1. Jefferson County Planning Commission Hearing April 10, 2013
Case No RZ
Belleview Village
Rezoning
Case Manager: Jeanne Shaffer

2. Property was properly posted and notifications were sent to surrounding property owners within a 500 foot radius and HOA’s within 1 mile. Staff has spoken with many neighbors over the course of the application process who have concerns over the proposal. Concerns included, density, traffic, building height, buffering, setbacks, lighting and drainage. The formal written comments staff has received are included in the Planning Commission staff report and additional comments were ed to you prior to the hearing. Staff and the applicant have work to address the comments as best able through the process.

3. Jefferson County Background Information: Current Zoning:
Agricultural-Two (A-2) Yellow
Planned Development (PD) Orange
Allows 57 dwelling units (patio, cluster, townhome, or condo)
Neighborhood commercial uses (along Belleview).
Previous Zoning: Planned Development (PD)
Allowed 140 dwelling units (single family, patio, cluster, or townhome)
Church and school uses
Surrounding zoning
Blue to the north is single family residential
Purple are both church uses
Red to the south is commercial and residential
Orange to west is multi-family housing at 14.8 du per acre

4. Jefferson County Proposed Uses Use Area A:
316 Multi-family dwelling units
Single Family dwelling or multi-family dwelling units if existing home is removed.
The proposal is to allow up to 316 multi-family dwelling units in Use Areas A and B combined. The calculated maximum density would be 22.6 dwelling units per acre. Use Area B allows for the continuation of the existing single family dwelling use.
The request will have direct access on to Simms Street and Belleview Avenue.
A minimum of 35% of the site must remain as landscaped and open area.
The written restrictions include many design standards relating to building height, setbacks, building design, lighting, fencing and landscaping in an effort to mitigate potential negative impacts to the surrounding uses.

5. Jefferson County Comprehensive Plan Analysis: South Plains Area
Proposed rezoning is in conformance with the following Plan criteria:
Land Use
Housing
Site Design
Area Plan Recommendation
Physical Constraints
Geologic Hazards and Constraints
Community Resources
Visual Resources
Air, Light, Odor, and Noise
Infrastructure, Water and Services
Transportation
Water and Wastewater
A detailed analysis of each criteria was provided in the staff report. I would like to briefly discuss some of the major Plan criteria.

6. Jefferson County Comprehensive Plan Analysis: South Plains Area
Land Use Criteria
Housing
Site Design
Area Plan Recommendation
The housing section of the plan recommends that when there is a variety of surrounding densities and types, density should be carefully planned using transitional lot sizes or graduating density that also incorporates setbacks and buffers. An average of the surrounding densities should not be used solely as the basis for a specific density recommendation (page 32). Densities in the area range from 3.4 du/ac to 14.8 du/ac. The proposed project will have a graduated density from the northern property line to the southern portion of the site. There are building restrictions in place along the northern property line that limits the number of buildings and building coverage. The density along the northern property line will be roughly 13 du/acre which is a similar density located in the immediate area. Additionally, the written restrictions include setbacks, height restrictions, buffering, and fencing in order to mitigate the impact of the higher density on the residential neighbors to the north and east.
The site design section of the plan recommends that developments transition into the surrounding land uses through appropriate design features. Staff finds that the applicant has accomplished this through the various site design restrictions in the written restrictions in the Official Development Plan. There are restrictions on lighting, requirements for buffering parking lots and drives so headlight glare is not cast into surrounding residential properties, fencing, landscaping, and setbacks create buffers, height adjacent to existing residential is limited to low density residential building heights. These are just a sample of the restrictions included.
The South Plains area of the comprehensive master plan recommends this area for mixed use and office and/or residential uses. The plan does not list a specific density or type of residential use. The plan focuses on the mitigation of impacts associated with the use and compatibility through site design. Which staff feels have been addressed in the written restrictions.

7. Jefferson County Comprehensive Plan Analysis: South Plains Area
Physical Constraint Criteria
Geologic Hazards and Constraints
Dipping Bedrock Overlay District
Drainage
Infrastructure, Water and Services Criteria
Transportation
Traffic Study submitted
Transportation & Engineering and Planning Engineering Reviewed Study
The subject property has physical constraints relating to soil conditions and drainage. The property is located in the dipping bedrock overlay district. The applicant will be required to completed a geotech and geologic report with the Site Development Plan process to determine the proper construction methods.
Due to the slope of the site, drainage is a concern among the surrounding neighbors. If the rezoning request is approved the applicant will have to address drainage with the Site Development Plan process. This process is the process where all of the construction and site plans are reviewed. A drainage report and drainage plans are also required with this process. The drainage is not addressed at the time of rezoning because the applicant has not completed the construction plans for the property and is not required to with the rezoning. Even if the rezoning is approved, the applicant will be required to show that they can meet all of the drainage requirements, if they cannot, they might have to scale back their development, change the design, or might not be able to move forward. Staff is aware of the drainage issues in this area, but the review of those issues is completed with a later process if the rezoning is approved.
The applicant submitted a traffic study showing that the level of service on Belleview and Simms will not be negatively impacted and that both streets can handle the traffic generated by this use. Any roadway improvements will be addressed with the Site Development Plan process, such as turn lanes or acceleration or deceleration lanes.

8. Jefferson County Comprehensive Plan Analysis: South Plains Area
Compatibility
Plan recommends that special care should be taken to ensure compatibility while transitioning from lower Intensity uses to higher Intensity uses
Proposal transitions in density from low on the north to high in the center.
Plan suggests coordinating new development with existing development to avoid or mitigate negative impacts on adjacent land uses and to maintain existing buffers and screening
Written restrictions incorporate buffers and screening in the site design.
Other impacts such as drainage, soil conditions, and traffic will be addressed with future processes.

9. Jefferson County Staff Recommendation:
Staff Recommends that the Planning Commission RECOMMEND APPROVAL case number RZ based on the information provided in this presentation and the findings in the staff report with the following conditions:
Revisions to the red-marked print dated April 10, 2013
Revisions include change to Section V.1.A: “Thirty-five (35) feet maximum for residential structures situated near and along the northern property boundary and along the northern three hundred (300) feet of the eastern property line and north of Use Area B. No structure immediately adjacent or within 100 feet of the northern property line shall exceed 1 story above a garden level.”

10. Questions?