11-SP-016 Austin Foods Redevelopment

Town of Cary, North Carolina
Development Plan Staff Report
11-SP-016 Austin Foods Redevelopment
Town Council Public Hearing
December 15, 2011

REQUEST

The applicant, Chris Clayton, on behalf of the property owner, Reland Developments, LLC, has requested approval of a redevelopment plan for 2.01 acres located north of East Durham Road, northwest of the intersection of East Chatham Street and East Durham Road. The plans propose to refurbish two existing buildings and redefine vehicular use areas on the site. Due to the existence of subsurface soil contamination from the previous pesticide manufacturing and drum cleaning business, the property owner is negotiating a Brownfields Agreement with the NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources (NCDENR) in regards to remediation and to mitigate the contaminants.

SUBJECT PARCELS

Property Owner	Parcel Identification Number (PIN) (10-digit)	Real Estate ID Number	Deeded Acreage
Reland Development, LLC 4108 Darlington Place Raleigh, NC 27612	0764723720	0062357	0.82
Reland Development, LLC 4108 Darlington Place Raleigh, NC 27612	0764724756	0025945	1.19
Total Area			2.01

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Applicant & Agent	Chris Clayton Commercial Site Design, PLLC 8312 Creedmoor Road Raleigh, NC 27613 (919) 848-6121 clayton@csitedesign.com
General Location	North of East Durham Road, northwest of the splitting of East Chatham Street and East Durham Road
Land Use Plan Designation	Office/Industrial (OFC/IND) in the Town Center Area Plan
Zoning Districts	Town Center (TC) in the OFC/IND sub-district
Within Town Limits	Both parcels are within the Town’s corporate limits.
Staff Contact	Kevin A. Hales, Senior Planner Town of Cary Planning Department P.O. Box 8005 Cary, NC 27512-8005 (919) 462-3944 kevin.hales@townofcary.org

LIST OF EXHIBITS

The following documents incorporated into this staff report are to be entered into the record for the development plan application:
Exhibit A: 11-SU-016 Application (3 pages)
Exhibit B: 11-SP-016 Plan Set (17 pages)
Exhibit C: 11-SP-016 Draft Brownfields Agreement (27 pages)

SITE CHARACTERISTICS

Streams: There are no streams that impact the site.
Floodplain: There are no floodplains, flood hazard areas, or floodways indicated on the site.
Wetlands: There are no wetlands indicated on the site.
Topography: The site slopes gradually upward from the street toward the railroad track with steeper grades adjacent to the eastern property line.

Surrounding Land Uses:
North – Single-family residential and public water tank on opposite side of 200-foot railroad right-of-way
South – Convenience store/filling station on opposite side of East Durham Road
East – Warehousing and distribution of architectural products
West – Automotive repair facility

SUMMARY OF PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT

The plans propose to retain the two existing buildings on the eastern half of the site, and make only minor façade improvements and repairs. The current gravel vehicular use area would be covered with asphalt pavement to enhance vehicular circulation on the site. Sidewalk would be provided to access the site and to facilitate pedestrian circulation between the buildings. Overhead utilities on the site would be removed and would be placed underground.

The western half of the site would be cleared of existing vegetation, and a proposed stormwater bio-retention basin would be located in the southwest area of the site. Unlike most bio-retention basins in the Town, this particular stormwater device would not be planted with trees or shrubs due to the increased infiltration opportunities such plantings would introduce. Instead, the bio-retention area would contain only turfgrass. The remaining area in the northwestern portion of the site would be graveled to aid in minimizing stormwater infiltration.

Property containing subsurface contaminants may be developed, or redeveloped through the Brownfields Act. The Brownfields Act provides for controlled development on contaminated sites and establishes incentives for such redevelopment through a Brownfields Agreement that sets restrictions with regard to remediation and mitigation of the subsurface contaminants. Brownfields Agreements are administered by the NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources (NCDENR). A Brownfields site creates unique challenges to the redevelopment of the property. In this instance, existing contaminated soil would be removed to a certain depth and would be replaced with uncontaminated material. The site would then be capped with impervious surface material to reduce the opportunity for stormwater infiltration into contaminated soils left below the cap. The desire to limit to the extent possible infiltration opportunities has caused the applicant to limit plantings on the site and to propose alternative buffering methods to those typically seen in the Town.

SUMMARY OF PROCESS AND ACTIONS TO DATE

Pre-application Conference
The applicant attended a pre-application conference with the Town of Cary Development Review Committee (DRC) on July 28, 2010, regarding the development plan.

