CITY PLANNING COMMISSION CITY OF NEW ORLEANS MITCHELL J. LANDRIEU MAYOR ROBERT D. RIVERS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR LESLIE T. ALLEY DEPUTY DIRECTOR City Planning Commission Staff Report Executive Summary Zoning Docket 109/16 Applicant: Request: Location: Lakeview Jems, LLC This is a request for a Zoning Change from an S-LRS1 Suburban Lakeview Single-Family Residential District to an S-LB1 Suburban Lake Area Neighborhood Business District. 6100 Pontchartrain Boulevard Summary of Proposal: The purpose of the proposed re-zoning is to change Lot 12 from an S-LRS1 Suburban Lakeview Single-Family Residential District to an S-LB1 Suburban Lake Area Neighborhood Business District. The subject site and the adjacent six (6) lots have historically been under a single ownership structure, received a single tax bill, and were all zoned as an LB-1 Lake Area Neighborhood Business District under the former Comprehensive Zoning District. With the adoption of the new Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance in August 2015, the zoning of Lot 12 was changed to S-LRS1 Suburban Lakeview Single-Family Residential, while the adjacent six lots (Lots 6-11) were changed to S-LB1 Suburban Lake Area Neighborhood Business District, thereby remaining commercial in nature. The proposed map change would modify this to create uniform commercial zoning and allow the seven (7) lots to be developed as a single site. Master Plan: The proposal is not consistent with the Master Plan. Recommendation: The staff recommends DENIAL of Zoning Docket 109/16, a request for a Zoning Change from an S-LRS1 Suburban Lakeview Single-Family Residential District to an S-LB1 Suburban Lake Area Neighborhood Business District. ZD 109/16 1
Reasons for Recommendation: 1. The proposal is inconsistent with the Master Plan ZD 109/16 2
City Planning Commission Meeting CPC Deadline: 12/24/16 Tuesday, October 25, 2016 CC Deadline: 60 days from receipt City Council District: A - Guidry Zoning Docket: 109/16 PRELIMINARY STAFF REPORT To: City Planning Commission From: Robert Rivers, Executive Director Stephen Kroll, Assistant Planning Administrator Prepared by: Danica Adams Date: October 18, 2016 I. GENERAL INFORMATION Applicant: Request: Location: Lakeview Jems, LLC This is a request for a Zoning Change from an S-LRS1 Suburban Lakeview Single-Family Residential District to an S-LB1 Suburban Lake Area Neighborhood Business District. Square 10, Lot 12, in the Seventh Municipal District, bounded by Pontchartrain Boulevard and 14 th Street, 16 th Street, and Fleur De Lis Drive. The municipal address is 6100 Pontchartrain Boulevard. (PD 5) Description: The subject site, Lot 12, is an interior, rectangular lot with twenty four feet (24 ) of frontage on 14 th street. It is one hundred twenty feet (120 ) deep, for a total lot area of two thousand eight hundred eighty square feet (2,880 sf). The owner of Lot 12 is also the owner of Lots 6-11, which are directly adjacent to the subject site. In the past, Lots 6-12 have functioned as a single site with regards to both ownership and use. In total, Lots 6-12 are twenty thousand, one hundred sixty square feet (20,160 sf) in area and are currently unimproved. While Lot 12 is zoned as an S-LRS1 Suburban Lakeview ZD 109/16 3
Single-Family Residential District, Lots 6-11 are all zoned as an S-LB1 Suburban Lake Area Neighborhood Business District. The lots to the north and west of the subject site are also zone as an S-LRS1 Suburban Lakeview Single-Family Residential District. In the previous CZO, effective up until August 2015, Lot 12, as well as neighboring lots 6-11, were all zoned as LB-1, the comparable zoning district to S-LB1. The zoning was changed with the adoption of the new CZO in August of 2015. The applicant requests a zoning change to allow the construction of a new, twostory commercial building with on-site parking. While the residential purpose of the S-LRS1 District would preclude Lot 12 from being included in a commercial development, the proposed S-LB1 Suburban Lake Area Neighborhood Business District would allow such development. Why is City Planning Commission action required? The City Planning Commission is required to make a recommendation on all requests for zoning map amendments prior to City Council action, in accordance with Section 4.2.D Action by the Planning Commission of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance. II. ANALYSIS A. What is the zoning of the surrounding areas? What is the existing land use? And how are the surrounding areas used? The subject site is located in the Metarie Park subdivision, just north of Veterans Blvd. near the intersection of Interstates I-10 and I-610. While the majority of the area is zoned as an S-LRS1 Suburban Lakeview Single-Family Residential District, the subject site is adjacent to a commercial node zoned as an S-LB1 Suburban Lake Area Neighborhood Business District. ZD 109/16 4
