November 28, 2006

A. SUMMARY

SP-06-57-06: Stephens/Noller; Office Buildings and Parking Area, SW Corner of Bob Billings Parkway and Research Park Drive. Submitted by Landplan Engineering for Mark and Marsha Buhler, contract purchasers, and Sam D Campbell of Bobwhite Meadow LP, property owner of record.

B. GENERAL INFORMATION

Current Zoning and Land Use:

IBP (Industrial Business Park) District; undeveloped wooded land.

Surrounding Zoning and Land Use:

IBP (Industrial Business Park) District in all directions; Golf Course Superintendent’s Assoc. Headquarters to the north, undeveloped lot with research facilities in adjacent lot to the east, and undeveloped wooded property to the west and south.

RS-10 (Single-Dwelling Residential) District to the southwest; single family homes.

C. SITE SUMMARY

	Gross Area:	115,709 sq. ft.
	Existing Building	No existing buildings
	Existing Pervious Proposed Buildings Proposed Pavement Proposed Impervious Proposed Pervious	115,709 sq. ft 25,060 sq. ft. 47,963 sq. ft 73,023 sq. ft. 42,686 sq. ft.

	Off-Street Parking Required:	Office Use: Administrative Office Parking Group 16: 1 parking space per 500 sq ft of floor area–3,542 sq ft of Floor Area; 8 spaces required Real Estate Office – Parking Group 13: 1 space per each 300 sq ft of floor area; 14,000 sq ft of Floor Area; 47 spaces required Total Required Parking: 55 parking spaces, including 5 ADA accessible parking spaces, and 5 bicycle spaces.
	Off-Street Parking Provided:	143 parking spaces, including 6 ADA parking stalls and 8 bicycle spaces, are provided.
Staff Recommendation: Planning Staff recommends approval of the site plan subject to the following conditions: 1. Execution of a site plan performance agreement per Section 20-1433. 2. Approval of a photometric plan. 3. Final Plat recorded at the Douglas County Register of Deeds before the site plan can be released for building permits. 4. The following revisions must be made to the plan: a. Legal description must be updated to reflect Plat name and Lot number. b. The cross access easement must be recorded and the book and page number of the access easement noted on the face of the site plan

C. STAFF REVIEW

The property contains approximately 2.66 acres and is located at the southwest corner of Bob Billings Parkway and Research Park Drive. It is within the borders of the West Lawrence Neighborhood. This property was included in the preliminary plat for Oread West which was approved by the Planning Commission in 1992 and was final platted as the Stephens/Noller Addition. The Stephens/Noller Addition Final Plat was approved by City Commission on September 5, 2006. The Final Plat was returned to the City Commission for the acceptance of revised utility and drainage easements. These easements were revised to allow a shared detention basin for the subject property and the adjacent lot to the west, (Lot 1, Block One Bobwhite Addition). The utility easement along the western side of the lot was vacated and the drainage easement was reshaped. The City Commission approved the final plat with the revised easements on October 24, 2006.

The proposal is for 2 office buildings with shared parking on one lot. Access Management Standards define intersection influence areas for various classes of roadways. Based on recommendations from the Standards, an access point on Bob Billings Parkway is not allowed. Access will be taken from Research Park Drive and may not be located closer than 300’ to the Bob Billings Parkway/Research Park Drive intersection. The ‘no access’ areas are noted and shown graphically on the plan. As the only access to the site will be from the driveway located on Research Park Drive, an access easement was required on the final plat to allow both buildings access to Research Park Drive in the event of future change of property ownership. An access easement will insure access for both buildings. The book and page number of the access easement must be noted on the face of the site plan.

This site plan was submitted in June of 2006, however the property had not yet been final platted. The site plan has been held in the Planning Office pending approval of the final plat. The project is being considered under the 1966 Zoning Ordinances since it was submitted prior to July 1, 2006. The project is in compliance with the Zoning Ordinance and no variances are needed.

Section 20-1444(g) sets the maximum aggregate gross lot coverage of buildings in the IBP [M-1] District as 25% of the gross lot area. A minimum of 25% of the gross lot area shall be devoted to open space purposes. (This does not include parking, building and loading areas). The proposed site plan has 115,709 sq. ft. gross lot area and building coverage of 25,060 sq ft (22% of lot) and open space of 42,686 sq. ft. (37% of lot area.) The proposed development is in compliance with these standards.

