CHAPTER 18L. SPI-12 /LENOX STATIONS SPECIAL PUBLIC INTEREST DISTRICT

Sec. 16-18L.001. Scope of Provisions.

The regulations set forth in this chapter, or set forth elsewhere in this part when referred to in this chapter, are the regulations in the SPI-12 Buckhead/Lenox Stations Special Public Interest District. Ord. No. 1996-65, §§ 1,2,8-28-96)

Sec. 16-18L.002. Statement of intent.

The intent of the council in establishing the SPI-12 Buckhead/Lenox Stations Special Public Interest District as an overlay zoning district is as follows:

(1) Preserve and protect the Buckhead/Lenox MARTA Stations area for high-density housing, office, hotel, retail and related accessory uses appropriate to the major development center in the north sector of the city;

(2) Encourage the development of high-density housing within mixed use complexes or as independent buildings within this district;

(3) Encourage opportunities for economic development, both residential and commercial, in the Buckhead/Lenox Stations area where there is a planned relationship between the transportation system and development;

(4) Facilitate safe and convenient pedestrian circulation and minimize conflict between pedestrians and vehicles in order to improve pedestrian access to the Lenox and Buckhead MARTA stations through the implementation of the pedestrian space requirements of this chapter;

(5) Encourage pedestrian flow through the design of buildings with retail uses at the ground level which open directly onto streets and pedestrian ways and which encourage active street and pedestrian life;

(6) Encourage use of public transportation, minimize on-site parking requirements, and encourage shared parking in mixed use developments;

(7) Encourage reduction in number of single-occupancy vehicle work trips through implementation of transportation management plans;

(8) Facilitate safe and convenient bicycle access to the Buckhead and Lenox MARTA Stations consistent with the Greenway Trail Plan and the on-street bicycle route plan contained within the comprehensive development plan of the city; (9) Modify the district regulations of all properties which are contained within the Buckhead/Lenox Stations District; and

(10) Preserve and protect the single-family residential neighborhoods which adjoin the Buckhead/Lenox Stations District including Brookhaven, Buckhead Forest, , , Pine Hills and Ridgedale Park. (Ord. No. 1996-65, §§ 1,2,8-28-96) Sec. 16-18L.003. Boundaries of district established.

The boundaries of the Buckhead/Lenox Stations Special Public Interest District shall be as shown on map attachment “A” which by this reference is incorporated into and made a part of this chapter and this part. (Ord. No. 1996—65, §§ 1,2,8-28-96)

Sec. 16-18L.004. Permitted principal uses and structures.

The Buckhead/Lenox Stations Special Public Interest District is an overlay Special Public Interest District and buildings or premises shall be used only for uses permitted in the underlying zoning district for each parcel of land within the district. Independent parking garages and independent surface parking lots are not permitted uses within the district.

No drive-in use, other than a drive-in banking facility, shall be permitted within 1,000 feet of any portion of the Buckhead MARTA Station or the Lenox MARTA Station. The following further limitations shall apply to the construction of nonresidential buildings which are located within 1,000 feet of either the Buckhead MARTA Station or the Lenox MARTA Station: (1) The total amount of nonresidential floor space permissible in one, two- and three story buildings, whether freestanding or attached, shall not exceed an amount equally 20 percent of the total floor area of the entire building complex, and is permissible only on parcels having a total floor area ratio of not less than .65, including any combination of office, commercial, or hotel use otherwise permitted by this part. Any one-,two- and three-story nonresidential floor space existing at the time of adoption of this chapter shall not be included in calculating the limitation imposed within this subsection.

(2) Lots of one acre or less and regional shopping centers which exceed 800,000 square feet of gross leasable floor area are exempted from section 16-18L.004(I) above.

No use or operation of any structure or premises shall be permitted within the district which is obnoxious or offensive by reason of odor, smoke, noise, glare, fumes, gas, vibrations, unusual danger of fire or explosion, emission of particulate matter, or interference with radio or television communication, or is otherwise incompatible with the character of the district and its relation to adjoining districts. (Ord. No. 1996-65, §§ 1,2,8-28-96)

Sec. 16-18L.005. Permitted accessory uses and structures.

Accessory uses and structures permitted within this district shall include those customarily accessory and clearly incidental to permitted principal uses and structures and specifically include clubhouses, pools and other recreation amenities and child care facilities to serve residential and commercial uses within the district. (Ord. No. 1996-65, §§ 1,2,8-28-96)

Sec. 16-18L.006. Special permits.

