ORIGINAL STAFF REPORT TO ADVISORY BOARDS

 

 

ATTACHMENT 2

 

Some of the circumstances and/or recommendations in the original Staff Report, reviewed by Advisory Board, have changes.  Please refer to the Staff Report Update (Attachment 1) for detailed discussion of changes to recommendations.  The changes in the Staff Report are noted by underlines and strikeouts for inserted and deleted text respectively.

 

STAFF REPORT

 

Subject:      Chapel Hill Kehillah Park/Ride - Application for Special Use Permit

 

DATE:             November 1, 2005, December 6, 2005 (Planning Board)

                        November 1, 2005 (Transportation Board)

                        November 16, 2005, December 14, 2005 (Community Design Commission)

                        November 22, 2005 (Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board)

 

 

INTRODUCTION

 

We have received a request for approval of a Special Use Permit for a Park/Ride Terminal to be operated by the Chapel Hill Kehillah at 1200 Mason Farm Road. The 2.19-acre site is located at the intersection of Mason Farm Road and Purefoy Road. Surrounding land uses include university, residential, office, and place of worship.

 

BACKGROUND

 

In 1978, the Town Council authorized a Special Use Permit for on-site parking for Chapel Hill Bible Church in a residential zoning district.  The Special Use Permit was abandoned in 1986 because the ordinance no longer required a Special Use Permit for the place of worship parking.  A Concept Plan for the proposed Park/Ride facility was reviewed by the Community Design Commission on April 20, 2005, and by the Town Council on June 20, 2005. Summary Comments and Council Minutes from June 20 are attached to this memorandum.  The Special Use Permit application was submitted July 18, 2005.

 

EVALUATION

 

The Town staff has reviewed this application for compliance with the standards of the Land Use Management Ordinance and the Design Manual and offers the following evaluation.

 

Existing Conditions

Location: The Chapel Hill Kehillah, a place of worship, is located on a 2.19 acre site at the intersection of Mason Farm Road and Purefoy Road. To the north is the University of North Carolina, to the east and south are residential homes, and to the west is a place of worship and an institutional office facility. The site is located in the Residential-4 (R-4) zoning district and is identified as Orange County Chapel Hill Township Tax Map 71, Block C, Lot 11.

 

Existing Structures: The site currently has one two-story building and one one-story building, for a total of 13,029 square-feet. The site also includes a play area and refuse container.

 

Access: Vehicular access to the Chapel Hill Kehillah parking lot is from Mason Farm Road and Purefoy Road. The Purefoy Road access is associated with a one-way drop-off lane at the main entrance to the place of worship.  It provides a one-way exit onto Purefoy Road. There are no sidewalks along the site’s frontage along Purefoy Road or Mason Farm Road. The University recently constructed a sidewalk on the opposite side of Mason Farm Road.

 

Parking: The site includes a gravel parking lot. The applicant has recently re-surfaced the lot with new gravel, added marked wheel stops, and re-located the refuse container. The submitted site plan shows 90 82 spaces. The applicant estimates that they need approximately 30 spaces during the week for activities associated with the place of worship.

 

Topography, Drainage, Vegetative Cover: The parking lot slopes generally from north to south. There is a concrete drainage channel that crosses the lot diagonally, from northeast to southwest. The property lies within the Watershed Protection District.  There is no Resource Conservation District on the site. Tree cover surrounds the parking lot.

 

Development Description

The applicant is proposing to rent 50 parking spaces in the Kehillah parking lot.  We believe that individuals attending activities on the University of North Carolina main campus will be the primary tenants of this proposed commercial parking lot.  We believe that the primary use of the existing parking lot is by individuals attending activities at the Kehillah. 

 

The applicant is not proposing any changes to the existing gravel parking lot.  Recently the applicant re-surfaced the lot with new gravel and installed wheel stops. The applicant is also proposing a $500 payment to the Town towards a pedestrian crosswalk on Mason Farm Road.

