Title
Ordinance - Public Hearing and Continuation of a First Reading on an Ordinance Approving a Change of Zoning from C-2 Community Business District to PD Planned Development District for Single-Family Attached Townhomes on Approximately 0.885 Acres out of Lot 4, Block 1, Cooper Square and Approximately 7.155 Acres out of the T.O. Harris Survey, Abstract No. 645, Totaling Approximately 8.05 Acres Located at 1400-1420 Turner Warnell Road; Felix Wong on Behalf of Hector Escamilla Jr. of Escamilla Capital Corp., General Partner of Mansfield Commercial Partners, and John R. Hardee of First Momentum Enterprises, LLC (Owners) and Mark J. Fueling of Turnkey Construction and Development Group (Developer) (ZC#18-011)
Requested Action
To consider the subject zoning change request.
Recommendation
The Planning & Zoning Commission held a public hearing on August 6, 2018, and voted 7-0 to deny. At the public hearing, 6 people spoke in support of the zoning request and 11 people spoke in opposition to the request. In addition, there were 25 non-speaker cards submitted in opposition to the request. While several of the commissioners and some members of the public expressed support for the townhome use on this property, there were several concerns as it related to this particular development plan, including density, traffic congestion, drainage, proximity to the existing single-family residences and lack of privacy, landscaping and screening not being adequate enough (particularly as evergreen trees take a long time to mature), inadequate trash facilities, limited open space throughout the development, limited parking, and architectural design.
Request to Table
The applicant has not submitted revised plans and has submitted a request to table consideration of this case until the September 24 meeting to give the applicant more time to revise their plans to address the concerns of staff, the Planning & Zoning Commission, and the public.
In addition, representatives from the Willowstone Estates neighborhood have submitted a letter to City Council with the signatures of 43 residents opposed to the request. The residents note that they are not opposed to residential development, but are opposed to this particular development as presented to the Planning & Zoning Commission and list several reasons why, including density, lack of open space, architectural design, lack of privacy, traffic congestion, and school overcrowding. They note that they have met with the property owner and developer and are trying to work together toward a solution to address the concerns, but remain opposed to the development unless significant changes are made. The residents have also attached a map showing areas of traffic congestion and cut-through traffic, as well as documentation from the City of Arlington regarding the expected timeframe of improvements to Turner Warnell Road.
Second Request to Table
On August 27, City Council voted 7-0 to approve the applicant’s request to table the 1st reading of the case until September 24. The applicant is again requesting that the 1st reading be continued, this time requesting to table consideration of the case until October 22 in order to provide more time to incorporate changes to the plans. The applicant notes they are planning to cut 20% of the units, eliminate the rear alleys, and provide more green space.
Description/History
The subject property consists of 8.05 acres located on the south side of Turner Warnell Road, about 500 feet east of FM 157. The property includes a 0.885-acre portion of excess vacant land on the Golden Chick property and a 7.155-acre vacant parcel of land; both are currently zoned C-2. The applicant is requesting to re-zone the property from C-2 Community Business District to PD Planned Development District for single-family attached townhomes.
Development Plan
The applicant plans to develop 69 townhomes split amongst eleven buildings: four eight-unit buildings, one seven-unit building, two six-unit buildings, three five-unit buildings, and one four-unit building; the four-unit building will include three residential units as well as a caretaker unit & shop which will be platted as an HOA lot. Each residence (including the front and rear yard) will be a separate lot. The development will have a gross density of 8.57 lots per acre. The applicant is proposing the following bulk area standards:
Maximum height: 35’
Minimum floor area: 1,800 sq. ft.
Minimum lot width: 25’
Minimum lot depth: 70’
Minimum front yard: 10’
Minimum rear yard: 10’
Minimum interior side yard: 0’
Minimum exterior side yard: 10’
The development will be gated and served by two gated access points. The primary access point will be directly from Turner Warnell Road; this access point will include brick pavers, a development sign, and an island with call box, and will be located in the City of Arlington. The applicant has provided documentation from the City of Arlington consenting to the proposed development plan and access point as presented, subject to a series of conditions. A secondary access point will be provided via the existing driveway stub from the Golden Chick property.
The development will include a private street, alley, and sidewalk system. The garages will be located in the rear of each residence and accessed via the 12’ alleys. The residences will front on the private streets. Due to the limited width of the private street and alley network and the fire lane requirements, no parking will be allowed in these areas. 46 designated parking spaces will be provided; 25 of these spaces are parallel spaces clustered near the units, 2 of the spaces are located near the caretaker unit, and 19 of the spaces are located near the proposed amenity center. Residents will be required to park in the attached garages and designated curbside parking out of the fire lane. Guest/visitors will be required to park in the provided parking spaces and not in the fire lanes, streets, or alleys. The ratio of guest/visitor parking spaces will be 0.67 spaces per unit.
