. Board Members Absent: George McLean Staff Present: Staff Assistant Deborah Grace, Staff Planners' Molly Hitchcock & Jennifer Prochazka, Planning Intern Lauren Harrell, Assistant City Engineer Brett McCully, City Planner Jane Kee, Development Review Coordinator Natalie Ruiz, Development Services Director Kelly Templin & Director of Economic Development Kim Foutz. Others Present: John Holleman, Kerri & Daniel Brightwell, Joanne and Darrell Barrington, Dale O'Riley, Morris Hamilton, Randy Klien, Joe Schultz & Bill Lero. AGENDA ITEM NO. 1 Consideration of absence requests. - George McLean Dr. Tabb made the motion to approve the request. Mr. Benning seconded the motion, which passed unopposed (6-0). AGENDA ITEM NO. 2: Discussion, consideration and possible action on signs and facade changes for Mad Hatter's located at 317 University Drive in Northgate. The applicant's proposal is for approximately 28-sq. ft. of signage (20 on the front facade and 8 on the rear). The applicant is also proposed to brick the front facade. Ms. Hitchcock told the Board the proposed sign does meet the technical requirements and the facade changes are at the Board's discretion. Mr. Benning commended the applicants for coming to the Board for approval. He stated that there are at least 25 illegal signs in Northgate and he does not understand why the city chooses to ignore them. Mr. Benning asked if there is an indentation once the plywood was removed from the facade would the sign be placed in that indentation. The applicants replied yes. Mr. King made the motion to approve the request with the Board's recommendation that the signs be centered, of earth tone colors and be placed in the indentation (if there is one) once the plywood was removed from the facade. Mr. Trainor seconded the motion, which passed unopposed (6-0). Ms. Ruiz told the Board that there have been some changes in the Code Enforcement Office. Several Staff Planner's have rode with Code Enforcement Officers in Northgate and they did identify a lot of signs that are in violation. It will be over the next couple of weeks that staff will be working with the merchants on bringing the signs in compliance. AGENDA ITEM NO. 3: Discussion, consideration and possible action on a driveway variance at 5108 Whistling Straits in the Pebble Creek 7-BI Subdivision. A single-family residence at this address was permitted with a single access driveway meeting UDO requirements. During a building inspection, it was noted that a second driveway was added without permit, and the combination appeared far in excess of the allowable 28-feet. A submittal by the builder, who is the applicant for this variance, shows two 20-foot wide drives. A site inspection by the Development Engineer determined that because the island between the drives did not reach the property line, that the width as measured along the property line was approximately 70-feet. The site inspection yielded no obvious need for the excessive width. The applicant stated that the lot is odd shaped and it has a drop off The purpose for the circular drive was to fill in the area and create a retainer wall to protect an oak tree next to the house. Dr. Tabb made the motion to approve a variance by taking off approximately I-1/ feet of the circular area on the street side and maintaining the 20-feet on the right & left sides. Mr. Benning seconded the motion, which passed (5-I). Mr. King voted against the variance. Mr. King stated that not having a circular drive would be a better solution. AGENDA ITEM NO. 4: Discussion, consideration and possible action on a driveway variance at 303 Walton Drive in College Hills Estates Subdivision. The residence at 303 Walton is a rental home that fronts Walton Drive and has an existing driveway onto that street. The rear of the property fronts a public alleyway that is overgrown with mature vegetation. A small section of the rear of the property also fronts directly onto Lincoln, which is designed as a Major Collector. The lot has a detached garage that the owner uses to store personal equipment and property. It is the desire of the owner to construct a second driveway into the rear of the lot to be able to occasionally access the garage without having to move the tenant's from the existing driveway. At first the applicant requested that the city clear the alley from the vegetation so he could access the rear property consistent with the alley designation. Upon further investigation of the site, it is clear that the vegetation in the alley is serving as a significant buffer between the single-family and the apartments across the alley. The applicant is therefore requesting to have a driveway directly onto Lincoln. Mr. King made the motion to approve the variance with the following limitations: the applicant shall place a gate at the end of the driveway apron, run a fence up to the vegetation in the alley and clear the vegetation close to the road for site distance purposes. Mr. Trainor seconded the motion, which passed unopposed (6-0). AGENDA ITEM NO. 5: Discussion, consideration and possible action on a site plan for Cross Street Warehouse Apartments located on a portion of the 400 block of College Main and 400 block of Tauber in the Boyett Addition Subdivision in Northgate. The proposed apartment development will have 43 multi-family dwelling units for a total of 123 bedrooms. There is also a proposed retail space on the ground floor of this development. The proposed site plan shows 36 on-site parking spaces and 4 off-street spaced located on the adjacent property. The property is located on the corner opposite the Northgate parking garage. The garage has a total of 725 parking spaces. Cross Street Warehouse will have an option of leasing up to 70 parking spaces per year in the Northgate garage. Parking spaces are also available for lease by any individual on a monthly basis. This development is required to have one interior interior-parking island, provided somewhere within the interior-parking row. The applicant is requesting a variance to this requirement in order to use this area for an extra parking space. The applicant showed the Board brick and roof color samples. He explained the goal is to make the building look like a warehouse that has been there for 75 years and is being converted into lofts. Mr. King made the motion to approve the site plan with staff recommendations as noted in the staff comments # I and for the approval of the parking variance. Mr. Trainor seconded the motion, which passed unopposed (6-0). Mr. Benning questioned the parking agreement for the 70 parking spaces and requested that the City advise the DRB of the number of parking spaces in the garage that will be available to multi-family developers. He also wanted to know the number so he can decide if we are reserving enough parking spaces for the existing businesses. Ms. Foutz replied that she would have to consult with her Director. Mr. Shafer asked Ms. Foutz to come back to the next meeting and update the Board on her findings. AGENDA ITEM NO. 6: Discussion, consideration and possible action on a concept plan for Villas of Harvey located off of SH-30 near the intersection of SH-30 and FM-158. The applicant is proposing to construct attached residences on individually platted lots. A decorative main entry with water features from Harvey Road is contingent upon approval of the design by the Army Corps of Engineers. Mr. Templin explained the plan to the Board. Dr. Tabb was concerned about having too much pavement and not enough landscaping to absorb the heat. Mr. Benning made the motion to approve the concept plan as submitted with staff recommendations. Mr. Trainor seconded the motion. The motion passed 5-0-I. Dr. Tabb obstained from voting AGENDA ITEM NO. 7. Adjourn. APPROVED: Scott Shafer ATTEST: Deborah Grace, Staff Assistant