D1 August 12, 2015 Public Hearing APPLICANT: CCW DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATES, LLC PROPERTY OWNER: WAYNE DUPREE REQUEST: Change of Zoning (A-12 Apartment District to Conditional A-12 Apartment District) STAFF PLANNER: Carolyn A. K. Smith ADDRESS / DESCRIPTION: 596 Sea Oats Way GPIN: 24178251920000 ELECTION DISTRICT: BEACH SITE SIZE (above water & wetlands): 29,391 square feet 0.675 acres AICUZ: Greater than 75 db DNL BACKGROUND / DETAILS OF PROPOSAL Background While the property is currently zoned A-12 Apartment District, a single family residence has been on this site since 1971. In the 70s, single family dwellings were permitted within the Apartment Districts. This site was part of a larger parcel, much of which was developed in the mid-1980s to 1990s as condominium, townhouse-style units. Prior to the construction of those townhomes, a vehicular ingress/egress easement, as well as a water line easement, were established within the townhouse condominium property. These easements allow the current and future residents of the property under consideration vehicular access to Virginia Avenue, as well as access to the City water line in Virginia Avenue. The applicant proposes to rezone the site from A-12 Apartment District to Conditional A-12 for the purpose of constructing up to eight dwelling units. Based on the density permitted with the existing A-12 zoning, this 0.675-acre site could potentially yield eight multi-family units as a matter of right. The lot coverage maximum for the A-12 Apartment District is 40 percent. As proposed, the applicant s site layout and building footprint exceed this maximum by nine percent. As permitted by Section 107 (i) of the City of Virginia Beach Zoning Ordinance, the City Council may, for good cause shown and upon a finding that there will be no Page 1
significant detrimental effects on surrounding properties, accept proffered conditions reasonably deviating from the setback, lot coverage, landscaping and minimum lot area requirements and height restrictions, except as provided in Section 202 (b), otherwise applicable to the proposed development. As such, this request is simply a means of deviating from the maximum lot coverage, as the density will not exceed what is permitted currently under the A-12 zoning district. The request also includes a deviation to the minimum rear yard setback of ten feet to a rear yard setback of six feet. Details The eight unit development is proposed as a condominium. The site has been designed to take advantage of the views and the natural setting of Owls Creek. Several large trees exist on the property. Unfortunately, only one of these trees, a 36-inch oak, will be preserved. A 22-foot wide driveway extends from Sea Oats Way, providing ingress/egress to this site from Virginia Avenue. The townhouse style units will each have a one-car garage and 20-foot long driveways. As portions of the property will likely require fill material to bring the dwellings out of the Special Hazard Flood Area, the applicant has proffered a Landscape Plan, reflecting buffer restoration along the shoreline. At least 14 large shade trees will be planted along the driveway and throughout the property. The proposed dwellings will be constructed primarily with cement fiber board horizontal and vertical siding. Prominent entrances and details such as wide trim, arbors above the garages, steaming seam metal roofs are proposed as accent features. LAND USE AND COMPREHENSIVE PLAN EXISTING LAND USE: single family dwelling SURROUNDING LAND USE AND ZONING: North: Townhome condominiums / A-12 Apartment District South: Perennial stream to Owls Creek East: Perennial stream to Owls Creek Single family dwellings / R-5S Residential District West: Perennial stream to Owls Creek Federally-owned property / A-12 Apartment District NATURAL RESOURCE AND CULTURAL FEATURES: The site has three significant trees. One oak tree is approximately 54 inches in diameter. This site is adjacent to a perennial stream with fringe saltmarsh in the Owls Creek watershed. Portions of the site are within the 100-year floodplain. If fill is proposed to elevate the property out of this floodplain, a Conditional Letter of Map Revision based on Fill (CLOMR-F) and a Letter of Map Revision based on Fill (LOMR-F) will be required to officially change the flood zone designation of the property. Structures will need to be constructed with at least two feet above freeboard. The Base Flood Elevation is eight; therefore, an elevation of 10 is required for all structures that are located in the Special Flood Hazard Area. The shoreline is hardened with a riprap revetment. COMPREHENSIVE PLAN: This site is located on the edge of the Resort Strategic Growth Area as designated in the Comprehensive Plan and the Resort Area Strategic Action Plan (RASAP), which was adopted December 2, 2008. In order to support year-round activity at the oceanfront, one of the Page 2
