MEMORANDUM
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TO: |
Roger L. Stancil, Town Manager |
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FROM: |
J. B. Culpepper, Planning Director Gene Poveromo, Development Manager |
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SUBJECT: |
Land Use Management Ordinance Text Amendment – Elimination of Floor Area Limits for the Single-Family Component of a Planned Development |
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DATE: |
April 28, 2008 |
INTRODUCTION
Enactment of the attached ordinance would change the Land Use Management Ordinance to remove floor area limits for the single-family residential component of a proposed Planned Development-Housing (PD-H). We recommend enactment of the proposed Land Use Management Ordinance text amendment.
BACKGROUND
On March 10, 2008, the Council held a public hearing to consider changes to the floor area requirements for the single-family residential component of Planned Developments-Housing.
Development of single family homes in a subdivision differs from development of single family homes in a Planned Development-Housing. Section 3.8 “Dimensional Standards” of the Land Use Management Ordinance states that floor area restrictions do not apply to single-family dwelling units (with or without an accessory apartment) located outside of a planned development. Thus, new single-family homes that are part of a conventional subdivision are not subject to floor area limitations.
However, a Planned Development-Housing project (Section 6.18.4) is subject to all regulations in the Dimensional Matrix, including floor area restrictions. Consequently, if single-family homes are proposed on individual lots as part of a Planned Development Special Use Permit application, the dwelling units are subject to floor area restrictions.
The Town has received a Special Use Permit application for the South Grove Planned Development-Housing which proposes 26 single family lots on a 40-acre site located on the east side of U.S. Highway 15-501, south of Cole Drive, in the Residential-Low Density-1 (R-LD1) zoning district. The development would entail the construction of 26 single-family homes. The proposed development, as envisioned by the applicant, would exceed current floor area limits for this zoning district.
APPLICANT’S PROPOSAL
The applicant is proposing a text amendment that would remove the floor area limits that apply to the single-family component of a Planned Development-Housing. The applicant believes the current floor area requirement is unnecessarily prescriptive and is detrimental to the South Grove project, which has only single-family residential units. The applicant believes that application of the current floor area limits for this site would not allow market-based home sizes to be constructed in the development. We note that the proposed density (26 units on 40 acres) is substantially less than the theoretical number permitted by the zoning district (40 units). Even so, the current floor area limits would constrain the house sizes. A summary of the applicant’s proposed text amendment to the Planned Development-Housing is described below:
Matrix
The proposed text amendment is provided as Attachment 1.
DISCUSSION
There were no issues raised at the March 17, 2008 public hearing.
If the text amendment is enacted as recommended by the staff and reflected in Attachment 1, it would remove the rigidity of floor area limits for the single-family home component of any Planned Development project, including a Planned Development-Housing. The removal of floor area limits would allow more flexibility in the number and size of homes and in site design.
In addition, the removal of floor area limits from single-family development within Planned Developments would provide consistency in the intensity regulations pertaining to single-family homes. (Single-family homes outside a Planned Development are not subject to floor area limitations.)
We note that such an amendment would allow for increased intensity (in the form of total floor area) within a Planned Development-Housing, but that the density (upper limits on the number of dwelling units per acre) would not be affected by such a text amendment.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Planning Board Recommendation: The Planning Board reviewed the proposed text amendment on February 5, 2008, and voted 7-0 to recommend that the Council enact the attached Ordinance to delete the floor area limit for the single-family component of a Planned Development-Housing. The Planning Board Summary of Action is attached.
Staff Recommendation: We recommend that the Council enact the attached Ordinance to change the Land Use Management Ordinance provisions to remove the floor area limits for the single-family component of a Planned Development-Housing.
ATTACHMENTS