Title
Consider public testimony regarding, and an ordinance amending the PUD (Planned Unit Development) No. 90 zoning district to allow indoor accessed self-service storage units on an approximately 5-acre portion of the site, located southeast of the intersection of University Blvd. and Sunrise Rd. (First Reading)*
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PUD (Planned Unit Development) No. 90 was approved by the City Council in January of 2012. It contains 41.23 acres and has three development areas: two areas for multi-family development on 36 acres and one area for townhome and senior uses on 5 acres. The multi-family areas have been constructed and the remaining undeveloped 5-acre area is the subject of this request. The 5-acre parcel currently allows for townhome and senior residential uses. The purpose of this amendment is to include a multi-story self-service storage facility with only internal access to storage units as a permitted use, with accompanying design standards, and to establish some of the development standards for the townhomes and senior housing.
The proposed site layout has the storage building located on the northern part of the site on approximately two acres facing University Boulevard, and the townhome and senior residential uses on the southern portion of the site, on approximately three acres. Access to the storage building will be from the existing driveway connection to University Boulevard. The building will be a maximum of three stories in height and the exterior building material standards will exceed minimum code requirements with respect to the percentage of masonry on the exterior finish and the percentage of windows and doors on the building elevation facing University Boulevard. In addition, while code permits split-face and stone-face concrete masonry units, the PUD will prohibit these materials.
Access to the townhome and senior uses will be from the Arrington Ridge Apartments to the west, which also shares the existing driveway connection to University Boulevard. The townhomes will meet the development standards of the TH (Townhome) zoning district, except for the parking space requirement. The TH district requires four spaces for each unit: two in the garage and two on the driveway outside of the garage. The proposal is for each unit to provide three parking spaces for each unit: one in the garage, one in the driveway outside of the garage, and one covered surface parking space. Staff finds that this standard is justified for two reasons: (1) a townhouse project was approved in Amendment No. 3 to PUD No. 35 with similar requirements in 2013; and (2) other cities have adopted similar requirements. The PUD No. 35 townhome parking requirements are: 2 spaces per unit, with one of those in a garage for units with 1-2 bedrooms, and 2 spaces per unit, both in a garage, for units with 3 or more bedrooms. In both cases, an additional 10% of the total number of required spaces are also required for guests. The City of Cedar Park requires 1 ½ spaces per unit for a one bedroom townhouse and 2 spaces per unit for larger units. The City of Georgetown requires 2 spaces per unit. The City of Pflugerville requires 2 spaces per unit, with additional spaces equaling 20% of the total number of units. A survey by the American Planning Association of cities nationwide indicates that requirements vary from 1 space per unit to 2 ½ spaces per unit, with most requiring 1 or 2 spaces per unit.
Senior housing will be in the form of apartment units and a maximum of 52 units are proposed. These apartments will meet the current design requirements of the SR (Senior) zoning district. The proposed amendment allows for the buildings to be four stories if the first floor consists of garage-enclosed parking spaces. The parking ratio is established at 1.25 parking spaces per unit, with an additional number of spaces equal to 5% of the total number of required spaces. This ratio is the same as several recently approved senior apartment projects
There were no speakers at the public hearing held by he Planning and Zoning Commission on December 20, 2017 and the Commission voted 8-0 to recommend approval of the PUD amendment.