MEMORANDUM
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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 – Modification to the Planned Development-Housing Minimum Land Area Requirement in Residential Districts |
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DATE: |
February 18, 2008 |
INTRODUCTION
Attached for consideration is a proposed Land Use Management Ordinance text amendment that would lower the minimum land area requirement for a Planned Development-Housing (PD-H) in residential zoning districts under particular circumstances and to propose a regulatory process for approval of smaller residential Planned Developments. We recommend enactment of the proposed Land Use Management Ordinance text amendment.
BACKGROUND
In 1981, the Town Council enacted a unified Development Ordinance which combined zoning and subdivision provisions, and provided the bases for many of the regulations in today’s Land Use Management Ordinance. The Development Ordinance included Planned Development provisions, which allowed, with Council approval of a Special Use Permit, various types of planned developments (residential, office, commercial and mixed use) in any zoning district. The maximum floor area was dependent upon the floor area ratio of the underlying zoning district. These provisions enabled the Council to approve a Special Use Permit for a Planned Development-Housing (PD-H) for multi-family developments with more than 7 dwelling units.
The 1981 Ordinance also provided that the Planned Developments for multi-family housing were subject not only to floor area ratios but also to the following graduated minimum land area requirements:
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Planned Development-Housing (PD-H) |
Minimum Land Area Requirement |
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In Residential-1 (R-1) district |
150,000 sq. ft. (3.4 acres) |
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In Residential-2 (R-2) district |
100,000 sq. ft. (2.3 acres) |
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In Residential-3 (R-3) district |
37,000 sq. ft. (.85 acre) |
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All other districts |
2 times the district minimum lot size (less than 1/2 acre, typically) |
Following enactment of the Planned Development provisions, the Council approved several multi-family development projects including:
Community concern was expressed about a number of these residential Planned Developments and several non-residential developments approved during this time period. Concerns appeared to be focused on the infill nature of the developments, primarily related to the anticipated impact on surrounding residential neighborhoods.
In response to these concerns, in 1983 and 1984, the Council modified the Ordinance to reduce allowable intensity by:
In 1985, the Council further modified the Ordinance and established a 5 acre minimum land area requirement for all Planned Developments proposed in residential zoning districts. This change had the impact of increasing the minimum land area requirement for most multi-family development and reducing the number of projects reviewed.
Today’s regulations allow multi-family development (3 - 7 dwelling units) in the higher density residential zoning districts (R-4, R-5, R-6), and allow multi-family (3 or more units) in non-residential zoning districts. The Planning Board currently has the authority to approve multi-family developments which propose 3-7 dwelling units. Multi-family developments which propose more than 7 dwelling units in a residential zoning district are authorized only with approval of a Planned Development-Housing by the Council as a Special Use Permit and only if the property is more than 5 acres in size. An excerpt from the Land Use Management Ordinance is provided below:
Table 3.7-1: Use Matrix, Excerpt from the Land Use Management Ordinance
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USES |
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General Use Zoning District |
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Planned Development (PD-) |
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Use Group |
R-LD5 |
RT |
R-LD1 |
R-1A |
R-1 |
R-2 |
R-2A |
R-3 |
R-4 |
R-5 |
R-6 |
R-SS-C |
TC-1, TC-2 |
CC |
NC |
OI-1 |
OI-2 |
OI-3 |
OI-4 |
I |
MH |
H |
SC(N) |
SCI |
OI |
MU |
I |
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Dwelling Units, Multi-Family, 3 to 7 dwelling units |
A |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
P |
P |
P |
S |
P |
P |
P |
P |
P |
P |
P |
-- |
-- |
P |
-- |
-- |
-- |
P |
-- |
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Dwelling Units, Multi-Family, over 7 dwelling units |
A |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
S |
P |
P |
P |
P |
P |
P |
P |
-- |
-- |
P |
-- |
-- |
-- |
P |
-- |
Following the 2003 enactment of the Land Use Management Ordinance, the Council adopted a goal of considering adjusting the minimum land area requirement for multi-family development occurring as a Planned Development-Housing in a residential district from five acres to one acre.
