REPORT TO PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION - CITY OF MARYLAND HEIGHTS

Transcription

1 REPORT TO PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION - CITY OF MARYLAND HEIGHTS APPLICATION NUMBER APPLICATION (PROJECT) NAME APPLICANT NAME PROPERTY OWNER CUP HSL SPORTS SPORTPORT HSL Sports, LLC c/o Greensfelder, Hempker & Gale PC 10 South Broadway, Suite 2000, St. Louis, Missouri City of Maryland Heights Dorsett Road, Maryland Heights, Missouri APPLICANT S REQUEST Amendment to Conditional Use Permit Ordinance # to allow air dome structures at the existing community recreation facility SITE LOCATION Terminus of Sport Port Road, north of Highway 141 STREET ADDRESS SPORT PORT ROAD PARCEL/LOCATOR NUMBER 12Q EXISTING ZONING DISTRICT NU Non-Urban District TOTAL SITE AREA 84.5 acres PLANNING AREA HOWARD BEND PLANNING AREA PUBLIC HEARING April 12, 2016 REPORT ISSUED April 7, 2016 CASE MANAGER RECOMMENDATION Michael Zeek, AICP DISCUSSION

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3 REPORT TO PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION - CITY OF MARYLAND HEIGHTS DESCRIPTION OF EXISTING SITE CONDITIONS The subject site is 84.5 acres in size and is located at the terminus of Sport Port Road, north of Maryland Heights Expressway. It is a community recreation facility operated by the applicant known as Sportport. The facility has twelve lighted fields (eight grass and four turf) and three unlighted fields. The facility also has a maintenance building, locker rooms, concessions, and over 700 parking spaces. REFER TO FIGURE 1 NEIGHBORHOOD CONDITIONS/LAND USE The Howard Bend Levee passes through the northern portion of the site. A single -family dwelling abuts the site to the southwest. Agricultural uses are located west, east, and south of the site. Further east is the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District s Missouri River Wastewater Treatment Plant. Further south is Creve Coeur Lake Memorial Park. Further southwest is Creve Coeur Airport. REFER TO FIGURE 2 ZONING CONTEXT The site and surrounding properties to the west and east are zoned NU Non- Urban District. The First Park site south of the site is zoned PD-M Planned District Manufacturing. Further south, Creve Coeur Lake Memorial Park is zoned MXD Mixed Use District. REFER TO APPENDIX SUPPLEMENTAL MAPS AND EXHIBITS REFER TO FIGURE 3 EXISTING CONDITIONS MATRIX DIRECTION EXISTING LAND USE ZONING DISTRICT COMMENTS North Missouri River n/a City boundary with City of St. Charles East Agricultural; Wastewater treatment plant NU South Undeveloped land PD-M Site of future First Park development West Single-family dwelling; Agricultural land NU HSL SPORTS SPORTPORT April 7, 2016 PAGE 3

4 REPORT TO PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION - CITY OF MARYLAND HEIGHTS BACKGROUND AND REQUEST In 2010, Ultimate Soccer Arenas of Missouri requested a Conditional Use Permit to lease and operate the Sportport soccer complex as a community recreation facility (a conditional use in the NU Non- Urban District). The facility, owned by the City of Maryland Heights, was previously considered a municipal recreation facility (a permitted use in the NU Non-Urban District). The request was approved via adoption of Conditional Use Permit Ordinance The applicant leased and operated the facility for several years. Last year, HSL Sports assumed the lease of Sportport and continues to operate the facility under the terms of Ordinance HSL Sports now requests amendments and modifications to the governing ordinance as follows (the applicant s narrative and other exhibits are attached to this report): Amendment to the building design standards to construct up to four air dome structures. Request to extend the hours of operation, currently 10:00 p.m., to 1:00 a.m. Addition of restaurant/bar as an accessory use Clarification of the extent of special events that may be held on site Clarification of the approval/inspection of temporary structures and signs DISCUSSION AIR DOME STRUCTURES The most substantive request relates to the proposed air dome structures. Ordinance requires new buildings to meet the requirements of Section 25-13, Building Design Standards, of the Zoning Code. The proposed domes are an issue because Section E.1 specifically prohibits tensile fabric as a primary building material. It should be noted that the Building Design Standards contain provisions which allow the Planning Commission to evaluate unique building designs that provide architecture in a manner outside the scope of standards. Essentially, the applicant is requesting that the Planning Commission waive this building material requirement to approve the domes at this location. While tensile fabric should be discouraged throughout the City as a primary material, the Planning Commission could consider it in this case due to the unique nature of the use and site. The large-scale recreational uses on site would be extremely difficult to enclose within a building or buildings meeting all of the Building Design Standards. The standards are simply not intended to address large-scale recreational uses. The Commission could also consider the proposed domes in light of their location. While the precise location of the domes has not been determined, the applicant submitted an exhibit showing six possible locations (only a maximum of four domes are proposed). Due to the size and height of the proposed domes they would be visible from Highway 141, but the closest dome would be over 2,300 feet from the highway, limiting their overall visual impact. It should also be noted that the Planning Commission approved a similar request for the Twin Domes project in In that case, the applicant proposed two domes 352 feet in width, 702 feet in length, and 107 feet in height each. In this case, the proposed domes are smaller at approximately 240 feet in width, 300 feet in length, and 70 feet in height. The Commission approved the Conceptual Development Plan for that project despite the inconsistency with the Building Design Standards stating: The use of tensile fabrics and air supported structures is appropriate in this case by the special reason of enclosing large-scale recreational uses as proposed by the applicant. PAGE 4 APPLICATION FOR CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT AMENDMENT CUP April 7, 2016