The following uses are permissible only by special permits of the kinds indicated, subject to limitations and requirements set forth herein or elsewhere in this part, subject to the procedures and requirements set forth in sections 16-18.005 and 16-25.004.

(1) Special use permits:

a. Helicopter landing facetious.

b. Outdoor amusement enterprises, exhibits, entertainments, meetings, displays or sales areas, or outdoor areas for religious ceremonies of 90 days duration or longer.

(2) Special administrative permits:

a. All new construction, including additions to existing buildings, or any construction which results in increased lot coverage within this district, is subject to site plan review and approval through special administrative permit pursuant to chapter 25 of this part.

b. Outdoor amusement enterprises, exhibits, entertainment, meetings, displays or sales areas, or outdoor areas for religious ceremonies of less than 90 days’ duration.

(3) Special exceptions: None. Ord. No. 1996-65, §§ 1,2,8-28-96)

Sec. 16-18L.007. Street tree planting requirements.

There shall be a continuous street-tree planting zone adjacent to the curb which shall be not less than five feet in width. In addition to the planting of trees as is required in this section, this zone is also intended for the placement of utility poles and street furniture including fire hydrants, newspaper vending boxes and similar elements. Trees shall be planted a maximum of 40 feet on center within said five foot street tree planting zone. Said zone shall have five foot by eight foot tree grates or shall be planted with continuous ground cover. Newly planted trees shall be a minimum of three inches in caliper measured six inches above ground level, shall be a minimum of ten feet in height, shall have a 40 foot minimum mature height, shall be drought tolerant, and shall be limbed up to a minimum height of seven feet. The director of the bureau of planning shall promulgate a plant palette for the district. Indigenous and other species contained in the plant palette shall be used provided they are reasonably available. A copy of the plant palette for the district shall be filed with the municipal clerk and shall be made available to the public both in the bureau of planning and the bureau of buildings.

The provisions of this section 16-18L.007 are subject to the further limitations contained within section 16-18L.015 of this chapter.

The director of the bureau of planning is hereby authorized to approve plans for any project located on any state route within this district, which, while at variance with the requirements of this section, provide an equal or greater level of public protection in those cases in which the Department of Transportation will not approve plans which are otherwise required by this section. (Ord. No. 1996-65, §§ 1,2,8-28-96) Sec. 16-18L.008. Sidewalk requirements.

Sidewalks shall be built along all public streets within the district except along the Buckhead Loop (Lenox Road) from Peachtree Road north and west to Piedmont Road. All sidewalks shall have a minimum clear zone of ten feet in width and in addition shall provide the five foot wide street tree planting and street furniture zone adjacent to the curb as is required above, except that all properties fronting on Peachtree Road shall provide sidewalks having a minimum clear zone of 15 feet in width and in addition shall provide the five foot wide street tree planting and street furniture zone adjacent to the curb.

The provisions of this section 16-18L.008 are subject to the further limitations contained within section 16-18L.015 of this chapter. (Ord. No. 1996-65, §§ 1,2,8-28-96)

Sec. 16-18L.009. Sight distance triangle; relationship of buildings to streets; Commercial uses at street level; building setbacks.

(a) All buildings shall be designed so as to provide a 20-foot sight distance triangle at street corners.

(b) All lots within this district which have frontage on Peachtree Road from Piedmont Road east to Peachtree-Dunwoody Road and lots within this district which have frontage on Lenox Road from Peachtree Road south to East Paces Ferry Road shall be referred to and known as the “primary pedestrian district.” All lots within the primary pedestrian district shall be developed with buildings facing said streets and with the primary building entrance facing onto the sidewalk and street. All nonresidential buildings within the primary pedestrian district shall have commercial uses on the ground floor level facing the public street and directly accessible from the street and sidewalk. For the purposes of this chapter, commercial use shall lean any retail use, business or professional service, personal service, repair service, or eating or drinking establishment. Parking areas or driveways, except for a driveway to reach the side or rear yard, are not permitted between the sidewalk and the front of the building, provided, however, that hotels may have circular driveways in order to provide for arrival and departure of guests, but shall not increase the number of curb cuts to more than two. The provisions of this section 16-18L.009(b) shall not apply to shopping centers which exceed 800,000 square feet of gross leasable floor area.

(c) Buildings within the primary pedestrian district shall be set back no less than 35 feet and no more than 45 feet from the edge of the street curb. The provisions of this section 16-18L.009(c) shall not apply to shopping centers which exceed 800,000 square feet of gross leasable floor area and shall not apply to buildings constructed within the interior of mixed use developments. (Ord. No. 1996-65, §§ 1,2,8-28-96)

Sec. 16-18L.010. Landscaping requirements.

