ITEM NO. 17A:         A TO PRD-2; 17.95 ACRES PLUS RIGHT OF WAY; SOUTH SIDE OF

K-10   AND WEST OF O’CONNELL ROAD (SLD)

 

Z-12-52-03:  A request to rezone a tract of land approximately 17.95 acres plus right-of-way from A (Agricultural) District to PRD-2 (Planned Residential Development) District.  The property is generally described as being located on the south side of K-10 Highway, west of O’Connell Road.  Submitted by The Peridian Group, Inc., for Eastside Acquisition, L.L.C., property owner of record.

 

          ITEM NO. 17B:                     PRELIMINARY DEVELOPMENT PLAN FOR FARMLAND

            NORTHWEST ADDITION; 17.95 ACRES PLUS RIGHT OF WAY; SOUTH OF K-10 AND WEST OF O’CONNELL ROAD (SLD)

 

PDP-12-12-03:  Preliminary Development Plan for Farmland Northwest Addition.  The applicant proposes a multiple-family residential subdivision containing 260-units on 17.342 acres.  The property is generally described as being located south of K-10 Highway, west of O’Connell Road.     Submitted by The Peridian Group, Inc., for Eastside Acquisitions, L.C., property owners of record.

 

NON-PUBLIC HEARING ITEMS:

 

ITEM NO. 17C:         FINAL PLAT FOR FARMLAND NORTHWEST ADDITION; SOUTH OF K-10 AND WEST OF O’CONNELL ROAD (SLD)       

 

                               PF-12-23-03:  Final Plat for Farmland Northwest Addition.  This proposed residential and office subdivision contains approximately 53.8931 acres and is located south of K-10 Highway and west of O’Connell Road.  Submitted by The Peridian Group, Inc., for Eastside Acquisitions, L.L.C., property owner of record.

 

Items 17A – 17C were discussed simultaneously at the meeting extension on March 3, 2004.

 

 

STAFF PRESENTATION

Ms. Day introduced the Items, explaining the intent for a mixed-use, residential development containing tri-plexes and traditional multi-family dwellings over 55 acres.

 

Staff received many communications from residents of the adjacent development, Anderson Acres, speaking in opposition to the connection of 24th Street to Surrey Drive.  Removal of the condition at this point would require action by the City Commission when they considered acceptance of the right-of-way.

 

APPLICANT PRESENTATION

Mike Keeney, Peridian Group, spoke on behalf of the applicant, explaining the reconfiguration of Exchange Court made necessary by proximity to the intersection of 23rd Street and O’Connell Road.

 

The Final Plat had been held for several months in an attempt to reach an access agreement with the church located adjacent to the subject property to the northwest. Conditions on the Preliminary Plat had required negotiations of this kind and the same conditions were included on the Final Plat.  The applicant asked the Commission to remove these conditions because it appeared that no solution could be reached. 

 

Mr. Keeney pointed out that the access as designed on the Preliminary Plat would direct traffic from the church and multi-family development through single-family residential areas.

 

Mr. Keeney was asked to address sewer service for the subject area.  He stated that a 200’ section of the sewer line near the pump station may have to be upsized, but there were no other sewering issues.  He was not opposed to having a condition regarding sewering on the Final Plat.

 

Comm. Angino asked if the applicant had considered or would consider widening 25th Street beyond the 36’ standard for its collector classification in order to allow traffic circulation even with parking on both sides of the street.  Mr. Keeney replied that restricting parking to one side of 25th Street would be a better solution and he would not support widening the road.

 

 

PUBLIC HEARING – on rezoning and Preliminary Development Plan only

Lisa Eisner, 1704 E. 24th Street, discussed the concerns of Anderson Acres residents with the potential opening of currently stubbed streets and traffic flow.  She understood this was an inherent problem when new development located next to old, but did know the best solution.

 

Ms. Eisner described existing conditions that made her neighborhood sensitive to additional traffic, including the intersection of 23rd Street and Harper Road and the nearby access point to 10Marketplace.  The neighborhood, according to Ms. Eisner, enjoyed and wanted to preserve their sense of “protected separateness” among these hazardous conditions.

