Memorandum
City of Lawrence
Planning & Development Services
|
TO: |
Diane Stoddard, Assistant City Manager Casey Toomay, Assistant City Manager |
|
CC: |
Scott McCullough, Planning and Development Services Director |
|
FROM: |
Planning Staff |
|
DATE: |
January 20, 2016 |
|
RE: |
HERE: Consider Final Development Plan, FDP-15-00642, revisions to the approved plan for a mixed-use development at 1101 Indiana Street, reducing the number of parking spaces by 69, adding an access point to the parking garage from 11th Street, and limiting occupancy to only those uses supported by the reduced parking. This application does not include related rezoning and preliminary development plan requests to accommodate the construction of a parking garage on property immediately south located at 1137 Indiana Street. That request will be considered by the City Commission upon a recommendation of the Planning Commission and after Historic Resources Commission decision. |
Background
On July 8, 2014 the City Commission approved a preliminary development plan for a mixed use residential and commercial development that included structured parking that utilized a robotic system for parking vehicles. The approved project included an approved number of units (237), number of bedrooms (624), and on-site garage parking (577) for this development. The City Commission considered a revision to the building elevations on May 26, 2015. The Final Development Plan (FDP-14-00446) was administratively approved on July 1, 2015.
The planned robotic parking became unfeasible when the applicant learned last summer that the company contracted to install the system filed for bankruptcy, after construction of the building commenced. The applicant notified staff shortly thereafter and began discussing options to comply with the code required parking for the mixed use project. The robotic system removed the need for circulation ramps and general consumer access. The design was intended to provide more parking spaces than would be provided in a conventionally constructed parking garage since the robots could park several vehicles in a tandem fashion in an efficient manner.
This application represents a request to modify the approved development plan to accommodate a redesigned parking garage that will provide 510 spaces of valet parking in the garage and 106 spaces on the adjacent streets. Ramps were not constructed within the parking garage since the robotic units would have lifted and moved the vehicles using an elevator type system. As such, access to the upper level of parking can only be gained from a new drive on 11th Street. This additional access modifies the building elevation by creating an additional building opening. The lower level of the parking garage can be accessed from the planned access drives to Mississippi Street. The proposed plan does not modify the mix of residential and commercial uses, the number of residential units, or the number of bedrooms, but does alter the parking demand (increasing it) by assuming that all of the commercial space will be used for restaurant purposes. The residential parking demand remains 642 spaces.
Parking Summary
The Mixed Use zoning district allows for the use of shared parking. It also allows on-street parking to count toward the required parking of the development. Shared parking assumes that some spaces are not in use at certain times of the day and allow for or accommodate another use. Additionally, the MU district allows for off-street parking to be reduced by using points earned based on certain project elements. The HERE project used points toward one parking space. The majority of points earned went toward the density, building height, and building setback standards of the development. The following table provides a summary of the required and proposed parking and compares that parking between the approved Final Development Plan and the proposed revised plan.
