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Z18-16 ApplicationConditional Use Zoning District Application  Supplemental information for 5308 Carolina Beach Road Tract  Date:  September 6, 2018    Proposed Zoning Use & Narrative: Only uses allowed by right or by Special Use Permit in the corresponding General Use District are eligible for consideration within a Conditional Use Zoning District. Please list the uses that will be allowed within the proposed Conditional Use Zoning District, the purpose of the district, and a project narrative (please provide additional pages if needed). The proposed development, located off of Carolina Beach Road near the Carolina Beach Rd/College Rd. intersection, is 9.14 acres currently zoned R-15 and B-2. The proposed zoning is R-10 High Density. This R-10 High Density designation is fitting of the County’s Future Land Use Plan designation of Urban Mixed Use applicable to the front half of the site and the general residential designation applicable to the rear of the property. By allowing a denser residential use on the site, it allows the applicant to make better use of a long and skinny piece of property. The R-10 High Density affords the opportunity to create a cohesive development of 100 townhomes in one of the main hubs in the middle/southern part of the county. The narrow shape of the parcel limits much the size and shape of the lots of a traditional single family development as allowed in R-15. Also, the land is oddly shaped for the B-2 portion of the land. The parcel lacks the road frontage that typically makes business/office uses associated with B-2 development successful. The R-10 High Density option allows the applicant to make a better use of the land. College Acres Development, LLC proposes a townhome community, and this allows units to line the main road through the development. The shallower and narrower attached residential product affords the site a greater amount of opens space and undisturbed buffer areas. This design also allows room to meet with the County’s required road connection to adjacent road stub outs. The applicant brings this project to the County as a good land use compatible with the surrounding properties and furthering many of the goals of the County. Consideration of a Conditional Use Zoning District Supplemental Information: 1. How would the requested change be consistent with the County’s policies for growth and development? The County promotes growth and varied housing products. This is an infill project in a primarily commercial corridor of Carolina Beach Road. The project offers a townhome community large enough to offer a housing choice to folks looking for a smaller home with less maintenance. The proximity to shopping, dining, and entertainment makes the location of this parcel desirable and the townhome product is appropriate to vary housing products. 2. How would the requested Conditional Use Zoning District be consistent with the property’s classification on the Future Land Use Map? The site is split on the County’s Future Land Use Map. The front portion of the property is designated Urban Mixed Use. The rear is the General Residential. This proposed project is residential, and, therefore compliant with the General Residential Section. The townhomes are a denser housing product type that will transition nicely to the primarily commercial corridor along Carolina Beach Road; therefore, making the project consistent with the Urban Mixed Use designation. 3. What significant neighborhood changes have occurred to make the original zoning inappropriate or how is the land involved unsuitable for the uses permitted under the existing zoning? While there is an older residential community adjacent to the subject parcel, the majority of the area is developed as commercial or mobile homes. Obviously, the commercial portions of development front along the busy Carolina Beach Road Corridor. This commercial section is roughly 300’-500’ deep and then land behind the properties is either undeveloped or small, ranch-style homes or mobile homes. The commercial properties as a front door to this subject parcel certainly set it up to be a transition development of higher density before backing down to some of the residential developments nearby. The proposed townhome use is more in line with the busy commercial node in this portion of the county whereas, a large single family home in an R-15 neighborhood is less expected or desirable in the back of a shopping center. 4. How will this change of zoning serve the public interest? The zoning will provide a transition zone between existing commercial and traditional single family neighborhoods. It will create a community that may be underserved in this section of the County and it will serve as a good infill to an existing vacant piece of property. Criteria Required for Approval of a Special Use Permit: 1. The use will not materially endanger the public health or safety if located where proposed and approved. Considerations: Traffic conditions in the vicinity, including the effect of additional traffic on streets and street intersections, and sight lines at street intersections with curb cuts The traffic generated by this development will be residential in nature as opposed to the commercial uses on adjacent properties and along the entire Carolina Beach Road corridor. If deemed necessary by the NCDOT, the developer will be required to install traffic improvements to aid in public safety. See the site plan for additional traffic information. Provision of services and utilities, including sewer, water, electrical, garbage collections, fire protection The site is serviced by CFPUA and the townhomes will connect to those services. Power, trash and fire protection services are available in this location and will service the site when the project comes on line. Soil erosion and sedimentation The soil and erosion and sedimentation will be controlled through the state and county regulatory oversight and permitting