AGENDA #4h

 

MEMORANDUM

 

TO:

Roger L. Stancil, Town Manager

 

 

FROM:

J. B. Culpepper, Planning Director

 

Gene Poveromo, Development Coordinator

 

 

SUBJECT:

Request for Expedited Processing of a Concept Plan Proposal and a Special Use Permit Application for the Bradley Ridge Development

 

 

DATE:

November 20, 2006

 

 

PURPOSE

 

On November 6, 2006, the Town Council received a petition from Habitat for Humanity and referred it to the Town Manager for review and recommendation. The petition requests expedited processing of a Concept Plan proposal and a Special Use Permit application for the Bradley Ridge Development.  We recommend adoption of the attached resolution, which would authorize expedited processing of this application.

 

BACKGROUND

 

Expedited processing grants priority status for review at every step of the process and grants priority status in being scheduled on agendas of advisory boards and the Town Council.  A Special Use Permit application would normally take nine months to a year to be reviewed by all the required boards and commissions and to be heard at a Public Hearing.

 

Following approval, an application normally takes four to five months to obtain approval of detailed construction drawings and final plans, prior to obtaining a building permit.  The review process is often long because of the breadth and depth of review and analysis, and because many projects are usually being reviewed at any given time.

 

However, because of the other applications previously granted such status, there will likely not be much shortening of the review time for this project if expedited processing is granted.

 

We believe that this application meets the Council’s criteria for granting expedited processing.

 

DISCUSSION

 

Request:  The petition requests expedited processing status of a Concept Plan proposal and a Special Use Permit application.  We understand the application is proposing to construct a residential development that will include 31 single-family Habitat for Humanity homes.  The property is comprised of a conglomeration of properties on the east side of Sunrise Road.  Access is proposed to the site from Sunrise Road and an extension of Amesbury Drive.  Although a formal application has not yet been submitted, we note that a Concept Plan application for the new proposal has been submitted.

 

The applicant’s request for expedited processing of the Bradley Ridge Development indicated that the development will provide 31 affordable housing units.  The petition indicates that the proposed housing development will meet the Council’s affordable housing goals.

 

Expedited Processing:  We follow the Council-endorsed criteria listed below in making recommendations to Council on request for expedited processing:

  1. Recommend expedited processing only in cases where there is a public interest or public objective involved.
  2. Recommend expedited processing only when a project that involves public interest would be harmed by following normal rules of procedures.
  3. Recommend expedited processing in cases where an applicant has submitted evidence, as endorsed by the Town Council and provided in Attachment 3, that the applicant is actively pursuing the development of a project that will:
    1. meet or exceed the LEED Silver certification; and
    2. exceed the energy standards by 20 percent of ASHRAE 90.1-2004.
  4. Avoid expedited processing in situations where other applications that do not carry this special status would be delayed.

 

Several development applications are currently working toward being placed on the Council’s Public Hearing schedule.  The impact of granting expedited processing for Bradley Ridge Development is that one less space would be available on the Council’s schedule for which other applications are competing.

 

We believe that the proposal meets the objectives for public purpose in the three criteria above for granting expedited processing status.  We recommend that the Council grant Expedited Processing Status for the Bradley Ridge Development.

 

Projects that have been granted expedited processing are identified in Attachment 1.

 

RECOMMENDATION

 

Staff’s Recommendation:  We recommend that the Council adopt the attached resolution.  Adoption of the resolution would grant expedited processing for the Bradley Ridge Development, if the Council chooses to grant this request.

 

ATTACHMENT

  1. List of Projects Granted Expedited Processing (p. 4).
  2. Area Map (p. 6).
  3. Petition (p. 7).