|
Use |
Approved FDP |
Proposed Revised FDP |
|
Required Residential Parking |
|
|
|
Dwelling Units |
237 (172) units |
237 (172) units |
|
Bedrooms |
624 bedrooms |
624 bedrooms |
|
Required Residential Parking |
624 spaces |
624 spaces |
|
Required Guest Parking (based on PD calculation) |
18 spaces |
18 spaces |
|
Total required residential spaces |
642 spaces |
642 spaces |
|
Reduced Parking per MU credits |
1 space Credit |
1 space Credit |
|
Adjusted Residential Parking Required (Total) |
641 spaces required |
641 spaces |
|
Required Retail/Restaurant Parking |
(13,561 SF) |
(13,561 SF) |
|
1st floor Approved - 1 space per 100 SF + 19 emp. Proposed – 1 space per 100 SF + 10 emp |
61 spaces required (5,882 SF) |
40 spaces required (5,882 SF) |
|
3rd floor Approved - 1 space per 300 SF (retail use) Proposed - 1 space per 100 SF + 10 emp. |
10 spaces required (5,214 SF) |
33 spaces required (5,214 SF) |
|
5th floor Approved - 1 space per 300 SF (retail use) Proposed - 1 space per 100 SF + 10 emp. |
9 spaces required (2,465 SF) |
33 spaces required (2,465 SF) |
|
Total Required non-residential Parking |
80 spaces |
106 spaces |
|
|
|
|
|
Total Required Parking All |
641 + 80 = 721 |
641 + 106 = 747 |
|
Shared parking @ 5% |
36 spaces shared |
36 spaces shared |
|
Total Required Parking Adjusted with shared |
721 – 36 = 685 Spaces |
747 - 36 = 711 Spaces |
|
|
|
|
|
Provided Parking |
Parking Provided Per Approved FDP |
Parking Provided Per Proposed FDP |
|
Off Street (Garage Parking) |
577 Spaces |
510 Spaces |
|
Street Parking |
108 Spaces |
106 Spaces |
|
Total Parking Spaces 1101 Indiana Street |
685 Spaces |
616 Spaces |
|
Off Site Parking [1137 Indiana Street] |
0 spaces not part of project |
96 spaces – independent project |
|
|
685 spaces |
712 spaces if related project is approved |
Staff Discussion
Parking for multi-dwelling residential uses requires one parking space per bedroom plus one space per 10 units for visitors/guests. The total demand for residential parking is 642 spaces. This number includes the 624 bedrooms and 18 guest parking spaces.
The MU district allows credits for parking reductions, counting on-street parking toward a total amount of parking provided and options for shared parking for mixed use developments. The approved plan included 577 spaces in the garage and 108 spaces on-street for a total of 685 spaces. The approved plan included mixed commercial uses; Retail and Eating and Drinking uses. The mix of uses was estimated to require 80 parking spaces. Shared parking assumes that some amount of commercial space can “share parking” with other uses when those vehicles are elsewhere. For example, a resident may be at work freeing up a parking space that could then be used by a commercial business/customer when not used by the resident. These combined garage and on-street parking spaces supported both the residential and commercial uses.
The proposed plan calculates off-street parking for the commercial space as all Eating and Drinking uses. This mix of uses requires 106 parking spaces. Neither the approved plan nor the proposed plan identifies specific tenants for these spaces.
The revised plan reduces the garage parking to 510 spaces (67 less spaces). On street parking is reduced from 108 spaces to 106 spaces (2 less spaces). The revised plan provides for only 616 parking spaces in the garage, with valet parking, and on-street parking. The proposed number of spaces within the garage and on the adjacent streets does not accommodate the full use of the mixed-use building.
The applicant understands that none of the commercial space is able to be occupied until additional parking is secured (an application to rezone and construct parking on a parcel south of the subject site is in process); however, the 616 spaces also leaves a shortage to accommodate the full amount of residential use of 624 bedrooms and guest parking (641 total spaces). Twenty-three (23) bedrooms and two guest spaces are not accommodated by the proposed plan since 25 spaces are lacking until these are made up through other means.
The applicant reports that the project is on schedule to be delivered for a 2016 August move-in. The applicant would like the ability to occupy the entirety of the residential portion of the project while additional permanent parking is pursued that would fully accommodate the residential and commercial components of the development. Accommodating the applicant’s request would require that the City Commission allow a temporary deficiency in parking of twenty-five (25) spaces for 23 bedrooms of the 624 bedroom project until permanent parking is constructed or allow the applicant to purchase 25 parking spaces from KU to accommodate the residential portion in the interim time required to entitle and construct permanent parking to accommodate the entire project. The commercial uses would remain unoccupied until permanent parking is constructed. This equates into the following options:
Given the sensitivity in the Oread Neighborhood for parking supply to meet demand, Staff recommends option no. 1 above.
Action
Approve the revised Final Development Plan (FDP-15-00642) for HERE, located at 1101 Indiana Street, with a condition to withhold occupancy for all commercial spaces and 23 bedrooms of the residential portion of the development until all parking can be constructed to accommodate these uses.
Attachments: A - Location Map
B - Approved Final Development Plan
C – Revised Final Development Plan