The S-LB1 Suburban Lake Area Neighborhood Business District is intended to provide for small offices, retail shopping and personal services uses, to be developed either as a unit or in individual parcels, to serve the needs of nearby low-density residential neighborhoods in a manner compatible with adjacent residential uses. B. What is the zoning and land use history of the site? Zoning: Land Use: 1929 A - Residential 1953 B Two-family District 1970 RD-2 Two-Family Residential 2015 (prior to 8/12/2015) L-B1 Lake Area Neighborhood Business 2015 (effective 8/12/2015) S-LRS1 Suburban Lakeview Single-Family Residential District 1929 Commercial and vacant 1949 Commercial and vacant 1999 Commercial 1 C. Have there been any recent zoning changes, conditional uses or planned developments in the immediate area? If so, do these changes indicate any particular pattern or trend? 1 The 1999 Land Use Plan presented a generalized indication of land uses, and was not lot-specific. ZD 109/16 5
In the past five years, there have been no requests for zoning changes and no relevant conditional uses or planned developments within one thousand five hundred feet (1,500 ft) of the subject site. D. What is the purpose of the proposed rezoning? The purpose of the proposed re-zoning is to change Lot 12 from an S-LRS1 Suburban Lakeview Single-Family Residential District to an S-LB1 Suburban Lake Area Neighborhood Business District. The subject site and the adjacent six (6) lots have historically been under a single ownership structure, received a single tax bill, and have all been zoned as an LB-1 Lake Area Neighborhood Business District. With the adoption of the new Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance in August 2015, the zoning of Lot 12 was changed to S-LRS1 Suburban Lakeview Single-Family Residential, while the adjacent six lots (Lots 6-11) were changed to S-LB1 Suburban Lake Area Neighborhood Business District, thereby remaining commercial in nature. The proposed map change would modify this to create uniform commercial zoning and allow the seven (7) lots to be developed as a single site. The applicant is proposing to develop Lots 6-12 as a single, two-story office building with on-site parking. The zoning change from residential to commercial will allow Lot 12 to be included in this development plan. E. Are any major streets involved? What impact will the proposed zoning change have on the transportation system, if any? Traffic The proposed re-zoning from S-LRS1 Suburban Lakeview Single-Family Residential District to S-LB1 Suburban Lake Area Neighborhood Business District is generally considered an increase in intensity of use. However, Pontchartrain Blvd is a high-capacity one-way street that experiences only moderate traffic during peak traffic times, and would have the capacity to absorb the added vehicles with no noticeable impact. Parking and Loading In the S-LB1 Suburban Lake Area Neighborhood Business District as well as the S-LRS1 Suburban Lakeview Single-Family Residential District, residential and commercial uses are required to provide on-site parking. Neither of these zoning districts have any parking exemptions, limitations, or flexibilities. Any development on the site would be required to comply with applicable parking and loading requirements or to seek a variance of these provisions. ZD 109/16 6
F. Can the request be considered a spot zone? Does it fall within the Historic Non- Conforming Use Policy? The request is not a spot zone. Spot zoning refers to zoning changes that have the effect of singling out a lot or other relatively small tracts of land for undue treatment different from similar surrounding parcels. These zoning changes have the effect of granting preferential treatment to these parcels which is not also granted to surrounding similar properties. If the subject site is rezoned from residential to commercial, it would become part of a larger, currently existing commercial district. It would be rezoned due to its historic condition as part of a larger development site. As such, the rezoning would not unjustifiably single out the site and would not be a spot zone. G. Compliance with approval standards The City Planning Commission recommendation and the City Council decision on any zoning map amendment are matters of legislative discretion. In making their recommendation and decision, the City Planning Commission and the City Council are required to consider the standards in Table 4-1: Standards for Zoning Amendments of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance. In this section, the staff evaluates the application using those standards. The proposed amendment is compatible with the Master Plan and Future Land Use Map. This standard is not met. Chapter 14: Land Use Plan of the Master Plan designates the future land use of the petitioned site as Residential Single-Family Post-War. The goal, range of uses and development character for this designation is provided below: RESIDENTIAL SINGLE-FAMILY POST-WAR Goal: Preserve the existing character and scale of pre-war (WWII) single-family residential areas of the city and allow for compatible infill development. Range of Uses: Single-family dwellings and supporting public recreational and community facilities allowed (e.g., schools and places of worship). Development Character: New development will fit the character and scale of surrounding single-family residential areas where structures are typically located on smaller lots and have small front and side setbacks. Maximum density of 15 units/acre. According to the consistency table located in Appendix A of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance, a zoning change from S-LRS1 Suburban Lakeview Single-Family Residential District to an S-LB1 Suburban Lake Area Neighborhood Business District is not consistent with the Residential Single-Family Post-War designation. ZD 109/16 7