 

Concept Plan / Special Use Permit Application Comparison

The current Special Use Permit application for the Chapel Hill Kehillah Park/Ride Terminal has not changed from Concept Plan Review by the Town Council (June 20, 2005) and Community Design Commission (April 20, 2005).

 

Ordinance Requirements

Zoning: The Chapel Hill Kehillah site is located in the Residential-4 (R-4) zoning district. The site is adjacent to the Residential (R-1) district to the east and south, Office/Institutional-4 (OI-4) zoning district to the north, and Residential-4 (R-4) to the west. Some of the permitted uses in the Residential-4 (R-4) zoning district include single family and duplex dwelling units, multi-family dwelling units, places of worship, and public use facilities.

 

The Land Use Management Ordinance defines a Park/Ride Terminal as “an off-street parking facility designed or intended to provide peripheral collection and storage of vehicles to accommodate commuter traffic into or out from the Chapel Hill community, including accessory structures such as bus passenger shelters.” The Land Use Management Ordinance permits a Park/Ride facility in a residential zoning district with the approval of a Special Use Permit.

 

Land Use Plan: The Comprehensive Plan adopted by the Council on May 8, 2000, identifies this property as “Institutional.”

 

Dimensional Standards: The proposed project meets the dimensional standards outlined in the Dimensional Matrix (Table 3.8-1) of the Land Use Management Ordinance for the Residential-4 (R-4) zoning district.

 

Transportation Issues

Traffic Impact: The applicant has received an exemption from the requirement for a Traffic Impact Analysis, due to a relatively minimal number of trips created from the proposed use (200 trips per day were projected).

 

Parking Lot Design/Standards: The applicant is proposing to rent out 50 parking spaces. The applicant is proposing minor changes to the site, including re-surfacing the lot with new gravel, and replacing a side-loading dumpster with a front-loading dumpster.

 

The parking lot is currently unmarked gravel.  Based on the submitted Site Plan it appears that the parking lot can accommodate approximately 40 regular and 50 42 compact parking spaces. However it appears that the proposed handicapped spaces do not meet the minimum width requirements. The gravel parking surface meets the Town’s Design Standards.

 

We recommend that the applicant design and construct the parking lot to Town standards.  Because of the increased intensity of use, we recommend that the applicant pave the parking lot.  We also recommend that the applicant and clearly mark each parking spaces and identify the parking spaces assigned for rental use.  This recommendation has been incorporated into Resolution A.   

 

We recommended that prior to the issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit that the applicant provide a site plan identifying existing pedestrian access and lighting within the parking lot.  We do not believe that the existing lampposts provide adequate lighting for the proposed use.  For general safety, and due to the proposed increase in use, we have included a stipulation in Resolution A that require that the Town Manager review and approve a pedestrian access and lighting plan for the site, prior to the issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit.

 

Parking Requirements: Minimum vehicular parking requirements, for a place of worship, are based on a ratio of one parking space for every four seats in the sanctuary. The sanctuary does not contain permanent seating, but has a total of approximately 400 portable seats.  The minimum vehicular parking requirement is therefore 100 parking spaces.  There is room for approximately 90 82 parking spaces in the existing lot. 

 

The applicant estimates that during worship hours on Friday evenings and Saturdays, 100-150 seats are used, while up to 400 seats are used for peak holiday worship services.  We do not recommend an increase in the number of parking spaces.  We recommend that this non-conforming feature be allowed to remain. 

 

Bicycle Parking:  Based on the minimum number of required vehicular parking spaces for a place of worship, the minimum number of required bicycle parking spaces for this site is 10 (calculated as 10% of the required vehicular parking spaces). We understand that there is currently one bicycle rack with 30 bicycle parking spaces on a concrete pad in the existing parking lot.  The applicant is proposing no additional bicycle parking spaces.

