STAFF RECOMMENDATION TO THE

TOWN OF CARY, NORTH CAROLINA
STAFF RECOMMENDATION TO THE
PLANNING AND ZONING BOARD

An application has been submitted to establish an Activity Center Concept Plan (ACCP) within the southwest corner of the intersection of Wrenn Drive and Kildaire Farm Road. The property currently contains 66 multi-family units located within 11 two-story buildings. The Activity Center Concept Plan would redevelop the property in one of three proposed options:

Option One: Remove all existing buildings and install three new commercial buildings containing a total of approximately 31,620 square feet. Option one also would include 8 apartment units located above the westernmost commercial building.

Option Two: Retain the 4 existing westernmost apartment buildings, pool, and the club house building; install two new apartment buildings containing 16 dwelling units and 1 commercial building containing 14,820 square feet. This option would retain 27 existing apartment units.

The property is located within the Saltbox Village Neighborhood Activity Center (NAC) and is currently designated and used for multi-family purposes. Because the property currently has a residential land use designation and is within an NAC, an ACCP must be submitted and approved in order to change the land use designation of the property. (Property located within an Activity Center cannot be rezoned; however, a land use classification can be changed through the submittal and approval of an ACCP.) Once an ACCP has been approved, development plans could then be submitted for the property for the approved land uses shown on the ACCP.

Under the applicant’s Option One, the request includes consideration of a Land Use Plan amendment to change the existing High Density Residential (HDR) designation for the entire parcel to Mixed Use Development (MXD).

Under the applicant’s Option Two, the request includes consideration of a Land Use Plan amendment to change the parcel’s existing High Density Residential (HDR) designation to Mixed Use Development (MXD) on the eastern portion, and leaving the western portion of the tract as High Density Residential (HDR).

The request also includes a waiver to an Activity Center requirement whereby existing residential units removed from within an Activity Center must be replaced unit-for-unit.

LOCATION OF PROPERTY Location Vicinity Map: Southwest corner of the intersection of Wrenn Drive and Kildaire Farm Road.

APPLICANT:
Levey and Company
Doug Roan
7720 Kings Way Court
Wake Forest, NC27587
(919) 612-8321
FAX (919) 570-8881

TOWN OF CARY
CASE MANAGER:
Bob Benfield, Senior Planner
Phone: (919) 469-4045
E-mail: bob.benfield@townofcary.org

Staff Recommendation: Following the Public Hearing, staff recommends forwarding the request
to the September 19, 2005, Planning and Zoning Board meeting.

Action: The request was forwarded to the September 19, 2005, Planning Board meeting

Staff Recommendation: Staff recommends denial of the ACCP request. While staff generally supports Option Two, the nonresidential component of Option Two does not comply with Activity Center Design Guidelines established for new development along Kildaire Farm Road. Vehicular use area, particularly along Kildaire Farm Road, should be eliminated or limited to a drive only with no parking. Parking along Wrenn Drive should also be eliminated or limited to a drive only, or a drive and one row of parking at the building. All other required parking should be located along non-roadway sides for the building.

There have been no changes to the request since the August 11, 2005 public hearing.

Land Use Plan Amendment 05-LPA-04: Staff recommends approval of the amendment request associated with the applicant’s Option Two, which would amend the Land Use Plan from High Density Residential (HDR) over the entire parcel to Mixed Use (MXD) for the eastern portion of the subject property, leaving the western portion of the tract as High Density Residential (HDR). Under Option Two, staff supports waiving the requirement whereby existing multi-family residential units removed from within an Activity Center must be replaced unit-for-unit. Although the proposal would result in a net loss of 23 multi-family units, this is balanced by the introduction of a beneficial commercial use and new investment in the neighborhood. Specifically:

§ A pharmacy at this location would provide a benefit to the surrounding community. The Wrenn Drive area contains a concentration of apartment complexes, some of which serve a lower-income and less-mobile population, and this location would conceivably be more accessible for many residents in this area.

§ The proposal to construct two new apartment buildings containing 16 units represents an investment in the neighborhood and an update to housing stock over 20 years old.

