Town of Cary, North Carolina
Development Plan Staff Report to the Town Center Review Commission
08-SP-003: Falcone Point at Old Apex Townhouses
Kevin A. Hales, Case Manager  

REQUEST  

The applicant, on behalf of Habitat for Humanity of Wake County, has requested Town Council consideration of approval of a site plan entitled “Falcone Point at Old Apex”, consisting of 7 semi-attached dwelling units on approximately 0.6 acres.  The applicant has also requested Town Council consideration of an associated waiver request for a vehicular connection to the adjacent townhouse development to the south, as described in the report below.

PROJECT INFORMATION  

*The date of this meeting will be determined after the TCRC recommendation.  If a unanimous recommendation is made, it will go to the first meeting of the month on consent; if not on consent, it will go to the second meeting.  

Public Notification:  In accordance with Town policy, on March 14, 2008 , staff notified all property owners within 400’ of the subject property.  Staff has received one inquiry regarding the project, from Beazer Homes, the developer of the townhouse community to the south.  The concerns expressed involved the connectivity required between the two sites and the proposed appearance of the dwelling units.  

Project Summary:

The site is located in the southeast corner of the intersection of Falcone Parkway with Old Apex Road , and north and west of the Samuel’s Keep Townhome project currently being developed.

The plan proposes semi-attached dwellings facing onto the adjoining roadways with parking located behind the units and with ample pedestrian connections to the public sidewalk system.  The plan also includes a community gathering space with meandering sidewalks and benches, consisting of approximately 3,500 square feet.  The plan proposes 2 parking spaces/unit, which exceeds the zoning district requirement of 1 space/unit.

Due to the unique nature of the Town Center district, perimeter buffers of a prescribed width are not required; however, the required planting standard must still be met.  Therefore, the project will be planted to satisfy the Town of Cary Type B buffer standard along the southern and eastern property lines.  The plan also proposes a privacy fence along the southern and eastern property lines to provide additional screening of the parking areas from the adjacent townhouse development.  

CONSISTENCY WITH THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN  

Land Use Plan:  The Land Use designation for the parcel is Mixed Use (MXD).  The geographic location of this parcel makes it somewhat undesirable for nonresidential uses.  However, the adjacent townhouse development surrounds the parcel on two sides, making the proposed semi-attached product a logical fit into the surrounding development pattern.  The MXD sub-district transitions to nonresidential uses as one travels eastward on Old Apex Road toward the intersection of Old Apex Road with West Chatham Street .  

Town Center Design Guidelines:  The proposed development would be consistent with the Town Center Design Guidelines by creating a higher-density housing product, while maintaining a compatible and human-scaled environment that is in harmony with the surrounding area.  The site would be arranged to encourage pedestrian activity along the adjoining streets, thus providing convenient access to Cary ’s downtown area located approximately ¾ of a mile east of the site.  The majority of the lighting provided on the site would be pedestrian-scaled and very similar to lighting fixtures located along Chatham Street in the downtown area.  Parking for the project would be provided at the rear of the site behind the proposed units to mask the view from the adjoining roadways.  A privacy fence and vegetation would combine to create an effective screen between the project and the adjoining property.

 CONSISTENCY WITH THE LAND DEVELOPMENT ORDINANCE

A.   Transportation:  The plan proposes additional right-of-way and roadway widening along Old Apex Road for the length of the property frontage, as required by the Town’s Comprehensive Plan. No additional improvements would be required on Falcone Parkway.  Sidewalk currently exists along  Falcone Parkway and the developer would be installing sidewalk along the property frontage on Old  Apex Road to tie into the sidewalk being provided by the Samuel’s Keep project.

The applicant has requested a waiver from the requirement to provide a vehicular connection to the adjoining Samuel’s Keep Townhouse development to the south.  As indicated by the applicant, this request is based on the existing topography, which falls 12’ from Old Apex Road to the finished elevation for Samuel Cary Drive.  This grade difference, along a lot depth of approximately 170’, would require a slope of 13-14% on the proposed driveway connection.  By waiving the driveway connection requirement, the driveway could be maintained at a more acceptable 5-6% slope.  The applicant and Beazer Homes also raised the likelihood that requiring the vehicular connection would encourage cut-through traffic between the two developments.