 

 

Rebecca Walker, 1718 E. 24th Terrace, also expressed concerns about traffic.  She said there were many families with small children in her neighborhood, and it would take time to make those children understand the change in traffic conditions when they were used to living on a dead end street.

 

Ms. Walker also said “younger residents” were typically not as aware of safety factors when driving in residential areas.  Additionally, the streets were not suitable for additional traffic, being mostly chip-and-seal with no curbing.

 

Ms. Walker explained she was not opposed to the development, only the opening of 24th Street and 24th Terrace.  When asked about other options, she suggested an access or frontage road between Harper Road and O’Connell Road.

 

CLOSING COMMENTS

Mr. Keeney pointed out that the street connections were part of the approved Preliminary Plat, and since the Final Plat was not a public hearing Item, allowing public testimony about that aspect of the development was not appropriate. 

 

He explained the street connections were made per Staff recommendation for improving circulation within and between the neighborhoods.  While the applicant supported the intent of these connections, the applicant had no personal opinion about whether they remained as part of the plat.

 

It was discussed that collector streets, by definition, should be restricted to parking on one side, with further restrictions if deemed necessary due to traffic conditions.  The applicant would prefer that no parking be allowed on 25th Street. 

 

Regarding conditions 5 & 6, Mr. Keeney said the applicant had made an effort to comply with these requirements, but it appeared an agreement with the church was not attainable.  This failure to comply was not the fault of the applicant and Mr. Keeney said it would be appropriate to remove those conditions and let the project proceed.

 

Mr. Keeney was asked what his preference would be for the church’s access, which was the issue of conditions 5 & 6.  Mr. Keeney replied that the church currently had access, although it was not particularly suited to the area, but it should not be the responsibility of this developer to solve that problem.

 

The applicant responded to questioning that the impact of leaving conditions 5 & 6 as presented was additional cost to the developer and the circulation of church and multi-family traffic through single-family areas.

 

Ms. Day explained that KDOT had offered financial assistance for street improvements that would close the existing curb cut on 23rd Street, but only with the agreement of the church.  The church had asked that their existing access be retained or that a frontage road be provided to O’Connell Road.  The frontage road option would require the removal of existing structures.

 

 

COMMISSION DISCUSSION

It was verified that the State was able to remove the existing 23rd Street access point without the property owner’s approval, but had to provide alternate access to do so.  Staff pointed out that redirecting access in this manner would create a situation in which the church was addressed on 23rd Street but accessed from Surrey Road.

 

An additional condition was suggested for pedestrian access to the north to connect with E. 23rd Street.  It was clarified that this would involve only a sidewalk, not a pedestrian easement.

 

It appeared that Bill Newsome, another representative of the applicant wished to speak.  Comm. Schachter asked if Mr. Newsom had any pertinent information to add.  Mr. Newsome said the applicant had given adequate time to the effort of solving the 23rd Street access problem.  The only way the approved design would work was if this access were resolved, which it had not been.  The applicant therefore requested the revised design as presented in the Final Plat.

 

Mr. Newsome said the 23rd Street access, modified or not, was not necessary for this project, and it was unfair to make this development solve and/or pay for the problem.

 

It was discussed that the Commission’s charge regarding the Final Plat was to ensure it matched the Preliminary Plat.  If this was not the case, then the Preliminary Plat should be revised to reflect the design the applicant now proposed.  It was determined that the revised Preliminary Plat could appear on the March agenda, with the Final Plat following in April.

 

It was suggested that the current Final Plat could be approved conditional upon the approval of a revised Preliminary Plat.

 

It was established that conditions on the development plan addressed future sewer, water and street improvement needs.

 

Staff was asked for their opinion on removing conditions 5 & 6 from the plat.  Ms. Day replied that it was not unusual for streets to remain stubbed with the understanding that they would eventually be connected for future access needs.  Staff was in favor of extending 24th Street and 24TH Terrace as part of this plat, to improve traffic circulation and connectivity.  Staff also suggested adding a time limit (one year) to condition 6, so if the eastern access was ultimately not feasible, the western access – although more difficult – would still be possible.

