PLANNING COMMISSION REPORT

Regular Agenda – Public Hearing Item:

 

PC Staff Report

05/22/06

ITEM NO. 14A:       USE PERMITTED UPON REVIEW FOR FIRST SERVE TENNIS; 5200            CLINTON PARKWAY (MKM)

 

UPR-04-03-06:  Use Permitted upon Review request for the expansion of First Serve Tennis, located at 5200 Clinton Parkway.  Submitted by Landplan Engineering, PA, for J. Mike Elwell, Sport 2 Sport One, LLC, and City of Lawrence, property owners of record. 

                                      

 

STAFF RECOMMENDATION:     Planning Staff recommends approval of UPR-04-03-06 a Use Permitted Upon Review for the expansion of an existing sports facility and construction of outdoor tennis courts and forwarding of it to the City Commission with a recommendation for approval, based upon the findings of fact presented in the body of the staff report and subject to the following conditions:

 

1.      Execution of a site plan performance agreement.

2.      Provision of a revised plan showing:

a.        the standard road right-of-way to be dedicated for the extension of Olympic Drive and updated site area;

b.        location of future street trees along extension of Olympic Drive;

c.         grading with elevations and heights of retaining walls, or provide grading plan;

d.        correct parking reference: 8 spaces per each court and 1 space for each 200 nsf, excluding courts;

e.        retaining walls located outside of any easement.

 

 

 

KEY POINTS

·        Property was purchased from the City parkland to the north and the north portion of Lot 2A, The Landing. As a result the property is being replatted.

·        Standard right-of-way for the extension of Olympic Drive was required as part of the land transfer agreement between the applicant and the City Parks and Recreation Department. An agreement not to protest the creation of a benefit district for future improvements to Clinton Parkway and Olympic Drive is a requirement in the final plat of Yankee Tank View 2nd Addition.

·        Code Interpretation sets the number of required off-street parking spaces for tennis courts at 8 per court.

GOLDEN FACTORS TO CONSIDER

ZONING AND USES OF PROPERTY NEARBY

·         Multi-family residential and agricultural zoning with residential uses and large open space/recreation areas, both public and private.

CHARACTER OF THE AREA

·         Multi-family residential area borders the property to the east. Recreational open space is located to the north, south, and west of the property. To the southwest is a rural residence on undeveloped land.

 

ASSOCIATED CASES/OTHER ACTION REQUIRED

·         PF-04-07-06: Final Plat for Yankee Tank View Addition 2nd Plat. Property is being replatted as a result of a land purchase from the City of Lawrence from the parkland to the north and the northern portion of Lot 2A to the east.

·         Dedication of right-of-way for the extension of Olympic Drive to the parkland to the north and vacation of easements where building expansion is to be located.

·         B-04-14-06: First Serve Tennis; 5200 Clinton. Variances were granted by the Board of Zoning Appeals on May 4th to allow the retaining walls to encroach into the required setbacks as shown on the review plans. 

 

PUBLIC COMMENT RECEIVED PRIOR TO PRINTING

·         No public comment received as of the writing of this report.

 

GENERAL INFORMATION

 

Current Zoning and Land Use:        RM-1 (Multi-family Residence) District; Private sports facility.

 

 

Surrounding Zoning and Land Use:   RM-1 (Multi-family Residence) District to the east; multi-family residences.

 

RS-A (Single Family Residence) District to the west; ball fields.

 

RS-1 (Single Family Residence) District to the north; future City park.

 

                                                A (Agricultural) District to the south; softball complex and undeveloped land.

 

 

Applicant’s Reason for Request:

Expansion of indoor tennis facility and construction of outdoor courts.

 

History:

In 1995 a Conditional Use Permit [CUP-03-01-95] was approved for ball fields located in the unincorporated county, to the west of the First Serve Tennis property. These fields have since been platted as Sport-2-Sport Addition, Lot 1 and have been annexed into the City. In 1995 a Use Permitted upon Review [UPR-03-03-95] was approved for an indoor athletic complex on Lot 2, The Landing.  After the annexation of the ball fields, a UPR was approved for parking and batting cages on the ball fields site and a building addition to Sport-2-Sport building. Lot 2 of The Landing was split into Lot 2A and Lot 2B in February, 1999 [LS-12-12-98]. A UPR [UPR-12-15-98] was approved for the construction of a gymnastics and dance studio on the southern portion of Lot 2A, The Landing in February, 1999. In 2006, First Serve Tennis occupied the former Sport-2-Sport building on Lot 2B, The Landing and purchased the northern portion of Lot 2A as well as land from the adjoining parkland to the north.  The applicant wishes to provide tennis practice facilities for the local university and high-school teams by expanding the building to provide additional indoor courts and constructing 4 outdoor courts.

 

I.         ZONING AND USES OF PROPERTY NEARBY

 

Staff Finding – The subject is zoned for multi-family residential use as is much of the surrounding area. Property to the south is zoned for agricultural use. A multi-family development is located to the east of the property. To the southwest is undeveloped rural land with a rural residence. The remaining surrounding property is used as open-space recreation area and parkland.