B.   Parks & Greenways:  According to the approved Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources Facilities Master Plan and to the Open Space and Historical Resources Plan (OSHRP) there are no requirements attached to this site.  Prior to the lots being recorded, however, a recreation payment-in-lieu would be required for the subdivided lots.

C.  Environmental:  The project would utilize an underground detention system and sand filter to meet the Town of Cary stormwater regulations.

D.  Buffers:  The Land Development Ordinance (LDO) recognizes the flexibility desired within the Town Center Area and exempts properties within the Town Center district from the strict application of perimeter buffer requirements contained in the Ordinance.  Staff has consistently required that perimeter landscape screening be provided to meet performance criteria similar to the standard requirement.  In this case, the standard planting criteria is a Type B (semi-opaque) buffer.  The proposed privacy fence, in conjunction with landscaping proposed on both the Samuel’s Keep Townhomes and on this proposed plan is consistent with the required perimeter planting standard.  

E.  Streetscape:  The LDO does not require a strict application of typical streetscape standards within the Town Center district.  A Type A buffer would normally be required, however, an opaque buffer would be contrary to the intent of creating an inviting and pedestrian-friendly downtown area.  The plan proposes buildings placed in close proximity to adjoining roadways with public sidewalks, shade trees, and ornamental trees along adjoining roadways.

F.  Architectural Standards:  The proposed semi-attached dwelling units would be required to meet the Town of Cary Architectural Design Guidelines for attached residential uses.  The façades would be required to contain at least 35% of masonry material.  The exterior of the units would integrate a mixture of brick and stone that would create visually engaging façades along the adjoining roadways, with brick making up the lower portion of the remaining façades.

 G.  Cary Design Guidelines:  

1.      Create Human Scale:  The proposed units would be arranged around the parking area located to the rear of the units, such that the units would enclose the parking area and create a comfortable human scale.  Additionally, canopy trees are included along the sidewalks and in the area of the community gathering place to create a comfortable pedestrian-scaled environment in those areas.

2.      Create A Sense Of Place:  The proposed units would be compatible in scale and in form with the surrounding development.  A community area would be provided for the benefit of residents within the development and an entry feature would be installed to create a unique identity for the project.

3.      Connect Uses:  Although the applicant has requested a waiver to the required vehicular connection to the adjacent townhouse community, the plan would provide ample pedestrian connectivity to the public sidewalk system in the area.  The proposed units would be situated near both of the adjoining roadways and the public sidewalk to create convenient pedestrian access from each unit to the greater Town Center area.

4.      Provide Transitions:  The site would provide a transition from the higher density multi-family areas of Highland Village , through the Samuel’s Keep Townhomes currently being developed, to the semi-attached dwellings proposed by this plan, and finally to the detached dwellings located on the opposite side of the railroad tracks located north of the site.

5.      Reduce Parking Impacts:  Parking would be located behind the proposed units, internal to the site, and would be screened from the adjacent community by the privacy fence and landscape screening shown on the site plan.

6.      Plan For Pedestrians, Bicyclists And Transit Users:  The plan would provide pedestrian connectivity and amenities as described above under “Connect Uses”.  Old Apex Road would be widened to include a wider outside lane for bicyclists, in accordance with the Comprehensive Transportation Plan.  The site would also be adjacent to a fixed service route for C-Tran, currently running through Highland Village .

7.      Provide Open Space:  The project would set aside 500 square feet of common area per unit for a community gathering place, oriented toward the Falcone Parkway side of the site.   

OTHER REFERENCE INFORMATION:  

Schools  

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

 *     Current Enrollment and Building Capacity is based on the 20^th day of the school year for 2007-2008 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 vary depending on several variables.  The basis for making this calculation is based on multipliers provided from the Wake County Schools Office of Student Assignment.

STAFF RECOMMENDATION:

 Based on the information contained in this report, staff recommends approval of the proposed plan and the associated waiver request to eliminate a vehicular connection to the adjoining townhouse development.  The plan is consistent with the Town of Cary Land Use Plan vision for the Town Center district, and conforms with the Town Center Design Guidelines and to the applicable requirements of the Land Development Ordinance.  

MEETING SCHEDULE
Town Center Review Commission:
Date:  May 14, 2008
Action: 

Town Council:
Date:  June 12, 2008 or June 26, 2008
Action: