PLANNING COMMISSION REPORT

REGULAR AGENDA -- PUBLIC HEARING ON VARIANCE REQUESTS ONLY

 

PC Staff Report

02/25/08

ITEM NO. 2:

 

PRELIMINARY PLAT FOR THE Lower East Side Addition, located at 927 and 933 Delaware street (MKM)

PP-12-10-07:    Preliminary Plat for Lower East Side Addition, located at 927 & 933 Delaware Street. Submitted by Matt Jones, for Robert & Molly Krause, property owners of record. The applicants have requested variances from the lot width and lot area requirements of the RS5 district.

 

STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends approval of the variance request from Section 20-809(d)(2) which requires that each lot resulting from the division will conform with the minimum lot size and other dimensional requirements applicable to the property through the Zoning District Regulations found in Section 20-601(a).

 

The variance would permit the following variations from the dimensional requirements of Section 20-601(a) for the RS5 Zoning District:

1)  lot frontage/lot width of 37.44 ft. for Lots 1 and 2 rather than the 40 ft. required in the RS5 Zoning District; and

2)  lot area of 4,384 sq. ft. and 4,379 sq. ft. for Lots 1 and 2 respectively rather than 5,000 sq. ft. required in the RS5 Zoning District.

 

STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends approval  of the Preliminary Plat of The Lower East Side Addition subject to the following conditions:

1)     Revision of the preliminary plat with the following changes:

a        The property owners, Robert and Molly Krause must be listed on the Plat as ‘Owners’ and Matt Jones should be listed separately as ‘Developer’.

b        The note regarding the variance being requested should be revised to read as follows:

c         “Variance requested from Section 20-809(d)(2) which requires that each lot conform with the dimensional requirements applicable to the property through the Zoning District Regulations found in Section 20-601(a), specifically the minimum lot frontage/lot width and minimum lot area requirements.

d        The revised Preliminary Plat must list the revision date.

2)   An Agreement Not to Protest the Formation of a Benefit District for future street and sidewalk improvements to Delaware Street must be executed by the property owner and provided to the Planning Office at the Final Plat stage.

3)   Review and approval by the Historic Resources Commission.

 

Applicant’s Reason for Request: Subdivision requirement prior to residential development of property. Per Section 20-801(c) of the Subdivision Regulations, building permits may be issued only on platted property.

 

KEY POINTS

·         The subject property is located within the environs of the East Lawrence Industrial District, National Register of Historic Places. 933 Delaware is located within the environs of Hobbs Park, Lawrence Register of Historic Places. (Figure 1)

·         The proposed lot layout is consistent with the historical layout of the property as seen in the 1912 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map. (Figure 2)

·         The western portions of the lots abutting Delaware Street on the west were platted with the original Lawrence Townsite plat; however, the eastern portions of the lots have never been platted.

 

SUBDIVISION CITATIONS TO CONSIDER

·         This application is being reviewed under the Subdivision Regulations for Lawrence and Unincorporated Douglas County, effective Jan 1, 2007.

·         The plat is not compliant with Section 20-809(d)(2) which requires that each lot conform with the dimensional requirements applicable to the property through the Zoning District Regulations found in Section 20-601(a). The following variances are being requested with this plat for Lots 1 and 2 of the proposed subdivision:

  • From the 40’ minimum lot frontage/lot width required in Section 20-601(a) of the Development Code for the RS5 (Single-dwelling Residential) Zoning District to permit lot frontages/lot widths of 37.44 ft.
  • From the 5,000 sq. ft. minimum area requirement in Section 20-601(a) of the Development Code for the RS5 District to permit lots with areas of 4,384 Sq. Ft. and 4,379 Sq. Ft.

 

ASSOCIATED CASES/OTHER ACTION REQUIRED

Historic Resource Commission (HRC) Review

·         The proposed land division and building remodel plans for the existing house on Lot 3 will be reviewed by the Historic Resource Commission (HRC) on February 21, 2008. The HRC’s determination will be made available to the Planning Commission at the February meeting.

·         The proposed demolition of the existing structure on Lot 1 will also be reviewed by the HRC at the February 21st meeting.

Platting

·         Submittal of the preliminary plat to the City Commission for acceptance of dedication of rights-of-way and easements.

·         Administrative approval of the final plat and recordation at the Douglas County Register of Deeds.

Development

·         HRC approval of building plans and release of plans for building permits.

 

PUBLIC COMMENT RECEIVED PRIOR TO PRINTING

·         No comment has been received.

 

GENERAL INFORMATION

 

Current Zoning and Land Use:

 

RS5 (Single-Dwelling Residential) District; Lots 1 and 3 have existing houses. The applicant proposes to demolish the house on Lot 1 and plans to retain and remodel the house on Lot 3. Lot 2 has a small metal shed.

 

Surrounding Zoning and Land Use:

To the north, west, and south:

RS5 (Single-Dwelling Residential) District; established single-family residential neighborhood.

 

To the east:

IG (General Industrial) District; a recording studio, Allen Press and a residence.

 

 

STAFF REVIEW

The subject property is located at 927 and 933 Delaware Street. The western portion of the properties along the west side of Delaware St. were platted with the original Lawrence Town-site.  The eastern portion of the properties on the west side of Delaware St. and the properties to the east of Delaware St. were not platted at that time and have not yet been platted.  Per Section 20-801(c) of the Subdivision Regulations, building permits may be issued only for property which has been platted; therefore, the applicant has submitted a preliminary plat for this property.

 

The subject property lies within the environs of the East Lawrence Industrial District, National Register of Historic Places and the Hobbs Park, Lawrence Register of Historic Places.  Location within the environs of historic properties requires Historic Resource review of all development proposals. 
The applicant proposes to demolish the house on Lot 1 and retain and remodel the house on Lot 3. (Figure 3) The preliminary plat has been submitted to the Historic Resource Commission and will be considered at their February 21st meeting. HRC approval is necessary before the Preliminary Plat can be approved. The HRC’s determination will be made available to the Planning Commissioners at the February meeting. 

 

Zoning and Land Use

The property was previously zoned RS-2 (Single-family Residence) District. The lots had been created with the original town-site in the 1800’s and many of the early lots had less area and lot width than that required in the RS-2 District (7,000 sq. ft. and 60 ft). The zoning in this area was changed to the RS5 (Single-Dwelling Residential) District with the adoption of the Development Code in 2006 in order to resolve many of the non-conforming lot issues that were prevalent in this area. The minimum lot area and lot frontage/lot width requirements for the RS5 District (5,000 sq. ft. and 40 ft) were typical of the earlier platted lots. 

 

Two lots are currently developed with single-dwelling residences and one lot is vacant. The development proposal is to construct single-dwelling residences on Lots 1 and 2 and to remodel the existing residence on Lot 3.

 

Streets and Access

The property is bounded on the east by Delaware Street. A 16 ft. alley is located to the rear of the lots and access to the lots is taken from the alley. 

 

Utilities and Infrastructure 

Sanitary sewer lines are located within the alley and water lines are located on the east side of Delaware Street. An overhead power line is located in the alley and crosses Lots 1 and 2 to access the existing structure on Lot 1.  The structure will be removed and the property owner will work with Westar to establish power to the new structures.  The approximate locations of the sanitary sewer lines for Lot 1 and Lot 3 are shown. A sewer line must be extended for Lot 2. Per City Code #190214, private service lines shall not cross property ownership lines. The new home may not use the existing sanitary sewer service connection if it does not meet City Code. If a new connection is required, the existing service connection must be property abandoned.

 

Easements and Rights-of-way

The property abuts Delaware Street which has 60 ft of right-of-way as required in Section 20-810(d)(4)(i) for local streets in the City of Lawrence.  There are no utility easements in this area. The utility infrastructure is located within the alley and the Delaware Street right-of-way.

 

Variance

The lot lines are being reconfigured slightly from those in the original town-site plat to allow the applicant to retain the historical structure located on Lot 3. The Development Code permits Zero Lot Line dwellings, which allow structures to be located along the lot line, in the RS5 District. The Zero Lot Line option would make it possible to retain the existing house without having to increase the lot width.  However, the 2006 International Building Codes, which were recently adopted, require a 5 ft. separation between an existing building and the lot line and have special standards for new structures which are built on the lot line.  Due to these Building Code requirements, Zero Lot Line development is not an option for the existing residence and the north lot line of Lot 3 was moved 5 ft to the north in order to retain the existing house. This consequently reduced the lot frontage/width of Lots 1 and 2 by approximately 2.5 ft apiece and reduced the area in Lots 1 and 2. 

 

The developer is requesting that a variance be granted from Section 20-809(d)(2) which requires that each lot conform with the dimensional requirements applicable to the property through the Zoning District Regulations found in Section 20-601(a), specifically the minimum lot frontage/lot width and minimum lot area required. Section 20-813(g) states that the Planning Commission may grant a variance from the design standards of these regulations with the exception of the standards of the wastewater disposal system standards only if the following three criteria are met:  that the strict application of these regulations will create an unnecessary hardship upon the Subdivider, that the proposed variance is in harmony with the intended purpose of these regulations and that the public health, safety and welfare will be protected. Below is a review of the variance request against these criteria.

 

Criteria 1:  Strict application of these regulations will create an unnecessary hardship upon the Subdivider.

Strict application of these regulations would prohibit the subdivision of the property. The property was platted with the original townsite and the lot sizes were established at that time.  The total area of the subject property is 14,736 sq. ft. and the total lot frontage/lot width is 126.01 ft.  The RS5 District requires a minimum lot area of 5,000 sq ft and a minimum lot frontage/lot width of 40 ft. The strict application of these regulations would prevent the subdivision of this property as the minimum area could not be achieved. Given the total area of the property as previously laid out, three 4,912 sq. ft. lots would be possible. The minimum lot frontage/lot width could be provided but this would require the demolition of the existing historical house on Lot 3. This house was built in the 1800s and requiring the demolition of the structure to meet the minimum lot frontage/lot width would be an unnecessary hardship.

 

 

 

Criteria 2:     The proposed variance is in harmony with the intended purpose of these regulations.

The intended purpose of these regulations as stated in Section 20-801(a) of the Subdivision Regulations is to ensure that the division of land will serve the public interest and general welfare as well as to provide for the conservation of existing neighborhoods.  The proposed variance from the area requirement would permit the property to be developed as 3 lots in conformance with the surrounding development pattern and as originally laid out in the 1800s. The proposed variance from the minimum lot frontage/lot width, (and the corresponding decrease in amount of area provided) would allow the developer to retain and improve the existing residence on Lot 3. The retention and improvement of historical structures in the environs serve the public interest and would also provide for the conservation of existing neighborhoods.

 

Criteria 3:     The public health, safety and welfare will be protected.

The variance would allow slight deviations in the lot width and area, which would have no negative impact on the public health, safety and welfare.

 

Conformance

 

With the approved variance and recommended conditions, the preliminary plat is in conformance with the standards and requirements of the Subdivision Regulations and the Development Code.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 1. Subject property is located within the Environs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

X
 

X
 

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X  927-933 Delaware
 

Figure 2. Historical development pattern in the area, taken from 1912 Sanborn Map.

 

 

Figure 3. House on 933 Delaware, to be remodeled. Vacant lot to the east and a portion of the house on 927 Delaware which is to be demolished.