TO: Chair and Planning Commission
FROM: Eva Cutro, Community Development Director
Paul Michaud, Senior Planner
DATE: June 6, 2017
CONTACT:
Staff Contact
Paul Michaud, 480-348-3574
End
AGENDA TITLE:
Title
Discussion of a Minor Amendment Request to the Tesseract Special Use Permit -
Change school to The Jones-Gordon School for 1st to 12th Grade
4800 E Doubletree Ranch Road
Request
REQUEST
Doubletree School L.L.C. on behalf of Sion Holdings Doubletree L.L.C. is requesting a Minor Special Use Permit amendment for the Tesseract School located at 4800 E Doubletree Ranch Road (Assessor Parcels 168-32-002C & 168-32-002E). This amendment is to replace the Tesseract school with another private school, The Jones-Gordon School. The proposed amendment seeks to modify the stipulation that the school be used for pre-school through 8th grade. The applicant requests the school be used for 1st grade through 12th grade, with no change to the maximum enrollment not to exceed 340 students. No exterior modifications to the building or site are proposed, except for modification of exterior signage to identify the new school. Occurred
Background
BACKGROUND
The Jones-Gordon School
This private school currently operates in Scottsdale at 16641 N 91st Street, Suite 101. The school focuses on high-potential students with learning differences and those who are considered twice-exceptional. The relocation to the Paradise Valley site would afford the school more space and a central location in the valley.
History:
The original Special Use Permit was issued in 1988. The Special Use Permit has been amended several times. Between 2008 and 2013, the school was granted approval for several shade canopies and signage. The last major amendment on this site was in 1994 with approval of adding new classroom buildings and 7th and 8th grade curriculum. Attached are excerpts from the prior approvals.
Enforcement:
As of the date of this report, there are no outstanding code violations on this SUP property. Prior violations with Tesseract related to banner signs without permits and lights being left on all night.
General Plan/Zoning:
The subject property has a General Plan designation of “Public/Quasi Public” according to the Town’s General Plan Land Use Map. The zoning on the subject property is “Special Use Permit - Private School.” The proposed request for adding high school curriculum and signage is in conformance with this designation and zoning.
Body
DISCUSSION/FACTS
Compliance with SUP Guidelines and Other Standards
High School Curriculum
There are no specific Special Use Permit guidelines or standards directly addressing the removal of the pre-school use and the addition of 9th through 12th grade. This amendment could affect circulation, parking, and the use of the site based on the different curriculum. As such, the applicant has provided a statement prepared by CivTech. CivTech states The Jones-Gordon School will not negatively impact parking or traffic. It does mention possible reevaluation of turn lanes as enrollment increases. The new school is expected to have between 120 to 160 students up to 2021, below the allowable 340 student cap in the SUP. The applicant proposes no change to the allowable 340 student cap.
Structures
Except for replacement of signage to identify the new school owner, there are no changes proposed with this application for any of the existing structures.
Height and Setback
As previously noted, the physical structures will remain unchanged. These existing structures vary between 12-foot tall to 20-foot tall. Setbacks are currently at 51.68 feet from the north, 155 feet from Tatum Boulevard (115 feet to the canopies), 50 feet from Doubletree Ranch Road (16’ to the nearest canopy), and 255 feet from the east property line. The attached ALTA survey identifies the existing structures.
Lot Coverage
The SUP guidelines suggest maximum lot coverages of 25-percent. The existing lot coverage is approximately 16.6-percent.
Lighting
There is no proposed lighting. The applicant has provided an evaluation of the existing exterior lighting. There is an existing stipulation that the parking lot lights are turned off by 10:00 p.m.
Parking and Circulation
The proposed amendment will not alter the number of classrooms or office space. No alterations are proposed to the existing circulation. There are 84 existing parking spaces per the approved Special Use Permit plans, including 5 accessible parking spaces. The current SUP Guidelines suggest one parking space per classroom and one parking space per 300 square feet of office space for schools. Based on the subject site the typical required spaces would fall between 25 parking spaces and 36 parking spaces. No additional parking is proposed.