5 REPORT TO PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION - CITY OF MARYLAND HEIGHTS DISCUSSION (Cont.) The draft ordinance prepared by the applicant also addresses one of staff s chief concerns, which is the potential to incorporate large signage on the tensile fabric. The applicant does not propose this type of signage and instead proposes to use the ordinance to specifically prohibit it. Staff awaits input from the Planning Commission on the appropriateness of the proposed domes at this location. However, there are two other issues which cannot be addressed by the Conditional Use Permit. The site is zoned NU Non-Urban District. This district contains height limitations of 50 feet for farm structures and 35 feet for all other structures. The proposed domes are over 70 feet in height. There is also a limitation on lot coverage for detached accessory structures in the Non-Urban District of 2%. For this 85-acre property, that means that only 74,000 square feet of accessory structures are permitted. The domes could be considered accessory structures and each dome would be approximately 72,000 square feet in area. These discrepancies could be addressed by either Board of Adjustment variances or a rezoning to PD-CR Planned District Commercial Recreation. The applicant has requested additional flexibility to maximize the success of this project and the Planned District would best facilitate such flexibility. In response, staff has advertised a rezoning to PD-CR in the event that the Planning Commission is supportive of the proposed domes. HOURS OF OPERATION Conditional Use Permit Ordinance currently restricts the facility s hours of operation to 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. daily. This is generally consistent with other recreational developments the City has approved in the Maryland Park Lake District. The applicant requests that the hours of operation be extended to 1:00 a.m. The Planning Commission may request additional information from the applicant on the rationale for this modification. In considering potential adverse impacts, the properties closest neighbors are a single-family dwelling, Creve Coeur Airport, and the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District s treatment plant. With the exception of the abutting single-family dwelling, it is unlikely that the use would disturb other homes due to their considerable distance from the property. The closest single-family residential subdivision in St. Charles County is almost one mile away and the closest in Maryland Heights is over 1.5 miles from the subject site. OTHER MODIFCATIONS Staff concurs with the other proposed modifications to the ordinance. Most of these include clarifications on the types of accessory uses and special events permitted on site. The types of uses proposed, such as restaurants, fundraisers, movie nights, and seasonal events are consistent with the recreational nature of the site and will allow the applicant to maximize their use of the property from a recreational and entertainment perspective. REQUESTED ACTION Staff requests input from the Planning Commission on the requested amendments and modifications to the conditions governing the Sportport recreational facility. If the Commission concurs with the applicant s requests, staff will prepare a draft ordinance for consideration at the April 26th meeting. HSL SPORTS SPORTPORT April 7, 2016 PAGE 5

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7 REPORT TO PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION - CITY OF MARYLAND HEIGHTS APPENDIX SUPPLEMENTAL MAPS AND EXHIBITS HSL SPORTS SPORTPORT April 7, 2016 PAGE 7

8 REPORT TO PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION - CITY OF MARYLAND HEIGHTS HWY 141 FIGURE 1: AERIAL PHOTOGRAPH PAGE 8 APPLICATION FOR CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT AMENDMENT CUP April 7, 2016

9 REPORT TO PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION - CITY OF MARYLAND HEIGHTS HWY 141 FIGURE 2: EXISTING LAND USE PATTERN HSL SPORTS SPORTPORT April 7, 2016 PAGE 9

10 REPORT TO PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION - CITY OF MARYLAND HEIGHTS HWY 141 FIGURE 3: ZONING MAP PAGE 10 APPLICATION FOR CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT AMENDMENT CUP April 7, 2016

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