Hall County Planning Commission Staff Report
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HALL COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION STAFF REPORT Applicant .............................................................. Mallory and Evans Partners, LLC Request ................................................................. Rezone from Residential-I (R-I) to Planned Residential Development (PRD) Proposed Use ....................................................... Student housing Size ....................................................................... 21.39± acres Zoning ................................................................... R-I Location ................................................................ On the west side of Tumbling Creek Road; a.k.a. 3055 Tumbling Creek Road; Tax Parcel 08026 000005(pt.) Commission District ............................................ Two Planning Commission Date ................................. November 2, 2020 Staff Recommendation ......................................... Approval, with conditions Applicant Proposal The applicant is requesting to rezone a 21.39± acre lot from Residential-I (R-I) to Planned Residential Development (PRD) in order to construct a 160-unit student housing apartment complex. The applicant’s narrative describes the scope of the project as follows: Use: Apartments (Student Housing) o 160 total units o 35 total floors o 560 total bedrooms o Density of 7.48 units per acre Lots Size: 21.39 acres Setbacks: o Front: 55 feet from center line of road OR 30 feet from property line, whichever is greater. o Side: 10 feet o Rear: 20 feet Parking: 404 spaces, 9 handicaps Open Space: 11.9 acres (55.6%) 1. The narrative confirms that the development will comply with Hall County standards as they relate to signage and lighting. Additionally, the narrative includes a section which discusses the protection of abutting properties. The section states that the new road to the south of the subject property will protect the properties to the south. The development will comply with all mandatory stream buffering requirements, which will protect adjacent properties to the north. The narrative states that the development is sufficiently set off from the western property boundary line to protect the western abutting property and the eastern property is separated by Tumbling Creek Road. There were no architectural standards or renderings of the proposed development were included with the application. Additionally, there is no discussion within the narrative of onsite amenities, though the site plan does show a pool. History and Existing Land Uses The subject property is approximately 21.39± acres and zoned Residential-I (R-I), which appears to be the original zoning. The property is surrounded by other R-I zoned properties, as well as residential and commercial zoning districts within the cities of Gainesville and Oakwood. This parcel is located adjacent to the University of North Georgia Gainesville Campus and is intended to serve its students. Comprehensive Plan Land Use Designation The Comprehensive Plan designates the subject property and surrounding area as a “Lake Area Residential” land use. This land use category is characterized by detached single-family low- density residential development, less intensive agricultural uses, greenways and trails, and civic benefits such as community centers, libraries, places of worship, and schools. The Hall County Comprehensive Plan recommends a maximum density of 2 units per acre for properties within the Lake Area Residential land use classification. This classification tends to be oriented to single-family residential development at low densities. The majority of these sorts of development are adjacent to Lake Lanier and do not have access to sewer. The proposed development is at the very edge of the “Lake Area Residential” land use classification and adjacent to the University of North Georgia, whose students it intends to serve. The PRD zoning classification does not set a minimum density for multi-family development, instead setting a minimum require land area. This development proposes 160 units, requiring a minimum land area of 21.12 acres. The proposed development consists of 21.39 acres. 2. Development Support and Constraints Hall County Environmental Health In an email dated October 22, 2020 Emily McGahee state “No comment. Gainesville Sewer.” Hall County Fire Services The subject parcel is located approximately 3.5 miles from Hall County Fire Station 4, located at 2940 McEver Road. Hall County Public Works and Utilities No comments were provided. Hall County Tax Assessors No Comments were provided. Gainesville Water Resources In a letter dated March 17, 2020, Nick Swafford with the City of Gainesville Water Resources stated that both water and sanitary sewer services are available to the subject property. Georgia Department of Transportation No comments were provided. Zoning Analysis The proposed development is consistent with the Hall County Comprehensive Plan. The development includes 160 multi-family units on 21.39 acres for an overall density of 7.48 units per acre. o This acreage exceeds the recommended density with the PRD section of the Official Code of Hall County. §17.180.060 – Planned residential development (PRD) standards shall be applicable to all residential components of the development. A PRD allows for more flexibility in the design and development of the property. This provides for a mixture of housing types and encourages maximum use of natural features, through proper site planning measures. The development should conform to the existing character and development pattern of the surrounding area. The PRD district requires the following standards: o Setbacks: . Minimum front yard setback from the property line of 25 feet The applicant is proposing a 35 foot from yard setback. Minimum side yard setback from the property line of 5 feet The applicant is proposing a 10 foot side setback . Minimum rear yard setback from the property line of 20 feet The applicant is proposing a 20 foot rear yard setback. 3. o Buffers: . A minimum 50 foot planted buffer shall be established along the perimeter of all property boundaries adjacent to residential and/or non-residential zoning districts to ensure that the planned residential development is appropriately screened. The applicant states that they will meet all Hall County buffer requirements. o Landscape requirements: . All requirements shall be met per chapter 17.280, Tree Protection. o Open space: . The development shall conform to all open space requirements of sections 17.430.100 through 17.430.150, as shown under the Conservation Subdivision Design Option Chapter. The only open space requirement that may differ from those standards set forth in section 17.430.110 is the open space shall comprise at least thirty percent (30%) of the gross tract area. The applicant is proposing 11.9 acres of conservation area equaling 55.6% open space. o Architectural standards: . The following design guidelines and standards apply to all planned residential developments. Alternatively, detailed architectural design guidelines and standards can be submitted by the applicant to include garage types and placement, elevations of all sides, building materials, etc. The applicant has not submitted any architectural standards or renderings. The development will be served by the City of Gainesville for both sewer and water. §17.380.050 requires any application proposing the development of 100 or more residential dwelling units to submit a traffic impact study as part of an application be. An accurate study cannot be conducted at this time due to changed traffic patterns as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. o The applicants submitted a full Traffic Impact Study which was completed on August 28, 2020. The trip generation data submitted as part of this request is based on equations in the Institute of Transportation Engineer (ITE) Trip Generations Manual, 10th Edition, with Supplement, the current edition of this publication. Through discussions with Scott Puckett, Hall County Traffic Engineer, the following areas were included as part of this Traffic Impact Analysis: Tumbling Creek Road/Millside Parkway @ Old Oakwood Road Tumbling Creek Road @ Campus Pointe Circle Tumbling Creek Road @ GA-13 (Atlanta Highway) Proposed Campus Connector Road @ Site Access #1 (Assumed for project Build-out) Proposed Campus Connector Road @ Site Access #2 (Assumed for project Build-out) o The study produced the following conclusions: 4. Tumbling Creek Road/Millside Parkway @ Old Oakwood Road: There are two intersection movements that are anticipated to operate with an unacceptable LOS. o The northbound thru movement is shown to operate at LOS E for both AM and PM peak hour operations. o The southbound left-turn movement is expected to operate at LOS E for the AM peak only. o For the southbound and northbound approaches, the 25 percent increase in delay threshold is not exceeded, and the LOS is consistent with Existing and Background conditions and is not degraded by the proposed project. No mitigation is required due to the proposed student housing project. Tumbling Creek Road @ Campus Pointe Circle/Proposed Campus Connector The AM and PM LOS is anticipated to be acceptable at LOS A and B for the AM and PM peak hour under Build-out conditions. No mitigation is required. Tumbling Creek Road @ GA-13 (Atlanta Highway) The approaches for the GA-13 (Atlanta Highway) and Tumbling Creek Road intersection are anticipated to operate with unacceptable LOS. o The eastbound left-turn is