Explanation
Council Variance Application: CV13-012
APPLICANT: Columbus Scholar House I, LLC; c/o James V. Maniace, Atty.; 65 East State Street, Suite 100; Columbus, Ohio 43215.
PROPOSED USE: Four-unit dwelling.
NEAR EAST AREA COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION: Approval.
CITY DEPARTMENTS' RECOMMENDATION: Approval. The site is comprised of two separate parcels zoned in the R-2F, Residential District, one of which was formerly developed with a non-conforming 4-unit dwelling that was recently demolished. The requested Council variance will allow the construction of a new four-unit dwelling. The site is located within the planning area of the Near East Area Plan (2005), which recommends new residential development compatible with existing housing design. It also recommends mixed-use development and higher density housing on and adjacent to East Long Street. A variance is necessary because the R-2F District allows only a maximum of two units within one dwelling. Variances for parking lot screening, stacked parking, setback, and maximum side yard are included in the request. Since the current configuration of the property would allow a two-unit dwelling on each parcel, Staff has determined that the proposed four-unit dwelling is acceptable at this location, and is also consistent with the established development pattern of the area in that there are several existing or proposed multi-unit residential uses within close proximity to the site.
Title
To grant a Variance from the provisions of Sections 3332.037, R-2F, Residential District; 3312.21(B), Landscaping and screening; 3312.25, Maneuvering; 3312.29, Parking space; 3332.21, Building lines; 3332.25(B), Maximum side yards required; and 3332.26(C)(3), Minimum side yard permitted, of the Columbus City Codes; for the property located at 48 NORTH SEVENTEENTH STREET (43203), to permit a four-unit dwelling with reduced development standards in the R-2F, Residential District and to declare an emergency (Council Variance # CV13-012).
Body
WHEREAS, by application No. CV13-012, the owner of the property at 48 NORTH SEVENTEENTH STREET (43203), is requesting a Council Variance to permit a four-unit dwelling with reduced development standards in the R-2F, Residential District; and
WHEREAS, Section 3332.037, R-2F, Residential District, permits one single-unit or one two-unit dwelling on a lot, while the applicant proposes to construct a new four-unit dwelling as shown on the Site Plan; and
WHEREAS, Section 3312.21(B), Landscaping and screening, requires perimeter landscaping and screening in parking lots, while the applicant proposes no landscaping and screening; and
WHEREAS, Section 3312.25, Maneuvering, requires every parking space to have sufficient access and maneuvering area anywhere on a lot including aisles or circulation areas, while the applicant proposes maneuvering over and through parking spaces; and
WHEREAS, Section 3312.29, Parking space, allows stacked parking spaces only for single- and two-unit dwellings, or multi-unit dwellings with individual garage/driveway arrangements, while the applicant proposes four (4) stacked parking spaces behind four parking spaces as shown on the Site Plan; and
WHEREAS, Section 3332.21, Building lines, requires the building setback line to be the average distance of building setbacks on contiguous lot or parcels, but in no case less than ten (10) feet, while the applicant proposes a four (4) foot building line along South Seventeenth Street as shown on the Site Plan; and
WHEREAS, Section 3332.25(B), Maximum side yards required, requires the sum of the widths of the side yards to be twenty (20) percent of the lot width, or sixteen (16) feet for an eighty (80) foot wide lot, while the applicant proposes a maximum side yard of thirteen (13) percent of the lot width, a total of nine (9) feet eight (8) inches; and
WHEREAS, Section 3332.26(C)(3), Minimum side yard permitted, requires a side yard of no less than five (5) feet, while the applicant proposes a minimum side yard of four (4) feet ten (10) inches along the north and south property lines; and
WHEREAS, the Near East Area Commission recommends approval; and
WHEREAS, City Departments recommend approval because the current configuration of the property would allow a total of four units with a two-unit dwelling on each parcel. Staff has determined that the proposed four-unit dwelling is acceptable at this location, and is also consistent with the established development pattern of the area in that there are several existing or proposed multi-unit residential uses within close proximity to the site; and
WHEREAS, said ordinance requires separate submission for all applicable permits and a Certificate of Occupancy for the proposed use; and
