Agenda Item Summary Sheet

Item No: 12

Meeting Date: March 5, 2008

Item Title: Public Hearing to consider a site plan amendment by Quible & Associates on behalf of Links Group, LLC for South Beach Plaza

Item Summary: The request includes the combining of the two northwest buildings, constructing a new office building and the necessary modifications to parking and stormwater areas. The property is zoned C-2, General Commercial and is located at 2404 S. Croatan Highway, Nags Head.

The Planning Board, at its February 19, 2008 meeting, voted unanimously to recommend the following:

-recommend approval of the overall site plan;

-recommend approval of the proposed office building (South Beach Bank) with revised architecture;

-recommend denial of the modified northwest building due to deficient architectural design; and

-recommend approval of the request for phased development with the condition that applicant post a bond for the cost of the improvements plus twenty percent (20%).

Staff recommends approval of the site plan changes; recommends denial of the architecture for the proposed office building, modified northwest building, and denial of the phased installation of site improvements.

Number of Attachments: 2

Specific Action Requested:

Public Hearing to consider site plan amendment request.

Submitted By: Planning & Development StaffDate: February 19, 2008

Finance Officer Comment:

Insufficient information to assess precise fiscal impact.

Signature: Kim KennyDate: February 26, 2008

Town Attorney Comment:

I have reviewed the site plan amendment and concur with recommendations and process which meets statutory requirements.

Signature:Date: February 26, 2008

Town Manager Comment:

I concur with staff.

Signature: Charlie CameronDate: February 26, 2008

STAFF REPORT

To:Board of Commissioners From: Zoning Administrator

Application: Site Plan Amendment Date: March 5, 2008

GENERAL INFORMATION

Applicant: Quible & Associates representing the Links Group, LLC.

Application Request: Site Plan Amendment.

Purpose: Numerous changes have been proposed to the site plan as originally approved March 27, 2006 and amended most recently on July 11, 2007. Most notable changes include combining the two northwest buildings into one, the permitting of a new office building and the necessary modifications to parking areas and onsite stormwater management. These changes to the site plan were determined to be major by the Planning Director thereby requiring review and approval by the Board of Commissioners.

The applicant is also requesting that the conditional use permit be amended to allow for phased construction for a portion of the required site improvements. The reason for this request is to allow the three buildings currently under construction to become occupied prior to the construction of all required site improvements for the project.

Property Location: 2404 S. Croatan Hwy, Nags Head.

Existing Land Use: The existing and proposed use will remain Office/Retail Group Development.

Zoning Classification of Property: C-2, General Commercial Zoning District.

Zoning Classification of Surrounding Properties: Property north of the site, directly across Oak Knoll Drive, is zoned C-2, General Commercial. Property south of the site is zoned C-2, General Commercial. Property west of the site is zoned R-2, Residential and property east of the site, directly across S. Croatan Hwy. is zoned C-2, General Commercial.

Land Use Plan Map/Policies: Land Use Plan classification is D-1, Developed. This proposal is not inconsistent with this land use classification.

SPECIFIC INFORMATION

The Following are Changes from Approved Plans of March 27, 2006:

  • Modifying the northwest building by combining the two buildings into one smaller building. The resultant loss of retail square footage is to be placed elsewhere on the site.
  • Transferring the 98 seat restaurant from the already approved southwest building to the newly proposed northwest building. The vacated restaurant space in the southwest building is to be converted to office space.
  • Reducing the Food Court Units by one and converting the north portion of this building to retail. There will be four (4) food service units and one (1) retail unit in this building.
  • Modifications to parking, drive aisles, loading zones and stormwater measures to accommodate the building modifications.
  • Amend the original site plan approval to allow for phasing of the site improvements for this project. This would consist of installing the septic system and perimeter buffers entirely, adequate parking and loading spaces for the existing two buildings and adequate stormwater measures for the existing two buildings.

Architecture Design Standards: Town Code Section 48-407(c)(24)(m) requires that Office/Retail Group Developments comply with the requirements subsection 48-371(c)(1) with the additional requirements that all buildings be required to use a roof pitch of 6/12 or greater and achieve a total architectural point score of 125 points. Architectural points for the newly proposed office building (South Beach Bank) are slightly deficient, 121 points have been approved. Points could only be awarded for one shed dormer as the smaller dormer does not meet the dimensional requirements as set forth in Residential Design Manual. The modified northwest building does not meet the minimum required design for residential architecture. Staff finds that the building design and elements do not convey required residential design and actually pattern alternative commercial design standards.

Water and Sewage Disposal: The proposed changes can be approved the Dare County Department of Public Health however the changes will need to be approved by the Raleigh office before permits can be issued.

Stormwater Management: The Town Engineer has reviewed and approved the stormwater management plan conditional upon the receipt of a NCDENR-DWQ high-density stormwater management permit modification.

Traffic Circulation: Traffic circulation has been reviewed and approved as it pertains to this stage of development only.

