From
Chris Hartmann
Title
S150901 - Site Plan - Grand Lakes, Phase 4 (City Council District 5). Approval of a site plan for a 15.08 acre warehouse/office development. The property is generally located south of I.H. 30 and east of Grand Lakes Blvd and is zoned Light Industrial (LI) District within the I.H. 30 Corridor Overlay District. The applicant is Bruce Thacker, The Wallace Group, Inc. and the owner is Tim Forst, Transform Real Estate LLC. (On August 31, 2015, the Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval of this request by a vote of 9-0.)
Presenter
Chief City Planner Jim Hinderaker
Recommended Action
Approve
Analysis
SUMMARY:
Consider approval of a site plan for a 15.08 acre warehouse/office development. The property is generally located south of I.H. 30 and east of Grand Lakes Blvd and is zoned Light Industrial (LI) District within the I.H. 30 Corridor Overlay District.
ADJACENT LAND USES AND ACCESS:
North - The property directly north is zoned Light Industrial (LI) District and is undeveloped. Access to this abutting track is from I-30 frontage road and via an access easement across the subject property to Grand Lakes Way.
South - The properties to the south are zoned Light Industrial (LI) District. These properties are developed with large industrial warehouses. Access to these properties is from Grand Lakes Way.
East - The property to the east is zoned Light Industrial (LI) District and is undeveloped. The property is also located within the 100 year flood plain.
West - The properties to the west are also zoned Light Industrial (LI) District and are undeveloped. Access to these properties may come from Grand Lakes Way, Grand Lakes Blvd., or the I-30 frontage road.
PURPOSE OF REQUEST:
The applicant is seeking City Council approval of a proposed site plan to construct and operate a 179,063 sq. ft. industrial building on 10.99 acre portion of the 15.08 subject property. In accordance with Section 16.2.1 of the Article 16 of the Unified Development Code (UDC), site plan approval is required whenever a project is located within a designated Corridor Overlay District. As such, the development must meet the minimum requirements prescribed in the UDC for the property’s underlying zoning district classification, as applicable, and adhere to the additional architectural standards specified in the UDC, Appendix F “Corridor Overlay District Standards.” The purpose of the site plan approval is to ensure full compliance with these regulations and standards.
PROPOSED CHARACTERISTICS AND FUNCTION:
Use
The applicant, Transform Real Estate, LLC, intends to develop a 10.99 acre portion of the 15.08 tract of land located at the northeast corner of Grand Lakes Boulevard and Grand Lakes Way with an industrial warehouse facility as allowed within the Light Industrial (LI) District. The applicant has reserved the balance of the 15.08 acre tract as an “artificial lot” for future development. No outside storage and/or truck/trailer parking beyond those parked at the dock doors is proposed. According to the applicant, the building will occupied by EFCO Forms, a concrete services industry company.
Building
The proposed 179,063 sq. ft. industrial warehouse building is proposed to be a phased construction with a single-tenant occupancy - EFCO Forms. The first phase will consist of a 144, 863 sq. ft. industrial warehouse building, inclusive of the 7,700 sq. ft. office area. It also includes all site improvements (grading, drainage, utilities, access easements, concrete paving, drive aisles, parking, fencing, and landscape). The second phase, which is included in this request for approval, adds a 34,200 sq. ft. addition to the east side of the warehouse.
The warehouse portion of the building is proposed to be constructed entirely of concrete tilt-wall measuring 40’ 6” in overall height. The office portion of the building, which connects to the west wall of the warehouse, is proposed to be partially constructed of “cast in place” concrete walls using EFCO forms, and concrete tilt-wall. The office portion of the building will be 22’ in overall height. The building incorporates panel surface reveals that frame a wall area of between 29 sq. ft. to 202 sq. ft., which exceeds the 225 sq. ft. minimum sq. ft. of wall area allowed to be framed.
As required by Appendix F of the UDC, the proposal includes a single articulation zone, which is the minimum required for a single tenant occupancy building. The applicant has chosen to incorporate the use of horizontal flat wall articulation and vertical flat wall articulation as accent design elements, in lieu of a wing wall, both of which meet or exceed the minimum articulation requirements. The proposed warehouse design also includes parapet walls ranging in height from a minimum requirement of 36-inches to 60-inches.
As proposed, the building meets or exceeds all the material and articulation standards of the UDC except for the use of accent masonry material within the articulation zone. In accordance with Section 3.B.2 of Appendix F of the UDC, a minimum of 15% of the articulation zone must be covered in masonry (brick, stone, granite, slate, marble, etc.) The applicant is seeking relief from this standard and proposes to provide an accent color and covered walk-way in lieu of the required masonry. An appeal of this standard is necessary.
Access and Parking
The primary access to the site is proposed from Grand Lakes Way. However, a secondary access is also being established via the final plat with the establishment of an access easement through the artificial lot to the subject site to provide for a through connection from Grand Lakes Way to the I-30 frontage road. The primary purpose of the secondary access is to allow the future development of the artificial lot to also gain access to Grand Lakes Way. Based on full built out of the warehouse (179,063 sq. ft.) a total of 56 passenger car parking spaces are required. The proposal includes 65 parking spaces of which 3 are reserved as handicapped spaces.
Fencing, Buffers, and Landscaping
The property is proposed to be fully enclosed with a perimeter fence and security gates at all access points. A six-foot tall 14-gauge metal picket fence is proposed along Grand Lakes Way with matching roller gates at the access points south of the building. A six-foot tall chain-link w/screening fabric is proposed around the balance of the property. The applicant also proposes to add three strands of barbed wire extending an additional 1-foot above the chain link fence. Staff is not supportive of the barbed wire portion of the fence.
A 30-foot landscape buffer is provided along Grand Lakes Way. Within the landscape buffer is a 3:1 earthen berm, landscaping, and perimeter fence. Due to the landscape buffer, the standard 4% landscaping of industrially zoned properties does not apply. The proposed landscaping plantings (trees, shrubs, and turf, etc. is in compliance with Article 8 of the UDC).
Dumpster Enclosure
A dumpster screening enclosure is provided at the northwest corner of the property.
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN:
The subject property is designated as appropriate for Light Industrial on the Future Land Use Map (FLUM).
REQUESTED APPEALS BY APPLICANT:
1. Building Articulation Zone Masonry Standard - The applicant is requesting to relief from the minimum 15% accent masonry requirement on the articulation zone.
RECOMMENDATION:
Since the applicant is requesting the above noted appeal, the Development Review Committee is not able to recommend full approval of this case.