WHEREAS, said variance will not adversely affect the surrounding property or surrounding neighborhood; and
WHEREAS, the granting of said variance will not impair an adequate supply of light and air to adjacent properties or unreasonably increase the congestion of public streets, or unreasonably diminish or impair established property values within the surrounding area, or otherwise impair the public health, safety, comfort, morals, or welfare of the inhabitants of the City of Columbus; and
WHEREAS, the granting of said variance will alleviate the difficulties encountered by the owner of the property located at 48 NORTH SEVENTEENTH STREET (43203), in using said property as desired;
WHEREAS, an emergency exists in the usual daily operation in the City of Columbus in that it is immediately necessary to pass this ordinance to begin construction as soon as possible for the immediate preservation of the public peace, property, health and safety; now, therefore:
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS:
SECTION 1. That a variance from the provisions of Sections 3332.037, R-2F, Residential District; 3312.21(B), Landscaping and screening; 3312.25, Maneuvering; 3312.29, Parking space; 3332.21, Building lines; 3332.25(B), Maximum side yards required; and 3332.26(C)(3), Minimum side yard permitted, of the Columbus City Codes, is hereby granted for the property located at 48 NORTH SEVENTEENTH STREET (43203), insofar as said sections prohibit a four-unit dwelling in the R-2F, Residential District, with no perimeter parking lot landscaping or screening, maneuvering over parking spaces, eight (8) stacked parking spaces, a reduction in the required building setback line from ten (10) feet to four (4) feet, a reduction in the maximum side yards from sixteen (16) feet to nine (9) feet eight (8) inches, and a reduction in the minimum side yard from five (5) feet to four (4) feet ten (10) inches; said property being more particularly described as follows:
48 NORTH SEVENTEENTH STREET (43203), being 1.27± acres located at the southeast corner of North Seventeenth and East Long Streets, and being more particularly described as follows:
48 North Seventeenth Street:
The following described real estate is situated in the County of Franklin, in the State of Ohio, and the in the City of Columbus, and bounded and described as follows:
Tract 1
Being Lot Number Nine (9) of JOHN W. BAKER'S SUBDIVISION, as the same is numbered and delineated upon the recorded plat thereof, of record in Plat Book 1, page 59, Recorder's Office, Franklin County, Ohio.
Parcel Number: 010-035363
Tract 2
Being Lot No. 8 in John Baker's Subdivision of a part of Half Section No. 13, Township No. 5, Range 22, Refugee Lands, as per recorded plat of said subdivision being the same Lot No. 8 conveyed by George E. Scott to Robert B. Montgomery, November 1, 1883, lying on the east side of 17 Street.
Also 40.00 feet off of the north end of Lot No. 28 of Knight, Noble and English's Subdivision, as the same is numbered and delineated upon the plat thereof, made November 4, 1880, and recorded in Plat Record No. 3, Page 155, in the Recorder's Office, Franklin County, Ohio, the part of Lot No. 28 above described being bounded on the south by a line parallel with and 40 feet from the original north line thereof.
Parcel Number: 010-055325
SECTION 2. That this ordinance is conditioned on and shall remain in effect only for so long as said property is used a four-unit dwelling, or those uses permitted in the R-2F, Residential District.
SECTION 3. That this ordinance is further conditioned on substantial compliance with the site plan titled, "PROPOSED SITE PLAN - SHEET SP .01," drawn by Urban Order Architects, dated March 7, 2013, and signed Steven Hurt, Architect. The plan may be slightly adjusted to reflect engineering, topographical, or other site data developed at the time of the development and when engineering and architectural drawings are completed. Any slight adjustment to the plans shall be reviewed and may be approved by the Director of the Department of Building and Zoning Services, or a designee, upon submission of the appropriate data regarding the proposed adjustment.
SECTION 4. That this ordinance is further conditioned on the applicant obtaining all applicable permits and Certificates of Occupancy for the proposed uses.
SECTION 5. That this ordinance shall take effect and be in force from and after the earliest period allowed by law. That for the reasons stated in the preamble hereto, which is hereby made a part hereof, this ordinance is hereby declared to be an emergency measure and shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage and approval by the Mayor or 10 days after its passage if the Mayor neither approves nor vetoes the same.