TO: Mayor Collins and Town Council
FROM: Eva Cutro, Community Development Director
Paul Michaud, Senior Planner
DATE: May 25, 2017
CONTACT:
Staff Contact Paul Michaud, 480-348-3574
End
AGENDA TITLE:
Title
Discussion of a Statement of Direction (SOD)
The Villas at Cheney Estates Private Roadway Gate
Northwest Corner of Northern Ave Alignment and Scottsdale Rd (APN: 174-36-002X)
Body
Background
BACKGROUND
Request:
Doug Jorden, P.C., on behalf of Town Triangle, L.L.C., has filed a Special Use Permit (SUP) for private roadway gates on an approximate 4.4-acre property located at the northwest corner of the Northern Avenue alignment and Scottsdale Road (Parcel No. 174-36-002X). This is the undeveloped triangular property adjoining the Camelback Golf Club, Indian Bend Wash, and Scottsdale Road.
New Special Use Permit applications require the Town Council provide a Statement of Direction (SOD) prior to Planning Commission discussion. This SOD only applies to the private roadway gate application. This application is one of several applications that were filed in 2016 to develop the subject property for eight single-family residential lots, ranging in lot sizes between 12,000 net square feet to 35,000 net square feet. Based on input in 2016, the applicant is in the process of revising their application requests in an effort to eliminate an amendment to the General Plan and to purchase approximately five additional acres of adjoining property. All these applications will go through the applicable Planning Commission/Town Council process with public input. Tentative action is expected in the fall/winter 2017.
Purpose:
The purpose of this study session is to provide the Town Council the opportunity to discuss the SOD for the requested private roadway gates. The draft SOD is attached. The intent of the SOD is to provide the Planning Commission guidance on what to review as it relates to the proposed gates for this project. No action will be taken at the May 25th meeting.
The Town Code/Zoning Ordinance only requires a SOD with a Special Use Permit. The SOD is not a final decision of the Town Council, nor does it create any vested rights to the approval of the SUP. Any applicant shall not rely upon the matters addressed in the SOD being the same as those that may be part of an approved SUP.
Application Timing:
The application timing is no longer considered applicable.
Section 1102.3.C.3.c of the Zoning Ordinance requires that the Town Council issue a SOD within 45 days from the staff presentation to Town Council. Unless otherwise specified in the SOD, Section 2-5-2.D.1 of the Town Code requires the SUP to be acted on by the Planning Commission within 90 days of the application filing or as specified in the SOD, whichever is less.
EXISTING CONDITIONS
For information on the existing site characteristics, General Plan designation, and Zoning District on the subject site and vicinity refer to the attachment to this report.
ROADWAY GATE
Section 1102.2.F of the Zoning Ordinance requires that private access control gates on private roads be approved via the Special Use Permit process that starts with obtaining a SOD from Town Council. The Town has no regulations for such gates. Instead, there are SUP Guidelines to allow for evaluation of each request in a case-by-case basis. These SUP Guidelines for private roadway gates are the same regardless of the zoning district, lot size, and number of lots served by the proposed private access gate.
The SUP Guidelines recommend access control gates be limited to a maximum height of 8 feet, a minimum setback of 150 feet from centerline of the nearest intersecting street, and a turnaround that meets the Town’s cul-du-sac standards of a 45-foot radius. The SUP Guidelines also provide for lighting and signage. Lighting guidelines include hooding and shielding of light fixtures, allowance for up lighting and pole lights, and maximum light levels of 5.0 foot-candles for entrance roadways and 0.5 foot-candles at the property line. Signage guidelines include one wall sign not to exceed 6 feet in height or 6 square feet in area, with ground signs not to exceed 4 feet in height or 2 square feet in area.
The Planning Commission and Town Council will have opportunity to review the specific details of this private roadway gate application in future study session(s) and public meeting(s). The information attached to this SOD report is what has been submitted with the application. Generally, the proposed characteristics of the private roadway gate area include the following:
• A private roadway cul-de-sac off Scottsdale Road, with two access gates adjoining this entry cul-de-sac. This cul-de-sac will serve as the turn-around in front of the gates. It has a right-of-way radius of 45 feet and a pavement radius of 40 feet in accordance with Town standards.