Development Strategies listed in the RASAP is to grow residential. This site falls somewhere between urban and suburban, so both sections of the Comprehensive Plan s Special Area Development Guidelines were considered in Staff s review. The first Guideline listed under Suburban Areas is Natural Features and calls for identifying existing natural characteristics of the site to be preserved and incorporated into the design of the development (p. B-7, Comprehensive Plan). The Urban Areas section also includes guidelines to recognize the importance of retaining the existing natural landscape where possible (p. B-2, Comprehensive Plan). IMPACT ON CITY SERVICES MASTER TRANSPORTATION PLAN (MTP) / CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM (CIP): Virginia Avenue in the vicinity of this application is considered a two-lane undivided local street and Sea Oats Way is considered a two-lane undivided local private street. Neither street is included in the MTP. There are no roadway CIP projects slated for this area. The proposed development under this application will have access to Virginia Avenue through an existing 50-foot non-exclusive easement for ingress/egress. TRAFFIC: Street Name Virginia Avenue Sea Oats Way Present Volume No Data Available Present Capacity No Data Available Generated Traffic Existing Land Use 2 10 ADT/61 ADT Proposed Land Use 3 ADT 61 ADT 1 Average Daily Trips 2 as defined by one single family dwelling/existing A-12 zoning 3 as defined by proposed Conditional A-12 zoning (no increase in density) 4 LOS = Level of Service WATER: This site currently connects to City water. There is an existing six-inch City water line within a Public Utility easement in Sea Oats Way. The existing 5/8-inch meters can be used or upgraded to accommodate the proposed development. SEWER: Public sewer does not front this site. Several options to connect to City sewer may be available: a private pump station pumping to City sewer through a force main in a private utility easement (an encroachment agreement required); connection to the adjacent condominium s sewer to an existing private pump station (which may require variances, maintenance agreements, easements, system upgrades, system analysis, etc.); and, on-site septic disposal with Health Department approval. SCHOOLS: School Current Existing Proposed Capacity Enrollment Zoning 1 Zoning 1 Change 2 WT Cooke Elementary 558 536 1 1 0 Virginia Beach Middle 873 968 1 1 0 First Colonial High 2,004 1,810 1 1 0 Page 3
1 Number of students 2 change represents the difference between the number of potential or actual students generated under the existing zoning and the number generated under the proposed zoning. The number can be positive (additional students) or negative (fewer students). EVALUATION AND RECOMMENDATION In terms of land use, and notwithstanding City Council s adopted AICUZ Ordinance, the townhouse development is in keeping with the Resort SGA Plan and with the surrounding area. The applicant revised the building renderings to be more in line with the Design Guidelines and to take advantage of the beautiful views of the marsh. More importantly, the requested rezoning will not result in an increase in the density within the Greater than 75 db Ldn AICUZ. Section 1803 of the Zoning Ordinance states City Council shall approve the proposed use of property at the lowest density or intensity of development that is reasonable. Staff believes that continued zoning of A-12 of the property is reasonable, particularly since the requested zoning change to Conditional A-12 pertains to the lot coverage rather than an increase in density. Based on the density permitted with the existing A-12 zoning, this 0.675-acre site could potentially yield eight multi-family units as a matter of right. The lot coverage maximum for the A-12 Apartment District is 40 percent. As proposed, the applicant s site layout and building footprint exceed this maximum by nine percent. It is typically common for the type of residential units proposed by the applicant, when developed in an Apartment District, to result in a lot coverage that exceeds the allowable maximum. This is due to the method of calculating lot coverage in Apartment Districts, which requires all impervious surfaces be included in the calculation. This is not true of other residential zoning districts. Section 107 (i) of the City Zoning Ordinance addresses cases where certain dimensional requirements of a zoning district are not met by a development proposed with a Change of Zoning. The section reads as follows: The City Council may, for good cause shown and upon a finding that there will be no significant detrimental effects on surrounding properties, accept proffered conditions reasonably deviating from the setback, lot coverage, landscaping and minimum lot area requirements and height restrictions, except as provided in Section 202 (b), otherwise applicable to the proposed development. As such, this Change of Zoning request is principally for the purpose of deviating from the maximum lot coverage, as the density will not exceed what is already permitted under the A-12 zoning district. The request also includes a deviation to the minimum rear yard setback of ten feet to a rear yard setback of six feet. This does not mean the property could not be reasonably developed under the existing zoning, as presumably, the townhouses on the adjacent property were developed under A-12 zoning, and were able to meet the lot coverage requirements. The applicant contends that the small increases in lot coverage, nine percent above the 40 percent maximum, allows dwellings with larger footprint, reflective of today s market, and results in a higher quality product that could be constructed as a matter of right. Staff concludes that good cause has been demonstrated and there will be no significant detrimental effects on surrounding properties through the City Council s acceptance of the requested deviation as shown on the proffered plan. In addition to AICUZ, the site is impacted by the Special Flood Hazard Area. This site is adjacent to a perennial stream with a fringe saltmarsh in the Owls Creek watershed. The applicant has indicated that fill material will likely be used to elevate the structures at least two feet above the base flood elevation of eight feet. During final site plan review, proof a Conditional Letter of Map Revision based on Fill Page 4
