06rez31tcstaffreport

Town of Cary, North Carolina

06-REZ-31 Sears Farm PDD Amendment

Staff Report for Town Council

Request

The applicant is requesting Council approve an Ordinance to amend the official zoning map of the Town of Cary to amend the existing Sears Farm Planned Development District. This would change the zoning of approximately 75.24± acres along Davis Drive and High House Road from Planned Development District (PDD) to Planned Development District Amendment.

The purpose of a rezoning is to evaluate the appropriateness of a proposed land use for the subject parcel(s) of land. Specific 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 existing requirements specified in the Land Development Ordinance (LDO) when the site or subdivision plan is submitted. All such requirements can be found at http:vic.townofcary.org.

Sears Farm Village Tract Master Plan

Sears Farm CCRC Master Land Use Plan

Background Information

Applicant	William Sears, Sears Farm, LLC 1142 Executive Circle, Suite D Cary, NC 27511 (919) 467-5703 billsears@shkw.com
Agent	Andrew Padiak, The John R. McAdams Company 2905 Meridian Parkway Durham, NC 27713 (919) 361-5000 padiak@johnrmcadams.com
Acreage	75.24 8 ±
General Location Vicinity Map	Southeast corner of High House Road and Davis Drive
Hearings / Meetings	Public Hearing 03/8/07	*Planning & Zoning* 06/18/2007	*Town Council* 07/26/2007
Land Use Designation Land Use Map	Sears Farm PDD is located within the Mixed Use Cornerstone Community Activity Center, which encompasses all four quadrants around the intersection of Davis Dr. and High House Rd. It is intended to include a balanced mix of office/institutional, commercial, and residential uses at moderate-to-high densities.
Town Limits	· The majority of the CCRC (Continuing Care Retirement Community) portion of the site is within the town limits. · The Village Tract Portion of the site is within Cary’s ETJ. Annexation will be required at the time of site plan review.
Valid Protest	Yes
Town Council Decision	Approved Unanimously
Existing Use Zoning Map	There is an approved PDD for this site. Approved uses include multi-family residential, office and personal service. A sales center to support the Continuing Care Retirement Community use approved in the current PDD has been constructed on the site.
Proposed Use Proposed Zoning Map	The request retains all currently approved uses in the PDD with modifications to setbacks and building height and proposes an increase in overall non-residential use from approximately 275,012 square feet to 372,990. There is no increase proposed in to the 409 residential dwelling units.
Town of Cary Case Manager	Debra Grannan debra.grannan@townofcary.org (919) 460-4980

Feedback at the Public Hearing

Staff presented the case and noted increased impacts and proposed reductions. Staff explained that the amount of detail provided with the original layout exceeded typical PDD design requirements, and directed attention to the proposed removal of building footprints and exact dimensions. Staff advised that there was a valid protest petition and identified traffic impacts as the main concern.

Mr. Bill Sears spoke on behalf of the project and apologized for not gaining support from and providing information to neighbors prior to the submittal of the request. He described his intention to keep the spirit of the original project, but explained that amendments were needed to support previously approved uses. He advised council that his request would include a zoning condition to improve stormwater management and that he would work with the neighbors to foster support for the project

Andy Padiak from the John R. McAdams Company noted that some of the amendments were necessary as the plan moved into the construction plan review stage.

Several citizens spoke against the increase in density and against the proposed increase in residential units. Many cited concerns about traffic impacts. Many of those protesting stated that the changes represented a substantial deviation from the original proposal. Concerns were expressed that some of the proposed reductions diminished the quality of the development. For example, they wanted assurance that the Conservatory would be preserved.

Council expressed disappointment that the applicant had not met with adjacent property owners prior to submitting the rezoning request. One Council member expressed concern that the removal of exact building footprint and building height details would undo the early efforts to minimize impact on adjacent property owners.

Council asked for clarification about the streetscape requirements and if the need for pedestrian connectivity from this site to other properties within the Cornerstone Mixed Use Overlay district had been considered.

Changes since the Public Hearing

Following the Public Hearing, the applicant proposed a reduction to the request on the residential unit count for multi-family dwellings proposed in the Village Tract from 298 to 200. Immediately prior to the Planning and Zoning Board meeting, the applicant removed the request for all additional dwelling units. The school impact data chart was removed from the staff report.

Staff discussed the proposed change to a portion of the CCRC Tract to allow a Phase to be age restricted (55+) with Wake County Public Schools. The school system felt this would not significantly impact school enrollment figures

The amount of non-residential use proposed was also reduced as outlined in this report.

References to golf cart use as well as references to road design on site were removed and the applicant is working with Engineering to ensure a road design and circulation plans will comply with Town Standards.

The footprint for the health-care facility was modified within the site but the bed count for the structure was reduced. The proposed footprint does not impact previously approved buffers.

The phasing plan was updated to show a development schedule of 2007 to 2010 for the Village Tract and 2007 to 2016 for all three phases of the Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) portion of the site.

