TO: Chair and Planning Commission
FROM: Jeremy Knapp, Community Development Director
Paul Michaud, Senior Planner
DATE: November 19, 2019
DEPARTMENT: Community Development
Staff Contact Paul Michaud, Senior Planner, 480-348-3574
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AGENDA TITLE:
Title
Discussion of a Minor Special Use Permit Amendment
Minimum parking requirements and construction of an outdoor tank enclosure
7125 E Lincoln Drive - Lincoln Plaza Medical Center (SUP-19-05)
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Background
Request:
Consideration of an application requesting a minor amendment to the Special Use Permit (SUP) for the Lincoln Plaza Medical Center located at 7125 E Lincoln Drive owned by Jamel Greenway, LLC (Assessor Parcel 174-64-0003B). This request is to allow for clarification of minimum parking requirements, specifically the minimum number of parking spaces, and the construction of an approximate 315 square foot enclosed yard to house bulk liquid oxygen and related equipment for a tenant use of hyperbaric oxygen treatments. The applicants for this request are Lori Knudson of Vertical design Studios, and Doug Jorden of Jorden Hiser & Joy, PLC, representing a prospective tenant, Benessere Wellness Center.
Background
BACKGROUND
Draft Stipulations
Attachment H includes draft stipulations should the Planning Commission find for approval. These stipulations are for discussion. The Planning Commission may add, delete, and/or modify these stipulations.
History
Lincoln Plaza Medical Center is a 2.1-acre site. The site fronts along Lincoln Drive on the eastern Town limits adjoining the City of Scottsdale. The Town annexed the property in 1969. The Town established use of the property for “construction and operation and maintenance of a medical and dental clinic” by Special Use Permit approval in 1974. The original development had some construction delays that resulted in the Town approving plans dated 1976. For the most part, the site operates under the strict conformance to these 1976 plans and stipulations. This reliance on the 1976 plans is due to no changes to this site between 1976 and 2011. The 2011 approval, for a pharmacy and urgent care center, focused on adding uses/signage. The allowable urgent care and pharmacy have not yet been put into operation. The 2011 approval did not change building elevations, building square footage, or the parking layout. The property owner made application for a Major SUP amendment in 2018 to redevelop the entire property with a new medical building that was withdrawn in 2019. There are ongoing discussions between the Town and the owners along Lincoln Drive between Mockingbird Lane and the eastern Town limits on driveway access. The proposed wellness clinic is an allowable use under the existing 1976 provisions. Description of the wellness clinic is available in the applicant’s narrative in attachment D. Attachment C provides a SUP History of the property.
General Plan/Zoning
The subject property has a General Plan designation of “Medical Office” pursuant to the Town’s General Plan Land Use Map. The zoning on the subject property is “Special Use Permit - Medical Office”. The wellness center is in conformance with this designation and zoning.
Several General Plan policies may apply related to the request. These include the policies of Goal LU 2.1.2, Special Use Permit Property Revitalization, and several of the policies of Goal DA 2.2.1, Development Area Policy. The site is located in the East Lincoln Development Area that encourages moderate intensity, mixed-use, and context appropriate resort development that includes reasonable separation between incompatible uses and adjacent residential areas and effective buffering of unwanted noise, light, traffic and other adverse impacts. Also, the General Plan encourages upgrading existing structures and properties to improve their physical condition to acceptable Town standards.
Enforcement
The medical center was vacant at the time of the Major SUP amendment in 2018. The owner is now leasing the tenant spaces at this medical center. The owner is in the process of renovating the landscaping, exterior of the buildings, and making tenant improvements. As part of this renovation process, the Community Development Department approved an updated landscape plan in September 2019.
Process
A first step in the application process is for the applicant to file the pre-application material for staff review. The applicant completed the pre-application process on October 21, 2019. The applicant filed their Minor SUP Amendment on October 30, 2019. There are no specific provisions related to timing for a Minor SUP Amendment. However, the Town Code does provide that matters before the Planning Commission shall be heard and considered by the Commission in an expeditious manner and without unreasonable delay. The Planning Commission is set to discuss this request on November 19, 2019 and scheduled to take action tentatively on December 17, 2019. Planning Commission action on a Minor SUP Amendment is appealable to Town Council pursuant to Section 1102.8.B of the Zoning Ordinance.
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DISCUSSION/FACTS
Below is an analysis of how the request complies with Special Use Permit (SUP), SUP Guidelines and other standards.
Number of Parking Spaces
The applicant requests the Town allow for a minimum of 123 total parking spaces at Lincoln Plaza Medical Center, based on the SUP Guideline of 1 parking space per 200 square feet of interior floor area. There will be excess parking, as the site will have 154 total parking spaces. A reason for the Planning Commission review of the parking at the subject site relates to the discrepancy in total parking spaces from the existing condition to the 1976 approval that was not clearly covered in the last SUP amendment in 2011.
The applicant provided a parking analysis in Attachment F. This parking analysis does not describe trip generation analysis specific to this site which may or may not result in a higher number of minimum required parking spaces. For example, the 2011 SUP amendment allowing a pharmacy and urgent care has a traffic analysis that was in the file, but not officially part of that approval. This analysis found that the site had a surplus of parking spaces. However, it also found that the minimum number of parking spaces was higher than using the SUP guideline alone, specifically 6 additional parking spaces. This 2011 analysis also has difference square footages for the urgent care, a different total number of parking spaces, and other factors that complicate directly using this study. Staff suggests that the applicant amend their parking study to address trip generation.