Right-of-Way and Related Improvements
The subject site adjoins both Tatum Boulevard and Doubletree Ranch Road. Tatum Boulevard is classified as a Major Arterial at a typical right-of-way width of 130 feet (half-width of 65 feet). Doubletree Ranch Road is classified as a Minor Arterial with medians at a typical right-of-way width of 80 feet (half-width of 40 feet). The site adjoining Tatum Boulevard has an existing half-width of right-of-way at 40 feet. An additional 25 feet of right-of-way along Tatum Boulevard may be warranted at a future date. The school has an existing stipulation the “At such time as a recreational path is built along the east side of Tatum Boulevard from the south to Doubletree Ranch Road or from the north to the north edge of the Grantees’ property, then the Grantees shall build a recreational path along the west edge of the property consistent with the new path as to size, style and materials.” The recreational path adjoining the site along Doubletree Ranch Road exists.
Special Events
The narrative indicates at least five separate special events will be held at the school. Special events are common at a school and generally occur on an annual basis. Article 8-8, Special Events on Private Property and Public Rights-of-Way, of the Town Code exempts Special Use Permit properties from the Special Event process that are customary and incidental to the primary use and do not require the use of temporary structures. A stipulation has been added to many recent Special Use Permit properties to provide more specificity on process for special events when using temporary structures and to mitigate possible nuisances with limiting height or another similar standard. The attached draft stipulations include a new stipulation related to special events.
Signage
The new owner seeks to replace the two existing illuminated wall signs along Tatum Boulevard with two new non-illuminated wall signs to identify the school.
|
CRITERIA |
EXISTING WALL SIGNS Tatum Boulevard |
PROPOSED WALL SIGNS Tatum Boulevard |
|
Quantity: one sign at each entrance |
Two signs along Tatum Blvd |
Same |
|
Sign Area: 32 sf |
18.75 sf and 15.6 sf |
13.2 sf and 12.2 sf |
|
Height: 8 feet |
Approximately 5 feet 6 inches to top of the letters |
Approximately 5 feet 6 inches to top of the letters |
|
Setback: none provided |
10 feet and 20 feet |
Same |
|
No audible signs permitted |
Sign do not have any components that flash, move, or are otherwise animated/audible |
Sign will not have any components that flash, move, or are otherwise animated/audible |
|
Indirect lighting of sign limited to two 75-watt incandescent bulbs (750 lumens) per sign side; bulb completely shielded from view at nearest property line, limited to 0.75 foot-candles at property line |
White LED Halo illumination |
Signs will not be illuminated |
Minor Amendment Criteria Conformance
The Planning Commission will need to take two actions related to this application request. First, the application request must be deemed a minor amendment pursuant to the four criteria in Section 1102.7.B of the Town Zoning Ordinance. Second, the Planning Commission must take action on the application with any relevant stipulations. This request meets the four minor amendment criteria as follows:
1. Change or add any uses.
There is no change in allowable use or addition of a new use. The use on the property will remain as a private school.
2. Increase the floor area of the project by more than 5000 square feet or constitute an increase of more than 15% upon the existing or, if still under construction, approved floor area square footage of the affected SUP property, whichever is less, with any such increase to be measured cumulatively over a sixty month period.
The application request does not alter the existing structures or add any new square footage.
3. Have any material effect on the adjoining property owners that is visible, audible, or otherwise perceptible from adjacent properties that cannot be sufficiently mitigated.
The approval of the new school will not affect the 340 enrollment cap. It does remove the pre-school and add 9th through 12th grade. The mix of grades will result in different curriculum. This is not expected to impact how the school is presently used since the indoor classroom space and outdoor area will remain the same. Driving-age students will result in the possibility that some of these students will drive to school. The existing 84 parking spaces exceed the allowable number of parking spaces and the school has the authority to restrict driving privilege. Based on the application material provided, any nuisances should be sufficiently mitigated.
The two replacement wall signs are at similar location, height, size, and setback. Visibility will be reduced as the new signs will not be illuminated.
4. Change the architectural style.
The architectural style will not change, as there is no change to the existing structures.
Public Comment & Noticing
Mailing notification to all property owners within a radius of 1,500 feet, newspaper advertisement, and property posting will be completed for the meeting scheduled for action on this item. The tentative meeting to take action by the Planning Commission is June 20, 2017.
Discusison POINTS
Below are some possible points of discussion for the upcoming study session:
§ Evaluate whether this application request is minor amendment
§ Discuss draft stipulations.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Vicinity Map
2. Application/Narrative
3. Parking-Traffic Statement
4. Prior SUP Approval Excerpts
5. Draft Stipulations
6. Plans & Related Material
C: - Applicant
- Case File