The applicant has applied for an amendment to the Future Land Use Map which would designate Lot 12 as Neighborhood Commercial, which is the Future Land Use designation for adjacent lots 6-11. While this application has been received, it has not yet been evaluated. Staff believes that, because these seven (7) lots have historically been owned by a single owner, received a single tax bill, and have all been zoned the same, that the current Future Land Use designation as Residential Single-Family Post-War may possibly be considered a technical error. However, a formal designation as such has not yet been made. The proposed amendment is compatible with the place designations of this Ordinance. This standard is met. The proposed amendment requests a zoning change from S-LRS1 Suburban Lakeview Single-Family Residential District to an S-LB1 Suburban Lake Area Neighborhood Business District, which is compatible with the suburban place designation. The proposed amendment is compatible with existing use and zoning of nearby property. This standard is met. While the subject site and the immediately adjacent lots that are zoned as commercial districts are currently unimproved, Lot 12 has a history of being treated as part of a larger commercial parcel with a single use. The proposed commercial uses authorized within the S-LB1 District would be compatible with the nearby residential zoning designations. The proposed amendment promotes the public health, safety and welfare of the City. This standard is met. The proposed zoning change is intended to allow a commercial development, which would not harm the public health, safety and welfare of the City. The proposed amendment is a more suitable zoning classification for the property than the current classification. This standard is not met because the proposal is inconsistent with the Master Plan. If not for the Master Plan, it would be met because the subject site, Lot 12, has historically been zoned for commercial use. Additionally, if rezoned from residential to commercial, it will be used in conjunction with adjacent lots that are also zoned for commercial uses. Based upon the length of time that the property in question has been vacant, the proposed amendment is a more suitable zoning classification for the property than the current classification considered in the context of development in the area where the property is located. ZD 109/16 8
This standard is met. The current zoning is inhibiting the property owner s ability to use the subject site in conjunction with the adjacent lots that are zoned for commercial use. The owner would like to develop Lots 6-12 with a single two-story office building. The proposed amendment corrects an error or omission, adds clarification to existing requirements, or reflects a change in policy. This standard is not met because the proposed amendment is inconsistent with the Master Plan. The proposed amendment benefits the citizens of the City as a whole. The proposed amendment would not have a significant impact on the City as a whole. The proposed amendment provides a more workable way to achieve the intent and purposes of this Ordinance and the Master Plan. This standard is not met because the proposed amendment is inconsistent with the Master Plan. The proposed amendment does not create a significant number of nonconformities This standard is met. The proposed amendment would not create a non-conformity. IV. SUMMARY The purpose of the proposed re-zoning is to change Lot 12 from an S-LRS1 Suburban Lakeview Single-Family Residential District to an S-LB1 Suburban Lake Area Neighborhood Business District. The subject site and the adjacent six (6) lots have historically been under a single ownership structure, received a single tax bill, and were all zoned as an LB-1 Lake Area Neighborhood Business District under the former Comprehensive Zoning District. With the adoption of the new Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance in August 2015, the zoning of Lot 12 was changed to S-LRS1 Suburban Lakeview Single-Family Residential, while the adjacent six lots (Lots 6-11) were changed to S-LB1 Suburban Lake Area Neighborhood Business District, thereby remaining commercial in nature. The proposed map change would modify this to create uniform commercial zoning and allow the seven (7) lots to be developed as a single site. The staff does not support the application because the commercial zoning is inconsistent with the Master Plan s designation of the site for Residential Single-Family Post-War future land use. V. PRELIMINARY STAFF RECOMMENDATION 2 The staff recommends DENIAL of Zoning Docket 109/16, a request for a Zoning 2 Subject to modification by the City Planning Commission ZD 109/16 9
Change from an S-LRS1 Suburban Lakeview Single-Family Residential District to an S- LB1 Suburban Lake Area Neighborhood Business District. VI. REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATION 1. The proposal is inconsistent with the Master Plan. ZD 109/16 10
City of New Orleans Property Viewer October 13, 2016 pointlayer Override 1 NOLA GIS 1:2,257 0 0.0175 0.035 0.07 mi 0 0.03 0.06 0.12 km
City of New Orleans Property Viewer October 13, 2016 pointlayer Override 1 NOLA GIS 1:1,128 0 0.0075 0.015 0.03 mi 0 0.015 0.03 0.06 km
City of New Orleans Property Viewer October 14, 2016 pointlayer Override 1 NOLA GIS 1:1,128 0 0.0075 0.015 0.03 mi 0 0.015 0.03 0.06 km