 

ACTIONS TAKEN

Item 17A

Motioned by Comm. Schachter and seconded to approve the rezoning of approximately 17.95 acres from A to PRD-2 and forward it to the City Commission with a recommendation for approval, based upon the findings of fact presented in the body of the Staff Report, subject to the following condition:

 

1.      Approval of a Preliminary Development Plan.

 

Motion carried unanimously, 8-0.

 

Item 17B

Motioned by Comm. Schachter and seconded to approve the Preliminary Development Plan for Farmland NW Addition PRD and forward it to the City Commission with a recommendation for approval, subject to the following revised conditions:

 

  1. Provision of a note of the face of the Preliminary Development Plan that restricts the maximum density to not more than 15 dwelling units per acre;
  2. Provision of a utility layout plan for sanitary sewer service to include necessary public sewer lines per staff approval;
  3. Execution of an agreement not to protest the formation of a benefit district for
    1. 25th Street; and
    2. The intersection of O’Connell Road and 25th Street.
  4. Provision of a note on the face of the Preliminary Development Plan that notes the intersection configuration shown for O’Connell Road and 25th Street is conceptual only;
  5. Provision of a note on the face of the Preliminary Development Plan that states: “Any future division of property into individual lots/ownerships will require each single/ownership structure to have a private sanitary sewer service connection tied directly to public sanitary sewer main. Service lines shall connect to a city main or lateral line”;
  6. Provide revised Preliminary Development Plan that shows a 6’ sidewalk along K-10 Highway (E. 23rd Street);
  7. Provision of a revised Preliminary Development Plan to include a note indicating and show on the face of the drawing that the existing entrance on K-10 will be closed;
  8. Provision of a revised landscape plan to provide similar buffering along K-10 Highway as proposed along O’Connell Road per staff approval;
  9. Provision of a revised drainage plan per approval of the City Stormwater Engineer prior to submission of a Final Development Plan; and
  10. Provision of a pedestrian access in the north to 23rd Street.

 

Motion carried unanimously, 8-0.

COMMISSION DISCUSSION

Comm. Schenewerk explained his difficulty with requiring the applicant to pay for fixing the 23rd street access when they had not created the problem.  He suggested KDOT should buy the adjacent property to the west so access could be moved to Anderson Road.

 

Comm. Haase proposed an alternate design he felt would address the street connections concerns while retaining the same number of lots and approximately the same development cost.  This design change would require a revised Preliminary Plat.  The applicant was amenable to submitting the revised plat, but asked that action be taken now to keep the process active.

 

Comm. Johnson did not understand why the Commission was discussing design.  She said this same discussion had already been held and this tough decision already made.  The Commission had agreed to connect 24th Street and they should stick to that decision.

 

It was commented that, when the Commission approved a preliminary plat, they made a commitment to the applicant.  It was not appropriate to add conditions at the Final Plat stage.  It was countered that the applicant should be required to revise the Preliminary Plat first if they wanted to change the Final Plat.

 

The Commission returned to discussing Comm. Haase’s design proposal.  Some felt this design ensured the critical northwest access, while others felt the Haase design traded definite access now for a possibility of access in the future.

 

The Commission conferred with Staff on how to deal with the current agenda Item to make the revision process as quick as possible, avoiding the problem of concurrent submission.  Staff recommended the Final Plat be deferred to the March meeting, where it would be placed on the regular agenda with the revised Preliminary Plat.

 

Chairman Burress pointed out that consideration of fairness to the applicant was being based on KDOT’s initial offer of financial assistance.  He said Staff would have made the same recommendations regarding access even without the KDOT offer, in which case fairness would never have become an issue.  This being the case, he questioned whether deferral was appropriate.

 

ACTION TAKEN

Item 17C

Motioned by Comm. Schenewerk and seconded to defer the Final Plat of Farmland NW Addition to the March 17, 2004 meeting, with the understanding the applicant would submit a revised Preliminary Plat based on the design concept described by Comm. Haase.

 

Motion carried 7-3, with Comm.’s Johnson, Angino and Burress voting in opposition.