From
Chris Hartmann
Title
S931201A - Site Plan Amendment - Gateway Church (City Council District 1). Consider a request for the approval of a Site Plan Amendment. The subject site is 21.55 acres, located at 2410 N. Carrier Pkwy., zoned Planned Development 116 (PD-116) District and Single Family-One (SF-1) Residential District, and is located within the S.H. 161 Corridor Overlay District. The applicant is Matt Moore, Claymoore Engineering and the owner is Brad Henderson, Gateway Church. (On October 6, 2014, the Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval of this request by a vote of 7-0.)
Presenter
Chief City Planner Jim Hinderaker
Recommended Action
Approve
Analysis
SUMMARY:
Consider a request for the approval of a Site Plan Amendment. The subject site is 21.55 acres, located at 2410 N. Carrier Pkwy., zoned Planned Development 116 (PD-116) District and Single Family-One (SF-1) Residential District, and is located within the S.H. 161 Corridor Overlay District.
ADJACENT LAND USES AND ACCESS:
Direction |
Zoning |
Existing Land Use |
North |
SF-1 |
Open Space, Mike Lewis Park |
East |
SF-1 |
S.H. 161, Vacant Land |
West |
PD-111 |
Single Family Homes |
South |
PD-228 |
Vacant Land, Zoned for Single Family Townhomes |
PURPOSE OF REQUEST:
The Gateway Church will be undergoing an interior remodel. As part of their plans, the applicant is seeking approval of a Site Plan Amendment increasing on-site parking numbers to provide sufficient parking for guests due to the increased seating capcity of the church. The worship area will have 1500 seats.
BACKGROUND:
August 17, 1982: City Council approved Planned Development District 116 (PD-116). The PD changed the zoning from Single Family-One (SF-1) to PD-116 for Multi Family-One (MF-1) and Multi Family-Two (MF-2) uses.
January 18, 1994: City Council approved a site plan for the development of this property for Shady Grove Church.
February 11, 1999: A site plan amendment was administratively approved by the planning department.
March 15, 2011: City Council approved the Corridor Overlay District Standards (Appendix F) and the S.H. 161 Overlay District Standards (Appendix T) as amendments to the Unified Development Code.
December 10, 2013: City Council approved an amended S.H. 161 Overlay District appendix (Appendix T) for the Unified Development Code.
August 19, 2014: The Planning staff processed an application for the approval an amendment to the approved site plan for this property for Gateway Church.
September 25, 2014: The Development Review Committee (DRC) meeting was held. Staff met with the applicant to discuss the proposal. The proposal was cleared to move forward subject to conditions found in the recommendation section of this report.
September 26, 2014: A legal notice was mailed to affected property owners and notice of the upcoming public hearing was published in the Fort Worth Star Telegram.
October 6, 2014: This item is scheduled to be heard by the Planning and Zoning Commission.
October 14, 2014: This item is scheduled to be heard by the City Council.
PROPOSED USE AND CHARACTERISTICS
Parking and Access:
This site currently has three (3) separate access points along N. Carrier Pkwy. There are no plans to modify or change these access points.
The site currently has 449 parking spaces shown on the existing approved site plan. The UDC requires 1 parking space for every 3 seats in the worship area. The worship area will provide 1500 seats; requiring at least 500 parking spaces, which must include at least 9 designated handicapped spaces. The proposed development is exceeding the parking requirements in the UDC. The table below provides an analysis of the parking requirements for religious institutions.
Standard |
Parking Rate |
Required |
Provided |
Maximum (115%) |
Meets |
Total Parking Spaces |
1 space/3 seats |
500 |
645 |
575 |
No |
Handicapped Spaces |
9/401-500 spaces |
9 |
12 |
N/A |
Yes |
The Article 10 of the UDC limits the maximum allowable parking spaces to 115% of the total required spaces. The maximum number of parking spaces allowed at this location is 575 spaces. The applicant is requesting 29% more parking than the minimum spaces required; 645 spaces.
Gateway Church will have several services throughout the weekend; 2 services on Saturday night and 3 services on Sunday morning. The Church has a similar site in Fort Worth and they expect a similar level of attendance at this site. Like the Fort Worth location, the Church proposes to mitigate potential traffic issues with volunteers and hired off duty police officers to help direct traffic. Attached to this report is a summary to help explain the churches operational plan, attendance expectations, and the need for the additional parking. The city's Transportation Department has no serious traffic concerns resulting from this request.
Of the 21.55 acres that make up the subject property, approximately 7.5 acres (337,853sqft) of the property consists of impervious surfaces. The applicant proposd to increase the total impervious surface by added 1.86 acres (81,384sqft) for a total 9.62 acres (419,237sqft) of impervious surface. The existing parking area is approximately 216,000sqft and the applicant will be adding roughly 71,000sqft for the additional parking area; totaling about 288,000sqft of parking.
