Explanation
Council Variance Application: CV14-009
APPLICANT: JDS Companies/City Space; c/o Michael Shannon, Esq.; 500 South Front Street, Suite 1200; Columbus, OH 43215.
PROPOSED USE: Forty-eight Fifty unit apartment complex.
UNIVERSITY AREA COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION: Disapproval.
UNIVERSITY AREA REVIEW BOARD RECOMMENDATION: Approval.
CITY DEPARTMENTS' RECOMMENDATION: Approval. The requested Council variance will allow the site, which is currently developed with a church, to be redeveloped with a forty-eight fifty unit student housing apartment complex in the R-4, Residential, and AR-4, Apartment Residential Districts. Other variances include reductions to building setback, perimeter yard, landscaping, and vision clearance, with increased maximum floor area and maximum lot coverage. The site is located within the boundaries of the University Neighborhoods Revitalization Plan (1996), which is being updated, but currently recommends low intensity residential use for the property. Similar requests for high-density residential projects have been approved or are being considered in the University, Short North, and Grandview areas. Deviation from the Plan's land use recommendation is accepted due to part of the site being zoned in the AR-4 District which allows a maximum density of 36.3 units/acre, and because the proposed apartment complex is designed to integrate well with the surrounding neighborhood. Staff supports this request because it will not add an incompatible use to the neighborhood, and will help provide additional student housing options within close proximity to the university.
Title
To grant a Variance from the provisions of Sections 3332.039, R-4, Residential District; 3312.21(A), Landscaping and screening; 3321.05(B)(2), Vision clearance; 3332.285, Perimeter yard; 3333.255, Perimeter yard; 3372.542, Maximum lot coverage; 3372.543, Building lines; 3372.544, Maximum floor area; and 3372.565, Building lines, of the Columbus City codes; for the property located at 160 KING AVENUE (43201), to permit a forty-eight (48) fifty (50) unit apartment complex with reduced development standards in the R-4, Residential, and AR-4, Apartment Residential Districts (Council Variance # CV14-009).
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WHEREAS, by application No. CV14-009, the owner of property at 160 KING AVENUE (43201), is requesting a Council Variance to permit a forty-eight (48) fifty (50) unit apartment complex with reduced development standards in the R-4, Residential, and AR-4, Apartment Residential Districts; and
WHEREAS, Section 3332.039, R-4, Residential District, allows a maximum of four dwelling units in one building, while the applicant proposes two eleven (11) twelve (12) unit apartment buildings, one eight (8) unit apartment building, and one six (6) unit apartment building in Subarea B; and
WHEREAS, Section 3312.21(A), Landscaping and screening, requires the interior of any parking lot containing ten (10) or more parking spaces to provide one (1) deciduous tree per ten (10) spaces, or eleven (11) trees total for one-hundred four (104) parking spaces, while the applicant proposes six (6) trees within the parking lot interior, and additional trees and landscaping on the exterior boundaries of the parking lot as shown on the Site Plan; and
WHEREAS, Section 3321.05(B)(2), Vision clearance, requires that a thirty (30) foot clear vision triangle shall be maintained on each residential lot adjacent to a street intersection, while the applicant proposes to reduce the clear vision triangles at the intersections of King Avenue with Highland and Hunter Avenues to 21.5 feet in Subarea B as shown on the Site Plan; and
WHEREAS, Section 3332.285, Perimeter yard, requires a twenty-five (25) foot perimeter yard for a multiple dwelling development, while the applicant instead proposes an apartment complex with a four (4) foot perimeter yard along the north property line in Subarea B as shown on the Site Plan; and
WHEREAS, Section 3333.255, Perimeter yard, requires a twenty-five (25) foot perimeter yard for an apartment complex, while the applicant proposes perimeter yards of five (5) feet along the north property line and four (4) feet on the east property line in Subarea A as shown on the Site Plan; and
WHEREAS, Section 3372.542, Maximum lot coverage, requires that a building or combination of buildings shall cover no more than twenty-five percent (25%) of the lot area, while the applicant proposes thirty-one percent (31%) lot coverage in the R-4 District (Subarea B); and
WHEREAS, Section 3372.543, Building lines, requires a minimum building line of at least twenty-five (25) feet, while the applicant proposes a building line of ten (10) feet in the R-4 District (Subarea B); and
WHEREAS, Section 3372.544, Maximum floor area, requires a maximum calculated floor area ratio (F.A.R.) of not greater than 0.40 in the R-4 District, while the applicant proposes an F.A.R. of 0.90 in Subarea B, noting that the maximum F.A.R. in the AR-4 District is 0.80, and the applicant is proposing 0.68 in Subarea A, and the over-all F.A.R. is 0.86 for the entire development; and
WHEREAS, Section 3372.565, Building lines, requires a minimum building line of at least twenty-five (25) feet, while the applicant proposes a building line of 14.75 feet in the AR-4 District (Subarea A); and
WHEREAS, The University Area Commission recommends disapproval; and
WHEREAS, The University Area Review Board recommends approval; and