 

We recommend that the applicant comply with the minimum bicycle parking requirement of the Land Use Management Ordinance and the standards for bicycle parking spaces in the Design Guidelines.  We recommend that the bicycle parking be covered and illuminated.  We recommend that final location of the bicycle parking spaces be reviewed and approved by the Town Manager prior to the issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit. 

 

The applicant does not propose to make improvements to the existing bicycle parking. We do not anticipate that the Park/Ride Facility would generate the demand for improvements to the existing parking, and we believe it can remain as an existing nonconforming feature.

 

Sidewalks: A sidewalk currently exists along the north side of Mason Farm Road. There are currently no sidewalks along the site’s frontage on Purefoy Road or Mason Farm Road. No sidewalks are proposed as part of this application.

 

We believe that due to the increased traffic generated by this proposed use and the associated pedestrian activity, that sidewalks should be constructed along the frontage of this site. We recommend that the applicant construct sidewalks on the south side of Mason Farm Road and east side of Purefoy Road. We believe that portions of this recommended sidewalk will require that the applicant construct curb and gutter. Curb and gutter requirements would be based on limitations due to existing landscaping and an existing drainage swale.  We have included this recommendation in Resolution A.

 

Crosswalk on Mason Farm Road: There is currently no crosswalk to guide the crossing of pedestrians from the southern side of Mason Farm Road to the northern side. The applicant has indicated that they would consider installing a willingness to pay $500 as a payment-in-lieu for a crosswalk, but it is not as shown on the submitted Site Plan.

 

We recommend a crosswalk made of thermoplastic material or inlay tape across Mason Farm Road, to accommodate the increase in pedestrian traffic from the proposed Park/Ride facility. Thermoplastic material or inlay tape is recommended over paint because they are more durable, lasting 5-6 times longer than paint. We recommend that the applicant be required to provide a $1500 payment-in-lieu, to cover the costs of installing the crosswalk. We recommend that prior to the issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit that the Town Manager review and approve the final design and location of this crosswalk.  We have included this recommendation in Resolution A.

 

Bus Stops: The Land Use Management Ordinance requires that a Park/Ride Terminal be accessible by public bus transportation and that bus shelters be provided (Section 6.8).  The closest existing bus stop to the site is at the intersection of Mason Farm Road and East Drive, near the University of North Carolina Hospitals parking deck (CL, D, G, N, NS, V Routes). The bus stop is approximately 1,000 feet from the Chapel Hill Kehillah site.  (See attached Bus Route Map)

 

No improvements to the existing bus stop network are proposed with this application, although the applicant has indicated that they would consider installing a sign on the site, directing pedestrians to this bus stop. We recommend that the applicant be required to provide a payment-in-lieu for install such a sign and if necessary, provides a bus shelter to comply with Section 6.8.

 

We have confirmed that there are no plans at this point to provide bus service to this section of Mason Farm Road. It is anticipated that service along this corridor will be considered to accommodate the recently-opened student family housing and continued construction in the South Campus area. If this park/ride facility is approved we anticipate that it would also increase demand for the provision of transit service along this corridor, serving the facility. We anticipate service along the Mason Farm corridor would require  that a shelter be placed on the side opposite of the Kehillah, to transport riders to campus. Although the current and future need for a bus shelter on the Kehillah site is not immediately required, we believe that a bus shelter is a key element to a Park/Ride Terminal. Therefore, we recommend that the applicant provide a payment-in-lieu of $ 5,000 for a bus shelter. Resolution A, the Town Manager’s preliminary recommendation, includes a stipulation requiring such payment. Removal of the bus shelter stipulation would require the Council to modify a regulation in the Land Use Management Ordinance.

