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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1998-1013 JANSEN FINDINGSBEFORE THE ASHLAND PLANNING COMMISSION OCTOBER 13, 1998 IN THE MATTER OF PLANNING ACTION #98-091, REQUEST FOR SITE REVIEW TO DEMOLISH THE EXISTING HOTEL AND CONSTRUCT A 10,901 SQUARE FOOT RETAIL BUILDING, AND CONVERT THE EXISTING 24 HOTEL UNITS TO STUDIO APARTMENTS FOR THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT 1520 SISKIYOU BOULEVARD. APPLICANT: ALEX JANSEN FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW I. INTRODUCTION FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW for approval of a plan to demolish the existing hotel and construct a retail building and convert 24 hotel units into studio apartments at the property located at 1520 Siskiyou Boulevard, Ashland, Oregon. II. RECITALS 1. Tax Lot 2000 of 39 1E 15 BA is located at 1520 Siskiyou Boulevard, Ashland, Oregon, and is zoned C-l-Commercial. 2. The Applicant is requesting approval of a proposal to demolish the existing hotel and construct a 10,091 square foot retail building, and convert the existing 24 hotel units into studio apartment for the property located at 1520 Siskiyou Boulevard, Ashland, Oregon. Site improvements are outlined on the Site Plan and Elevations on file at the Department of Community Development. 3. The Planning Commission, following proper public notice, held a Public Hearing on October 13, 1998, at which time FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW - 1 testimony was received and exhibits were presented. The Planning Commission approved the application subject to conditions pertaining to the appropriate development of the site. The Planning Commission's decision was appealed to the City Council by John Freedom. The City Council, following proper public notice, held a Public Hearing on January 5, 1999, at which time testimony was received and exhibits were presented. The Public Hearing was continued to January 19, 1999, at which time additional testimony and exhibits were received and presented. The City Council approved the application subject to conditions pertaining to the appropriate development of the site. III. CRITERIA The criteria for Site Design and Use Standards approval are described in Chapter 18.72.070 of the Ashland Land Use Ordinance: A. All applicable City ordinances have been met or will be met by the proposed development. B. All requirements of the Site Review Chapter have been met or will be met. C. The development complies with the Site Design Standards adopted by the City Council for implementation of this Chapter. D. That adequate capacity of City facilities for water, sewer, paved access to and through the development, electricity, urban storm drainage, and adequate transportation can and will be provided to and through the subject property. FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW - 2 yard, side yard, or back yard set back is required. No structure under C-1 Zoning shall exceed 40 feet. The highest point on the proposed buildings is 25 feet. The required parking for the proposed commercial building are based upon retail use, using one space for every 350 square feet of floor area, which calculates to 31 spaces. The 24 motel units to be converted into studio apartments require one space per apartment for 24 spaces. A total of 55 spaces are required and a total of 55 spaces are shown on the Site Plan, including a credit for one parking space on Walker Street. There are three handicap accessible parking spaces shown on the Site Plan as required. There are 11 bicycle parking spaces as required based upon the 55 required vehicle parking spaces. Fifty percent, or six, of the bicycle spaces are required to be covered. The Site Plan shows eight covered bicycle spaces at the rear entrance and four uncovered bicycle spaces along the Siskiyou Boulevard sidewalk. Under C-1 Zoning, 15% landscaping is required and the Site Plan shows 25% landscaping. The Site Review Standards require at least a .35 floor to area ratio. The Site Plan shows a .38 floor to area ratio based upon the designated area for the permitted use. FINDING: Based upon the record and the above discussion, it is found that all applicable City ordinances have been met or will be met by the proposed development. FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW - 4 feet from any intersection. The curb cut on Siskiyou Boulevard will be approximately 254 feet from the intersection. There will be no direct light or glare projected onto the proposed studio apartments or on any of the adjacent properties which are also zoned C-1. The proposed lighting consists of low pole lights and landscaping designed to cast downwards to the ground. All conservation measures have been taken into consideration in the design of the proposed project including water, electric, and gas. No disc antenna are proposed for the project. FINDING: Based upon the record and the above discussion, it is found that all requirements of the Site Review Chapter have been met or will be met. C. 18.72.070(C) -- The development complies with the Site Design Standards adopted by City Council for implementation of this