Any future SUP amendments related to impact on uses will require re-evaluation of parking, traffic and circulation demands. The Town uses various sources to evaluate parking, traffic, and circulation when evaluating non-residential uses approved by Special Use Permit zoning. These sources include statements/studies submitted from registered professionals provided by the applicant, the expertise of staff, Town guidelines, and any Town Code requirements.
The 154 total parking spaces are similar to the condition over the last couple of decades. There are no changes to the interior circulation pattern of the parking lot. The building square footage also remains the same at 25,444 square feet (24,524 square feet interior space). The parking lot will be resurfaced and all the parking spaces will be restriped. The number of accessible parking spaces will increase from 6 to 7, with these spaces more evenly distributed throughout the site.
Based on aerial data, this site has had between 151 to 159 striped parking spaces as a result of various circumstances; such as modifying some parking to angled parking in the early 1980s, adding accessible parking, and the removal of parking lot striping in front of a voluntary private accessway with Smoke Tree Resort. The proposed 154 total parking spaces reduces the existing total parking spaces. This reduction in total parking spaces is a result of the proposed tank enclosure and compliance with accessible parking requirements. Additional parking background is described in Attachment E.
The required minimum parking requirements for this medical center derive from its 1976 SUP approval at 169 parking spaces and 1 parking space/150 square feet. Today, the Town’s SUP guideline for medical office parking is 1 parking space/ 200 square feet of interior space. The typical medical office parking calculation in nearby Scottsdale is 1 parking space/ 250 square feet. With no changes to the existing total 24,524 square feet of interior building space, the minimum number of parking spaces using the SUP Guideline are 123 parking spaces.
The parking space dimensions will be more compliant with current standards. 125 of the 154 parking spaces will be 9’0” x 18’0” with a 2’ overhang. The 12 remaining existing angled spaces will still be substandard at 8’9” wide and the 17 parking spaces along the south property line will remain substandard at 9’ x 16’ with an approximate 6’9” oleander landscape tract. Drive aisles will be similar to the existing condition at 23’6” to 23’11”, except in two spots near the rear covered parking where the drive aisle width is approximately 20 feet. The 1976 plan allowed for parking spaces at 17’6” and 17’0” with approximately 3’ of landscape area in front of each space. The Town’s Zoning Ordinance requires a parking space be “a permanently surfaced area, enclosed or unenclosed, having an area of not less than one hundred eighty (180) square feet, together with a driveway connecting the parking space with a street or alley and permitting ingress and egress of an automobile.” This generally results in a 9’ x 20’ parking space. However, through the SUP process, the Town allows in certain instances for the paved area to be less than 20’ long if there is overhang area.
Tank Enclosure
The approximate 315 square foot enclosed storage yard to house bulk liquid oxygen and related equipment is required by building code and other safety provisions related to the use of hyperbaric oxygen treatments for the Benessere Wellness Center. There are no Town SUP Guidelines for this type of enclosure.
The proposed enclosure is in the rear yard of the site at southeast portion adjoining the AJ’s shopping plaza. It results in the elimination of 4 parking spaces. The proposed enclosure is 10’ tall block construction with a 10’ tall metal gate painted to match the building. Around the tank will be protective bollards spaced 3.83’ apart. Equipment within the enclosure will be a 5,550 liter (approximate 4,500 gallon) tank for liquid oxygen and a vaporizer that converts the liquid oxygen into a gaseous state for delivery to the tenant suite through underground pipes. The enclosure has a 5’ setback from the east property line. The 10’ tall wall/gate will screen the height of the tank and equipment. For more explanation of this equipment and how it meets required safety standards refer to the applicant’s narrative in Attachment D and the response from the Town’s Building Official/Fire Marshal in Attachment G.
Minor Amendment Criteria Conformance
Planning Commission will need to take two actions related to this application request at a future meeting. 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 with this application request. The enclosure relates to an allowable medical office use for a wellness center tenant under the existing provisions of the 1976 SUP approval. The approval by the Planning Commission is for the placement of the enclosure due to the strict site plan compliance provision in the 1976 approval.
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 only proposed structural improvement is the 315 square-foot tank enclosure which is open to the sky. Calculation towards square footage of similar enclosures varies from SUP properties. Regardless, the proposed enclosure area is well below the threshold for a Minor SUP amendment.
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 location of the tank enclosure is within the rear yard behind a 10’ tall block wall/gate. Visibility of the enclosure is further limited from the 10’ tall oleander hedge along the perimeter of the back property. Impact on nearby uses should be minimal as the enclosure is near the loading/unloading area of the adjoining AJ’s shopping center with the AJ’s building 57’ away and 85’ or greater to the nearest parking space for Andaz resort. If deemed necessary, stipulations can be added or modified.
The number of parking spaces, parking lot dimensions, and circulation on the site remains substantially the same as the existing condition over the last 25 or so years.
4. Change the architectural style.
The proposed enclosure will match the color and design of the existing medical office buildings.
Public Comment & Noticing
Mailing notification will be done in advance of the scheduled hearing to all property owners within a radius of 1,500 feet, along with a newspaper advertisement and property posting. The tentative meeting to act by the Planning Commission is December 17, 2019.
ATTACHMENT(S):
A. Application
B. Vicinity Map & Related Maps
C. SUP History
D. Project Narrative & Plans
E. Parking Background
F. Parking Analysis
G. Staff Correspondence
H. Draft Stipulations