2_Exhibits A-C - Laserfiche WebLink

• Mixed Use- Downtown. Staff initially recommended a 46-foot maximum height limit, for the MU-D district based on consideration of modern construction standards that typically call for a 15-foot minimum ground-floor plate height to accommodate commercial uses, with 10- to 12-foot plate heights for upper floors. 46-feet would allow ground-floor commercial with up to three floors of office or residential above. This approach is likely to result in more viable redevelopment of the area, based on the other public amenities desired for the area and necessary infrastructure upgrades for the - 13 acres of property. Furthermore, given that these development standards would apply only to City-owned property, the City itself will retain considerable control over the ultimate design and development of the site, ensuring that buildings are sited, designed and detailed to remain compatible with existing downtown development and adjacent neighborhoods. • Mixed Use- Transitional. Staff continues to believe that a 36-foot, rather than 40-foot height limit in the Mixed Use- Transitional district is appropriate, to maintain an appropriate transition between the commercial downtown (40-foot height limit) and residential neighborhoods (30-foot height limit). Recently- constructed residential and mixed-use projects have been successfully realized at heights at or below 36-feet, including: o 4693-4715 Augustine (25-feet): o 273 Spring Street (30-feet); and o 225 West Angela/446-458 Peters (34 feet-6 inches). The previously-suggested FAR limit (125-percent) for the Mixed-Use Transitional District is more realistic and appropriate given that properties will have a 36-foot height limit, and will need to include parking, on-site circulation, landscape areas, drainage, and so on. Given the transitional nature of this zone between the residential districts and the commercial districts, staff does not believe 300- percent is appropriate for this area. • Downtown Commercial. The 300-percent FAR and 40-foot height limit currently for the Downtown Commercial district are consistent with that currently permitted in the Downtown Commercial district. As shown in the examples above in Figure 1, the existing FAR allows a 3-story building occupying 100-percent of a site, which no existing development in the downtown today approaches. Nonetheless, the higher FAR provides additional flexibility new buildings with more lot coverage, appropriate for the commercial center of downtown. Staff believes these development standards are appropriate as the plan sets the parameters for the next 20 years of (re)development in the core commercial area. • Residential Planned Unit Developments. PUDs have routinely and successfully allowed the City to consider and approve deviations from development standards such as height and FAR, taking into account factors such as location, design, public benefits/amenities, and site and project-specific conditions. Allowing residential PUDs to exceed 30-feet will not change that. If a residential component to a project is proposed in the downtown core, limiting it to Page 14 of 15 d we should maximize value and volume of use we can get on the land of this downtown (MU-D) area. Construction today tends to have higher plate heights and limited this area to 40-feet will only yield two-stories and really restrict any additional height/floors. However, given the right location and design, the Council may want to allow three-stories in some instances. Another comment agrees with the Task Force recommendation in terms of allowing additional heights so the projects can be reviewed on an individual basis. The final comment requested the note about limiting PUDs to 30-feet be stricken from the DSP to allow additional flexibility especially given modern construction. Summary of February 26, 2019 Downtown Specific Plan Update Task Force Meeting Page 6 of 7 c Plan Update Task Force Meeting Page 5 of 7