Trash will be collected by an on-site caretaker and deposited in the provided dumpster located near the caretaker unit. Republic Service will empty the dumpster as needed. The dumpster will be located in a 10’ x 12’ enclosure that will be screened in accordance with Section 7301.B of the Zoning Ordinance.
The development will include a neighborhood amenity center in the north central portion of the development. The 0.36 acre site will include a 4,600+/- sq. ft. community building, a 2,300+/- sq. ft. outdoor pool area, and the balance of the property will be an outdoor recreation area. A series of other HOA open space lots will buffer the buildings from each other as well as from adjacent property. Drainage/detention areas will be located on the north and east sides of the development, as well as in the southwest corner of the development.
Elevations
The applicant notes that each façade cladding must be at least 80% masonry, the minimum roof pitch must be 8:12, and roof shingles must be three-dimensional. The provided elevations show a predominant mix of brick and stone materials, accentuated by metal awnings and flashing, metal parapets, brick rowlock, cast stone watertable, stucco, and cement board trim. There will be windows on all sides of the elevations. The front doors will be located on the front of the units and the garage doors will be located on the rear of the units. The applicant has provided elevations for both a two-story building and a three-story building; the applicant has not specified how many buildings/units will be two-story and how many will be three-story. In addition, while the applicant notes a minimum 8:12 roof pitch, the proposed buildings appear to have flat roofs. The applicant has also provided elevations for the community center and caretaker unit, which appear to match the residential buildings.
Landscape Plan
As indicated in the Landscape Plan, the applicant will provide a 50’ min. buffer yard adjacent to the single-family residential properties to the east and a 32’ +/- buffer yard adjacent to the single-family residential properties to the south, as noted. The east buffer yard will include a mix of canopy trees, evergreen trees, and shrubs, while the south buffer yard will feature predominantly evergreen screening with ornamental trees located in the rear yards of the townhomes. The open space area and detention area in the southwest portion of the development adjacent to commercial will also be heavily landscaped, as will the northern part of the development adjacent to Turner Warnell; these areas will include a mix of canopy trees, evergreen trees, ornamental trees, and shrubs. The northern part of the development adjacent to Turner Warnell will also include extensive groundcover. The area adjacent to Golden Chick will include a mix of ornamental trees and shrubs. The HOA open space lots and the exterior side yards will also include a mix of canopy trees, evergreen trees, ornamental trees, and shrubs.
As a gated community, the development will include fencing on all sides of the property. The fencing along the north side of the property (adjacent to Turner Warnell) and adjacent to Golden Chick will be a 6’ wrought-iron type fence with masonry columns. The fencing adjacent to the single-family residential properties on the south and east property lines as well as adjacent to the multi-tenant strip center to the west will be an 8’ board-on-board wood fence with metal posts and concrete foundations.
The applicant notes deviations as it relates to the width of the south buffer yard, tree spacing in the south buffer yard, and screening devices (fencing instead of a masonry wall).
Summary
While staff believes a townhome development is an appropriate use of the subject property as a buffer between commercial property and single-family residential property, staff is concerned with the proposed density, the limited open space, the very limited guest/visitor parking, and the utilitarian architecture of the development that doesn’t blend in well with the surrounding neighborhood. Staff recommends that the overall unit count/density is reduced, the buffer and open space areas are increased, and the architectural elevations are enhanced to better complement the adjacent single-family architecture. Staff also recommends conditioning any action on the City of Arlington consenting to the proposed access point as presented.
Request to Withdraw - October 22, 2018
On September 24, the applicant submitted a request to table consideration of their zoning request until October 22 to give them more time to incorporate changes to their plans. The applicant had been planning to reduce the number of units by 20%, eliminate the rear alleys, and provide more green space. City Council voted 5-1 (Moore voting no; Lewis absent) to table consideration of the request until October 22, 2018. The applicant is now requesting to withdraw their zoning request. In their letter, the applicant expressed their appreciation to Council and the adjacent homeowners for their patience. The applicant also notes that after several discussions with their design team and the owners, they were unable to produce a new plan with a reduced number of units that was economically feasible given the cost of land and development.
Prepared By
Lisa Sudbury, AICP
Interim Director of Planning
817-276-4227