PROPOSAL
The proposed text amendment would lower the Land Use Management Ordinance minimum land area requirements from five (5) to one (1) acre to allow approval of multi-family development (over 7 units) as a Planned Development-Housing Special Use Permit in a residential zoning district if the property is located in a residential conditional use zoning district. The minimum land area requirement in non-residential zoning districts is already at one (1) acre. We recommend the following adjustment to the minimum land area requirement provisions of the Ordinance for a Planned Development-Housing (proposed text shown underlined):
Except as provided for in Section 6.18.1(f), the minimum gross land area required for a zoning lot containing a PD-H shall be five (5) acres in residential districts, one (1) acre in non-residential district. If the zoning lot is located in a residential conditional use zoning district, the minimum gross land area required shall be reduced from five (5) acres to one (1) acre.
DISCUSSION
Given the defined growth boundaries of Chapel Hill and the limited amount of undeveloped or underdeveloped land, we recommend that the minimum land area for a Planned Development-Housing in a residential district be returned to a lower land area requirement. A reduction in the land area minimum from five (5) acres to one (1) acre would allow the Council to consider smaller multi-family developments in residential zoning districts.
Our recommendation to reduce the minimum land area requirement is based on our review of several multi-family developments that were approved before the land area requirement was increased to 5 acres. Attachments 3, 4, and 5 are aerial photographs of three developments that were approved with more than 7 dwelling units:
The Council could consider a variety of methods to allow 7 or more units of multi-family development to occur on lots smaller than 5 acres, including a graduated approach to reducing the land area minimum; the establishment of Planned Developments as zoning districts; and a reduction in the land area minimum coupled with a conditional use rezoning requirement. We believe the third option is the best and simplest way to allow 7 or more units, while simultaneously retaining legislative control.
With this option, a developer would be required to apply for both a rezoning to a conditional use zoning district and a Special Use Permit. If the property is successfully rezoned, approval of a Special Use Permit for a multi-family development could be granted by the Council in accordance with the floor area restrictions, density caps, landscape buffers, and other regulatory requirements of the underlying zoning district, if the Council is able to make the four findings necessary to approve a Special Use Permit:
Finding #1: 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;
Finding #2: That the use or development would comply with all required regulations and standards of the Land Use Management Ordinance;
Finding #3: 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
Finding #4: That the use or development conforms to the general plans for the physical development of the Town as embodied in the Land Use Management Ordinance and in the Comprehensive Plan.
We introduce this recommendation of a reduced land area requirement paired with rezoning to a conditional use zoning district because of concerns we have about the appropriateness of multi-family development in some neighborhoods. For example, it seems unlikely that we would recommend lowering the land area requirement in residential areas that have been recognized as being particularly sensitive to change such as those adjacent to the downtown and the University main campus, including Historic Districts and Neighborhood Conservation Districts. Making Council approval of a conditional use zoning district a prerequisite for approval of a PD-H affords the Council greater control and legislative flexibility when considering potentially inappropriate locations.
If enacted, the recommended provisions would continue to include a minimum land area requirement of five (5) acres for multi-family development in a Planned Development-Housing, but would offer an exception to allow reduction of the minimum land area requirement in conditional residential districts to one (1) acre. While 1 acre is the recommended minimum, we note that a different land area minimum could be selected for this text amendment, especially if the Council desires to introduce this change more gradually.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Planning Board Recommendation: The Planning Board reviewed the proposed text amendment on November 21, 2006 and recommended that the Council enact the attached Ordinance to lower the minimum land area requirement for a Planned Development-Housing to one acre. The Board met again on February 5, 2008 to review the text amendment proposal. The Board deferred this item to its February 19, 2008 meeting, asking the staff for additional information. The Planning Board Summary of Action will be provided once it is available.
Staff Preliminary Recommendation: We recommend that the Council enact the attached Ordinance to change the Land Use Management Ordinance provisions to allow a reduction in the minimum land area requirements for a Planned Development-Housing to allow multi-family development to occur on a lot that is at least one acre in size, if located in a residential conditional use zoning district.
ATTACHMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION (February 18, 2008)
