TO: Chair and Planning Commission
FROM: Eva Cutro, Community Development Director
DATE: December 5, 2017
CONTACT:
Staff Contact
Eva Cutro, 480-348-3522
End
AGENDA TITLE:
Title
Discussion of a Minor Amendment to the Ritz-Carlton Special Use Permit, Area B
SEC Indian Bend Road and Mockingbird Lane, 7000 E Lincoln Drive - Addition of Entrance Feature Walls and Subdivision Sign.
Request
REQUEST
Shea Homes Limited Partnership is requesting a Minor Special Use Permit amendment for Ritz-Carlton, Area B located at 7000 E Lincoln Drive (Assessor Parcel 174-58-162) for eleven (11) foot high entry monument walls flanking the approved guardhouse and a subdivision sign attached to one of the walls.
Background
BACKGROUND
History:
The property located at 7000 E. Lincoln Drive was annexed into the Town in 1964. In 1987 the Town Council granted a Special Use Permit and re-zoning for Sun Valley Resort a mix of resort units, residential lots, and a golf course. The SUP allowed for up to 500 resort keys, 39 R-43 cluster plan lots, and a golf course. Although an entrance circle on Indian Bend Road was constructed, no further development occurred.
In 2008 the Town Council granted an amendment to the existing Special Use Permit to allow for a resort community, including: a resort hotel with 225 rooms, spa, restaurants, and meeting space; 100 resort patio homes; 46 luxury detached residential homes, 15 one-acre home lots; and, site improvements including parking, landscaping, and lighting and, improvements to site infrastructure. No development occurred.
In 2012 the Town adopted a new General Plan. The General Plan categorized this property as one of the new Development Areas, intended to focus resort development into targeted areas that are most appropriate for accommodating the variety of land uses associated with such use. The General Plan further states, Development Areas are meant to encourage new resort development that reflects the Town’s needs for fiscal health, economic diversification, and quality of life.
In December 2015 the SUP was amended to approve a development with five distinct Areas with a mix of resort, residential, and retail uses. The total square footage of structure on site is approved at 1,781,225, with a lot coverage from the dripline of the structures at 26.2%.
This request is for Area B - resort related luxury homes.
Enforcement:
As of the date of this report, there are no outstanding code violations on this SUP property.
General Plan/Zoning:
The subject property has a General Plan designation of “Resort/Country Club” according to the Town’s General Plan Land Use Map. The zoning on the subject property is “Special Use Permit - Resort.” The proposed revisions are in conformance with this designation and zoning.
Body
DISCUSSION/FACTS
Compliance with SUP Guidelines and Other Standards
Entryway Feature Walls
The applicant is proposing entryway monument features on both sides of the approved guardhouse at a height of eleven feet. The south monument wall is 64’ in length and the north monument wall is 60’ in length. Both monument walls are 3’ wide. The monuments will match the guardhouse in height, material, and design. Although the guardhouse was included in the original SUP approval (and is not part of this request) the entryway was not so an amendment to the SUP is necessary.
The SUP allows for walls up to six (6) feet in height but does not include allowances for higher walls or for accessory structures on the common land (tracts).
The SUP states:
43. Resort Related Luxury Homes are subject to the following requirements:
b. Additional walls not shown on the Approved Plans may be constructed on the lot within enclosed private yards, provided they do not exceed six (6) feet in height.
f. Accessory structures over six (6) feet above Finished Grade (or under six (6) feet in height but not in an enclosed yard), which may include casitas, gazebos, trellises, and patio covers, shall be allowed on each lot, provided that they comply with the Floor Area limitations shown on Page D-3 of the Approved Plans, are limited to sixteen (16) feet above Finished Grade, and comply with the setbacks on Page F-2 of the Approved Plans.
However, this stipulation applies to the residential lots, not the common land.
Subdivision Sign
The applicant is also proposing a subdivision sign attached to the aforementioned entryway feature. This sign was not included in the original sign plan for the SUP and an amendment to the SUP is now needed.
The sign will be affixed to the entryway feature at a height of 8’6” at the bottom and 10’ at the top of the sign. The lettering on the sign is 1’6” in height and will spell out “AZURE” and will include a logo. The total area of the sign will be 16 square feet. The sign consists of blue block letters resting on a metal shelf. The shelf will be lit from underneath and the letters and logo will be internally lit.
The SUP Guidelines state:
Resort signs - On entrances from all other streets, the maximum height shall be 4 feet and the maximum area shall be 32 square feet, aggregate.
The Town Code states:
Subdivision signs are limited to 3’ above grade.
Staff has concerns with the height of the proposed sign and the lighting underneath the shelf. The height of the sign is three times what the Town Code permits for a subdivision sign and more than twice what is recommended for a resort sign.
Minor Amendment Criteria Conformance
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 for single family residences.
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.
If the Commission considers the entryway features a wall, there is no increase in floor area proposed. If considered an accessory structure, the increase in floor area is still well below 5000 square feet.
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 applicant’s narrative states that the structures will not be visible off the SUP property. However they will be visible within the SUP, especially from Tract E (the retail parcel owned by Five Star).
4. Change the architectural style.
The proposed architectural style remains unchanged.
Public Comment & Noticing
Mailing notification to all property owners within a radius of 1,500 feet, newspaper advertisement, and property posting have been completed. Staff has not received any response from the neighbors to date. The meeting to take action by the Planning Commission is scheduled for December 19, 2017.
Discusison POINTS
Below are some possible points of discussion for the upcoming study session:
§ Is the entryway monument an accessory structure or a wall?
§ If it is a wall is the proposed height acceptable?
§ Is the height of the sign appropriate?
§ Is the proposed sign lighting a concern?
§ Discuss possible stipulations.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Applicant’s packet dated November 28, 2017
C: - Applicant
- Case File