D. Findings

Per Section 20-1432, staff shall first find that the following conditions have been met:

(a) That the proposed use is a permitted use in the district in which the property is located;

The subject property is zoned IBP (Industrial Business Park) District; [M-1, Research Industrial-1966 Zoning Ordinance] which permits research and testing uses (Use Group 18) and other uses which are not harmful to nearby residential and commercial areas. Administrative, engineering, mapping or aerial surveying, law, accounting, architecture, veterinarian (with no open kennel or yard), medical and State or Federal Government offices are allowed in this district. This district is designed to provide an industrial park type environment for the development of modern administrative facilities and research institutions, all of a non-objectionable type, and to protect nearby residential and commercial uses. The proposal is for an administrative office and a real-estate office. These uses are permitted in the IBP District.

(b) That the proposed arrangement of buildings, off-street parking, access, lighting, landscaping, and drainage is compatible with adjacent land uses;

The buildings are located near Bob Billings Parkway. The placement of the buildings near the arterial road will provide a pleasant view for the Parkway. The parking area is located to the south of the buildings, and provides quite a bit more parking (55 required and 143 provided) than is required. The applicant has agreed to provide additional landscaping along Bob Billings Parkway and Research Park Drive adjacent to the parking lots and this is shown on the site plan.

A neighboring property owner to the southwest expressed concern over the drainage of the area into the southwest corner and was worried that it may drain into neighboring yards. They also mentioned that a master plan of the area had been drafted by an earlier developer which stated that trees would be preserved as open space. It is the desire of the property owners to the southwest that the tree cover be preserved, as much as possible. The applicant informed Staff that they met with the neighbors and that a joint detention basin to serve this lot and the lot to the west was acceptable to the neighbors, with the condition that a screening fence be provided. Approximately 200’ of screening fencing is shown on the site plan. The applicant will build a 6’ wooden privacy fence to screen the detention basin and will provide an allowance to the neighbors if they wish to upgrade the fence.

Photometric plans have been submitted and reviewed and applicant has been informed of needed revisions.

(c) That the vehicular ingress and egress to and from the site and circulation within the site provides for safe, efficient and convenient movement of traffic not only within the site but on adjacent roadways as well;

The development will share one access point on Research Park Drive. Access is not permitted from Bob Billings Parkway or within 300’ of the intersection. A note has been placed on the face of the site plan with this restriction. The ‘no access’ area is also shown graphically on the plan. A shared access easement must be shown on the final plat, to insure access for both buildings in case of a future land division. The book and page number for this access easement must be noted on the plan. ADA accessible parking spaces are located near all customer entrances, as required by ADA regulations.

(d) That the site plan provides for the safe movement of pedestrians within the site;

The proposal includes direct pedestrian access to Bob Billings Parkway along both sides of the parking area so pedestrians do not need to use the parking lot to access either building. Direct pedestrian connection is also provided to Research Park Drive. It is necessary to cross the access drive of the northern parking lot to travel from the building on the west to the other building or to Research Park Drive. The site plan shows marked pavement for the pedestrian crossing between these buildings. This plan provides for safe pedestrian movement throughout the site.

(e) That there is a sufficient mixture of grass, trees, and shrubs within the interior and perimeter (including public right-of-way) of site so that the proposed development will be in harmony with adjacent land uses and will provide a pleasing appearance to the public. Any part of the site plan area not used for buildings, structures, parking, or accessways shall be landscaped with a mixture of grass, trees and shrubs;

The amount of landscaping will be in harmony with adjacent land uses and will provide a pleasing appearance. The plan notes that turf, ground cover, ornamental trees, or shrubs shall be planted over the entire area within the curbing of landscape islands.

The interior parking lot landscaping meets the requirements of the Zoning Ordinance. However, the site plan provides over double the amount of parking spaces required by Code. Staff recommends that additional landscaping, either interior parking lot landscaping or screening landscaping be provided to mitigate the visual impact of the excessive parking. The applicant has agreed to provide additional screening landscaping and this is shown along the northern and eastern perimeter of the parking areas on the plan.

(f) That all outdoor trash storage areas are screened and are in accordance with standards as prepared by the department of public works;

The trash storage area is screened on 3 sides with a gate on the 4^th. It is in compliance with City Code and the location has been approved by the Sanitation Department.

g) That the site plan takes into consideration existing improvements or physical alterations that have been made to prepare the site for development;

The site is presently undeveloped and no improvements have been made to prepare the site for development.