Landscape and Screening:
The existing landscaping does not meet the approved landscaping plan of 1999. As part of this request, the applicant is proposing to improve the landscaping plan and to fall more in line to current landscaping requirements of the Corridor Overlay District. The proposed landscape plan is substantially consistent with the landscape requirements of Article 8 and Appendix F of the Unified Development Code (UDC). The UDC requires that 75% of the required landscaping to be located within the required front yard. With that formula, the UDC requires that 84,558sqft out the 112,746sqft of landscaping required be located in the front yard setback. The total required front yard possible for this project is 16,667sqft. Because of drive accesses and sidewalks, the applicant is only able to provide 13,185sqft. Including the required 30ft wide buffer, the applicant will be providing 16,029sqft of landscaping along N. Carrier Pkwy. Because it would be physically impossible to locate 84,000sqft of landscaping within the 16,000sqft of area that the applicant has to work with, staff is not recognizing this deviation from the ordinance as an appeal. Staff is satisfied with the applicant landscaping 82% of their required front yard setback along N. Carrier Pkwy and feels this meets the spirit and intent of the ordinance.
The follow table is an analysis of the proposed landscaping.
Landscaping and Screening: SH161 Overlay District Standards for Non-residential Developments |
Standard |
Required |
Provided |
Meets |
Overall Landscape (15%) |
112,746sqft |
269,791sqft |
Yes |
Minimum Front Yard Landscaping (75%) |
84,558sqft |
13,185sqft |
- |
R.O.W. Buffer from Parking and Drive Areas |
30ft wide |
30ft wide |
Yes |
Shrubs |
Standard |
Required |
Provided |
Meets |
Total Shrubs(1) |
2,255 |
5,378 |
Yes |
Parking Screening(2) |
6ft offset/3ft ht |
Exceeds 6ft offset/meets 3ft ht |
Yes |
Trees(3) |
Standard |
Required |
Provided |
Meets |
Total Trees(4) |
226 Trees |
525 Trees (including tree credits) |
Yes |
Street Trees(5) |
12 Trees |
14 Trees |
Yes |
Parking Area Trees(6) |
33 Trees |
56 Trees |
Yes |
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(1) - 1 shrub per 50sqft of required landscaping; Min 5-gallon shrub.
(2) - Appendix F requires perimeter parking screening to be offset at least 6ft for every 60 linear ft.
(3) - Required trees must be allocated; 1st to street trees, 2nd to parking lot trees, and 3rd to site trees.
(4) - 1 tree per 500sqft of required landscaping; Min. 3-inch caliper tree.
(5) - 1 tree per 50ft of street frontage; Distance from tree centers: Max. - 50ft, Min. - 25ft.
(6) - 1 tree per 20 parking spaces; all parking spaces within 100ft of the center of a tree.
Dumpster Enclosure:
When adjacent to residential property, the dumpster enclosure must maintain a 20ft setback from the residential property line. The proposed location will exceed the required 20ft setback. The proposed dumpster enclosure will meet all the design requirements of the UDC; a minimum 12ft x 12ft area enclosed by a solid non-transparent masonry wall, 6ft in height, with a screening gate that is concealed from public view from all areas of the public street right-of-way.
Signage
The applicant is requesting permission to construct two ground monument sign along N. Carrier Pkwy, one to be located at the southern entrance and one at the northern entrance of the facility. These signs will be separated by roughly 500ft. Attached to this report are details of the proposed monument signs. Pending the outcome of the appeal for the placement of the sencond sign, these monument signs will be reviewed separately via the building permit process to ensure full compliance with the Unified Development Code.
CONFORMANCE WITH COMPREHENSIVE PLAN:
The Future Land Use Map (FLUM) of the 2010 Comprehensive Plan shows this area as appropriate for Medium Density Residential uses. Because churches are allowed by right in all zoning districts, this use is consistent with the FLUM.
REQUESTED APPEALS BY APPLICANT:
The applicant is requesting to exceed the maximum allowable parking for this site. This development is allowed a maximum of 575 parking spaces; 15% more parking than the minimum required spaces. The applicant is requesting that 645 parking spaces be permitted; 29% more parking than the minimum required spaces.
The applicant is requesting an appeal to the sign ordinance regarding monument signs. The UDC restricts the number of ground/monument signs on a parcel; one sign per street frontage is permitted. The applicant is asking for 2 ground monument signs along N. Carrier Pkwy. One sign will be located at the northern access entrance and the other sign will be located at the southern access entrance.
RECOMMENDATION:
The Development Review Committee is in full support of a site plan amendment that conforms to the requirements of the Unified Development Code; however, staff does not have any serious objections to the applicant's requests for appeals.