Lowe’s Parking Flexibility Application No. PK-FLX-07-01

location map location map Cobblestone Village Subdivision Site

plat

Lot 3 – Lowe’s store

Land development regulations Subsection (D) of the Land Development Regulations, entitled “Flexibility in administration of parking requirements”, allows the City Council to alter the required number of parking spaces following the review and recommendation of the Planning and Land Development Regulation Board (PLDRB). The purpose of granting flexibility to reduce the number of spaces is to avoid adding unnecessary pavement at the expense of open space, which adds environmental and aesthetic value to a development. In making the determination as to whether or not the reduction may be granted, the Land Development Regulations allow considerable discretion and do not provide binding criteria or guidelines.

data Development Data: Lot 3:15.77 acres Lowe’s structure:138,432 sf under roof Parking Space Requirement: 5 spaces per 1000 sf gfa or one space per 200 sf gfa Required:693 parking spaces Proposed to accommodate: 3.9 spaces per 1000 sf gfa Provided:539 parking spaces This represents a reduction of 154 spaces or 22% from the required number (i.e. 693).

analysis  Comparison to previous City Council action for similar development January 21, 2003 City Council unanimously passed a motion to approve the request (Application PK-FLX-03-01) to reduce the number of parking spaces to 559 from the required 647 for the Home Depot development.  Home Depot site is a acres with a structure of 129,277 sf under roof and has a 66.43% impervious surface ratio.  Lowe’s proposed site plan has 61% impervious surface ratio which is less than the maximum allowed by City regulations of 70%.  The 9% remain (1.4 acre) will provide sufficient land to accommodate additional parking area for future parking demand if necessary.  Results of Lowe’s Study of 2001 & 2003 (includes 12 stores in Florida shows: Highest # of occupied spaces:271 Highest parking demand rate:2.13 spaces per 1000 sf

Conclusion & recommendation  Planning and Land Development Regulations Board Action: On November 15, 2006, the PLDRB unanimously passed a motion to recommend to City Council to approve the request to allow a 154-space reduction in the number of required parking spaces for the Lowes development within the Cobblestone Village subdivision, subject to the 9% reduction in parking spaces reflected in Slide 3 remaining as a natural vegetative state and green-space and increase the number of handicapped spaces.  Conclusion: Based on the study and proposed development, the 539- space alternative parking lot plan for the Cobblestone Village Lowe’s will provide ample parking. Granting the flexibility is justified.  Recommendation: Approve the request (Application No.PK-FLX-07-01) to reduce the number of parking spaces to 539 for the Lowes development within the Cobblestone Village subdivision.

Open for Questions ?