The following regulations shall apply to all new development constructed within this district subsequent to the adoption of this chapter, and shall further apply to all expansion construction as that term is defined in section 16-18L.015 of this chapter. As used in this chapter, the term “new development” shall mean any construction undertaken on a parcel of land on which there are no existing structures, or on which existing structures have been substantially demolished prior to such construction.

Each lot within the district shall have a minimum of 10 percent of the total lot areas in landscaped space. Landscaped space shall include green and planted areas, plazas, fountains and other landscape elements and similar features which are located on private property but which are generally accessible to the public during normal business hours. For expansion construction, the foregoing requirement may be met by providing on the lot, either within or outside of the expansion construction area, landscaped space having an area equal to at least ten percent of the total area disturbed by the expansion construction.

All accessory surface parking lots with a total of 30 or more parking spaces which are constructed subsequent to the adoption of this chapter shall have minimum barrier curbs and landscaping requirements as follows:

(1) Barrier curbs shall be installed around the perimeter of the parking lot and around landscaped areas that are required herein, except where the perimeter abuts an adjacent building or structure and except at points of ingress and egress into the facility, so as to prevent encroachment of vehicles onto adjacent property, rights of way, sidewalks and landscaped areas.

(2) Barrier curbs shall be a minimum of six inches in height and a minimum of eight inches in width and shall be permanent in nature. Barrier curbs shall be concrete or stone. Such curbs shall be securely installed and maintained in good condition.

(3) Where the end of a parking space abuts a landscaped area, barrier curbs may be placed in the parking space at a maximum of two feet from the end of the parking space. This two foot wide area may have the pavement removed, and be developed as part of the required landscaped area.

(4) Surface parking lots shall have a minimum landscaped area equal to at lease ten percent of the paved area within said lot. (5) A minimum of one tree per eight parking spaces shall be included in the required landscaped areas. For the purpose of satisfying this requirement, existing trees that are three inches or more in caliper as measured at a height of thirty-six inches above ground level shall be considered to be equivalent to one or more newly planted trees on the basis of one tree for each three inches of caliper.

(6) In addition to trees, ground cover shall also be provided in order to protect tree roots and to prevent erosion. Ground cover shall consist of shrubs, ivy, liriope, pine bark mulch, or other similar landscaping material.

(7) Shrubs shall be maintained at a maximum height of two and one-half feet, except where such shrubs are screening the parking surface from an adjacent residential area.

(8) In the even that landscaped areas are in the interior of a parking lot, they shall be a minimum of six feet in width and six feet in length, with a minimum area of 35 square feet.

(9) Continuous landscaped buffer strips shall be constructed along sidewalks and public rights-of-way except at points of ingress or egress into the facility. Such landscaped buffer strips shall be a minimum of five feet in width and shall contain, in addition to ground cover, trees planted a maximum of 40 feet on center along the entire length.

(10) Newly planted trees shall be a minimum of three inches in caliper as measured at a height of six inches above ground level, shall be a minimum of ten feet in height, shall have a 40 foot minimum mature height, and shall be drought tolerant. These shall be planted at a minimum of 30 inches from any barrier curb, so as to prevent injury to trees from vehicle bumpers.

(11) Where landscaped areas are located adjacent to vehicle overhangs, the trees shall be planted in line with the side stripes between parking spaces in order to avoid injury to trees by vehicle bumpers.

(12) All landscaped areas shall be properly maintained in accordance with approved landscape plans. In the event that a tree or any plant material dies, it shall be replaced within 12 months so as to meet all requirements of this section and to allow for planting in the appropriate planting season.

(Ord. No. 1996-65, §§ 1,2,8-28-96) Sec. 16-18L.011. Transportation management plans required; offstreet parking requirements and limitations.

The owner or owners or the authorized agent of the owner or owners of each office building or group of office buildings located within the boundaries of the Buckhead/Lenox Special Public Interest District in which total gross leaseable floor area of office space exceeds 100,000 square feel shall prepare and filewith the director of the bureau of planning a transportation management plan (TMP). Any request for a special administrative permit for new construction in which total gross leasable floor area of office space exceeds 100,000 square feet shall contain said TMP as a part of the application. For all existing office developments, said TMP shall be filed with the director of the bureau of planning no later than 180 days from the effective date of this chapter. Said TMP shall be filed in the manner otherwise provided for special administrative permits in chapter 25 of this part and is subject to review and decision by the director of the bureau of planning. Appropriate forms for the filing of transportation management plans shall be promulgated by the director of the bureau of planning.

