CITY OF TEMPE Meeting Date: 10/16/2018 HEARING OFFICER Agenda Item: 3 ACTION: Request a variance to increase the permitted building height from 35 feet and 40 feet to 100 feet for FREEDOM RIO PHASE III & RIO 2100 EAST located at 2128 and 2132 East Rio Salado Parkway. The applicant is Berry Riddell LLC. (PL180044) FISCAL IMPACT: N/A RECOMMENDATION: Staff – Approval, subject to conditions BACKGROUND INFORMATION: FREEDOM RIO PHASE III & RIO 2100 EAST (PL180044) are proposed office developments located within the larger Rio Salado development area east of Tempe Marketplace. Both developments include a four-story office building with an associated parking garage. The request includes the following: VAR180007 Variance to increase the permitted building height from 35 ft. and 40 ft. to 100 ft. Property Owners Tellurian Development Company and PG Investments 1, LC Applicant Wendy Riddell, Berry Riddell LLC Freedom Rio Phase III Zoning District GID, General Industrial District Net Site Area 4.61 acres Gross Building Area 139,000 s.f. (office), 235,508 s.f. (garage) / 374,508 total s.f. Lot Coverage 42.9% (no standard) Building Height 80’ proposed, 100’ maximum requested by variance (35’ max permitted) Building Setbacks 56’-2” front (south), 28’-3” west side, 35’-5” rear (25’, 0’, 0’, 0’ required) Landscape Area 33% (min. 10% required) Rio 2100 East Zoning District HID, Heavy Industrial District Net Site Area 6.54 acres Gross Building Area 174,000 (office), 257,840 s.f. (garage) / 431,840 total s.f. Lot Coverage 60.3 % (no standard) Building Height 73’-5” proposed, 100’ maximum requested by variance (40’ max permitted) Building Setbacks 25’-1” front, 8’ west side, 53’-2” east side, 20’-10” rear (25’, 0’, 0’, 0’ required) Landscape Area 18% (min. 10% required) ATTACHMENTS: Development Project File STAFF CONTACT(S): Karen Stovall, Senior Planner (480) 350-8432 Department Director: Chad Weaver, Community Development Director Legal review by: N/A Prepared by: Karen Stovall, Senior Planner Reviewed by: Steve Abrahamson, Planning & Zoning Coordinator COMMENTS The two sites are located between Rio Salado Parkway and the Red Mountain Freeway, at the curve just south of the Salt River. The 2100 Rio Salado Planned Area Development (PAD) is located to the west of Rio 2100 East, and currently includes two hotels and an office building. Freedom Rio Phases I and II are located west of Phase III. To the east are the Red Mountain Freeway and existing industrial uses. The land included in the 2100 Rio Salado PAD and Freedom Rio was part of the First Street Landfill, which closed in 1992. In January 2015, City Council approved the 2100 Rio Salado PAD. This PAD allowed an increased building height of 75 feet due to: 1) the height of the land 17 feet above grade at Rio Salado Parkway after capping the landfill to prepare for commercial development and 2) the allowed height of 75 feet at Tempe Marketplace to the west. Freedom Rio Phase III is part of the three-phase Freedom Rio office development. In January 2017, the Hearing Officer approved a variance, for what was then named Boyer Rio 2100 (PL160431) and is now known as Freedom Rio Phases I and II, to increase the building height from 35 feet to 100 feet. The special circumstances argued for that variance were based on the significant improvements done to the property to make it developable, the view obstruction of the Red Mountain Freeway, and the permitted building height of 75 feet allowed for the 2100 Rio Salado PAD to the south. Development of Phase I is complete, Phase II is currently under construction, and Phase III rests on the decision made for the subject variance request. A portion of the properties included in Rio 2100 East were previously processed as Millennium at Rio Salado, a proposed mixed-use development with commercial and residential buildings. That application was withdrawn by the applicant when the owner of Freedom Rio purchased the property and additional land to the east. Both of the subject sites are currently vacant, and the applicant proposes to construct a four-story office building and parking garage on each. The applicant has filed a Major Development Plan Review application for the approval of site plans, building elevations, and landscape plans for both sites. These applications will be heard by the Development Review Commission at an undetermined future date. PUBLIC INPUT A neighborhood meeting was not required. Staff has received no public inquiries or comments regarding this request. VARIANCE Freedom Rio Phase III The applicant requests a variance to increase the maximum building height from 35 feet to 100 feet within the GID zoning district. Per the Zoning and Development Code, building height is determined from the top of grade; grade is defined as the top of curb as established at the midpoint of the front property