Town Center Review Commission
The plan was presented to the Town Center Review Commission (TCRC) at their November 16, 2011 meeting. The plan was forwarded to Town Council with a unanimous recommendation for approval. Topics of discussion during the meeting included the waiver for road improvements across the frontage, the fencing on the site, and the reasons behind the sodding of the bio-retention area.

COMPREHENSIVE PLAN SUMMARY

Comprehensive Plan Element	Consistent	Not Consistent	Not Applicable
A. Land Use Plan	X
B. Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Resources Facility Master Plan	X
C. Growth Management Plan			X
D. Affordable Housing Plan			X
E. Comprehensive Transportation Plan	X
F. Open Space and Historic Resources Plan	X
G. Historic Preservation Master Plan			X

A. Land Use Plan
The site is designated for Office/Industrial (OFC/IND) land uses in the Town Center Area Plan, which is a sub-component of the Town of Cary Comprehensive Plan. The draft Brownfields Agreement would limit re-use of the site to office and to warehousing uses, which are consistent with the OFC/IND land use designation.

B. Parks & Greenways Master Plan
The Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources (PRCR) Facilities Master Plan indicates no requirements on the subject properties or in the immediate vicinity.

C. Growth Management Plan
The proposed development does not propose either to make changes to the existing buildings or to provide additional impacts to the surrounding infrastructure. Both buildings would be served with existing utilities along the development’s street frontage.

D. Affordable Housing Plan
The Affordable Housing Plan does not apply to non-residential development proposals.

E. Comprehensive Transportation Plan (CTP)
The site is located on the northern side of East Durham Road, northwest of the intersection of East Chatham Street and East Durham Road. The property has approximately 330 feet of street frontage.

East Durham Road:
Classification: Major Thoroughfare
Existing Section: 2-lane thoroughfare within approximately 60 feet of right-of-way
Required Section: 3-lane thoroughfare within 75 feet of right-of-way
Sidewalks: Required on both sides; none existing
Bicycle Lanes: 14-foot-wide outside lanes
Transit: No transit service is planned along this corridor.
Status of Planned Improvements: No improvements are currently scheduled by the Town. Town Council granted a waiver to road improvements for this development, including sidewalk installation, at their August 9, 2011, meeting.

F. Open Space Plan
The Open Space and Historic Resources Plan indicates no priority open space on the site.

G. Historic Preservation Master Plan
The subject properties are vacant; therefore, the Historic Preservation Master Plan is not applicable.

CONSISTENCY WITH THE LAND DEVELOPMENT ORDINANCE (LDO)

Traffic
A 6,256-square-foot warehouse (ITE Code 150 – Warehousing) and a 1,727-square-foot office (ITE Code 710 – General Office Building) would be expected to generate less than the 50 vehicular trips in either peak hour that would require a traffic study for the proposed development.

Buffers and Streetscapes
Section 7.2.3 of the LDO exempts properties located within the Town Center (TC) zoning district from the strict application of the perimeter buffer requirements found in the majority of the Town. Since it is still desirable, in most cases, to provide a buffer between different but compatible land uses, the installation of a perimeter buffer that meets the performance criteria of the LDO is often provided.

The Brownfields Agreement restricts the installation of larger trees due to the increased likelihood of infiltration into the groundwater. In-lieu of the typical buffer plantings consisting of trees and shrubs, the proposed development plan would provide a solid row of evergreen trees to provide a solid visual break between the development and the neighboring properties. This buffer would be planted along the western, northern, and eastern property lines.

Limited tree plantings would be installed in support of the vehicular use screening and evergreen trees would be installed along the project’s street frontage.

Architectural
The development plan proposes to retain the two existing buildings on the site. The development would make repairs as necessary to improve the habitability of the structures. The exteriors would be repainted in a brown/tan color scheme to improve their appearance.

Utilities
The proposed buildings would be served by a private sewer system and by water services connected to the public utility lines located in the East Durham Road right-of-way. The stormwater associated with the proposed improvements would be treated through a bio-retention area located on the western portion of the site adjacent to East Durham Road. Unlike most bio-retention areas, the proposed bio-retention area would be planted only with grass to minimize root infiltration into the soil.

CARY TOWN COUNCIL
SITE PLAN WORKSHEET
AND
SUGGESTED MOTIONS

Land Development Ordinance Section 3.9.2(I), Approval Criteria, requires that the following five (5) criteria (in bold text below) be met in order for the Town Council to grant approval of the proposed site plan revisions:

(1) The plan complies with all applicable requirements of this Ordinance, including the development and design standards of Chapters 7 and 8 as well as the dedication and improvements provisions of Chapter 8 as well as all applicable Town specifications.

Staff Comments: As discussed in the attached staff report, the proposed site plan is consistent with the requirements of the LDO.