WHEREAS, City Departments recommend approval because the proposed apartment complex is consistent with the surrounding land use pattern. Similar requests for high-density residential projects have been approved or are being considered in the University, Short North, and Grandview areas. Deviation from the University Neighborhoods Revitalization Plan's land use recommendation is accepted due to part of the site being zoned in the AR-4 District which allows a maximum density of 36.3 units/acre, and because the proposed apartment complex is designed to integrate well with the surrounding neighborhood. Staff supports this request because it will not add an incompatible use to the neighborhood, and will help provide additional student housing options within close proximity to the university; 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 roads, 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 owners of the property located at 160 KING AVENUE (43201), in using said property as desired; now, therefore:
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS:
SECTION 1. That a variance from the provisions of Sections 3332.039, R-4, Residential District; 3312.21(A), Landscaping and screening; 3321.05(B)(2), Vision clearance; 3332.285, Perimeter yard; 3333.255, Perimeter yard; 3372.542, Maximum lot coverage; 3372.543, Building lines; 3372.544, Maximum floor area; and 3372.565, Building lines, of the Columbus City Codes, is hereby granted for the property located at 160 KING AVENUE (43201), insofar as said sections prohibit two eleven (11) twelve (12) unit apartment buildings, one eight (8) unit apartment building, and one six (6) unit apartment building in the R-4 District; with six (6) trees within the parking lot interior where eleven (11) are required; reduced clear vision triangles at the intersections of King Avenue with Highland and Hunter Avenues from thirty (30) feet to 21.5 feet in Subarea B; reduced perimeter yard from twenty-five (25) feet to four (4) feet along the north property line in Subarea B; reduced perimeter yard from twenty-five (25) feet to five (5) feet along the north property line, and to four (4) feet along the east property line in Subarea A; increased maximum lot coverage from twenty-five percent (25%) to thirty-one percent (31%) in Subarea B; reduced building line from twenty-five (25) feet to ten (10) feet in Subarea B; increased floor area ratio from 0.40 to 0.72 in Subarea B; and reduced building line from twenty-five (25) feet to 14.75 feet in Subarea A; said property being more particularly described as follows:
160 KING AVENUE (43201), being 1.48± acres located at the northwest corner of King and Hunter Avenues, and being more particularly described as follows:
Tract I:
Situated in the State of Ohio, County of Franklin, and in the City of Columbus:
Being Lots Number One (1), Two (2), Three (3), Four (4), and Five (5) and One Hundred (100) feet of the south end of Lot Number Six (6) of William N. King's Subdivision of Land in the City of Columbus, as the same is numbered and delineated upon the recorded plat thereof, of record in Plat Book 3, Page 270, Recorder's Office, Franklin County, Ohio.
Containing Franklin County Parcel Numbers 010-066937, 010-056573, 010-056228, 010-047641, 010-013103, 010-042659, and 010-029456
Tract II:
Situated in the State of Ohio, County of Franklin, and in the City of Columbus:
Being 50 feet off the North end of Lot 6 of William King's Subdivision, as the same is shown of record in Plat Book 3, page 270, Recorder's Office, Franklin County, Ohio.
Franklin County Parcel Number 010-008146
Tract III:
Situated in the State of Ohio, County of Franklin, and in the City of Columbus:
Being the entire 20' vacated alley adjacent to and south of Lot 26 as shown on the recorded plat of William N. King's Subdivision (of record in Plat Book 3, Page 270, Recorder's Office, Franklin County, Ohio), beginning at the east line of Highland Street (60' wide) and terminating at the West line of the 20' alley east of Highland Street and containing 2800 square feet.
Containing ten feet off the South end of Franklin County Parcel Number 010-001583, and ten feet off the North end of Franklin County Parcel Numbers 010-008146, 010-042659, and 010-013103
Tract IV:
Situated in the State of Ohio, County of Franklin, and in the City of Columbus:
Being Lot Numbers Twenty-four (24), Twenty-five (25), and Twenty-six (26) in William N. King's Subdivision, as the same in numbered and delineated upon the recorded plat thereof, of record in Plat Book 3, Page 270, Recorder's Office, Franklin County, Ohio.
Containing Franklin County Parcel Numbers 010-019857, 010-011203, and 010-001583
SECTION 2. That this ordinance is conditioned on and shall remain in effect only for so long as said property is used for a forty-eight (48) fifty (50) unit apartment complex.
SECTION 3. That this ordinance is further conditioned on general conformance with the site plan titled, "KING AVENUE APARTMENTS," dated July 14, 2014, and elevation drawings titled, "CITY SPACE KING AVENUE," dated June 27, 2014, both drawn by BBCO Design, and signed by Michael T. Shannon, Attorney for the Applicant, and dated June 27, 2014. The Subject Site shall be developed in accordance with the attached plans. The plans may be slightly adjusted to reflect engineering, topographical or other site data developed at the time of development or engineering plan completion. 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 upon the applicant obtaining all applicable permits and a Certificate of Occupancy for the proposed use.
SECTION 5. That this ordinance is further conditioned on the applicant combining tax parcels 010-066937, 010-056573, 010-056228, 010-047641, 010-013103, 010-042659, 010-029456, 010-008146, 010-019857, 010-011203, and 010-001583 into one parcel prior to site compliance review.
SECTION 6. That this ordinance is further conditioned upon the following: Each pair of stacked parking spaces shall be assigned to an individual unit.
SECTION 6 7. That this ordinance shall take effect and be in force from and after the earliest period allowed by law.