BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS CASE SUMMARY FOR VARIANCE REQUEST. 707 Catawba Street

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1 BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS CASE SUMMARY FOR VARIANCE REQUEST 707 Catawba Street November 8, 2016 at 10:00 A.M. City Council Chambers, 1737 Main Street, 3 rd Floor Columbia, South Carolina Case Number: V Subject Property: 707 Catawba Street (TMS# , ) Zoning District: Applicant: Property Owner: Council District: 2 Summary Prepared: October 31, 2016 M-2, -PD (Heavy Industrial District in the Planned Development Overlay) Chad Hardaway, USC Incubator, on behalf of USC Development Foundation University of South Carolina Development Foundation Requested Action: Variance to the parking requirements for an office and research building. Applicable Sections of Zoning Ordinance: Parking requirements for the USC/Columbia Technology Incubator building is 3 for each 1,000 square feet of gross floor area Standard criteria for variances Case History: Staff Comments: None. The applicant is requesting a variance to the parking requirements to construct a new 49,229 square foot office building on a lot with an existing 60,640 square foot building. For this proposal, a total of 261 parking spaces are required (171 spaces for the new building and 90 for the existing buildings). The applicant is proposing to provide 90 parking spaces instead. The proposed use, a technology incubator, is a somewhat unique use. The applicant has provided a summary of how the existing and proposed buildings will be used, and has provided information about the parking at the Incubator s existing building at 1225 Laurel Street. Also the applicant has documented a similar use, the Innovation Research Campus Development on Charlotte s North End, which has provided an overall parking ratio of 1.5 spaces per 1,000 square feet with a utilization of approximately 1 space per 1,000 square feet of gross floor area. Of the 261 total required parking spaces, the applicant is proposing to provide 90 spaces onsite. The applicant also intends to construct and lease 38 parking spaces on an adjacent parcel owned by the South Carolina Department of Transportation. In that the South Carolina Department of Transportation may terminate within 90 days notice, the applicant is not seeking a special exception for leased off-site parking. The existing building contains about 7,845 square feet of office space and 52,795 square feet of warehouse space and has 18 existing parking spaces (normally 90 parking spaces would be required). Across Catawba Street to the south is property owned by the Richland County School Board, and to the north, vacant property and the railroad tracks. Across the tracks to the north is the University of South Carolina Greek Village. To the immediate east is a PAGE 1 OF 2

2 design studio and print shop, and to the west is a vacant warehouse structure. The block is primarily zoned M-2, Heavy Industrial, with properties within the vicinity in DD Overlays. At its October 10, 2016 meeting, the City of Columbia Planning Commission granted Site Plan Approval to the proposed development, subject to receiving a parking variance or other form of parking relief to meet requirements. I recommend that the Board approve this application, subject to the following condition: Construction and operation to be in substantial conformance with the application and supporting materials submitted by the applicant. The above recommendation is based upon the following findings as required within of the Zoning Ordinance: 1. Extraordinary and exceptional conditions exist in that the existing 60,640 square foot building on the site is underutilized with only employees occupying the space, therefore decreasing the need for excess parking. The property is impacted by the adjacent railroad right-of-way and a parcel owned by the South Carolina Department of Transportation. 2. These conditions do not generally apply to other properties in the vicinity as there is no Technology Incubator in the near vicinity and other properties are not impacted by the Railroad and the SCDOT right-of-way. 3. Because of these conditions, the application of the zoning ordinance to the particular piece of property would effectively prohibit or unreasonably restrict the utilization of the property; as the applicant has demonstrated that the current location of the Incubator has not encountered issues with a similar ratio of parking. According to the applicant the new 49,229 square foot building being proposed would not be utilized like a standard office building and therefore require less parking in comparison to its total size. Providing additional parking would create a surplus and would be unnecessary for the proposed use. 4. Authorizing this variance will not be of substantial detriment to adjacent property or the public good, and the character of the district will not be harmed, as the Incubator and its associated parking already exist at a different location and have not created any previous issues. The proposed development is consistent with the high intensity mixed-use character called for within the PD Overlay district description. 5. Further, the reasons set forth within the application justify the granting of the variance, and the requested relief is the minimum necessary to make reasonable use of the property in question in that the applicant is proposing to maximize the parking onsite. 6. The granting of the variance will be in harmony with the general purpose and intent of the Zoning Ordinance, and it will not be injurious to the neighborhood or otherwise detrimental to the public welfare. Persons expressing support or concern about this application submitted the documents outlined below to staff. All documents are attached hereto and made a part of the record of the public hearing. -Letter of support from Richard Burts, 701 Whaley. PAGE 2 OF 2

3 Zoning Map Department of Planning & Development Services Variance V 707 Catawba Street TMS# , , and -07 µ Legend INTERSTATES RAILROADS CITY LIMITS FEMA FP Waverly D-1 C-1 RS-1 RS-1A RS-1B RS-2 RS-3 C-2 C-3 C-3A C-4 C-5 MX LINCOLN ST RD RD-2 M-1 M-2 RG-1 RG-1A RG-2 PUD-C PUD-LS PUD-LS-E PULASKI ST RG-3 UTD PUD-LS-R PUD-R MX-1 MX-2 OUT OF CITY DD DISTRICT DP DISTRICTS ) PD DISTRICT CC OVERLAY City Landmark 1 inch = 200 feet M-2 GADSDEN ST ORIGINAL PREPARATION/DATE: This map was prepared by: Tabitha Proffitt for November 8, 2016 BoZA meeting DISCLAIMER: The City of Columbia Department of Planning and Development Services data represented on this map or plan is the product of compilation, as produced by others. It is provided for informational purposes only and the City of Columbia makes no representation as to its accuracy. Its use without field verification is at the sole risk of the user. C-2 RD Whaley Street Historic Protection Area District Whaley Street M-1 WAYNE ST Granby Architectural Conservation District CATAWBA ST 214 MX RS WHALEY ST RG MULBERRY LN Source: Esri, DigitalGlobe, GeoEye, Earthstar Geographics, CNES/Airbus DS, USDA, USGS, AeroGRID, IGN, and the GIS User Community ** DATA SOURCE - CITY OF COLUMBIA, GIS DIVISION

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