II.       CHARACTER OF THE AREA

 

Staff Finding – The subject property is located on the north side of Clinton Parkway. The property directly to the east is developed with multi-family homes. Parks are located to the north and south of the subject property and playing fields are located to the west. The predominate use in this area is open-space recreation and parkland.

 

III.      SUITABILITY OF SUBJECT PROPERTY FOR THE USES TO WHICH IT HAS BEEN RESTRICTED

 

Staff Finding - There is no proposed change to the existing zoning designation. The proposed request is for the expansion of an existing use. The property is zoned residentially and requires a special permit.  Approval of a Use Permitted upon Review will not alter the base zoning.

 

IV.       LENGTH OF TIME SUBJECT PROPERTY HAS REMAINED VACANT AS ZONED

 

Staff Finding – The subject property is developed as a sports facility. The first permits issued for the sports facility were issued in 1995. The facility has been in use since that time.

 

V.        EXTENT TO WHICH REMOVAL OF RESTRICTIONS WILL DETRIMENTALLY AFFECT NEARBY PROPERTY

 

Staff Finding – No detrimental effect on nearby property is anticipated by the expansion of the tennis facility. A variance was granted to allow retaining walls to be constructed within the required setbacks. The City Stormwater Engineer reviewed the proposal and indicated the placement of the retaining walls would not create any stormwater issues for the neighboring properties. Parking requirements for court sports, such as tennis and racquetball, were considered in a Code Interpretation which set the number of required parking spaces as 8 per court. The proposal is able to meet the required parking spaces.   Approval of a Use Permitted upon Review does not alter the existing zoning district. 

 

VI.       RELATIVE GAIN TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH, SAFETY AND WELFARE BY THE DESTRUCTION OF THE VALUE OF THE PETITIONER’S PROPERTY AS COMPARED TO THE HARDSHIP IMPOSED UPON THE INDIVIDUAL LANDOWNERS

 

Staff Finding – Evaluation of the relative gain weighs the benefits to the community-at-large vs. the benefit of the owners of the subject property.  The proposed expansion would allow the university and high-school tennis teams a local site for indoor practice. Memberships will also be available for the public to use the facility. The benefit would be the reduction of out-of-town trips by the local teams to reach a practice facility, and increased local recreational facilities.

 

VII.     CONFORMANCE WITH THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN

 

The comprehensive plan states that community facility-type recreational facilities can be located in non-commercial areas if given the extra scrutiny that is associated with the issuance of a special permit such as a Use Permitted upon Review.

 

The plan recommends that recreational facilities provide adequate buffering for adjacent non-commercial properties.

 

The plan identifies the importance of studios, schools and such facilities which provide an important cultural, recreational and social role in the community. The plan encourages a cooperative effort among jurisdictions in the decision making process that affects the community but which generally focuses on the location or expansion of new facilities.

 

The plan also provides recommendations regarding physical location, and encourages that community facilities designed to serve larger populations be located on arterial and collector streets in non-residential areas.

 

·                   Staff Finding – The proposal requests the expansion of an tennis facility and the construction of outdoor tennis courts at 5200 Clinton Parkway. This site has been used previously for recreation uses and is surrounded by similar uses. Clinton Parkway is an arterial street through a residentially zoned area, but the predominate uses in this area are parkland and recreation. The proposed request is consistent with the surrounding area and is in conformance with Horizon 2020.

 

STAFF REVIEW

 

Section 20-1608 of the City Code requires that a UPR application be accompanied with a site plan meeting the contents of the Site Plan provision of the Code (Section 20-1431). The accompanying site plan has been reviewed by staff and appropriate revisions have been made or conditions applied to the UPR.

 

The site plan is for a 14,442  gross square foot addition to existing facility. The proposed building location is over utility easements which are noted on the plat to be vacated and the utilities are to be relocated at developer’s expense. A proposed fire lane is also located over an existing easement, which must also be vacated.  Two overhead garage doors are shown on the site plan. The door to the west will be accessed by a proposed asphalt service drive. The overhead garage door to the east will not have vehicular access. 6 tennis courts are proposed on the northern portion of Lot 2A, The Landing. A variance has been granted to allow the retaining walls to encroach into the required setbacks for private recreation facilities, as shown on the plan.

 

The grading must be shown on the plan, or on a separate grading plan. The elevations and heights of the retaining walls must be shown. The retaining walls may not be located in an easement and this must be shown on the plan.

 

The tennis courts are to be used only during daylight hours, as there are no lighting provisions on the site plan. The right-of-way for extension of Olympic Drive to the park to the north must be shown on the plan.  Future location of street trees must be shown on the extension of Olympic Drive.

 

The proposed parking meets the off-street parking requirements for this use. A Code Interpretation set the required number of parking spaces for court sports, such as tennis and racquetball, at 8 spaces per court. This development will contain 10 tennis courts, so 80 parking spaces will be required.  The applicant indicated that 3,000 sq. ft. of floor area will be located in the building apart from the tennis courts.  The parking requirement for this area is 1 parking space per 200 sq. ft. of net floor area resulting in 15 required parking spaces. The total number of parking spaces for the 10 courts and 3,000 nsf of floor area is 95. The plan shows 116 spaces being provided.  The parking note must be revised on the plan to reflect the correct requirement and reference.