ARLINGTON COUNTY, VIRGINIA County Board Agenda Item Meeting of March 27, 2004 DATE: March 19, 2004 SUBJECT: SP # 376 SITE PLAN AMENDMENT, to amend Condition #26 to permit the installation of new utility poles and/or retention of existing utility poles associated with undergrounding of utilities and to amend Condition #5 to permit the Utility Undergrounding Fund contribution to be used for relocating utilities associated with the site plan; 4013 and 4029 Columbia Pike (RPC #23-033-029, -030, -032, -034). Applicant: National Capital Land & Development Company, Inc. By: M. Catherine Puskar, Attorney Walsh, Colucci, Lubeley, Emrich, & Terpak, PC 2200 Clarendon Boulevard, 13 th Floor Arlington, Virginia 22201 C.M. RECOMMENDATION: Approve the site plan amendment request to revise Condition #26 to permit the installation of new utility poles and/or retention of existing utility poles associated with undergrounding of utilities; and to revise Condition #5 to permit the Utility Undergrounding Fund contribution to be used for relocating utilities associated with the site plan. ISSUE: Revising the scope of the utility undergrounding improvements to address the high costs of utility undergrounding relative to the size of the 22-unit townhouse project. SUMMARY: Due to high construction costs related to removing existing aerial utilities along the periphery of the site, the applicant has requested relief from full compliance with Condition #26, which requires the applicant to place underground all existing aerial utilities within or along the periphery of this site. Staff and the developer have worked with Dominion Virginia Power to identify potential cost savings by either allowing existing poles to remain on South Quincy or South Randolph Streets or relocating poles on Columbia Pike. In addition, the applicant has requested that the amount of the Utility Undergrounding Fund contribution that County Manager: County Attorney: Staff: Richard Tucker, DCPHD Ramona Burns, DPW
would otherwise be required of $36,674 ($1,667 x 22 units) be directed towards off-site improvements made by the developer associated with the site plan. As a result, existing aerial utilities will only be required to be removed along the Columbia Pike frontage of the new development, except that an existing utility pole located near South Randolph Street, will remain in place providing the sole electrical service connection across Columbia Pike to the Quebec Apartments. Certain elements of the undergrounding project on the northwest corner of Columbia Pike and South Randolph Street and spanning across to the south side of Columbia Pike will not be required of this developer, and therefore will need to be completed at a later date, in conjunction with the commercial property at Columbia Pike and George Mason Drive. Existing poles along South Quincy Street contiguous to the site will also be maintained as is, and will be tied into the undergrounded utilities at a relocated pole on the northeast corner of Columbia Pike and South Quincy Street by the developer. This undergrounding work will be coordinated with a planned County project to replace the traffic signal with a mast arm and traffic signal control box at this location. BACKGROUND: The County Board approved the existing Zetlin (a.k.a. Alcova Row) townhouse project in May 2003. Condition #26 of the site plan requires the developer to place underground all existing aerial utilities within or along the periphery of the site, which includes the entire block frontage, along Columbia Pike, and portions of South Randolph and South Quincy Streets. Condition #5 of the site plan requires that the applicant pay a Utility Undergrounding Fund contribution equal to $1,667 per unit for general use by the County for undergrounding work not associated with this site plan. The applicant has encountered higher than anticipated utility undergrounding costs and is seeking to revise the utility undergrounding project scope in an effort to reduce costs. Site: The 71,109 square foot (1.63 acre) site comprises the southern portion of the block bounded by Columbia Pike, South Quincy Street and South Randolph Street. The northern boundary of the site abuts single family residences. Zoning: The site is zoned R15-30T, Residential Townhouse Dwelling Districts. Land Use: The site is designated on the GLUP as Low Residential (11-15 units per acre). Neighborhood: Alcova Heights Civic Association and Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization (CPRO). Existing aerial utilities along the periphery of the site include wires and poles for electrical lines (Dominion Virginia Power), telephone lines (Verizon), and cable lines (Comcast) and traffic signal communications. The applicant has asked for relief from the undergrounding requirement in three areas, based on cost estimates provided by Dominion Virginia Power. Based on these cost estimates (and assuming commensurate costs and cost savings for the other utilities) the following changes are proposed: 1. At the northwest corner of the intersection of Columbia Pike and South Randolph Street, the developer has requested to terminate undergrounding at an existing or SP#376 Site Plan Amendment - 2 -