process, so the construction or finished product will not endanger anyone or cause harm to public health. Protection of public, community, or private water supplies, including possible adverse effects on surface waters or groundwater The water supply and surface waters will be protected by the state and County regulatory actions and construction methods dictated by the storm sewer and water utility permitting. For instance, backflow preventers will be required on site to protect the public water supply. The water service will be installed per the required utility provider, CFPUA, and their approval process. The surface waters will be protected by silt fence and by methods consistent with an approved stormwater and erosion control permit. These methods will prevent water running off the site without sufficient water treatment on the site. Anticipated air discharges, including possible adverse effects on air quality No air quality will be adversely affected. The construction methods will comply with state and federal laws governing air quality. 2. The use meets all required conditions and specifications of the Zoning Ordinance. The plan for the subject property has gone through the County’s TRC process, and there were no issues with the design or plans at that time. It is our understanding that the plan meets all required conditions and specifications of the Zoning Ordinance. 3. The use will not substantially injure the value of adjoining or abutting property, or that the use is a public necessity. Considerations The relationship of the proposed use and the character of development to surrounding uses and development, including the possible conflicts between them and how these conflicts will be resolved (i.e. buffers, hours of operation, etc.) o The relationship and character for this development is to be a good neighbor for the surrounding properties. While this development proposed townhomes as the primary use, the character of the buildings themselves and the land the units sit on will be maintained as aesthetically pleasing and to ensure safety and a clean neighborhood. This is a residential area and has been for some time prior. With the proposed development, additional density will be added that is higher than the surrounding neighborhoods. Therefore, there are buffers in place, along with additional setbacks (35’) that will provide separation from existing adjacent properties and screen those neighbors from both audible and visual impacts.  Whether the proposed development is so necessary to the public health, safety, and general welfare of the community or County as a whole as to justify it regardless of its impact on the value of adjoining property. o The local area surround this proposed development has grown dramatically in recent years to include many different types of housing. Some recent additions are the townhomes located at Magnolia Trace and the apartments located within the Belle Meade development. Both cases are attracting similar end users that prefer a higher density neighborhood with more affordable options that may not necessarily include the maintenance responsibility that comes with a single family home. 4. The location and character of the use if developed according to the plan as submitted and approved will be in harmony with the area in which it is to be located and in general conformity with the New Hanover County Comprehensive Land Use Plan. Considerations:  The relationship of the proposed use and the character of development to surrounding uses and development, including possible conflicts between them and how these conflicts will be resolved (i.e. buffers, hours of operation, etc) The primary use for the project is townhome residential. The surrounding area is primarily single family residential. These two uses, while different in definition, are very similar in regards to this project. These townhomes are for individual sale, much like single family residential within the area. This project is however a higher density that the surrounding development and in light of that we propose the use of buffers along the property boundaries that include the existing vegetation to the greatest extent possible. By utilizing the existing vegetation we are able to instantly increase the quality of the buffer and provide additional height and character that would not be possible through the use of a newly planted buffer alone.  Consistency with the Comprehensive Plan’s goals, objectives for the various planning areas, its definitions of the various land use classifications and activity centers, and its locational standards The project is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan’s goals and objectives.  Many of those  goals and objectives promote growth and varied housing types.  Goals also promote infill.  For  instance, the Comprehensive Plan states, “Infill – already developed areas that have future  development potential through additional density or vacant/unoccupied parcels.” Furthermore,  these policies promote more affordable housing.  Townhomes represent a more affordable  housing type for a variety of home buyers.  The townhomes are a lower maintenance and less  expensive housing type.  This helps both first time home buyers and older home buyers looking  to downsize or spend less money on a mortgage or to have less maintenance on a home and  yard.  The project is currently one of the only large undeveloped tracts left this area of Carolina  Beach Road.   That makes this project an infill project and desirable to complete long planned  road connections through neighborhoods among other things.  The buffers of the project will  protect adjacent home owners from seeing the full view of the townhomes.  The residential  nature of the development makes it less intense than the adjacent commercial sites.  For these  reasons, the applicant presents this project for consideration because it is consistent with the  Comprehensive Plan and an appropriate use for this area of the County.