City of Fairfax, Virginia City Council Work Session

Transcription

1 City of Fairfax, Virginia City Council Work Session Agenda Item # 6b City Council Meeting 10/06/2015 TO: FROM: SUBJECT: Honorable Mayor and Members of City Council Robert Sisson, City Manager Discussion of a request by Avalon Bay Communities, Inc. for a proposed redevelopment of the Breezeway Motel, Fairfax Gardens Apartments and several adjacent residential lots into a residential planned development, initiate vacation of City owned right-of-way and authorize the City Manager to sign the land use application. ISSUE(S): SUMMARY: Informational Work Session of City Council to discuss a proposed residential planned development on the consolidated properties. Initial feedback is sought by City Council regarding the proposed redevelopment as well as a potential right-of-way vacation. The applicant has submitted a land use application, which is incomplete due the dependence of the proposal on vacation of City owned right-of-way for Cedar Avenue. An application may be formally accepted if right-of-way vacation is initiated by City Council and the City Manager is authorized to sign the land use application as a representative to the City as a land owner for the area of right-of-way that is included in the proposal. The applicant proposes to replace the existing hotel, 38 multifamily units and six singlefamily homes with up to 425 multifamily apartments and 22 townhomes on the 5.18 acre consolidated site. The application would require City Council approval of a Comprehensive Plan Amendment, a rezoning, a special use permit, special exceptions, variances and a vacation of right-of-way. FISCAL IMPACT: RECOMMENDATION: ALTERNATIVE COURSE OF ACTION: RESPONSIBLE STAFF/POC: COORDINATION: ATTACHMENTS: A fiscal impact analysis has not been conducted at this time. Discussion and recommendation on initiation of vacation of right-of-way and authorization for the City Manager to sign as a participant on the land use application. City Council may choose to postpone discussion and postpone a recommendation on initiation of vacation of right-of-way and authorization for the City Manager to sign the land use application, to a future date. Paul Nabti, Senior Planner Jason Sutphin, Community Development Division Chief Brooke Hardin, Director, Community Development & Planning Community Development & Planning, City Attorney, Public Works None. Updated material will be presented at the work session by the applicant. Page 1

2 Background The subject site is located within the block bounded by Fairfax Boulevard, Oak Street, Second Street and Walnut Street. It consists of a consolidation of eight parcels for a total of 5.18 acres as summarized in the table below: Address Description Area Current Zoning Fairfax Blvd. Breezeway Motel acres C-2 Commercial Cedar Ave Fairfax Gardens Apts acres RM Multifamily 3920 Oak Street Duplex acres R-3 Residential 3922 Oak Street Duplex acres R-3 Residential 3930 Oak Street Single Family acres R-3 Residential 3932 Oak Street Single Family acres R-3 Residential 3934 Oak Street Single Family acres R-3 Residential 3937 Walnut Street Single Family acres R-3 Residential Total Area: 5.18 acres The parcels that are included within the consolidation for this application, along with their current zoning designations, are shown in Figure 1: Figure 1: Existing Zoning Page 2

