Town of Paradise Valley
Action Report
TO: Chair and Planning Commission
FROM: Paul Michaud, Interim Community Development Director
Eva Cutro, Special Projects Manager
George Burton, Planner
DATE: July 17, 2018
CONTACT:
Staff Contact
George Burton, 480-348-3525
End
AGENDA TITLE:
Title
Discussion of a Minor Amendment to the Hermosa Inn Special Use Permit (SUP-18-08)
5532 N. Palo Cristi Road (Assessor No. 170-03-129)
Body
Background
BACKGROUND:
History
The Town annexed the subject property in 1961. The original Special Use Permit (SUP) was issued in 1976 and has been amended several times. The three most recent amendments were approved in 2007, 2014 and 2016. The 2007 amendment was a major amendment that included the modification of the existing room count, a redesign of the pool area, a new spa/fitness facility, and reconfiguration of the restaurant area and parking area. The 2014 amendment was a managerial amendment that reconfigured buildings, eliminated the second story on the guest rooms, and enlarged the event space. The 2016 amendment was a minor amendment that reconfigured and re-orientated buildings, added fireplaces and fountains throughout the campus, modified and added fence walls, and modified the parking area.
Request:
The applicant requests a minor amendment to the Special Use Permit to: 1) reconfigure and relocate previously approved buildings such as the spa, fitness rooms, and resort units, 2) add a new restroom building, 3) relocate the event area with a new tent plan, 4) add more on-site parking, and 5) modify and add new landscaping and site improvements.
These modifications do not alter the total square footage or total number of keys (in which the property will maintain a total lot coverage of 69,038 square feet and a total of 49 keys). However, the total number of parking spaces will increase from 156 spaces to 181 spaces. All the affected or modified buildings have been approved by previous Special Use Permit (SUP) amendments, but have not been built/constructed. Below is a summary of the proposed modifications and improvements.
§ Reconfigure and Relocate Previously Approved Buildings and Additions
i. Guest Room Building 5. The applicant is proposing to modify the footprint of Guest Room Building 5. It will maintain the previously approved setback of 20’ from southern property line (adjoining Stanford Drive) and will maintain the previously approved maximum height of 16’ measured from existing grade (19’ tall to the top of the chimneys). This guest room will be finished and painted to match the existing structures.
ii. Additions to Guest Room Buildings 1 & 2. The additions to Guest Room Buildings 1 and 2 will be eliminated (shown in green on the 2016 site plan). The square footage from these units will be used and allocated to other modified buildings.
iii. Meeting/Event Room and Storage Buildings. The Meeting/Event Room and Storage Buildings (numbers 25 and 26 on the site plan) will be relocated further west on the campus and will be enlarged. These buildings are located next to each other and will be setback approximately 120’ from the west property line and 180’ from the north property line. The height varies from 12’ tall to 26’ tall, measured from existing grade. These buildings will be finished and painted to match the existing structures.
iv. Back of House Addition. The back of house addition (number 24 on the site plan) will be relocated further north on campus. The addition is setback approximately 130’ from the north property line. The addition is 19’ tall and will be finished and painted to match the existing buildings.
v. Spa and Fitness Building. The Spa and Fitness building (number 19 on the site plan) will be relocated from the north part of the campus to the west side of the campus. The Spa and Fitness building is 17’6” tall, will be setback approximately 25’ from the west property line, and will be finished and painted to match the existing buildings.
Also, the current Special Use Permit (SUP) limits the pool, spa, and fitness area to resort guest and immediate adjacent neighbors (via SUP Stipulation C.20 in Ordinance 595). The applicant is requesting to modify this stipulation to allow these areas to be available for use by guest of the resort, adjacent neighbors, and a maximum of 50 members.
All exterior lighting added to these modified buildings or additions will be in compliance with the Site Lighting Zone Plan 2018 and Section 1023 of the Town Zoning Ordinance. However, specified light fixtures have not been identified at this time.
§ New Restroom Building
The new restroom building (number 44 on the site plan) will be located in the center of the resort campus (next to Guest Room Building 11). The restroom building is 14’6” tall and will be finished and painted to match the existing buildings. Any exterior lighting added to added to this building will be in compliance with the Site Lighting Zone Plan 2018 and Section 1023 of the Town Zoning Ordinance.
§ Relocation of the Outdoor Event Area and New Tent Plan
The event area will be relocated from the western part of the campus (adjoining the residential neighbors) to the existing garden area (which is located between the existing guest room buildings near the southern part of the campus). This area will be enhanced with new landscaping, fountains, fireplaces, and pathways. The fountains and fireplaces will be limited to a maximum height of 6’ tall. Also, 16’ tall pole and string lights will be placed in the event/garden area. In accordance with the SUP Guidelines, this area will meet the recommended light output with an average output of 5.0-foot candles. However, staff has concern that the light source of the string lights may be visible from off the property via the gaps between the guest buildings.