• Stacking from the gates to the centerline of Scottsdale Road complies with the Town SUP gate guidelines. The stacking shown is 179 feet and 223 feet from the gate to the centerline of Scottsdale Road. The Town SUP guideline recommends there be at least 150 feet from the centerline of the intersecting roadway to the gate. In addition, the applicant has complied with the City of Scottsdale stacking standard of 75 feet from the call box to the back of curb along Scottsdale Road. The safe stacking of vehicles is a primary concern, as Scottsdale Road is a heavily traveled roadway and Town guidelines may not adequately address the specific conditions along this roadway. The applicant has included a traffic statement as part of their application submittal. This statement from a registered engineer provides that the provided queuing of vehicles on site is sufficient for typical ingress operation.
• The entry cul-de-sac includes two entry rolling gates at approximately 6 feet 6 inches in height, with entry gate columns at 7 feet in height. These are in compliance with the SUP Guidelines. One gate will provide access to six lots and the other gate will provide access to two lots.
• For secondary access, the applicant proposes a 20-foot wide emergency vehicle gate onto Scottsdale Road. Additional detail on the design of this access gate, requirement that the access gate swing into the subject property as to not impede pedestrian/vehicular travel along Scottsdale Road, and impact on sight distance and corner clearance should be reviewed.
• The gate illustration with the application shows landscaping, walls and/or fencing, water features, and project signage in the area of the entry gates.
o This includes 6-foot high walls connecting to the proposed gates around the entry cul-de-sac. These proposed walls do not comply with the typical standards in Article XXIV, Walls and Fences, of the Zoning Ordinance. In certain instances, walls or fences have been approved in a private roadway tract or on an individual lot to connect to a private roadway gate.
o Perimeter and common area landscaping, along with the perimeter walls and/or fencing, is typically approved as part of the final plat process on a subdivision with private road(s). Section 2408 of the Town Zoning Ordinance, allows for the review of the location, height, setback, and design of such perimeter subdivision walls and/or fences. The Town has approved conceptual perimeter walls, fencing, and/or landscaping with the preliminary plat in some prior plat applications. Alternatively, walls and/or fencing, associated landscaping, lighting, and signage adjacent to the gate area may be also considered with the private roadway gate SUP.
OPTIONS AND NEXT STEPS
This SOD is tentatively scheduled for action by the Town Council on June 8, 2017. For May 25th, the Town Council shall confirm the date for action on this item and/or any additional study session(s).
Town Council may have other options than those listed below. Some tentative options to consider for the upcoming meeting action include the following:
Option 1
Take action on the SOD at the June 8, 2017 meeting. Option 1, Section A, applies to the draft SOD not supporting private roadway gates.
Reasons to support this option include that the General Plan discourages the installation of private roadway gates in General Plan Mobility Policy 4.4.1.2.
Option 2
Option 2 recognizes reasons exist to allow private roadway gates should the related applications get approved. The two sub-options 2.i and 2.ii relate to timing.
Option 2.i
Take action on the SOD at the June 8, 2017 meeting. Option 2, Sections A and B of the draft SOD apply, with any revisions by the Town Council as deemed appropriate.
Reasons to support this option include that moving the SUP application forward allows for discussion of all applications at generally the same time; the SUP application is still required to be discussed and acted upon at future Planning Commission and Town Council meetings; the SOD for the proposed private roadway gates do not bind the Town Council in approving the related application(s) or guarantee the desired timing of the applications as these applications move through the process; and the applicant will need to hold Citizen Review session(s) for the related applications in addition to those already held on October 25, 2016 and November 1, 2016.
Option 2.ii
Schedule the SOD for action after the Planning Commission has opportunity to review the revised applications related to development of the subject site, with SOD action by the Town Council no later than September 28, 2017. Option 2, Sections A and B of the draft SOD apply, with any revisions by the Town Council as deemed appropriate.
Reasons to support this option include that this will give added time for the Planning Commission to review the related revised applications and the Special Use Permit application for private roadway gates could still be processed for action by the Town Council prior to the end of 2017.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Draft SOD
2. Existing Conditions (Vicinity, Aerial, Zoning, General Plan)
3. SUP Application
4. Traffic Study
5. Preliminary Plat
6. Presentation
C: - Applicant
- Case File