(CLOMR-F) and a Letter of Map Revision based on Fill (LOMR-F) will be required from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. While the Owls Creek watershed does not have any specific land use setbacks or water quality protections such as the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act, the applicant has proffered a Landscape Plan that includes buffer restoration and tree replacement. For reasons stated above, Staff recommends approval of this request as proffered below. PROFFERS The following are proffers submitted by the applicant as part of a Conditional Zoning Agreement (CZA). The applicant, consistent with Section 107(h) of the City Zoning Ordinance, has voluntarily submitted these proffers in an attempt to offset identified problems to the extent that the proposed rezoning is acceptable, ( 107(h)(1)). Should this application be approved, the proffers will be recorded at the Circuit Court and serve as conditions restricting the use of the property as proposed with this change of zoning. PROFFER 1: When the Property is developed, it shall be a residential condominium in substantial conformance with the exhibit entitled, Multi-family Site Plan Exhibit Osprey Point Condominium Lot 15B, dated 04/01/2015, prepared by WPL, which has been exhibited to the Virginia Beach City Council and is on file with the Virginia Beach Department of Planning (the Concept Plan ). PROFFER 2: When the Property is developed, the residential structures shown on the Concept Plan shall be developed using architectural design and features substantially in accordance with those shown on the renderings entitled Osprey Point bldg a front elevation; Osprey Point bldg a rear elevation; Osprey Point bldg b front elevation; Osprey Point bldg b rear elevation, dated 20 April 2015 ( Renderings ), copies of which have been exhibited to the Virginia Beach City Council and is on file with the Virginia Beach Department of Planning. PROFFER 3: When the Property is developed, the residential condominium units will contain a minimum of 1900 square feet of living area (excluding garage) and a one-car garage. The primary exterior building material to be utilized as depicted on the Rendering will be fiber cement siding and thirty (30) year architectural shingles. PROFFER 4: When the Property is developed, the Grantors shall record a Declaration submitting the Property to the condominium Act of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The Condominium Unit Owners Association shall be responsible for maintaining all open spaces, common areas, landscaping and other improvements on the Property. PROFFER 5: The total number of condominium dwelling units permitted to be constructed on the Property shall not exceed eight (8). PROFFER 6: Page 5
Further conditions may be required by the Grantee during detailed Site Plan review and administration of applicable City Codes by all cognizant City Agencies and departments to meet all applicable City Code requirements. STAFF COMMENTS: The proffers ensure that the project, when constructed, will be done in a manner consistent with the plans and renderings within this report, providing a high level of predictability to citizens and Staff of the outcome of this request. The City Attorney s Office has reviewed the proffer agreement dated April 25, 2014, and found it to be legally sufficient and in acceptable legal form. NOTE: Further conditions may be required during the administration of applicable City Ordinances and Standards. Any site plan submitted with this application may require revision during detailed site plan review to meet all applicable City Codes and Standards. All applicable permits required by the City Code, including those administered by the Department of Planning / Development Services Center and Department of Planning / Permits and Inspections Division, and the issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy, are required before any uses allowed by this Use Permit or Change of Zoning are valid. The applicant is encouraged to contact and work with the Crime Prevention Office within the Police Department for crime prevention techniques and Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) concepts and strategies as they pertain to this site. Page 6
AERIAL OF SITE LOCATION Page 7
PROPOSED SITE LAYOUT Page 8
EXISTING SURVEY Page 9
PROPOSED TYPICAL FRONT BUILDING RENDERING Page 10
PROPOSED TYPICAL REAR BUILDNIG RENDERING Page 11
1 CUP = Conditional Use Permit REZ = Rezoning CRZ = Conditional Rezoning MOD = Modification of Conditions or Proffers NON = Nonconforming Use STC = Street Closure FVR = Floodplain Variance ALT = Alternative Compliance SVR = Subdivision Variance # DATE REQUEST ACTION 1 07/05/2000 REZ (A-12 to R-5S) Granted ZONING HISTORY Page 12
DISCLOSURE STATEMENT Page 13
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