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Background Information REZONING PETITION: 05-REZ-33 Cary Arboretum This is a proposed change to the zoning conditions for the separate parcel of land zoned Office & Institutional-Conditional Use (O&I-CU) that surrounds the Arboretum Planned Development District (PDD). The changes are applicable to the southern and eastern parts of this property and will modify the buffer treatment along the southern property line, allow the addition of parking (to the south of the existing Arboretum project), and generally clarify the allowed use of this property. Note: For the first public hearing conducted by Town Council, staff erroneously assumed that this entire O&I-zoned parcel was the subject of this case. The area initially presented for consideration was identified as follows: Map 1: Original Vicinity Map (9/8/05) After the Council hearing, the applicant pointed out that a separate parcel had been created and the intent of this rezoning was to change the conditions for only a portion of this property that had been subdivided out as a separate tract of land. Hence the area subject to rezoning for Planning & Zoning Board consideration only involves a part of this tract as shown here: Map 2: Revised Vicinity Map (11/3/05) Due to this change to reduce the area of this rezoning petition (which the applicant could have made even without this error), any protest petition(s) originally deemed to be valid as applied to the entire O&I-zoned land are hereby rendered invalid when applied to this smaller geographic area. LOCATION
OF PROPERTY: TOWN
OF CARY
CASE
MANAGER: APPLICANT: APPLICANT’S
CONTACT PERSON: PROPOSED ZONING CONDITIONS (Revised November 3, 2005): 1. Along the southern boundary shall be a twenty-foot Type A Buffer.2. The streetscape plantings established by the Weston PUD shall be maintained and continued along Weston Parkway and North Harrison Avenue. The type and location of plant material will be approved by the Town of Cary 3. There shall be a thirty-foot streetscape buffer along North Harrison Avenue, which shall be an extension of the existing streetscape planted for Weston. 4. All structures shall meet the Arboretum PUD Architectural standards. 5. Internal access points for the O&I tract and paved access which will be provided to adjoining property to the south are indicated in the attached map. 6. Uses permitted in the structures shall be limited to offices and financial institutions only. Vehicular parking to support these uses and all other used within the Arboretum PUD shall be allowed. APPLICANT’S JUSTIFICATION STATEMENT (July 25, 2005): Please note that the following statement is provide by the applicant and does not necessarily represent the views or opinions of the Town: “The total objective in this rezoning is to allow parking in the southern portion of the Arboretum site that is presently zoned O & I – CU. In order to meet the perceived parking needs of the variety of uses within the project, this request would add approximately 40-50 spaces in an area where at certain times of the day a parking squeeze is especially felt.” Public Comment At the public hearing conducted on September 8, 2005, only one individual addressed this rezoning petition. This speaker reminded the Council about the historical situation regarding this property, and the fact that adjoining property owners were precluded from lodging a valid protest petition on the adjoining Arboretum PDD zoning case due to the width of this parcel. Protest petitions from property owners to the west and southwest of this parcel were filed with the Town Clerk in advance of the Council’s public hearing. Issues raised in the petitions include light & noise pollution from increased traffic in parking areas and light pollution from the proposed parking structure. Changes Since Town Council Public Hearing Only one change to this request has occurred since September 8 and that relates to the actual area affected by this case. Following the hearing, the applicant pointed out that staff incorrectly assumed that the petition included this entire tract zoned O&I-CU, whereas the applicant’s intent was to only change conditions on a portion of this parcel. Further, a separate parcel of land has already been created. No changes to any other aspects of this case are proposed. Due to this change, however, the Planning & Zoning Board will conduct another public hearing on this matter. Note: The way the conditions are now presented is slightly different from the first hearing. Instead of showing the proposed conditions for this property as a listing of “before” and “after” modifications to the conditions from the prior rezoning case (96-REZ-45), staff and the applicant have agreed that it is best to simply list the applicable conditions for this separate land area. This will improve our ability to administer the conditions for both this parcel and the remainder of the property still subject to the original conditions. Thus, there are a total of six conditions for this site. Conditions #1 and #6 contain modifications of previous language. Conditions #2 through #5 retain the previous requirements from 96-REZ-45 that are still applicable. Staff Analysis and Recommendation Staff believes that this request adequately meets the rezoning criteria set forth in the Land Development Ordinance (Section 3.4.1 (E)), and recommends APPROVAL of the proposed amendments to the zoning conditions for Cary Arboretum, 05-REZ-33. In reaching this conclusion, staff notes that the concerns expressed by adjacent property owners do not relate to this property itself, but arise from the proposed condominium development and parking structure already allowed on the main portion of the Arboretum project just to the north and northwest of the subject site. This subject property is over 300 feet from the rear property lines of lots in the Wessex subdivision, is separated from those lots by a riparian buffer, and the proposed parking spaces on this new tract are located yet another 100 feet or so further to the east. Additionally, prior rezoning history related to any procedural questions about the configuration of the land do not affect the land use decision in front of the Town at this time. In staff’s view, this is an appropriate use of this property in this location. Staff makes the following findings regarding this matter: 1. This request is consistent with the current Town of Cary Land Use Plan. To add additional parking in conjunction with the access drive already allowed in this area does not generate a conflict with the Land Use Plan. The proposed use is consistent with the Land Use Plan. 2. Adequate public services can be provided to the parcel (i.e. police, fire, utilities etc.) No public service provision impacts are expected from this amendment. 3. The proposed rezoning is unlikely to have a significant impact on the natural environment. Any potential environmental impacts from increased impervious surfaces associated with these 40+ parking spaces will need to be mitigated per existing stormwater requirements. 4. The proposed rezoning will not have a significant adverse impact on other property in the vicinity. The property to the south of these proposed improvements is undeveloped. The buffer on this subject site and other Town development requirements will ensure that no significant negative impacts occur. 5. The proposed zoning classification is suitable for the property. The existing Office & Institutional zoning district is not being changed. This zoning district is appropriate at this location adjacent to commercial and high density residential development. The uses and zoning conditions are suitable for this location and the provision of additional parking in this vicinity will address overall parking demand in this overall development. Planning & Zoning Board Recommendation The board reviewed this request and staff’s recommendation at the regular meeting of November 21, 2005. The board conducted a public hearing on this matter since the geographic coverage of the case had been reduced since the Council public hearing. No members of the audience addressed the Board. After clarifying questions to staff and the applicant about the buffer change, the potential users of the parking spaces, and the nature of any input from the residents in Wessex subdivision, the Board voted 8-0 (motion by Mr. Danielson, second by Ms. Commiskey) to recommend approval of this rezoning case. Changes
Since P&Z Board Meeting Reference Information MEETING SCHEDULE: TOWN COUNCIL PUBLIC HEARING – September 8, 2005 Staff Recommendation: Town Council forwarded this request to the Planning and Zoning Board for review.
PLANNING & ZONING BOARD – November
21, 2005
ZONING: Current:
Office
& Institutional – Conditional Use (O&I-CU) TOWN OF CARY LAND USE PLAN DESIGNATION: Current:
Commercial
(COM), High Density Residential (HDR), and Office and Institutional (OFC/INS) ADJACENT ZONING & LAND USES: North:
East: South: West: Parks
& Greenways: Traffic
Impact Analysis: Schools: |
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