The applicant reduced the a maximum size for a single retail tenant from 50,000 to 45,000 square feet for the largest retailer on the site and to 40,000 square feet for the second largest retailer. All other retail tenants would be limited to 35,000 square feet per tenant space.

The height of buildings within the Village Tact was reduced by one story. This included a change to the hotel from five stories to four stories.

At Staff’s request the applicant agreed to introduce a condition that all development on the site would meet Mixed Use Overlay District Design Guidelines, which has been done.

The pedestrian circulation plan was modified to add a separate greenway trail that incorporated sidewalks and was situated close to the wooded areas, adjacent to the sewer easement on the CCRC property. This pedestrian trail will be ten feet wide.

Consistency with the Comprehensive Plan

A. Land Use Plan: This rezoning request conforms to the adopted Land Use Plan.

B. Transportation
Existing Section: 4-lane median divided, 100’ right of way (ROW)

Future Section: 4-lane median divided road, 100’ ROW on Davis and High House

Road Improvements: See results of Traffic Impact Report below

Sidewalks Requirements: Required on both sides

Bicycle Requirements: 14’ wide outside lane required

Transit Requirements: Concrete pad (6’ wide by 16’ long minimum) and bus stop shelter (5’ wide by 12’ long) with metal roof (color to be approved by Town), metal structure, with metal bench, plexi-glass sides and rear, and low growing shrubs (maximum full growth height of 24”) on perimeter required on High House in area between two most western entrances

Traffic Analysis: A draft traffic impact study has been prepared by town traffic consultant, Sepi Engineering dated February 2007. An updated study was completed by Sepi Engineering in May 2007 and should supersede and replace the previous study.

The study (07-TAR-236a) recommends the following improvements to meet Town of Cary Adequate Public Facilities Requirements.

Intersection Improvements
Davis Dr / High House Rd	450’ WB Right-Turn Bay (Or Alternative Improvements)
High House Rd / Legault Dr / Prestonwood Pkwy	N/A
High House Rd / Cary Pkwy	300’ SB Right-Turn Bay (Or Alternative Improvements)
High House Rd / Stone Creek Village Dr / Cornerstone Dr	N/A
High House Rd / Carpenter Upchurch Road	N/A
Davis Dr / Cornerstone Dr / Full Access Drive 1	Three-Phase Signal 150’ NB Right-Turn Bay
Davis Dr / Leonard Christian Rd / Waldo Rood Blvd	N/A
Davis Dr / Preston Village Way / Hogans Valley Way	N/A
Davis Dr / RIRO Drive 2	100’ NB Right-Turn Bay
High House Rd / RIRO Drive 3	100’ EB Right-Turn Bay
High House Rd / Full Access Drive 4	Two-Phase Signal 100’ EB Right-Turn Bay
High House Rd / RIRO Drive 5	100’ EB Right-Turn Bay Island restricting northbound left-turning movement

These improvements and the requirements of the Town of Cary Comprehensive Transportation Plan will provide mitigation for site impacts as required by the Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance.

Level of Service and Delay (sec/veh) Results –

Study Area Intersections

Traffic Impact Analysis 07-TAR-236a

Intersection	2006 Condition 1 Existing Traffic		2013 Condition 2 Without Site Traffic		2013 Condition 3 With Site Traffic		2013 Condition 4 With Site Traffic & Improvements
Intersection	AM	PM	AM	PM	AM	AM	PM	PM
Davis Drive / High House Road	D(42.1)	D(47.7)	*F (94.4)*	*F (114.6)*	F (105.6)	*F (125.9)*	E(67.5)	E(61.1)
High House Road / Legault Drive / Prestonwood Pkwy	A (8.7)	A (6.5)	B(10.9)	A (8.1)	B (11.4)	A (8.7)	N/A	N/A
High House Road / Cary Parkway	*F (80.2)*	*E (78.8)*	*F (161.9)*	*F (175.8)*	*F (176.1)*	*F (203.5)*	*F (156.9)*	*F (126.0)*
High House Road / Cornerstone Drive / Stone Creek Village Drive	B (14.9)	B (10.8)	B (40.4)	C (33.0)	D(43.0)	D(42.0)	N/A	N/A
High House Road / Carpenter Upchurch Road	D (35.0)	C (30.8)	B(13.3)	B (13.0))	B(14.1)	B (13.7)	N/A	N/A
Davis Drive / Cornerstone Drive / Full Access Drive 1	*F (53.0)*^	*E (36.6)*^	**F ()***^	**F ()***^	**F ()***^	**F ()***^	A (9.3)	D(41.0)
Davis Drive / Leonard Christian Road / Waldo Rood Boulevard	D (38.4)	C (20.1)	*F (106.9)*	D(47.2)	*F (115.4)*	E(57.9)	*F(85.4)*	C (30.8)
Davis Drive / Preston Village Way / Hogans Valley Way	A (7.8)	B (12.8)	B (11.9)	C(20.0)	B (12.5)	C(21.6)	N/A	N/A
Davis Drive / RIRO 2	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	C (22.6)^	B (11.1)^	N/A	N/A
High House Road / RIRO 3	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	B (14.7)^	C (17.4)^	N/A	N/A
High House Road / Full Access 4	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	*E (48.4)*^	*F (154.6*)^	A (2.8)	A (6.9)
High House Road / RIRO 5	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	B (15.0)^	C (18.8)^	N/A	N/A