ANALYSIS

Upon review of the site plan amendments for South Beach Plaza Planning staff finds that the numerous changes to the approved plans necessitate Board approval. Planning staff has reviewed and found compliance with revised lot coverage calculations, building height, landscape buffering and parking standards. The revised architectural design for both the proposed office building (South Beach Bank) and the modified northwest building is noncompliant with Town Code Requirements. Town Code Section 48-525, Application Requirements for Conditional Uses, clearly states that in reviewing and acting upon conditional uses the Board of Commissioners is not limited to merely making certain that the project meets the technical requirements of the ordinance, but the Board additionally has the authority and actual responsibility to makes sure it meets the “spirit and intent” of the chapter as well. The Office/Retail Group Development use category was intended to have multiple buildings of a residential design. So great was the spirit and intent of this use category to have buildings conforming to residential design standards that a higher minimum point requirement (125 points v. 100 points) and a minimum roof pitch (6/12) were imposed. The residential design standards of the ordinance state that goal of the design standards is “to produce architecture with a Nags Head or coastal style.” The Code further stipulates that architectural details be “blended together in a cohesive design” and in “proper proportion”.

The commercial design standards in the zoning ordinance categorize commercial building into two categories. Commercial Category #1 buildings are structures having a ground floor heated area of less than 7,000 square feet. Category #1 buildings must use residential design standards. Commercial Category #2 buildings are structures with a heated ground floor area of 7,000 square feet or greater. Category #2 buildings can use residential design standards or the alternative commercial design standards which were created to accommodate larger scale commercial building. Planning staff submits that the size and architecture of the proposed 9,792 square foot, 35 feet tall one-story retail/restaurant building are much more consistent with and clearly patterned after the alternative commercial architectural design standards. The size of this proposed 9,792 square feet building is not only inconsistent with residential architectural standards, it is also inconsistent with the architecture and size of other buildings that have already been approved on this site, which are predominantly more residential in appearance and smaller in size. The proposed 9,792 square foot restaurant/retail building is 36% larger than the largest approved building on this site, being the front restaurant service building at 7,216 square feet.

Upon resubmission of the site plan for Board of Commissioner review, an revised building design was submitted for this northwest building. However the design is substantially the same as the building design the Planning Board voted unanimously to deny. The only noted change is the removal of originally proposed watch towers being substituted with gable dormers. All other building design elements and building height and size are identical. Staff continues to find the proposed building to be predicated on commercial design standards and not the required residential design standards and appearance required by the ordinance. Proposed building architecture and size are also inconsistent with the architecture and size of other buildings approved and under construction on this site. The building does not convey residential appearance or Nags Head style architecture and therefore does not meet the intent and spirit of the ordinance or this use category. Compliance with building architecture is not simply an algebraic equation to be answered with a correctly sufficient numeric value. Actual appearance is as important as tabulated points when determining ordinance compliance for this conditional use.

The Lighting Plan has been reviewed and approved by Staff.

The Zoning Ordinance currently does not allow for phased development and further requires that all site improvements be installed and approved prior to receipt of operational permits. At their April 5, 2006 meeting the Board of Commissioners reviewed and approved the site plan for South Beach Plaza. At that time the applicant, Quible & Associates, was asked if the buildings were to built simultaneously. The applicant stated that he did not feel the entire site would be constructed at one time. Planning Staff informed the Board that the site plan approval was for two (2) years with a vested right and development would be allowed to be phased over a two-year period. Vesting for this project was eliminated during the most recent site plan amendment, reviewed and approved by the Commissioners at their July 11, 2007 meeting.

PLANNING BOARD RECOMMENDATION

The Planning Board, at its February 19, 2008 meeting, voted unanimously to recommend the following:

-Approval of the overall site plan;

-Approval of the proposed office building (South Beach Bank) with revised architecture;

-Denial of the modified northwest building due to deficient architectural design; and

-Approval of the request for phased development with the condition that applicant post a bond for the cost of the improvements plus twenty percent (20%).

STAFF RECOMMENDATION

Based on the above review staff recommends the following:

-Approval of the site plan

-Approval of the proposed office building (South Beach Bank) with revised architectural design points. The shed dormer shown is 10.5’ in width, revising this to 12’ in width would meet the requirements of the residential design manual and design points could be awarded in order comply with architecture. Upon resubmission of the site plan for Board review the requested revision was not made therefore Staff recommends denial of the proposed office building.

-Denial of the modified northwest building due to deficient architectural design. Architectural design for this building is patterned after alternative commercial design standards, not residential design standards.

-Denial of the request for phased installation of the site improvements.

The Board of Commissioners is required to make the following affirmative findings of fact for this and all conditional use applications:

  1. The applicant has met the requirements of the Town of Nags Head Zoning Ordinance, Subdivision Ordinance and other applicable ordinances.
  2. The use will not materially endanger the public health and safety if located where proposed and developed according to the plan as submitted.
  3. The use as proposed will not overburden the fire fighting capabilities and the municipal water supply capacity of the Town.

Attachments: Amended Site Plan for South Beach Plaza, Elevations, Site Plan Application, Elevations.