PC 101711 Special Mtg - Laserfiche WebLink

Mr. Dolan stated that the applicant was able to meet the minimum density for Site 1 in providing 251 units. He noted that there are two mixed-use buildings that contain two retail spaces totaling 5,700 square feet, meeting the retail commercial space requirement of the Standards, and provide the required live/work frontages along Owens Drive. He added that the main corner includes an open space that addresses the public, which would then be lined with the retail behind it. Mr. Dolan then presented the layout of the property along Willow Road and Owens Drive, noting that the site is ringed with the larger buildings that have a more active frontage facing those streets, and with the interior of the project showing a more traditional residential project. He stated that one thing raised in the staff report is that the Standards and Guidelines require that there be a hierarchy of streets within these three projects; however, while the project is consistent with these Standards and Guidelines in many ways, this is possibly the most significant area where, in one fundamental way, it is inconsistent with those Guidelines in that it does not provide necessarily a true internal street, where inside the project they would look like a street in a residential neighborhood with lanes of traffic, parking, a landscape strip, a sidewalk, and more landscaping. He indicated that this is something staff had a long dialogue with the applicant about from the time the Standards and Guidelines were approved and as these projects were developed. He added that this became most difficult with the development type the applicant is proposing at 30 units per acre. He pointed out that it is difficult to park a project like this that takes up a lot of space, and with the requirements for open space, it would need to go to a higher density before being able to provide this level of open space and achieve that internal circulation. He indicated that there are ways to create at least one internal street that connects the two entrances off of Willow Road and off of Owens Drive, but it would do so at the expense of a fairly significant amount of open space throughout. He added that the project architect, Mr. Irwin Yao, will explain this trade-off, which is a key issue that the Commission should try and give direction on, or at least think about between now and when the application returns to the Commission as a formal application. Mr. Dolan noted that from certain angles, the site plan shows that the first floor on many buildings has lots of garage doors. He stated that this is the inevitable result of this kind of design at this particular density. He indicated that the applicant has done a good job of making sure that the first floor elevations with rows of garage doors have some design elements to make them more attractive, and it helps somewhat that the three- and four-story buildings have some architectural interest above the first floor. He added that the applicants have also done a good job of making sure the buildings are pointed in a direction which is not as visible as some of the others, the most important of which are the elevations that face Owens Drive and Willow Road, which do not contain any garage doors. Mr. Dolan then presented some elevations showing a variation of material from the first floor, with a HardiePlank product on some of the ends which accent and offset the rest of the building skin. He indicated that there is a variety of colors and a fair amount of movement architecturally throughout the elevation; however, this is not something the PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, October 17, 2011 Page 8 of 36