relocated pole rather than continue the undergrounding across South Randolph Street to the west, as required. 2. At approximately 20 feet east of the South Randolph Street / Columbia Pike intersection, the applicant has requested that an existing utility pole be maintained, which provides the sole electrical connection for the Quebec Apartments across Columbia Pike. In lieu of removing the overhead electrical lines across Columbia Pike, the applicant will install a manhole at this location in conjunction with the undergrounding to be done on the north side of Columbia Pike. This manhole will serve as the connection point for a subsequent undergrounding project to be carried out as part of the redevelopment of the nearby shopping center, including work not done as part of (#1.) above. 3. The applicant requests to be relieved from the requirement to place underground existing utilities along South Quincy Street, and to be permitted to relocate (within 10 feet of current the location) an existing pole on the northeast corner of the South Quincy Street/Columbia Pike intersection to provide a transfer point for overhead services to the undergrounded portion of the system. 4. The applicant requests that the amount that would otherwise be their Utility Undergrounding Fund contribution ($36,674) be permitted to be used to fund their utility undergrounding costs for the Columbia Pike frontage associated with the site plan. DISCUSSION: In a few similar cases, the County has provided relief from standard undergrounding requirements for low density townhouse projects (designated either Low Residential [1-10 units per acre] or Low Residential [11-15 units per acre] on the General Land Use Plan) where the County has found that the excessive undergrounding costs have rendered the small scale residential projects infeasible. This is only done in smaller scale development outside of the metro corridors. The Tazewell Place Project (SP #279), the 501 South Glebe Road Project (SP #316) and the South Glebe Road Townhouse Project (SP #373) project are previous examples of where this policy has been applied. In these cases, the undergrounding requirement was reduced as part of the original approval. Since undergrounding costs can vary widely from site to site, the County has worked with the developer in each of the previous cases to modify the requirements based upon: (a) what would be considered a reasonable per unit cost expenditure, based on the projected unit cost; (b) the possibility for a portion of the undergrounding work to be done either as part of a previously identified County project at a later date, or as part of future private development; or (c) the general character of the streets around the project, the surrounding area, and the likelihood that additional subsequent undergrounding could be expected in the vicinity. Staff has worked with the applicant and Dominion Virginia Power (DVP) to verify the cost of the undergrounding as required in the approved site plan. According to DVP, the estimated undergrounding costs, for electric service only, will be approximately $658,461 ($29,930 per unit). At the time the site plan was approved, the applicant anticipated DVP related costs of $220,000 ($10,000 per unit). Whereas generally, the developer is responsible for SP#376 Site Plan Amendment - 3 -
undergrounding all aerial utilities along the periphery of the site as a condition of site plan approval, small, infill development projects outside of the higher-density corridors often cannot absorb the high costs of removing aerial utilities. In this case, staff has worked with the applicant and DVP to identify elements of the originally conceived undergrounding project that are essentially off-site improvements on the northwest and southwest corners of the Columbia Pike and South Randolph Street intersection that can be completed at a later date as part of another redevelopment project that is likely to occur. Also, on South Quincy Street, staff is recommending that existing aerial utilities be allowed to remain in place along the west side of the street, while one existing pole on the northeast corner of Columbia Pike and Quincy Street would be relocated (within 10 feet of the current location) to provide a transition. A brief summary of the applicant s requests and recommended resolution of these issues as follows: Relief from Undergrounding across Columbia Pike and Reduction of Scope at Northeast Corner of Columbia Pike at South Randolph Street: The developer was informed by DVP that leaving poles in place eliminates the need to construct duct banks and related switches along the west side of South Randolph Street. These elements of the project can be completed at a later date by the adjacent developer (or with County assistance that has been put in place to encourage development within the Columbia Pike Revitalization District, if needed) when the property on the northwest corner of Columbia Pike and South Randolph Street is redeveloped. The estimated cost savings for this portion of the project is $87,000. Relief from Undergrounding along South Quincy Street: Along the eastern boundary of the site, the applicant proposes to retain existing aerial lines that provide a connection from Columbia Pike to the adjacent single family neighborhood. To provide a transition from the utilities to be undergrounded along Columbia Pike and the utility poles to be retained along South Quincy Street, an existing pole located on the northeast corner of Columbia Pike and South Quincy Street will need to be relocated to a location that is no more than 10 feet from the current location. Also, one existing pole within the site, which was proposed to be removed, will instead be retained. Retaining the existing poles along this edge, and retaining/relocating an existing pole on Columbia Pike in front of the adjacent Dundree Knolls development will reduce the project s cost by approximately $81,000. Relief from the Utility Undergrounding Fund Contribution: The applicant requests that the amount of the usual contribution of $1,667 per unit ($36,674) be permitted to be used by the applicant to make improvements that are part of the undergrounding project for this site plan. In addition to the project cost savings mentioned above, there is also a cost reduction related to underground duct bank construction that is not needed because of the aerial facilities that will remain in place. These savings amount to $30,000. SP#376 Site Plan Amendment - 4 -
