Title
SUP#22-006: Request for a Specific Use Permit for Apartments, in the Reserve PD, Planned Development District, Central Sub-District on approx. 9.292 acres being a tract of land in the Richard Bratton Survey, Abstract No. 114, City of Mansfield in Tarrant County Texas, located at 151 North Miller (North and West of the intersection of Heritage Parkway and North Miller Road)
Description/History
Existing Use: Vacant
Existing Zoning: The Reserve PD, Planned Development District, Central Sub-District
Land Use Plan: Sub-Area 7
Surrounding Land Use & Zoning:
North - Future Cannon Drive and Vacant (The Reserve PD, Planned Development District)
South - Vacant (The Reserve PD, Planned Development District)
East - Miller Road and Texas Health Center Facility (The Reserve PD, Planned Development District)
West - Vacant (The Reserve PD, Planned Development District)
Synopsis
The Specific Use Permit (SUP) request is for a use --- Apartments --- that may require special consideration in certain settings or are of a public or semi-public character often essential or desirable for the general convenience and welfare of the community, which without specific consideration may have possible adverse impact on neighboring properties. Pursuant to the provisions in Section 155.080 of the Zoning Ordinance and the provisions set forth for The Reserve PD, Planned Development District standards, the SUP for Apartments is compatible with the surrounding land uses and is consistent with the Land Use Plan. However, the compatibility of Apartments as an appropriate land use is not without specific considerations for thoroughfare assembly and design. The thoroughfares that will access and serve this development, if approved, should be designed in a manner that is compatible and consistent with the design intent for Cannon Drive and other thoroughfares --- whether they are public or private --- being decided in favor of pedestrians and cyclists.
Staff Analysis
The applicant is proposing the construction of a new 295-unit apartment complex on roughly 9.292 acres (yielding a density of approximately 31.75 units/acre). This use is allowed in the Central Sub-District of The Reserve PD, Planned Development District with the approval of an SUP. As proposed, the development will consist of 5 separate apartment buildings with building frontages for all ground level units (e.g., dooryards and stoops) along all sides of the development, with parking located behind buildings and visually screened from the public realm, and well-defined pedestrian ways as envisioned by the standards set forth for The Reserve PD, Planned Development District.
Site Plan
The site plan proposes the construction of new 3- and 4-story brick, fiber cement panel and metal panel accents apartment buildings. The public and semi-public realms are defined by buildings that are placed close to the right-of-way (R.O.W.) and a streetscape that is placed appropriately between travel lanes and the sidewalks. The shallow setbacks affords contemporary urban streetscape improvements --- including traffic calming through the residential portion of what will lead to an intentional concentration of mixed-use development along Matlock Road in the core of the Reserve PD, Planned Development District (i.e., Central Sub-district).
Building frontages are provided for all ground floor dwelling units, and along all sides of the project, yielding attractive pedestrian corridors and nurturing and sustaining the kind of social interactions and increased mobility options. This is best depicted by pedestrian connections to all points and sides of the project.
Building No. 1, located at the southwest corner of the development, is the signature piece and provides a 4-story building that fronts on two local roadways / driveways. A plaza located at the hard corner provides a defined principal pedestrian entrance into the leasing office and lobby area supporting the development. It also begins to define the context for future development in the other quadrants within the Central Sub-District located east of Matlock Road. All proposed buildings in this development have frontage on the surrounding roadways --- including the future Cannon Drive Extension --- and driveways with direct access to the ground-floor units in the form of dooryards and stoops. The east facing façades of Buildings 4 and 5 purposefully provide a façade that visually reads as a brownstone typology with exterior finish materials carrying from the ground floor to the roof to deliver a unit inspired by similar product types in more urban markets. Each ground-floor unit has a multi-step stoop to address grading issues on the eastern edge of the development.
At the center of the development, and visible from provided view corridors, is the club house and amenity center for the development. By designing these spaces with visibility from publicly accessible sidewalks, the private spaces meant for residents feel inviting from public areas due to the landscaping and walkways provided around and through the development.
Summary
The Official Land Use Plan identifies The Reserve PD, Planned Development District as an area that is to be designed and developed in a manner “to accommodate a range of compatible land uses, mixing employment opportunities with housing, retail, and service uses.” Additionally, the performance standards for The Reserve PD, Planned Development District are crafted to emphasize “control over the scale and urban form of each building - building setback, size, height - as well as the relationship of building to the street, street landscaping and other characteristics.” As proposed, the development project meets the vision of the Official Land Use Plan and is consistent with the development patterns within this highly visible part of Mansfield.
Recommendation
Pursuant to the provisions set forth in Section 155.080 of the Zoning Ordinance and The Reserve PD, Planned Development District standards, the SUP for Apartments is compatible with the surrounding land uses and is consistent with the Official Land Use Plan vision and recommendations. Building setbacks and build to lines for this development define a pedestrian realm that starts to frame not only this development, but also future development in this area. As the surrounding roadways are finalized, and in particular the extension of Cannon Drive, it is recommended that the design of Cannon Drive serving this project be consistent with a more global design intent and design speed and emphasize pedestrians and cyclists over motorists. It is also recommended that other proposed thoroughfares accessing and serving the proposed development reflect the same design intent as the future extension of Cannon Drive.
To optimize the elevated streetscape, it is further recommended that a note be included on the site plan and the building elevations that all private entries from dooryards and stoops be directly into a living space (e.g., kitchen, family room, et cetera) and not into a bedroom.
Summarily, staff recommends approval of the SUP request with the following conditions:
1. That the future extension of Cannon Drive (i.e., the northernmost thoroughfare as shown on the site plan running from east to west) shall have a public ROW width not to exceed 70 feet; and that the future extension of Cannon Drive serving this project shall have design intentions and design speeds that are compatible with those to the east.
2. That the other two proposed thoroughfares as shown on the site plan shall have a public ROW width not to exceed 60 feet; and that the design intentions and design speeds of the thoroughfares be compatible with the future extension of Cannon Drive to the north.
3. That the dooryards and stoops provided for all ground-floor units provide an entry directly into a living space (e.g., kitchen, family room, et cetera) and not directly into a bedroom.
Staff recommends approval.
Attachments:
Maps and Supporting Information
Exhibit A - Property Description
Exhibit B - Site Plan
Exhibit C - Building Elevations
Exhibit D - Landscape Plans