Each such TMP shall be designed so that in the horizon year, five years from the date of original approval of said TMP, 25 percent of peak-hour work trips to each such building or group of buildings shall be made by alternative transportation means other than single-occupancy vehicles. Each applicant shall thereafter on a five year basis submit a new TMP and a report documenting the effectiveness of the previous TMP.

Peak-hour work trips are the total number of persons arriving at the subject site between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. on the average workday. Said alternative transportation means included in each such required TMP shall include both alternatives to driving alone and techniques that encourage the use of these alternatives. Each such plan shall be comprised of improved use of public transit in combination with any of the following elements, as follows: (1) Commute alternatives:

a. Public transit

b. Carpooling and vanpooling;

c. Commuter bicycling and walking programs;

d. Alternative work hours:

1. Staggered work hours; 2. Compressed work weeks; 3. Flexible work hours (flextime); 4. Telecommuting.

(2) Transportation demand strategies: a. Improvements to alternative modes such as vanpooling

b. Financial incentives given to employers who use commute alternatives;

c. Parking management programs;

d. Commute alternatives information and marketing;

e. Participation in a transportation management association.

(3) Parking limitations:

a. Parking spaces for any new office development within the Buckhead/Lenox Stations District shall not exceed 2.75 spaces per 1,000 square feet of gross floor area.

b. Parking spaces for any new mixed-use development consisting of office, hotel, retail or other permissible commercial uses, shall be based upon a shared parking formula approved by the commissioner of public works.

c. Parking lots shall be designed so as to provide the most convenient accessibility to building entrances by handicapped persons and persons arriving by vanpools and carpools. (Ord. No. 1996-65, §§ 1,2,8-28-96)

Sec. 16-18L.012. Off-street loading requirements.

See Section 16-28.015 for off-street loading requirements. (Ord. No. 1996-65, §§ 1,2,8-28-96)

Sec. 16-18L.013. Limitations on signs.

Sign regulations shall be as otherwise established for each zoning district. See chapter 28A for sign regulations applicable to each of the underlying zoning districts which form a part of the Buckhead/Lenox Stations Special Interest District. (Ord. No. 1996-65, §§ 1,2,8-28-96)

Sec. 16-18L.014. Site plans review; pre-application conference.

Before making an application for a special administrative permit a pre-application conference between the applicant and the director of planning or the director’s designee is required. All applications for special administrative permits shall be processed in accordance with the standards and procedures contained within chapter 25 and in this chapter 18L. In making any application for a special administrative permit prior to requesting a building permit, the following information shall be submitted:

(1) Completed application for special administrative permit and required fee;

(2) Authorization of owner to file said application;

(3) Five detailed site plans drawn to scale. An engineering scale with adequate resolution for verification of measurements shall be used. The site plan shall include information as follows:

a. Name, address, and phone number of owner, applicant and person preparing the site plan;

b. Date, north arrow, and graphic scale;

c. Location sketch showing property in relation to adjacent areas and showing pedestrian routes to the MARTA station;

d. Location of property lines, proposed/existing easements, water courses and other essential features;

e. Width and location of existing or proposed public or private streets;

f. Proposed/existing lot and building site lines;

g. Proposed and required minimum and maximum setback lines and dimensions;

h. Landscapes, yards, irrigation systems, or treatment of perimeter areas such as fences, walls or beams

i. Accessory structures and dimensioned waste/storage collection points;

j. Phasing of the site including any temporary landscaping or beaming;

k. Proposed location of sidewalks, street trees, required landscaping and open space, bike paths, curbs, gutters, water mains, sanitary sewers, storm drains, manholes, and inlets;

l. Acreage of site, square footage of structures, floor area ratio, and green and open space; m. Zoning of the site and adjacent property;

n. Comprehensive plan land use designation;

o. Proposed height of structures;

p. Parking spaces dimensioned and numbers, including number required, maximum permitted and number provided;

q. Density and number of proposed dwelling units (residential only);

r. Existing and proposed fire hydrants;

s. Location, percentage and size of areas to be reserved and used as open space, recreational uses, and similar areas;

t. Names of adjoining property owner;

u. Available water lines;

v. Available sewer lines.

(4) Where a site plan covers only a part of the total property owned by the applicant, a master phasing plan shall be provided.

(5) A typed metes and bounds legal description and a copy of a recent plat of survey of the property shall be provided.

(6) Preliminary design of bridges or culverts may be required by the department of public works.

(7) A tree survey as required by the tree ordinance of the City of Atlanta.

(8) Dimensions of existing and proposed sidewalks , not including the width of curbs. A