Workshop Item: 2 - Bryan Schafer, Planning and Community Development Director
Title
LAND USE ISSUE (OPPIDAN/MEDINA- APARTMENT PROPOSAL)
Background
This site sits directly north of the Teamsters Office building on Ulysses Street and backs onto the same wetland basin as the Cloverleaf Senior Apartment building. The property is just over 9 acres in size with just over 7 acres that are useable. The zoning of the property is PBD (Planned Business District) while the designated land use is PI (Planned Industrial) and PC (Planned Commercial).
Oppidan Company, with the property owner Mr. Medina, has submitted a concept plan and other supporting materials for a 175 unit general occupancy "market rate" apartment building. The notable elements of the proposed project are as follows:
· 175 units built within four (4) floors above covered parking (total of five (5) floors. |
· Unit mix of 79 one-bedroom (45%) and 96 two-bedroom (55%) apartments. |
· Project is proposed with 129 underground parking stalls (.73 stalls/unit) and 222 surface stalls for a total of 2.01 stalls/unit. |
· Additional garage parking could be added along the west side. |
· Project amenities include in unit laundry, fireplace option, balconies, each floor has community room/sitting areas. |
· Outdoor sitting areas, picnic facilities, trails (swimming pool being considered but not certain). |
· Exterior building materials of brick, block and hardi-board siding. |
· Typical unit size of 671 square feet for one bedroom and 981 square feet for two bedroom. |
· Rents for new construction (suburban) typically range between $1.20-1.30 sq ft ($850 one bedroom/ $1,250 two bedroom). |
Staff Comments
· The site does not currently have a land use designation that supports residential uses however site characteristics (trees, access to trails, open space and park space) and location factors(close to freeway and within walking/biking distance to limited commercial opportunities) make multi-family residential a reasonable choice. The site has limited commercial appeal because it is hidden to a degree from Highway 65 and an industrial use would be a poor choice given the current adjacent office uses and residential uses behind and to the north. |
· The concept plan is short on desired underground parking stalls as staff would prefer to see at least 1 underground stall/unit and an overall parking ratio of 2.2 stalls per unit as this has been the ratio required with other similar projects. |
· Adding garages along the west line would provide the necessary covered parking but are not preferred as a long term option. |
· Four floors of apartments over the proposed at grade parking structure creates a very tall building. The fourth floor of units, which provides @ 43 apartments, also pushes the total unit count over the number of available underground garage stalls. A three-story apartment plan for example can generally be parked at 1 underground stall/unit. |
· This site did pay park dedication with the original plat, but at the commercial rate applied to the 9.16 acres. If this project comes forward the park dedication would be re-calculated based on the residential use and the number of units with the difference from what was previously paid being due at time of building permit. A quick estimate based on 2012 park rates and the 175 proposed apartments suggests an additional $360,512 would be due. (175 units @ $2,435 = $426,125 less $65,613 (2012 value of previous payment on 9.16 acres). |
Direction
1. Is the City Council supportive of a land use amendment, which would add HDR (High Density Residential) as an allowable land use therefore supporting a formal zoning proposal with Conditional Use Permit (CUP) for multi-floor housing on this site?
2. If so, does the City Council have any site, building design, project amenity or parking issues that should be addressed as part of a subsequent formal application?
Attachments
Project Narrative
Site Plan
Building Elevation
Building Plans