Z-3812-D Staff AnalysisJanuary 28, 2002
ITEM NO.: 1
File No..
Owner:
Address:
Description:
Zoned:
Area:
Variance Requested:
Justification:
Present Use of Property:
Proposed Use of Property:
STAFF REPORT
A. Public Works Issues:
With Building Permit:
Z -3812-D
Chi Investments, LLC
Northeast corner of West Markham
Street and I-430
Part of Lot 1, Bixler Commercial
Subdivision
C-3
1.428 acres
Variances are requested from the
height regulations of Section
36-301, the parking regulations
of Section 36-502 and the buffer
provisions of Section 36-522 in
order to permit the construction
of a new hotel building.
The applicant's justification is
presented in an attached letter.
Vacant restaurant building
Hotel
1. Property frontage needs to have the sidewalks and
ramps brought up to the current ADA standards.
2. Repair or replace any curb and gutter or sidewalk
that is damaged in the public right-of-way prior to
occupancy.
3. Plans of all work in right-of-way shall be submitted
for approval prior to start of work.
4. Sidewalks shall be shown conforming to Sec. 31-175
and the "MSP".
January 28, 2002
Item No.: 1
5. Stormwater detention ordinance applies to this
property.
B. Landscape and Buffer Issues:
The plan submitted falls short of the 15 foot average
buffer width requirements along Markham Center Dr. by
3 feet and along West Markham Street by 2 feet. Also,
it falls short of the 30 foot wide freeway buffer
requirement along I-430. Areas set aside for
landscaping meet with Landscape Ordinance requirements
with the exception of the 30 foot wide landscape strip
along I-430. Variances from the Landscape Ordinance
requirements must be approved by the City Beautiful
Commission.
C. Staff Analysis:
The property at the northeast corner of West Markham
Street and Interstate 430 is occupied by a vacant
restaurant building and associated paved parking areas.
There is a mixture of commercial and office uses in
this immediate area. There are existing office uses
across West Markham Street to the south, with hotel
buildings to the north and additional offices to the
northeast. A commercial strip center is located across
Markham Center Drive to the east. Interstate 430 is
located along the property's west boundary.
The applicant is proposing to redevelop the property at
the northeast corner of West Markham Street and
Interstate 430 with a new hotel development. The
applicant proposes to remove the existing vacant
restaurant building and parking areas and construct a
new 115 room hotel building and associated parking
areas. The proposed hotel building will have eight (8)
stories and a maximum height of 90 feet. The building
will be located near the center of the property, with
parking on all four sides. Access to the property is
gained by way of an existing driveway from Markham
Center Drive. This driveway is a shared access with
the hotel property immediately to the north, with the
shared access being utilized since the initial
development of this property.
January 28, 2002
Item No.: 1
The applicant is requesting four (4) variances in
association with the planned redevelopment of the
property. The first is a variance from the height
regulations of Section 36-301 of the City's Zoning
Ordinance. Section 36-301(d) of the ordinance allows a
maximum height of 35 feet in C-3 zoning. The proposed
hotel building will have a maximum height of 90 feet,
measured from the elevation of the lowest finished
floor level to the highest elevation point of ceiling
of the top story. Staff is supportive of the height
variance. There are a number of multi -story buildings
in this general area. The adjacent 0-2 zoning to the
north and south across West Markham Street allows a
maximum height of 120 feet. The proposed height for -
the hotel building will not be out of character with
the area. Additionally, there is no adjacent
residential property which could be negatively impacted
by the building height.
The second variance is a request to provide fewer
parking spaces than the minimum number required by
ordinance for the proposed hotel development. As noted
previously, the hotel will have a total of 115 guest
rooms. Section 36-502(b)(1)f. requires a minimum of
126 parking spaces for this proposed development. The
site plan submitted by the applicant provides a total
of 118 parking spaces. Staff is supportive of the
parking variance. The applicant is only proposing a
6.5 percent reduction in the amount of required
parking, which in staff's opinion is very minimal. The
amount of parking proposed should be sufficient to
serve the proposed hotel use.
The third variance requested is from the landscape
buffer requirements of Section 36-522. The applicant
is proposing a buffer along West Markham Street with an
average width of 13.3 feet and a buffer along Markham
Center Drive with an average width of 11.5 feet. The
minimum width of the buffer along either street is nine
(9) feet. Section 36-522(b)(3)b.l. requires
landscaping buffers along both of these streets with
minimum average widths of 15 feet. Staff is also
supportive of this variance request. The existing
street buffers along West Markham Street and Markham
Center Drive are approximately five (5) feet in width
along the majority of these property lines. The street
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January 28, 2002
Item No.: 1
landscape buffers proposed by the applicant are almost
double that of the existing buffers. Staff feels that
the street landscape buffers as proposed will not be
out of character with other properties in this general
area.
The last variance request is also from the buffer
requirements of Section 36-522. Section 36-522(a)(3)
requires that street buffers along expressways be a
minimum of thirty (30) feet in width. The applicant is
proposing a minimum landscape buffer width along this
west property line of nine (9) feet to over 25 feet at
several points. Staff also supports this buffer
variance. The difference in elevation of this property
and I-430 is some 20 feet vertically, with an overpass
at West Markham Street. Because of the relationship of
this property to the interstate, staff feels that a 30
foot wide landscape buffer would serve no real purpose,
and have very little visibility from I-430. The 30
foot buffer requirement along expressways is also a
Landscape Ordinance requirement. Therefore, this
specific variance will also have to be approved by the
City Beautiful Commission.
As noted above, staff is supportive of all of the
requested variances. Staff feels that the variances as
requested are minor in nature and will not be out of
character with other commercial and office properties
in this general area. Staff feels that the proposed
hotel development will have no adverse impact on the
adjacent properties or the general area.
D. Staff Recommendation:
Staff recommends approval of the variances as requested
subject to the following conditions:
1. The landscape buffer variance along the
interstate (west) side of the property must also
be approved by the City Beautiful Commission.
2. The applicant must provide documentation showing
that there is a cross -access easement between
this property and the property immediately to
the north.
3. Compliance with the Public Works requirements as
noted in paragraph A. of this report.
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January 28, 2002
Item No.: 1
BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT:
(JANUARY 28, 2002)
The applicant was present. There were no objectors present.
Staff presented the item and a recommendation of approval.
The applicant offered no additional comments.
The item was placed on the Consent Agenda and approved as
recommended by staff by a vote of 5 ayes and 0 nays.
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