Staff does not support approval of the amendment request associated with the applicant’s Option One, due to the total loss of residential uses on the tract. Such an amendment would be in complete discord with the recommendations of the Land Use Plan, which seeks to ensure that the Activity Center Overlay Districts are not used inappropriately as a mechanism for replacing and displacing existing medium- or high-density housing stock in order to achieve additional commercial space.

Activity Center Concept Plan: The Activity Center Design Guidelines require buildings to be located close to adjoining streets with parking located to the side and/or rear of buildings. Since adoption of the Activity Center Design Guidelines, the site design established along Kildaire Farm Road has located parking to the side or to the rear of proposed buildings. Examples of this building/parking arrangement include BB&T and Carrabba’s Restaurant. Existing sites that meet this standard include the Lawrence Building and Goodberry’s Creamery. While the Activity Center Design Guidelines allow some parking to be located between a building and adjoining roadway(s), the Design Guidelines do not preclude the establishment of a specific arrangement of buildings and associated parking within an Activity Center .

Three Activity Centers are located along the predominate nonresidential segment of Kildaire Farm Road, between Cornwall Road and Cary Parkway. Within two of the three Activity Centers – Mayfair Plaza Community Activity Center and Saltbox Neighborhood Activity Center – new development has been approved whereby buildings were located close to adjoining streets and associated parking located to the side or to the rear of the building location. This particular site design arrangement is consistent with the Activity Center Design Guidelines and the overall design standards established for the Kildaire Farm Road Activity Center corridor.

Staff recommends denial of the Activity Center Concept Plan request on the basis that the Concept Plan does not comply with the previously approved design guidelines (building and parking placement) for development within Activity Centers located along Kildaire Farm Road. Therefore, the request does not comply with all criteria established in Section 4.4.2(J) of the Land Development Ordinance.

(1) The ACCP has been prepared consistent with the requirements of this Section and the Land Use Plan. The ACCP contains all information required by the LDO, but does not comply with site design considerations relative to the arrangement of buildings and parking required by Cary’s Activity Center Design Guidelines as previously established for new development along Kildaire Farm Road.

(2) The ACCP includes an appropriate mix of land uses for the overall activity center, including residential, commercial, office, and institutional uses. The ACCP would be a mixed use development containing commercial, office, residential; and institutional uses.

(3) The ACCP will meet or exceed Town design guidelines and other established Town standards. The ACCP would not comply with Activity Center Design Guidelines, which require buildings to be located close to adjoining roadways and parking to be located to the side and/or rear of buildings as previously established along Kildaire Farm Road .

(4) The ACCP includes both medium and higher-density housing. As recommended, the ACCP would include a section of high density residential development.

(5) The ACCP includes some formal outdoor space for public use, such as a park, a village green, or a plaza; and larger activity centers should include more public space than smaller centers. The ACCP would maintain an existing pool and clubhouse for use by the residents within the residential portion of the Activity Center .

(6) The ACCP demonstrates that there has been participation by residents, by property owners in the surrounding neighborhoods, and by the Town, so that the proposed development specifically responds to the unique conditions of the area. A public neighborhood meeting was held by the applicant in which residents of the neighborhood were provided a presentation of the ACCP and asked to comment on the plan. The applicant advises that the ACCP addresses concerns expressed by the neighborhood.

Current: Planned Development District with High Density Residential (HDR) Development designation

APPLICANT’S JUSTIFICATION STATEMENT: This request is for an Activity Center Concept Plan (ACCP). The ACCP would redesign and redevelop the site. As presented, the plan offers commercial/retail and residential uses that are compatible with the surrounding area.

The existing development contains approximately 66 multi-family units. The proposed development would consist of one of three development options. Option One incorporates a pharmacy of 14,820 square feet; a restaurant of 7,800 square feet; and 9,000 square feet of additional retail with 8 apartments located above the retail area. Option Two incorporates a pharmacy of 14,820 square feet with a total of 43 new and existing dwelling units.

The two proposed development options would provide a mix of commercial/retail and residential uses; with an attempt to incorporate the Town's overall desire for some residential in the mix. (Concept Plan; Option 1 and Option 2)

Current: High Density Residential (HDR) within a Neighborhood Activity Center (NAC)

Proposed: The applicant’s Option One would require amending the entire subject parcel from High Density Residential (HDR) to Mixed Use Development (MXD). The applicant’s Option Two would require amending the eastern portion of the subject parcel to Mixed Use Development (MXD), leaving the western portion as High Density Residential (HDR).