Undegrounding Project Cost Summary (Estimated): $658,461 Original Project Cost - $81,000 South Quincy Street Cost Savings - $87,000 South Randolph Street Cost Savings - $30,000 Duct Bank Reduction - $36,674 Utility Undergrounding Fund Contribution (to be directed to the project) $423,787 Revised Project Cost CONCLUSION: Staff has investigated the issues arising from completion of the utility undergrounding as required and has worked out solutions with the applicant and Dominion Virginia Power. The proposed solutions dramatically reduce the development costs related to removing aerial utilities (from $658,461 to $423,787) for the project while allowing no new utility poles on or near the site, which is in keeping with County policy. Therefore, staff recommends that the County Board approve the applicant s use of the amount that would otherwise be contributed to the Utility Undergrounding Fund for utility improvements for the site plan and the retention of one utility pole along the Columbia Pike frontage, and retention of utility poles along the South Quincy Street frontage, as provided for in the revised Conditions (#5 and #26) for Site Plan #376. REVISED CONDITIONS: 5. The developer agrees to fund and construct all utility undergrounding work (as required in Condition #26 of this report) along the Columbia Pike frontage contribute at the following rate and amount to the County utility fund before the issuance of the final Building Permit or prorated consistent with a phasing plan for the development. The total utility fund contribution for this site is would usually be $36,674 ($1,667 per unit x 22 units). These funds may, but need not, shall be used by the County developer for the purpose of providing the undergrounding of utilities along the Columbia Pike frontage of the site. In the event that the cost of undergrounding along the Columbia Pike frontage of the site is less than $36,674, the developer agrees to contribute to the County the amount of the difference between $36,674 and the cost of undergrounding. Such contribution shall be made before the issuance of the final Building Permit. properties which are not redeveloping in this undergrounding district. If the area of the site plan is subdivided, the contribution to be made by each owner shall be based proportionally on the amount of site area allocated to each subdivided parcel. The contribution, if not obligated by the County to pay for utility undergrounding projects within 10 years from the date of payment, will be refunded without any accrued interest to the development owners of record at the time of any refund. SP#376 Site Plan Amendment - 5 -
26. The developer agrees to remove or place underground all existing aerial utilities within or along the Columbia Pike frontage periphery of this site prior to the issuance of the final building permit; except that: the existing utility pole located approximately 20 feet east of the northeast corner of Columbia Pike and South Randolph Street shall be allowed to remain as a transition pole for the underground to overhead utility system, and one existing off-site utility pole at the northeast corner of Columbia Pike and South Quincy Street, one existing on-site utility pole along the west side of South Quincy Street within the project boundary, and one off-site utility pole on the west side of South Randolph Street will be retained to provide a transition from the overhead to the underground system. Any utility improvements necessary to provide adequate utility services to this development or utility work necessary to provide a terminus to the underground facilities shall be paid for by the developer and shall not result in the installation of any additional utility poles, or aerial devices. The developer shall also design and construct duct bank along the Columbia Pike frontage of sufficient size to accommodate the eventual circuit conversion from the aerial connection across Columbia Pike from the project site to the Quebec Apartments to an underground connection to be completed at a later date. The developer further agrees to construct a manhole to provide a connection between the duct bank to be constructed along the Columbia Pike frontage as part of this project and the duct bank to be constructed across Columbia Pike to the Quebec Apartments at a later date. The manhole shall be located as shown on the attached drawing, labeled Virginia Power Undergrounding Exhibit. All utility relocation shall be completed prior to the issuance of the Shell and Core Certificate of Occupancy final building permit. SP#376 Site Plan Amendment - 6 -
PREVIOUS COUNTY BOARD ACTIONS: 1961 This site was shown on the 1961 General Land Use Plan as Low Residential (0-8 units per acre). This designation remained unchanged on the 1964 and 1966 versions of the General Land Use Plan. 1975 In 1975 the General Land Use Plan category Low Residential (0-8 units per acre) was changed to Low Residential (1-10 units per acre). The designation of this site was updated accordingly. The site has retained the Low Residential (1-10 units per acre) classification since 1975. May 17, 2003 Approved General Land Use Plan amendment (GP-290-03-01) from Low Residential (1-10 units per acre) to Low Residential (11-15 units per acre). Approved rezoning request (Z-2500-03-01) for a change from R-6 One Family Dwelling District to R15-30T Residential Townhouse Dwelling District. Approved Site Plan #376 to permit the development of 22 townhouses on the site. SP#376 Site Plan Amendment - 7 -