Chapter. DISCUSSION: On August 4, 1992, the City Council adopted Site Design and Use Standards ("SDUS"). To comply with the SDUS, this project must satisfy the Basic Standards (Section II-C-1), the Detail Standards (Section II-C-2), and the Large Scale Projects (Section II-C-3). Appellants have raised the issue of compliance with the SDUS. Appellants' references to the introduction of the SDUS do not concern actual approval criteria. The ideas presented in the FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW - 6 coverage occurs after five years. Appellants contend that this requirement has not been satisfied. The City Council interprets this requirement to refer to ground cover landscaping in order to ensure that the project maintains a proper appearance. Contrary to Appellants' assertions, this requirement does not refer to large trees, nor does it require newly planted trees to reach the size and height of trees lost during construction. The landscaping design shows that 50% ground cover will occur after one year and 90% coverage after five years. Section II-C-lc(2) requires that the landscaping design use a variety of low water deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs and flowering plant species. Appellants contend that this requirement has not been satisfied. The removal of some evergreen trees does not result in a failure to meet this requirement. The landscaping plan demonstrates that a variety of the required flora will be utilized, including birch, oak, maple, pine, and cedar. Section II-C-ld requires the installation of an irrigation system. The landscaping plan provides for a drip irrigation system. Section II-C-le requires that efforts shall be made to save as many existing healthy trees and Shrubs on the site as possible. Appellants contend that this requirement has not been satisfied. This SDUS requirement has been interpreted to require a balancing between building design and site improvement requirements with the reasonable retention of the site's FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW - 8 There is an existing parking lot on the west side of the new buildings which will be enlarged. The existing drive behind the structures will be reconfigured, regraded, and repaved to adapt to the new configuration. This section also requires that parking be shaded by deciduous trees, buffered from adjacent nonresidential uses, and screened from nonresidential uses. Much of the existing landscaping along the parking lots provide shade and buffering from nonresidential uses. All of the proposed new landscaping will provide shade with deciduous trees which will also buffer and screen. Section II-C-le is not applicable because the property does not contain a creek or riparian area. Section II-C-lf concerns noise and glare. The proposed design and use of the project will not generate excessive noise or glare. Section II-C-lg concerns expansions of existing sites and buildings. The proposed studio apartments will not be expanded in any way. All other existing buildings will be razed and replaced with new structures. Detail Standards (Section II-C-2) Section II-C-2a concerns building orientation and scale. Based on the designated area for permitted use, the floor area will be .38, which is above the .35 minimum required. There will be a three foot change in the finished floor elevation between the two buildings. There will be display windows along the entire north elevation which faces Siskiyou Boulevard. There are FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW - 10 entrances of the building. The Site Plan also shows a hardscape path connecting the proposed studio apartments to the walkway that separates the two buildings and connects to the public sidewalk along Siskiyou Boulevard. The hardscape will be tan colored, scored concrete. This section also requires buildings to be set back no more than 20 feet from the public sidewalk, and that if there is more than one structure that at least 25% of the aggregate building frontage will be within 20 feet of the sidewalk. The Site Plan shows that over 25% of the two buildings will be within the 20 foot requirement. Section II-C-2c, concerning parking and on site circulation, does not apply because there is not one parking area on the site that has 50 or more parking spaces. The one area that is over 100 feet in length is part of the existing parking lot on the left side. The parking is spread out on the west and south sides of the site and separates buildings and landscaping. Item C concerns developments over one acre. The designated area for the permitted use is less than two-thirds of an acre. All pedestrian walkways link directly to entrances and the internal circulation of the building and will be provided with sufficient light so they may be used by night employees, residents, and customers. Section II-C-2d concerns buffering and screening which requires landscaping to buffer and screen parking lots and incompatible uses. The landscape plan shows landscaped buffer areas on all sides of the proposed building, parking lot, and proposed studio apartments between the buildings, parking lot, FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW - 12 west sun. buildings. seating. lighting will be small scale lighting. The proposed buildings do not exceed 45,000 square feet or have a contiguous building length of 300 feet or more. The buildings will be connected by a common roof with a skylight walkway. The interior parking lots will incorporate curbs, sidewalks, street trees, and human scale light standards. Section II-C-3b concerns public space. There will be two outdoor patios along with several other plaza type areas which satisfy the 10 square foot per gross floor area requirement for public space. Both of the patios are designed as outdoor areas and will feature tables with umbrellas. The patio on the north side will receive morning sun and some late afternoon sun but will be shaded by the building during the noon hours. The patio on the south side will receive early morning sun and early afternoon sun. The south patio will be shaded from the noon sun with deciduous trees which will let the winter sun through. The north patio will also have deciduous trees to protect it from the Both patios will be protected from the wind by the The other smaller plaza areas will incorporate bench Section II-C-3c concerns transit amenities. There are two bus stops in close proximity to the site. One unsheltered bus stop is just east of Omar's Restaurant. The other bus stop is sheltered and is located at the corner of Highway 66 and Walker Street. FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW - 14 access to and through the development, electricity, urban storm drainage, and adequate transportation can and will be provided to and through the subject property. E. Procedure. DISCUSSION: Appellants contend that undue influence may have been asserted by a biased Planning Commissioner because a Commissioner arrived late and missed the normal and usual opportunity to declare any actual or potential conflict of interest. Appellants did not identify which Commissioner was late, what actual or potential conflict of interest existed, or how the procedure was subjected to undue influence by a biased Commissioner. Any Commissioner could have declared any conflict of interest at anytime during the proceedings. FINDING: Based upon the record and the above discussion, it is found that no procedural impropriety occurred and that no undue influence was asserted by a biased Commissioner at the Planning Commission proceedings. v. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW Based upon the evidence submitted with this application and the discussions, conclusions, and findings made above, the Ashland City Council makes the following Conclusions Of Law: 1. Based upon the record of the public hearing on this matter, the Ashland City Council concludes that the proposed plan to demolish one existing hotel building and construct a 10,901 FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW - 16 shall be located behind the sidewalk and any sidewalk cuts shall be covered by permeable hard surfaces such as pavers or grates and be irrigated. All street trees shall be chosen from the adopted Street Tree List and shall be installed in accordance with the specifications noted in Section E of the Site Design and Use Standards and incorporate root barriers if applicable. 5. That bicycle parking be installed in accordance with the design provisions of Chapter 18.92 prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy. Final location and rack design to be submitted for review and approval at the time of submission for a building permit. 6. That electric load data and meter location be provided for review and approval by the Electric Department prior to the issuance of a building permit. 7. That the location and final engineering for all storm drainage improvements associated with the project be included as part of Building Permit submission for review and approval by the Planning and Engineering Divisions. 8. That all requirements of the Ashland Fire Department be complied with prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy, including but not limited to the installation of a security key lock system. 9. That the driveway along Walker Avenue be shifted to within five feet of the southerly property line. This modification including landscaping shall be reflected on a FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW - 18 15. That construction details for proposed seating/benches, transit shelter, retaining walls and covered bicycle structures be provided for review and approval at the time of issuance of a building permit. 16. That the area defined for installation of interlocking pavers (adjacent to the cedar tree be expanded by approximately eight feet to 10 feet to include the tree's entire dripline and beyond. This modification shall be included on the site plan at the time of issuance of a building permit. 17. That the site plan be amended, prior to the issuance of a building permit, to include 1,090 square feet of "public space" as noted under Site Design Standard II-C-3b(1), excluding walkway DATED this /~ day of area. ~d~~ , 1999. Don Laws, Council Chairperson ( CLiENT\JAN,~EN\FINDINOS. DOC) 2/10/991am FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW - 20