TO: Mayor Collins and Town Council
FROM: Eva Cutro, Community Development Director
Paul Michaud, Senior Planner
DATE: October 27, 2016
CONTACT:
Staff Contact
Paul Michaud, 480-348-3574
End
AGENDA TITLE:
Title
Consideration of a proposed lot split Mummy Mountain Park VIII 7808 N Ironwood Drive
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Approve the proposed Mummy Mountain Park VIII lot split, subject to the stipulations in the Action Report.
Background
1. The lot split plat of Mummy Mountain Park VIII shall be recorded with the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office, in substantial compliance with the survey plat, Sheets 1 and 2, prepared by Coe & Van Loo Consultants Inc., and dated August 2, 2016.
2. Prior to the recordation of said lot split plat, the applicant shall submit the required improvement plans for Town Engineer approval and provide a procedure and other forms of assurances necessary for the Town to be in a guaranteed position to complete the construction and related site improvements for Northern Avenue and Ironwood Drive adjoining the subject property. These improvements include:
a. pavement widening and curbing for Northern Avenue and Ironwood Drive in accordance with the local roadway standard, Option B, of the Town’s General Plan, and
b. extension of the sewer line.
3. The improvements described in Stipulation 2 and the re-alignment of the existing wash to match the drainage easement on said lot split plat shall be completed prior to the issuance of the first Certificate of Occupancy for a new single family residence on said lot split plat.
4. Prior to the issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy for a new single-family residence, the fire sprinkler system shall demonstrate compliance to the National Fire Protection Association standard 13D or the current equivalent code requirement.
5. Within 60 days of approval of the plat, the applicant shall submit Mylars and an electronic version in a pdf format for the Town’s permanent record
6. All nonconforming walls on the subject property must be removed and the items noted below shall be completed prior to recordation of said lot split plat.
a. A demolition permit shall be obtained for the non-conforming portions of the fence wall that encroach into the setback along Northern Avenue and Ironwood Drive.
b. Any remaining perimeter walls facing the subject site shall be painted the same color to match the earth tone color of the existing perimeter wall.
c. The appropriate permits shall be obtained to redesign the perimeter wall section that crosses the wash prior to recordation of the plat.
BACKGROUND
Town Council Study Session:
The Town Council discussed the lot split request at the meeting of September 22, 2016. There were no specific concerns, with a question raised about the possibility of having no wall along the shared property line in the area of the drainage easement. It was noted that this wall is a common property wall and also the rear yard of the neighboring lot.
Planning Commission Recommendation:
The Planning Commission discussed the subject lot split application on August 16, 2016 and September 6, 2016. They had no specific concerns. Most of the discussion centered on the wash located on the site. This included clarification on the relocation of the wash back to a previous state that better aligns with the continued flow on the east side of Ironwood Drive and clarification that the homeowner cannot build in the wash. At the September meeting, they recommended by a vote of 7 to 0 that the Town Council approve the proposed lot split, subject to the six stipulations under Recommendation of this report.
Request:
The applicants, Sharat Kanaka and Punnaiah, are requesting approval of a lot split to divide a 2.251-acre parcel into two lots. Lot 48A is 43,560 square feet in size (1.0 acre) and 48B is 54,481 square feet in size (1.251 acres). The subject property is zoned R-43 for single-family homes on minimum one-acre lots and it is located at 7008 N Ironwood Drive.
Existing Site:
The existing single-family home, tennis court, and related structures were removed as part of a demolition permit issued in March 2016. There are some remnant perimeter site wall sections that remain to be removed or reconstructed, such as the wall running across the drainage easement and a portion of wall within the street yard setback along Northern Avenue and Ironwood Drive. All nonconforming walls must be removed or reconstructed prior to recordation of an approved plat.
General Plan/Zoning:
The subject property is shown as Low Density Residential (0-1 house per acre) on the Town’s General Plan Land Use Map. The proposed site is zoned R-43 and is limited to one house per acre. The subject site is not designated hillside.
ENFORCEMENT
There are no current zoning violations associated with the subject property.