 

Traffic and Pedestrian Control Plan:  A Traffic and Pedestrian Control Plan would govern the movement of motorized and non-motorized vehicles, as well as pedestrians, on public streets disrupted during construction. We believe, based on the recommended improvements, that a Traffic and Pedestrian Control Plan would be warranted. We recommend such a plan be required if a sidewalk is constructed or if the parking lot is paved.  The recommended stipulation includes the following provision: “if deemed necessary by the Town Manager, the applicant will provide a Traffic and Pedestrian Control Plan prior to the issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit.”

 

Landscaping and Architectural Issues

Tree Cover: The submitted site plan did not identify or label significant trees on the site. We recommend that the Final Plan include a tree survey that identifies all significant trees and/or significant tree stands so that we can better understand the impacts of complying with current stormwater regulations.

 

Buffers and Landscaping: The minimum required buffers for the site are:

 

·    Purefoy Road frontage: 15-foot Type “B” buffer, and

·    All other property lines (including Mason Farm Road): 20–foot Type “C” buffer.

 

The submitted site plan did not include dimensioned or labeled landscape buffers and therefore we are unable to determine if this proposal complies with the minimum landscape buffer requirements.

 

We recommend that prior to issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit the applicant provide a detailed Landscape Plan that labels and dimensions all landscape buffers.  It will be necessary for the plan to identify the surveyed boundary of the site in order to determine compliance with the buffer requirements.  Based on the information provided, it may be necessary to remove approximately 6 parking spaces adjacent to Mason Farm Road in order to comply with landscape buffer requirements adjacent to the road.  Although an evergreen hedge exists presently along a portion of the Mason Farm Road frontage at this location, the vegetation appears to be located in the public right-of-way.  If the vegetation in the right-of-way were to be removed, no buffer or screening would be provided for the parking lot.  We recommend that the resolution of approval require that, if the existing vegetation in the public right-of-way is removed, the applicant will either seek approval for an alternate buffer from the Community Design Commission or that the existing six parking spaces will be removed and replaced with a 20-foot wide Type “C” landscape buffer outside of the public right-of-way.

 

We also recommend that, in those areas where the dimensioned buffers do not meet the minimum width, that the applicant obtains approval from the Community Design Commission for alternative landscape buffers.  We have included the above recommendations in Resolution A.  

 

In addition to the buffer along Mason Farm Road, the required buffer location along the east property line is also encumbered by approximately 18 parking spaces.  In this particular case, the applicant is seeking approval for an alternate buffer and has agreed to submit a request to the Community Design Commission prior to the use as a Park/Ride Terminal. 

 

Section 5.9.6 of the Land Use Management Ordinance requires ground level parking facilities to be screened from adjacent streets by means of an effective screening device which is at least three feet in height above the grade of the edge of the parking area.  The ordinance also requires that parking facilities be screened from adjacent properties zoned residential by means of an effective screening device which is at least six feet in height above the grade of the edge of the parking area.

 

The applicant is proposing that the existing vegetation along Mason Farm Road and along the east property line satisfy the parking lot screening requirements. We believe this existing site condition can be allowed to remain as a nonconforming feature. 

 

 

Lighting: Section 5.11 of the Land Use Management Ordinance requires that “all streets, driveways, bikeways, sidewalks, pedestrian paths, parking areas, and other common areas and facilities shall be lighted where necessary to ensure the security of property and the safety of persons using such streets, driveways, bikeways, sidewalks, pedestrian paths, parking areas, and other common areas and facilities.”  We recommend that prior to the issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit that the applicant submit site plans and other required documents to satisfy the lighting requirements in Section 5.11 including the submission of a lighting plan sealed by a Professional Engineer.   

 

We also recommend that a lighting plan be approved by the Community Design Commission prior to the issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit. We have included this standard stipulation in Resolution A.

 

Environmental Issues

Watershed Protection/ Impervious Surface: The site is located inside the Watershed Protection District. Impervious surface area existing in 1993 is exempt from today’s Watershed Protection District Regulations. 