line. The datum point for Freedom Rio Phase III is taken from the top of curb at the midpoint of the front (south) property line, adjacent to the future private street: 1,184.00 feet representing 0 feet for defining building height. From this point, the proposed building height is 80 feet. Due to the location from which grade for Phase III is measured, this height is higher than the buildings of Phases I and II. The datum point for Phases I and II is 1,196.6 feet, which leads to a building height of 62 feet for both. All three buildings, however, will be four- stories. Rio 2100 East The applicant requests a variance to increase the maximum building height from 40 feet to 100 feet within the HID zoning district. The datum point for Rio 2100 East is taken from the top of curb at the midpoint of the front property line of the development (final lots not yet platted) along Rio Salado Parkway: 1,177’-4” representing 0 feet for defining building height, per the Zoning and Development Code. From this point, the proposed building height is 73’-5”. PL180044 – FREEDOM RIO PHASE III & RIO 2100 EAST Page 1 Section 6-309 D. Variance Approval Criteria (in italics): 1. That special circumstances are applicable to the property, including its size, shape, topography, location, or surroundings; as previously stated, a PAD for 2100 Rio Salado and a variance for Freedom Rio Phases I and II allow maximum building heights of 75 feet and 100 feet, respectively. These developments are adjacent to the subject sites, bordering them to the west. The increased heights permitted for the surrounding developments is a special circumstance applicable to the properties. According to the 2040 General Plan, the site is within the University / Hayden Butte Redevelopment Area, which extends from 48th Street to the Price Freeway. Objectives of the Redevelopment Element of the Land Use and Development Chapter include the prevention and elimination of slum and blight, stimulation of private investment, and attracting new development. The intense remediation that occurred on a portion of the site and surrounding properties due to the former landfill operation (see applicant’s letter of explanation) and the developments that will be made possible by approval of this variance request will fulfill the Redevelopment Goal of the 2040 General Plan. The site is within the 101/202 Interchange Growth Area established through the Economic Development Element of the 2040 General Plan. The goal of this this growth area is to, “Remove blighted conditions and reclaim the area for reuse and redevelopment with mixed use and regional business.” Strategies to achieve this goal include: x Focus development at the interchange location to serve as a regional destination. x Support private land development that produces revenue to Tempe. x Promote pedestrian, bike, and transit connection between destinations within the interchange area. Due to the location of the subject sites within the 101/202 Interchange Growth Area, the office developments that would result from the proposals are a step toward further implementing this goal of the General Plan. The Land Element of the General Plan’s Conservation Chapter identifies the area just west of these properties as a Brownfield Site due to the previous landfill. Objective 1 of the Land Remediation Goal states: “Recommend land-use actions that promote land preservation, restoration, and efficient use of brownfields.” Approval of this variance request will encourage land uses of a compatible intensity within the area of a former Brownfield, supporting this objective of the General Plan. 2. The strict application of this Code will deprive such property of privileges enjoyed by other property of the same classification in the same zoning district; the strict application of the code would permit a maximum building height of 35 feet for Freedom Rio Phase III and 40 feet for Rio 2100 East. This would result in heights up to 65 feet less than that which is permitted for the developments to the west. Visually, the height restriction would result in a dip between the Red Mountain and Pima Freeways and the higher buildings of 2100 Rio Salado and Freedom Rio Phases I and II. In order to allow buildings of a scale uniform with those to the west, increased building heights would need to be permitted on the subject sites. 3. The adjustment authorized shall not constitute a grant of special privileges inconsistent with the limitations upon other properties in the vicinity and zone in which such property is located; the requested variance would not grant special privileges inconsistent with the limitations upon other properties in the same vicinity and zone as the subject sites. The properties to the west are zoned GID (Freedom Rio Phases I and III) and HID PAD (2100 Rio Salado), similar to the subject sites.