DISCUSSION/FACTS
Right-of-Way/Road Improvements: No right-of-way dedication is required. Northern Avenue and Ironwood Drive adjoining the subject site are designated as a local road. The Town’s General Plan suggests a minimum right-of-way width of 50 feet. The right-of-way along Northern Avenue is 60-feet in width and the right-of-way along Ironwood Drive is 50-feet in width.
Curbing and some additional roadway pavement will be required adjacent to the subject site. The roadway pavement adjacent to this site along Northern Avenue is approximately 28 feet in width, with ribbon curb on the north side of the road and no curb adjacent to the subject site. The roadway pavement adjacent to the subject site along Ironwood Drive is approximately 20 feet in width, with no ribbon curb on either side of the street. As typical during the plat process, a stipulation is included to require the necessary curb and roadway pavement that will meet the applicable Town General Plan standard. This standard is the Option B Typical Local Cross-Section at 26 feet in width, comprised of two 11-foot wide travel lanes and two-foot wide curbs on the edge of the travel lanes.
The Town’s General Plan does not indicate either adjoining roadway for bicycle or pedestrian improvements. However, the Town is in process of drafting a bicycle and pedestrian master plan. At this point, no specific draft guidance is available for this area.
Traffic:
Per the Town Engineer, a traffic study is not required. As a new lot will be created, this may increase vehicular and pedestrian traffic. However, it is not expected to cause a significant increase in traffic. The Trip Generation Manual by the Institute of Transportation Engineers estimates the typical single-family detached home averages between 8.78 to 10.09 vehicle trip ends per day.
Lot Configuration:
The proposed lot split meets all area requirements for R-43 lots, including size, lot width, access to a public street, and setbacks. Although the lot split meets the standards for R-43 properties, the lot sizes may be somewhat out of character for the immediate neighborhood. The lots south of Northern Avenue tend to be in the one and one-half acre to three-acre size range, while the lots north of Northern Avenue are in the one-acre size range. It should be noted, that the many larger lots south of Northern Avenue is a result of private deed restrictions prohibiting splitting the original 1953 platted lots. The Town does not enforce private deed restrictions, only Town Code standards. For the subject site’s subdivision, these deed restrictions were changed by the lot owners of Mummy Mountain Park in 1989 to allow for land divisions that meet applicable zoning requirements. Also, the deed restrictions had an automatic sunset clause of 1995.
Utilities:
Each of the proposed lots will have the required 6 or 8-foot public utility easement along the perimeter of the lot in accordance with Section 6-3-3 of the Town Code. All typical type of utilities will be provided; such as water, electricity, natural gas and sewer. The prior home on the subject lot was on septic. The new homes will be on sewer, with the existing sewer line underneath Northern Avenue adjoining the site to be extended underneath Ironwood Drive adjoining the subject site.
Drainage:
There is an existing wash that crosses both proposed lots. The appropriate Town drainage easement maintenance agreement and easement have already been recorded.
Each lot will require an individual engineering site/grading and drainage plan with each building permit application submittal. On-lot retention will be required with the development of each lot.
Fire Protection Issues:
The two proposed lots will meet all standards related to fire protection. Both lots will have direct access onto a public roadway. The nearest fire hydrant is located 60 feet away from the northeast property line. The Town Code requires a fire hydrant to be located within 400’ of a property line. The new homes that will be constructed as a result of this lot split will have fire sprinklers in accordance with the Town Fire Code.
The lots are in a designated low water pressure area. This designation occurred over ten years ago. Since that time, the City of Phoenix has made some water line improvements positively affecting the designated low flow area. The Town Code requires a minimum flow test rate of 1,500 gallons per minute (gpm). If the fire flow rate is below the minimum rate, the property owner shall demonstrate that the fire sprinkler system will comply with the National Fire Protection Association standard 13D or the current equivalent code requirement. The applicant has provided documentation from the City of Phoenix water utility that demonstrates compliance to Town fire flow rate standards.
PUBLIC COMMENTS
There are no public comments. State Statute and Town policy do not require notification for a lot split application.
Next Steps
If approved, the property owner will need to comply with the stipulations and record the lot split map.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Vicinity Map (Aerial/General Plan/Zoning)
2. Application
3. Existing Plat
4. Approved Drainage Easement
5. City of Phoenix Water Correspondence
6. Minutes
7. Proposed Lot Spilt Plat
C: - Applicant
- Case File: LS-16-05