 

The applicant has indicated that approximately 20.4% of the site (21,363 square feet) is impervious surface. We believe the applicant’s impervious surface number may be incorrect. We believe that the applicant did not include the gravel parking area when calculating the impervious surface area. We recommend that prior to the issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit, the applicant submit accurate impervious surface data.

 

Stormwater Management: The applicant is proposing to re-surface the existing gravel lot with new gravel. This proposal was exempt from the submittal requirement for a Stormwater Impact Statement. As discussed previously, we recommend that the applicant improve the lot with an all-weather surface. We recommend the following conditions:

 

That, prior to the issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit the applicant submits a Stormwater Management Plan, prepared by a registered engineer, for review and approval by the Town Manager. We recommend that the plan include low-impact stormwater management solutions and best management practices, including but not limited to bio-retention, pervious pavements, underground storage, infiltration trenches, vegetative swales and similar techniques. That the plan shall be based on the 1-year, 2-year, and 25-year frequency, 24-hour duration storms, where the post-development stormwater run-off rate shall not exceed the pre-development rate and the post-development stormwater runoff volume shall not exceed the pre-development volume for the local 2-year frequency, 24-hour duration storm event. Engineered stormwater facilities shall also remove 85% total suspended solids and treat the first inch of precipitation utilizing NC Division of Water Quality design standards. We have included a stipulation to this effect in Resolution A.

 

Erosion Control: We recommend that if the approved development disturbs more than 20,000 square feet of land area, a detailed soil erosion and sedimentation control plan be approved by the County Erosion Control Officer and the Town Manager prior to issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit.

 

Utilities and Service Issues

Refuse Management: In response to the Town’s plan to discontinue providing service to side-loading dumpsters, we understand that the applicant recently replaced a side-loading refuse container with a front-loading dumpster. We recommend the following stipulation: “if the Town determines it is unable to service the applicant’s refuse collection area, due to the geometric design of the parking lot and associated use, the applicant shall: a) Contract with a private company for refuse service or; b) Submit a dimensioned detail of an alternate recycling/refuse collection area, including pad length, width, and depth, bollards, and screening (Section 8 of 2005 Town of Chapel Hill Design Manual). That the final plans shall include details verifying that no overhead obstruction or utility wires will interfere with service vehicle access or operation. That the location and design of the collection area shall be approved by the Town Manager.”The submitted site plan did not include a dimensioned plan for the refuse facility. We recommend that prior to the issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit the applicant submit a dimensional detail of the refuse area including pad length, width, and depth.  We also recommend that a Solid Waste Management Plan, including provisions for recycling and for the management and minimizing of construction debris, and demolition waste be approved by the Town Manager prior to issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit.

 

Utilities: We recommend that the final plans be reviewed and approved by OWASA, Duke Power Company, Public Service Company, BellSouth, and the Town Manager prior to issuance of a Zoning Compliance Permit. We have included this standard stipulation in Resolution A.

 

Special Use Permit Findings

For approval of a Special Use Permit, the Council must make the following findings, as set forth in Article 4.5.2 of the Land Use Management Ordinance:

 

(a)    That the use or development is located, designed, and proposed to be operated so as to maintain or promote the public health, safety, and general welfare;

 

(b)   That the use or development complies with all required regulations and standards of this Chapter, including all applicable provisions of the Land Use Management Ordinance;

 

(c)    That the use or development is located, designed, and proposed to be operated so as to maintain or enhance the value of contiguous property, or that the use or development is a public necessity; and

 

(d)   That the use or development conforms with the general plans for the physical development of the Town as embodied in the Land Use Management Ordinance and in the Comprehensive Plan.

 

Upon review of the application and information that has been submitted to date, our preliminary recommendation is that these findings can be made.

 

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

Based on information available at this stage of the application review process, we believe that the proposal, with the conditions in Resolution A, meets the requirements of the applicable sections of the Land Use Management Ordinance and Design Manual, and that the proposal conforms with the Comprehensive Plan.