The applicant is also proposing a temporary tent plan for the event/garden area. Two tents will be used in this area, with a maximum size of 40’ x 40’ for one tent and a maximum size of 20’ x20’ for the other tent. Both tents will be limited to a maximum height of 24’ tall and may be erected for a maximum of 16 consecutive days for each event. The event area is setback 80’ from closest/southern property line and tent events will end by 10:00 p.m.
§ Modified Parking Lot
25 additional parking spaces will be added to the resort campus. The new parking spaces will be placed at the northeast part of the campus (over the existing vegetable garden) and the southeast part of the campus (near Guest Room Buildings number 1 and 2). The new northern parking spaces match much of the existing parking spaces at a size of 9’ x 18’ (which is in accordance with the Hermosa Inn SUP). The new southern parking spaces will be 9’ x 20’ in size (which is compliant with the recommended parking space size of 180 square feet per the Town Zoning Ordinance).
A mixture of parking lot pole lights, wall mounted fixtures, bollards, and tree down lights will be used to illuminate the parking lot. These fixtures will have an average output of 1.5-foot candles (which is below the 1.6-foot candles recommend by the SUP Guidelines). The approximate quantity and height of the parking lot fixtures are summaried below:
|
Fixture |
Quantity |
Height |
|
Pole Lights |
2 |
10’ |
|
Wall Mounted Lights |
10 |
8’ |
|
Bollards |
14 |
1.2’ (42”) |
|
Tree Down Lights |
42 |
10’ |
§ Lighting
All new exterior lighting added to the modified buildings, additions, event area, and parking lot will be in compliance with the Site Lighting Zone Plan 2018. Although the Site Lighting Zone Plan identifies the average foot candles for each zone, the applicant will provide a photometric plan for the Planning Commission public hearing review.
§ Landscape Improvements
The applicant provided a landscape plan that identifies the plant pallet that will be used around the area of improvements. It does not provide the quantity and location of plants for the interior improvements. However, the plan specifies the type of plants that will be used around the most visible areas associated with these improvements (e.g. the landscaping around Guest Building #5, the Fitness and Spa Building, and the north parking lot screen wall).
DISCUSSION/FACTS
Zoning Ordinance Compliance:
The proposed improvements are consistent with the existing resort use. The modified buildings, new restroom building, event area, tent plan, landscape improvements, and modified parking lot are components which do not change the use or architectural style of the Special Use Permit. The improvements are also substantially compliant with the SUP Guidelines. The guidelines recommend that principal buildings be limited to a height of 36’ tall and non-principal structures be limited to a maximum height of 24’ tall. The modified guest room buildings are limited to a maximum height of 19’ tall and the modified meeting and event building maintain the previously approved height of 26’ tall. The output of the proposed lighting is also compliant with the SUP Guidelines. The parking lot lighting will have an average output of 1.5-foot candles, which is less than the 1.6-foot candles recommended by the SUP Guidelines. Also, the modified parking lot adds 25 more spaces to the resort; which increase the parking count from 156 previously approved parking spaces to 181 parking spaces.
General Plan:
The proposed improvements are consistent with Section 2.1 of the Town’s General Plan which encourages the continued revitalization and improvement of the Town’s Special Use Permit properties while protecting the adjacent residential neighborhoods.
Minor Amendment Criteria
Per the new SUP Ordinance effective November 22, 2009, a Minor Amendment to a Special Use Permit shall include any proposal which is not a Managerial Amendment and does not:
1. Change or add any uses; or
2. Increase the floor area of the project by more than 5,000 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; or
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; or
4. Change the architectural style of the existing Special Use Permit.
The proposed improvements are substantially compliant with the SUP Guidelines, do not increase the lot coverage, and do not change the use or architectural style of the SUP.
Public Comment
Public notification will be performed in accordance with the public hearing process. The public hearing is scheduled for August 21, 2018.
ENFORCEMENT:
There are no current zoning violations associated with the subject property.
Next Steps
The Commission will review this application at the August 21, 2018 public hearing. During the August 21, 2018 public meeting, the Commission may take up to two actions: 1) Determine if the request constitutes a Minor Amendment, and 2) Approve, approve with stipulations, deny, or continue the request for a Minor Amendment.
ATTACHMENTS:
Application
Vicinity & Aerial
Narrative
Plans
C: - Applicant: Doug Jorden
- Case File: SUP-18-08