Title
Petition 158TCH-04 PB. Amend the maximum and minimum building height requirements for Type 1 building types in the College Park Special Area Plan, when proposed as planned developments (PD) in conjunction with a planned use district (PUD) Land Use Plan change. (Related to Petitions 159SVA-04 PB, 160LUC-04 PB, 161PDV-04 PB and 162ZON-04 PB.) (B)
Explanation
This petition requests a text change to the College Park Special Area Plan (College Park SAP). The intent of the Plan is to protect and promote the traditional, walkable character of this neighborhood. Largely, this intent is to be achieved in the proper design and placement of buildings and sidewalks in the neighborhood to create high-quality street spaces that are pleasant, safe and convenient for pedestrians, bicyclists, transit users and motorists.
In addition to the preservation and promotion of a neighborhood design that is welcoming (particularly to pedestrians), the Special Area Plan finds it essential that residences, offices, retail and civic uses be compactly laid out so that their proximity makes walking between them convenient - traditional mixed use design.
Similarly, the purpose of a planned development (PD) is to provide a method for landowners or developers to submit unique proposals that are not provided for or allowed in the City's zoning districts. Planned development provisions allow unique design characteristics and a mix of residential and non-residential uses that are otherwise not accommodated in the land development regulations.
Current language in the College Park Special Area Plan does not provide for an exception to height requirements for Type I buildings. In order to accommodate the intended mixture of uses in an aesthetically appealing fashion, the petitioner is requesting a text change to the College Park Special Area Plan, to allow a Planned Development (PD) to exceed the SAP's limitations for maximum height and maximum number of stories. The proposal is to amend the maximum building height and maximum story requirements for the College Park Special Area Plan, utilizing the PD (Planned Development) in conjunction with a PUD (Planned Use District) Land Use Plan change. In the College Park Special Area Plan, building height is based on a maximum number of stories. For Type I buildings the maximum height is 65 feet, with a maximum of five stories and a first story minimum of 10-feet from floor to ceiling.
If approved, the proposed PD, Petition 161PD-04 PB, would exceed the maximum height and maximum number of stories allowed, with a maximum height of 100+ feet and eight stories. The unique and often complex nature of a PD requires specialized review, as established in Section 30-211 of the Land Development Code. Section 30-211 allows a PD, in conjunction with a PUD land use plan change, to set its own dimensional requirements, but the subject is not clearly addressed in the College Park Special Area Plan.
Staff recommends a text change to the College Park Special Area Plan to clarify this omission, by allowing a petitioner to request greater building heights and number of stories through the PD rezoning and PUD land use plan change process, so long as the first story, minimum 10-foot floor to ceiling height requirement is retained.
The Plan Board heard this petition and recommended that it be approved.
Public notice was published in the Gainesville Sun on November 2, 2004. Letters were mailed to surrounding property owners on November 3, 2004. The Plan Board held a public hearing November 18, 2004.
Fiscal Note
None
Recommendation
City Plan Board to City Commission - The City Commission approve Petition 158TCH-04 PB. Plan Board vote 6-0
Staff to Plan Board - Approve