N/A => Intersection not analyzed / Intersection does not exist

^=> Critical intersection movement for unsignalized intersection

* => Delay incalculable

A privately maintained (but open to the public) 10’ wide asphalt greenway trail will be constructed along the eastern edge of the site extending from Davis Drive to High House Road (trail to follow existing sewer easement or zone 3 of riparian buffer), ending at the signalized intersection at High House Road. A recreation payment-in-lieu fee will be required for any subdivided residential housing on this site in accordance with the Land Development Ordinance. (Note: No individual/subdivided residential lots are proposed.) At its May meeting, the Greenway Committee and the PRCR Advisory Board a reviewed these recommendations and unanimously approved them. Public art is desired at the corner of Davis Drive and High House Road; any public art proposed must go through the Town's public art review process.

D. Environmental: According to the Town of Cary GIS maps, there is a river buffer running along the eastern property line and on the northern half of the site. The project will be required to comply with all buffer requirements of the Land Development Ordinance during the site plan approval process.

E. Buffers: The Existing PDD document requires a 50’ Type “A” opaque buffer along the southern property line adjacent to Fenton Estates. This exceeds the 40’ buffer requirement between a proposed Class 4 (multi-family residential) and existing Class 2 use in the Fenton Estates Subdivision.

F. Streetscape: The existing PDD provides a Streetscape planted to Type “A” buffer standards between residential uses on the site and Davis Drive and High House Roads. Since the subject property is within a PDD as well as a Mixed Use Overlay District, reductions to streetscape and buffer widths from 50 feet to 30 feet along residential areas were previously approved. The landscaping within these streetscapes is required to meet Type “A” Opaque standards. The amendment proposes a reduction of the streetscape adjacent to the village tract to a width of 20’ but retains the 30’ opaque streetscape adjacent to residential use. The approved site plan for the model home incorporated a six-foot earthen berm as part of the streetscape. A similar berm is also proposed for the CCRC Phase III.

The proposed project is in the rezoning stage and therefore preliminary engineering of the site has not been done. Prior to Site Plan or Subdivision Plan approval, the applicant will be required to demonstrate consistency with the Land Development Ordinance with respect to specific development requirements, such as access, stormwater management, road improvements, utility line placement, road connectivity and landscape plantings.

Location	Existing	Proposed at Public hearing	Current Proposal	Net Change
Location	Existing	Proposed at Public hearing	Current Proposal	At Public Hearing	Current Proposal
Retail Square Feet	113,100	175,000	135,000	+61.900	+ 21,900
Office Square feet	40,000	75,000 square feet	50,000	+ 35,000	+10,000
Multi-family residential	0 units	298 units	No residential units proposed in Village Tract	+ 298 units	No Change
Hotel	110 rooms	200 Rooms	100 rooms	+90 rooms	-10 rooms
Surface Parking Parking Structure Total Parking	320 spaces 360 spaces ____________ 680 parking spaces	Parking provided at 4 spaces per 1,000 sq.ft. for retail and 2.5 spaces per 1,000 sq.ft. for office. Parking at 1 space per unit for 3^rd floor apartments Parking at 1 space per room for hotel	No reduction beyond the 15% for the Village Tract approved in the existing PDD All other parking to conform to LDO requirements.	20% reduction for retail and 50% reduction for residential use in Retail Village		No reduction beyond the 15% for the Village Tract approved in the existing PDD All other parking to conform to LDO requirements

Building	Existing Condition	Proposed at Public Hearing	Current Proposal	Net Change
Building	Existing Condition	Proposed at Public Hearing	Current Proposal	At Public Hearing		Current Plan
Assisted Living	Based on need	Healthcare Facility with up to 155 Beds open to residents and general public.	Restricted to existing residents and a maximum of 96 beds. The footprint of the building was modified and a maximum size of 70,000 square feet specified.	Limit of 155 Beds open to residents and general public.	Limit of 96 Beds For existing residents only. Maximum size of 70,000 square feet.
Club House/ Activity Center	±47,580 sf ± 39,034 sf (28 Apartment Units)	Eliminate square footages and allow up to 30 dwelling units	24 dwelling units Total combined area of 90,000 square feet	+3,386 Square Feet + 2 units	+3,386 Square Feet -4 units
Conservatory	19,657 sf	Remove exact square footage and add parking under building	Not less than 20,000 square feet and not greater than 30,000 square feet,	Size limit removed.	Provide for minimum & maximum size. Allow parking under building