3 The site is bordered by commercial properties to the west and north, single family homes, a day care center, and Chilcott Field (owned by The American Legion) to the east, and single family homes within Fairfax Heights to the south. The table below provides a summary of surrounding land uses. Site Existing Zoning Existing Land Use Existing Description Future Land Use C-2 Commercial, Motel, Multifamily, Breezeway Motel, Business Commercial, RM Multifamily, Single Family Homes, Fairfax Gardens Apts, Residential High, R-3 Residential Duplexes Single Family Homes Residential Low North C-2 Commercial Commercial/Retail South East R-3 Residential R-3 Residential, C-1 Office Commercial Residential Single Detached Residential, Day Care Center, Open Space West C-2 Commercial Commercial/Office Various Commercial Establishments Fairfax Heights Residential Duplexes, Day Care Center, Chilcott Field Banks, Office Building Business - Commercial Residential - Low Residential Low, Business Office Transition, Open Space - Recreation Business Commercial, Business Office Transition The site is located within the West Connector (generally encompassing the area between Kamp Washington and Northfax) as identified in the Fairfax Boulevard Masterplan Vision and Summary appendix of the Comprehensive Plan. Although the Comprehensive Plan does not discuss a specific vision for the West Connector, the following language pertains to Connectors in general: Connectors: Connectors should take the form of a linear, aesthetically enhanced boulevard. Most of these areas do not have the proper depth or potential for unified, coordinated development. Their focus would be on lower scale buildings (predominantly 1 to 3 stories) with emphasis on accessibility, improvements in architectural and site design, and appropriate interface between the commercial boulevard and existing neighborhoods, such as appropriate land use transitions and green space buffers. Proposal Summary Based on initial comments from staff, the applicant has made revisions to the plans that were originally submitted to staff. Revised plans have not been submitted at the time of issuance of this memo and have not been reviewed by staff. The applicant will present the revised plans to City Council at the work session. In general, the applicant proposes to replace all of the existing uses with a four and five story building with up to 425 rental multifamily units and 22 townhomes. The multifamily building is located in the northern portion of the site, with the five story portion located closest to Fairfax Boulevard and Walnut Street, and the four story portion toward the south end of the site and Oak Street. The four story portion of the building abuts single family properties on Oak Street. Townhomes are proposed at the south end of the site, closest to the adjacent single family properties in Fairfax Heights. Special exceptions would be required for height and setbacks for both the multifamily buildings and the townhomes. As discussed above, the applicant proposes to close Cedar Avenue between Oak Street and Walnut Street and replace it with a new road (Third Street) closer to the south end of the property. Closure of Cedar Avenue is Page 3

4 dependent on vacation of the City owned right-of-way. Third Street would be dedicated to the City as new right-of-way. Parking for the multifamily units would be located within a single five to six story parking garage that is wrapped by the residential building to help screen it from all sides. Parking for the townhomes would be provided within individual garages with additional spaces for guests located on Third Street. The proposed parking ratio is 1.5 spaces per unit for the multifamily uses and over two spaces per unit for the townhomes. A special exception would be required to reduce the multifamily parking ratio from 2 spaces per unit to 1.5 spaces per unit. Process This application is dependent on several land use actions by City Council that are subject to a public hearing, including a Comprehensive Plan Amendment, rezoning, special use permit, special exceptions, subdivision variances and vacation of right-of-way. Staff is unable to formally accept this application at this time due to the incorporation of City owned right-of-way. If vacation of right-of-way is initiated and support is provided for the City to participate as an applicant then the application can be formally accepted. Initiation of vacation of right-of-way would allow staff to conduct a more thorough analysis on the potential impacts of a relocated roadway on circulation, safety and future land uses. Staff would also explore options for compensation for the right-of-way. City Council would then have the opportunity to act on the right-of-way vacation at a future public hearing with additional analysis provided by staff. Proposal Review The purpose of the applicant s request for this work session is to gain initial feedback from City Council on the proposed development, the potential vacation of right-of-way and the City s potential participation in the application. The application cannot be formally accepted unless the City participates in the application since the City is the landowner for the portion of Cedar Avenue that the applicant intends to include in the application. Staff has conducted an initial review of the development proposal and consolidated comments into three general categories: uses, scale and circulation. In addition to general feedback on the proposed development, staff seeks input from Council on the following items related to these categories as summarized below. It should be noted that the applicant has revised the plans since staff provided initial review comments and staff has not had the opportunity to review those revisions prior to this work session. Uses Land Use: The applicant is seeking to build a residential development that abuts Fairfax Boulevard with no commercial or retail component. The consolidated properties are overlaid on the Future Land Use Map from the Comprehensive Plan in Figure 2. This application would require an amendment to the Future Land Use Map to designate all of the subject properties and the right-of-way for Cedar Avenue as Residential High. The Comprehensive Plan specifically addresses this scenario as follows: Generally, stand-alone residential uses along the [Fairfax Boulevard] corridor are not recommended, and exclusively residential uses do not appear on the Future Land Use map anywhere along the corridor. However, there are certain cases in which residential uses may be appropriate within the overall framework of the business boulevard. Such instances include: Replacement of an undesirable use: Certain current land uses within the City are considered undesirable due to an unattractive appearance or other negative externalities. In cases where the elimination of an undesirable use can be considered of primary importance, consideration Page 4

