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2.
REZONING 04-REZ-06 / LAND USE PLAN AMENDMENT 04-LPA-03 (Weston
Amendment – Highwoods)
This request is to amend the conditions for the Weston Planned Development
District to allow for residential use. The current land use designation is
Office and Institutional and Office, Research and Development, and the
proposed land use designation is Residential. This property contains
approximately 70.10 acres.
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Rezoning
Petition:
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04-REZ-06
Weston Amendment-Highwoods
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Land
Use Plan Amendment:
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04-LPA-03
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Location:
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Weston
Planned Development District
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Request:
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To
change the zoning and amend the land use plan designation for three
parcels of property within the Weston PDD Master Plan from Office to
Residential.
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Meeting
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Date
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Recommendation
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Action
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Town
Council Public Hearing
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May
13, 2004
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Staff
recommends forwarding this case to the July 19, 2004 Planning and
Zoning Board
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Town
Council forwarded the case to the July 19, 2004 Planning and Zoning
Board
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Planning
and Zoning Board
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July
19, 2004
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Staff
recommends forwarding to August 12, 2004 Town Council meeting
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Tabled
until the August 16, 2004 Planning and Zoning Board Meeting.
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Planning
and Zoning Board
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August
16, 2004
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Staff
recommends forwarding to September 9, 2004 Town Council meeting
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The
Planning and Zoning Board recommended approval of the requested
amendment by parcel. Parcel 1 was recommended for approval (7-1).
Parcels 2 & 3 were recommended for approval with the condition
that staff evaluate the pedestrian sidewalk situation on Norwell
(8-0)
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STAFF
RECOMMENDATION
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Staff
recommends approval of all the three rezonings and the associated
amendments to the land use plan with one condition:
Parcel 1:
Provide a natural, undisturbed, opaque buffer between Lake
Crabtree and the proposed development.
This buffer would be similar to other nonresidential
developments within Weston that front the lake.
The recommended buffer would provide the needed visual
separation between the lake and the proposed project.
Staff
does not believe that the overall integrity of the Weston office
park will be significantly affected if these parcels are converted
to residential use. They
surround the main office and industrial “spine” along Weston
Parkway and will support efforts to achieve a better mix of uses
within the Weston PDD.
Each
individual parcel is evaluated in depth in this report.
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APPLICANT
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OWNER
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Chuck
Smith
Withers
& Ravenel
111
MacKenan Dr
Cary,
NC 27511
919-469-3340
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Highwoods
Realty, LP
3100
Smoketree Ct, Suite 600
Raleigh,
NC 27604
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LOCATION
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·
Completely within the Town
limits
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Parcels
1a and b
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PROJECT
DESCRIPTION – Parcels 1a and b
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This
22.4 acre parcel proposes 352 apartments.
The proposed density of the site is 15.9 dwelling units per
acre.
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Parcel
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Maximum
Density (Du/Ac)
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Acreage
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Total
Units
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Minimum
Lot Size
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Parcel
1a 10765387552
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15.9
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20.20
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352
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N/A
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Parcel
1b
0765498004
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N/A
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2.2
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N/A
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N/A
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Total
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22.4
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352
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APPLICANT’S
JUSTIFICATION STATEMENT – Parcels 1a and b
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Weston
is a 929-acre master planned development that combines a mix of land
uses, predominately non-residential, with common open space.
The purpose of the subject PDD amendment is to request a
residential option for three (3) tracts of land in Weston totaling
approximately 70 acres. The
decision to make this request follows a methodical review of the
overall master plan with the assistance of outside consultants.
The three tracts represent about 8% of the Weston PDD
acreage. If fully
implemented as residential, these tracts would advance our efforts
to further transition Weston from a pure traditional suburban office
park to more of a well functioning mixed use setting.
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CURRENT
USE & ZONING – Parcels 1a and b
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Current
Land Use:
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Proposed
Land Use:
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Vacant
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Residential
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Current
Zoning:
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Proposed
Zoning:
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PDD
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PDD
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ADJACENT
ZONING & LAND USES – Parcels 1a and b
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Existing
Use
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Existing
Land Use Designation
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North:
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Lake
Crabtree
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Resource
& Recreation
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Resource
& Recreation
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East:
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Vacant
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Office/Institutional
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Office/Institutional
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South:
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Office
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Office/Institutional
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Office/Institutional
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West:
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Lake
Crabtree
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Resource
& Recreation
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Resource
& Recreation
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PLANNING
- Parcels 1a and b
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Comprehensive
Plan Analysis
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This
site is located to the west of the Regional Activity Center (RAC) at
North Harrison and I-40. While
the Land Use Plan suggests that high density residential uses should
be located in the core of activity centers, the nature of the
existing uses in this center precludes meeting this planning
guideline. The overall
lack of higher density residential development in this particular
activity center warrants consideration of any high density
development that generally meets the principles of the land use
plan. Staff finds that
locating high density residential on this particular tract can help
meet the need for additional residential development in this center.
