AGENDA #1b
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TO: |
Roger L. Stancil, Town Manager |
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FROM: |
J. B. Culpepper, Planning Director Gene Poveromo, Development Coordinator |
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SUBJECT: |
Public Hearing: Land Use Management Ordinance Text Amendment – Modifications to the Uses by Right in the Mixed Use-Village Zoning District |
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DATE: |
November 12, 2007 |
This Public Hearing has been called for consideration of this proposal to amend the Land Use Management Ordinance to allow for uses by right in the Mixed Use-Village (MU-V) zoning district. The proposed amendment would allow property owners in the Mixed Use-Village (MU-V) zoning district to submit Site Plan Review applications, reviewed by the Planning Board, which propose less than 20,000 square feet of floor area and 40,000 square feet of land disturbance, rather than only submit Special Use Permit applications. We recommend that the Council enact the attached Ordinance to amend the Land Use Management Ordinance to allow for uses by right in the Mixed Use-Village (MU-V) zoning district.
There are two accompanying proposals before the Council tonight. Please see the accompanying memoranda and the attached cover memorandum from the Town Manager for additional information.
The Mixed Use-Village zoning district is a relatively new zoning district established with the enactment of the Land Use Management Ordinance in 2003. The zoning district has been applied to one property in Town, the East 54 development, with a Special Use Permit Modification approval in February 26, 2007.
In the Land Use Management Ordinance, Section 3.5.1 “Mixed Use Districts” states that mixed use districts are “intended to provide for the coordinated development of office, commercial, and residential uses and their necessary support functions in the vicinity of key highway intersections and transit corridors in Chapel Hill.” They are designed to facilitate “lively, people-oriented environments.” The floor area in a Mixed Use-Village development must be devoted to at least 25 percent residential uses, and at least 25 percent office/commercial uses.
A Special Use Permit is currently required for development in the Mixed Use-Village (MU-V) zoning district, thereby requiring Council action.
Because development proposals in the Mixed Use-Village (MU-V) zoning district currently require a Special Use Permit application, there are no uses by right. As a result, the Council would not be able to consider rezoning property to the Mixed Use-Village (MU-V) zoning district without an application from the property owner. We propose to amend the text of Subsection 3.5.1(d)(2) of the Land Use Management Ordinance to allow Site Plan Review applications, with Planning Board review that meet the intensity thresholds indicated in Subsection 3.7-1 of the Land Use Management Ordinance. If this is done, rezoning of property in Area 1, Area 2, and Area 3 (areas identified in the memorandum for the next agenda item for this Public Hearing) to the Mixed Use-Village (MU-V) zoning district by the Town would be possible. Subsection 3.7-1 of the ordinance allows Site Plan Review applications, with Planning Board review, that propose less than 20,000 square feet of floor area and 40,000 square feet of land disturbance.
The intensity threshold of 20,000 square feet of floor area and 40,000 square feet of land disturbance is not new. It is what distinguishes Site Plan Review applications from Special Use Permits in all zoning districts in Town, except for Office Institutional-3 (OI-3), Office Institutional-4 (OI-4), and Materials Handling (MH).
Additionally, we recommend removing redundant language from Subsection 3.5.1(d)(2) of the Land Use Management Ordinance, requiring a Concept Plan for Special Use Permits, as already required by Section 4.3 of the Ordinance.
The proposed amendments to Subsection 3.5.1(d)(2) of the Chapel Hill Land Use Management Ordinance is as follows:
(d) Mixed Use Development Design Standards--MU-V.
(1) All design standards specified in article 5 of this appendix and in the town's design guidelines in effect at the time a proposal is being reviewed shall apply to the design of development proposed as a mixed use development as defined by this article along with the provisions of subsections (2) through (5), below.
(2)Any
application for mixed use development shall include a Concept Plan as
provided in section 4.3 and a Special Use Permit as provided in
section 4.6, of this appendix., or Site Plan Review, as
provided in section 4.7 of this appendix, if the floor area of the proposed
development is less than 20,000 square feet and the area of disturbed land is
less than 40,000 square feet. The Special Use Permit shall include a
phasing plan that specifies the stages of development build out. The phasing
plan shall identify the sequence of development for the land uses shown on the
special use permit. The phasing plan information may be prepared as a plan, a
table, or a report. It shall include general phasing of internal and external
traffic circulation systems, amenities, and utility improvements that will be
constructed concurrent with the land use development. Land use development
scheduling shall include a general indication of size, either in square footage
or acres. The plan shall also indicate the expected impact of the development
on existing or proposed public facilities, including but not limited to,
streets, transit, schools, water and sewer systems, and public safety. The
applicant shall provide assurances that all the use categories will be
constructed and that the project will, in fact, result in a mixed use development
satisfying the purpose section of this district. The applicant shall include
all of the required use categories (residential, commercial, and office uses)
in the first phase of the project.
This proposed amendment to the Land Use Management Ordinance would make allowance for uses by right in the existing Mixed Use-Village (MU-V) zoning district.
Recommendations are summarized below.
Planning Board Recommendation: The Planning Board met on October 30, 2007 and will meet again on November 20, 2007. We will provide the Council with a Summary of the Planning Board Action when it is available.
Preliminary Recommendation: We recommend that the Council enact the attached Ordinance, an amendment to Subsection 3.5.1(d)(2) the Land Use Management Ordinance.
1. Ordinance Approving an Amendment to Subsection 3.5.1(d)(2) of the Land Use Management Ordinance (p. 4).