5 should be given to supporting residential as the primary land use. However, extreme care must be taken to ensure that residential uses complement the general commercial nature of the Fairfax Boulevard corridor. Figure 2: Future Land Use Property Consolidation: This application includes incorporation of eight parcels within the associated block, with a total of 5.18 acres. Despite this significant effort, the consolidation omits five commercial parcels and three residential parcels in the northeastern portion of the block, totaling approximately 2.37 acres. These parcels are key elements of a unified redevelopment for the block for the following reasons. 1. Incorporation of the commercial properties would allow for greater flexibility in the site design to include new commercial uses along the Fairfax Boulevard frontage. 2. The design as submitted does not provide for adequate buffering or screening of the three residential properties on Oak Street that are omitted from the consolidation. 3. The consolidated redevelopment site effectively orphans the non-incorporated parcels, leaving a potential overall site size and dimensions that would be a challenge to redevelop according to the standards of the Comprehensive Plan. Page 5

6 Scale Density: Although the Comprehensive Plan does not specifically recommended densities for the various types of potential uses along the Fairfax Boulevard Corridor, it is generally anticipated that the highest intensity uses would occur within the three Centers and more moderate intensities would occur within the Connectors. Since the incorporation of the Fairfax Boulevard Vision and Summary into the Comprehensive Plan, there have been two land use approvals for mixed-use/multifamily developments within Centers. The subject application is the first application for such a development within one of the Connectors. The overall residential densities for the two approved applications as compared to the subject application are provided below: Project Site Area Number Residential Commercial Fairfax Boulevard of Units Density/Acre Area Area Designation Avalon/Breezeway 6.06 acres* Connector Fairfax Circle Plaza 8.32 acres ,000 Center Novus 9.18 acres ,000 Center *Note: Site area includes an estimated 0.88 acres to be dedicated for Third Street. Height: Conceptual massing models indicating the proposed number of floors within the proposed buildings throughout the site are provided in Attachment 3. The proposed height of 4 to 5 stories conflicts with the Comprehensive Plan language cited on Page 3 of this memo that recommends 1 to 3 stories along Fairfax Boulevard Connectors. The zoning ordinance, however, permits a height of 5 stories or 60 feet in the C-2 Retail Commercial district, which is the predominant zoning classification for properties along the length of Fairfax Boulevard. Height limits in the RM Residential Multifamily district and in the R-3 Residential district are 35 feet. The height limit in the RPD Residential Planned Development district, to which the applicant seeks to rezone, is also 35 feet. A special exception would be required to allow taller buildings as proposed. Circulation Road realignment: If right-of-way vacation for Cedar Avenue is initiated by City Council then staff will conduct a complete analysis of the impacts of the roadway realignment proposed with this project. In the interim, staff has provided the applicant with initial observations. These include the following: 1) In it s current alignment, Cedar Avenue provides vehicular and pedestrian access between the commercial uses directly to the west of this site, as well as uses farther west along Fairfax Boulevard, and uses to the east, including Paul VI High School. This is particularly important given the uncertainty of the future use of the High School site and that the current location is shown to remain in the Comprehensive Plan. 2) The maximum recommended block length along the corridor as stated in the Fairfax Boulevard masterplan is 400 to 500 feet. The current block length along Oak Street between Fairfax Boulevard and Cedar Avenue is around 575 feet. The block length between Fairfax Boulevard and Third Street resulting from the proposed realignment is over 800 feet. Inter-parcel connection: The Comprehensive Plan supports establishment of a connected street network and inter-parcel connectivity with new development. The Fairfax Boulevard Masterplan envisions potential slow lanes along undefined portions of Fairfax Boulevard to provide a more pedestrian scale frontage and to support this connectivity. In the absence of slow lanes, a reservation for potential future slow lanes, an inter-parcel connection, or consolidation with adjacent commercial properties within the block, this goal of the Comprehensive Plan would not be satisfied. Page 6

7 Parking: For recent multifamily residential approvals, staff has supported and City Council has approved parking ratios of 1.6 parking spaces per unit. This support is based on analysis of parking requirements for several peer jurisdictions. The applicant has proposed as parking ratio for multifamily residential at a ratio of 1.5 parking spaces per unit. Although this ratio is not necessarily supported by previous staff analysis that is strictly based on the number of units, it may be justified based on the proposed bedroom mix of the multifamily units. Staff has requested additional information from the applicant to allow for an appropriate analysis. Page 7