Further,
this site is also situated within a “major employment center” as
spelled out in Section 6.8 of the Land Use Plan:
“Major
employment centers not only accommodate large-scale employment, but
also provide ample higher-density housing in close proximity to
these major employment sites. This reduces commute distances and
traffic congestion, and provides opportunities for pedestrian and
bicycle home-to-work trips. It also provides employers in the major
employment center with a nearby labor force. Further, since the
major employment center also contains one or more neighborhood or
community activity centers (or possibly a regional activity center),
both the workers and residents have convenient access to crucial
commercial and institutional services. This helps to reduce
home-to-shopping and work-to-shopping trip distances within the
activity center.”
Coupled
with the proximity of the Regional Activity Center, staff believes
that this site meets the plan’s intent for high density
residential development.
This
property is situated across Old Reedy Creek Road from the North Cary
Water Reclamation Facility. The
eastern portion of the parcel is within 1,000 feet of this
industrial facility. The
parcel is also adjacent to an office building that is 7 stories from
its rear façade. This
location, adjacent to the office building and the water reclamation
facility poses potential compatibility problems with regard to
proposed high density residential development.
Issues such as industrial lighting, noise, odor, and employee
and truck traffic should be addressed or mitigated if this site is
developed for residential use.
This
site is adjacent to the Black Creek Greenway, a major recreational
amenity that will serve future residents.
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Open
Space Considerations
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All
parcels are predominately forested, with mixed upland hardwood
and mixed hardwood-conifer tree cover.
However, these forested areas are non-contiguous and
fragmented by roads, and by either industrial, office, or
residential uses.
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Parks
and Greenways
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PRCR
staff concurs with the recommendation of maintaining a natural
undisturbed buffer along
the edge of the development that fronts
Lake
Crabtree
.
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Transportation
Planning
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A
connectivity index of 1.2 or greater is required in residential
developments. The Comprehensive Transportation Plan and street stub
requirements will be addressed at the time of development plan
submittal.
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School
Information
Parcels
1a and b
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Enrollment
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Permanent
Seat Capacity
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Average
Percent
occupied
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Projected
Number of Additional Students from Proposed Rezoning
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Elementary
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16,347
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13,330
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122.6%
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61
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Middle
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7,715
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7,116
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108.42%
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31
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High
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7,481
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6,625
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112.92%
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43
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Total
for all Area Schools
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31,543
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27,071
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116.52
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135
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Reedy
Creek Elementary
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728
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585
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124.44%
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61
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Reedy
Creek Middle
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921
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903
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101.99%
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31
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Cary
High
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2,209
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1,582
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139.63%
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43
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Total
for all Assigned Schools
Parcels
1a and b
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3,858
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3,070
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122.02%
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135
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Current
Enrollment and Building Capacity are based on the 20th day of the
school year for 2003 as supplied by the Wake County Public
School System. School assignment will be determined at the
time of development.
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The
Projected Number of
Additional Students
is only a rough approximation.
The actual number of students will vary depending on
several variables, such as dwelling unit type, number of
bedrooms, dwelling size, and other factors.
A more definitive estimation will be done at the time
of site plan submittal, which is when the applicant is
required to secure a Certificate of Adequate Educational
Facilities from the Wake County School System.
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ENGINEERING
– Parcels 1a and b
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Environmental
Considerations
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This
project meets all of the requirements of the Stormwater section of
the Engineering Department.
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Utilities
(Water and Sewer)
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The
proposed development will be required to comply with all TOC utility
policies and standards.
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Traffic
Impact Analysis
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Section
1.3.3 of the applicant’s master plan revision document correctly
indicates a reduction in trips for the proposed residential
development. No traffic impact study is required. A traffic impact
study is required for site plan. The Town has a valid traffic impact
study based on office development prepared by Wilbur Smith
Associates dated October 2001.
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PROJECT
DESCRIPTION – Parcel 2
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This
22.03 acre parcel proposes 45 single family residential products.
The proposed density of the site is 2.1 dwelling units per
acre.
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Parcel
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Maximum
Density (Du/Ac)
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Acreage
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Total
Units
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Minimum
Lot Size
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Parcel
2
0765256699
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2.1
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22.03
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45
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8000
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Total
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22.03
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45
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APPLICANT’S
JUSTIFICATION STATEMENT – Parcel 2
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Weston
is a 929-acre master planned development that combines a mix of land
uses, predominately non-residential, with common open space.
The purpose of the subject PDD amendment is to request a
residential option for three (3) tracts of land in Weston totaling
approximately 70 acres. The
decision to make this request follows a methodical review of the
overall master plan with the assistance of outside consultants.
The three tracts represent about 8% of the Weston PDD
acreage. If fully
implemented as residential, these tracts would advance our efforts
to further transition Weston from a pure traditional suburban office
park to more of a well functioning mixed use setting.
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CURRENT
USE & ZONING – Parcel 2
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Current
Land Use:
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Proposed
Land Use:
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Vacant
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Residential
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Current
Zoning:
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Proposed
Zoning:
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PDD
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PDD
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ADJACENT
ZONING & LAND USES - Parcel 2
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Existing
Use
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