Existing Land Use Plan Designation: High Density Residential (HDR)

Streetscapes and buffers:

The Activity Center Concept Plan would comply with buffer requirements and would provide a 30’ wide streetscape along Wrenn Drive and a 50’ wide streetscape along Kildaire Farm Road. This Concept Plan is located in the Saltbox Village Neighborhood Activity Center. Activity Center Design Guidelines require that buildings be located close to adjoining streets and that there be no more than a double-loaded parking bay between the building and adjoining roadways. Generally 20% to 40% of parking should be located to the side or to the rear of the building (located on a non-roadway side of the site).

The Concept Plan would save existing trees along Wrenn Drive and Kildaire Farm Road. However, staff believes too much streetscape width is proposed along adjoining roadways and recommends that no more than a 20’ wide streetscape be provided along the adjoining roadways. This would allow existing trees to be saved and would locate buildings and parking closer to the adjoining roadways; similar to existing buildings and parking located to the north, to the northeast and east of the property.

Staff also recommends that 20% to 40% of the parking be located to a non-roadway side of the building.

Parks & Greenways: There are no parks or greenways proposed for this site, based on the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources Facilities Master Plan.

Traffic Impact Analysis: A Traffic Impact Study is required. The study has been prepared by the Town Traffic Consultant – Martin/Alexiou/Bryson. At build-out, all signalized intersections in the study area will operate at Town of Cary standards with Cary Comprehensive Plan site improvements.

The applicant has proposed two options for the redevelopment of the Wrennwood Apartment site. Of the two options, staff prefers Option Two which proposes to retain 27 existing units and construct 16 new residential units, for a total of 43 units. This is more consistent with the Land Use Plan; which states there should be no net loss of residential units within an activity center. There are 294 HDR units within the official boundaries of the Saltbox Village Neighborhood Activity Center. The loss of 66 units would represent a 22% reduction of HDR within the activity center. With the preservation/construction of 43 units, the net loss of units would only be 7.8%.

The 66 units within the Wrennwood development comprise approximately 3% of Cary’s total affordable multi-family rental housing (2,411 units). However, 20 of the units at Wrennwood are 3-bedroom units, which represents 9.2% of the 3-bedroom affordable stock. Larger families needing 3 and 4 bedroom units usually face the longest waiting lists for housing. Option Two is, again, more consistent with the goal to maintain housing affordability. Although the rental subsidies to Wrennwood are ending, the preservation of the 27 existing units are likely to be more affordably priced than new construction of comparable size. In addition, these units remain very well located for persons of modest income and the units would be served by the new C-Tran fixed route system.

Schools: The school information is being provided for your review; however, the Wake County Board of Education controls capital projects for school capacities.

School Information
Schools	Enrollment	Permanent Seat Capacity	Average Percent Occupied	Projected Number of Additional Students (Based on option 2, 43 units)
Elementary	16.886	17,002	99.32%	7
Middle	7,937	8,365	94.88%	4
High	8,438	8,578	98.37%	5
Total for all Area Schools	33,261	33,945	97.98%	16
Assigned Schools
Adams Elementary	865	782	110.61%	7
Lufkin Rd. Middle	1,028	1,139	90.25%	4
Cary High	2,410	2,446	98.53%	5
Total for all Assigned Schools	4,303	4,367	98.53%	16

Current Enrollment and Building Capacity is based on the 20^th day of the school year for 2004, as supplied by the Wake County Public School System. School assignment will be determined at the time of development.

The Projected Number of Additional Students is only a rough approximation. The actual number of students will depend on several variables, such as dwelling unit type, number of bedrooms, dwelling size, and other factors.

The purpose of a rezoning is to evaluate the appropriateness of land use for specific parcels of land. Development requirements related to the technical aspects of land development, such as access, stormwater management, road improvements, utility line placement, road connectivity, and landscape plantings, are not considered during the rezoning process. However, all of these development issues must be addressed for compliance, with the Land Development Ordinance (LDO) when the site or subdivision plan is submitted. All such requirements can be found at http:vic.townofcary.org.

PARCEL & OWNER INFORMATION