Plat and Subdivision Committee

Village of Arlington Heights Plat and Subdivision Committee Community Room, 3rd Floor Arlington Heights Village Hall 33 S. Arlington Heights Road Arlington Heights, IL 60005 August 10, 2016 7:00 PM I. CALL TO ORDER II. ROLL CALL III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES IV. REPORTS V. OLD BUSINESS VI. NEW BUSINESS A. Thomas Middle School - 1430 N. Belmont Ave. - T1564 Special Use for a School, Multiple Variations VII. OTHER BUSINESS VIII.ADJOURNMENT Persons with disabilities requiring auxiliary aids or services, such as an American Sign Language interpreter or written materials in accessible formats, should contact David Robb, Disability Services Coordinator, at 33 S. Arlington Heights Road, Arlington Heights, Illinois 60005, (847)368-5793 (Voice), (847)368-5980 (Fax) or drobb@vah.com. Item: Thomas Middle School - 1430 N. Belmont Ave. - T1564 Department: Planning & Community Development Requested Action Special Use Permit to allow a Middle School within the R-3 District. Variations Identified 1. A Variation from Section 5.1-3.9 to increase the maximum allowable height from 25’ to 32’ for the proposed building addition. 2. A Variation from Section 11.4-4 to reduce the required on-site parking spaces from 314 spaces to 144 spaces. RECOMMENDATION The Staff Development Committee reviewed the proposed request and supports the proposed Special Use Permit and Variations, subject to the following: 1. A neighborhood meeting shall be held prior to the Plan Commission hearing. 2. These are preliminary comments only and should not be relied upon as identification of the only major issues. The Staff Development Committee reserves the right to change its position on issues upon submittal of a formal application and detailed review. ATTACHMENTS: Description Type Staff Report Board or Commission Report Aerial Exhibits Cover Letter Correspondence Plat of Survey Exhibits Plans Exhibits  Thomas Middle School SUP, Temporary File 1564 STAFF DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE REPORT To: Plat and Subdivision Committee Prepared By: Sam Hubbard, Development Planner Meeting Date: August 10, 2016 Date Prepared: August 5, 2016 Project Title: Thomas Middle School SUP Address: 1430 N. Belmont Ave. BACKGROUND INFORMATION Petitioner: Don Hanson Address: 350 W Ontario St – Suite 200 Chicago, IL 60654 Existing Zoning: R-3, One Family Dwelling District Requested Action: Special Use Permit to allow a Middle School within the R-3 District. Variations Identified: Variation from Section 5.1-3.9 to increase the maximum allowable height from 25’ to 32’ for the proposed building addition Variation from Section 11.4-4 to reduce the required on-site parking spaces from 314 spaces to 144 spaces. Subject Site NORTH Surrounding Properties: Direction Zoning Existing Use Comprehensive Plan R-1, One Family Dwelling District Single Family Homes Single Family Detached North R-3, One Family Dwelling District Single Family Homes Single-Family Detached South R-3, One Family Dwelling District Single Family homes, Green Slopes Single Family Detached, East Park, and Orchard Church Government, and Institutional Page 1 of 4  Thomas Middle School SUP, Temporary File 1564 R-6, Multiple Family Dwelling District Multi-Family homes, Medical Office Moderate Density Multi-Family West and I, Institutional District Complex, Daycare, and Florist Shop and Offices Only Background: The subject property is 10.82 acres in size and contains the Thomas Middle School and associated recreational areas on the southern end of the site. Thomas Middle School is one of six middle schools within the boundaries of District 25 and has a current enrollment of 950 students with 127 staff members. Enrollment is expected to increase in the future, with future capacity estimated at 1,030 students and 135 teachers. In order to provide adequate space for the anticipated increase in student population, District 25 is proposing an addition to the middle school building, which would include a new gymnasium, classrooms, a relocated front entry area, and an addition to the existing parking lot on the eastern side of the site. With the exception of morning drop offs for 6th grade students, who are dropped off in the western parking lot that has ingress/egress onto Thomas Street, all pick-ups and drop- offs occur on the eastern side of the site along Belmont Street. There is no change proposed to the pick-up and drop-off operations. The subject site is located within the R-3 District, and all schools within the R-3 District are required to have a Special Use Permit, Moreover, any substantial expansion of a school facility would require an amendment to the Special Use Permit. No evidence of an existing Special Use Permit has been located for the Thomas School site, and therefore, due to the proposed expansion of the school, a special use permit is required. The School District recently went through a similar process for expansions to the Ivy Hill and Olive-Mary Stitt schools in 2015. Zoning and Comprehensive Plan As indicated above, the property is within the R-3, One Family Dwelling District, and all schools are classified as a special uses within the R-3 District. Therefore, a Special Use Permit is required. The petitioner will be required to demonstrate conformance to the following criteria necessary for Special Use Permit approval: 1. That said special use is deemed necessary for the public convenience at this location. 2. That such case will not, under the circumstances of the particular case, be detrimental to the health, safety, morals or general welfare of persons residing or working in the vicinity. 3. That the proposed use will comply with the regulations and conditions specified in this ordinance for such use, and with the stipulations and conditions made a part of the authorization granted by the Village Board of Trustees. The Village's Comprehensive Plan designates the future use of the subject property as “Schools”. The proposed Special Use is therefore consistent with the Comprehensive Plan. Site Plan, Building and Landscaping Overall, the school district is proposing a 20,270 sq. ft. addition to the existing building. The total size of the school will increase to 144,270 sq. ft., and the addition therefore represents a 14% increase in floor area. The proposed addition will house a new gymnasium and locker room area, as well as increased space for the new front entry and reception office areas. The existing gym will be converted to additional classrooms. Staff notes that this project must proceed to the Design Commission for their review and approval of the building architecture and landscaping. Certain variations are required to accommodate this addition. Specifically, the proposed height of the gymnasium addition will be approximately 32 feet and the R-3 District limits structure heights to a maximum of 25’. The existing building is approximately 33’8” in height and therefore the proposed addition will not increase this existing non-conformity. Furthermore, the proposed addition will be centrally located on the subject property and therefore will be substantially away from the immediately abutting residential areas to the south of the property. For these reasons, staff is supportive of the proposed height variation. While a height variation for the proposed addition is required, the School District may also wish to include within their request, a height variation for the existing 33’8” tall building to allow the existing non-conformity. Although no changes are being made to the height of the existing building, a variation would clarify that the non-conforming height is allowed. Similarly, the existing building is non-compliant with regards to setbacks along the north and east sides. Even though no changes to building within these setback areas have been proposed, a setback variation for the existing building would confirm that the non-conforming setbacks have been approved. Page 2 of 4  Thomas Middle School SUP, Temporary File 1564 Based on a preliminary analysis, the proposed building addition will conform to all setback and additional bulk restrictions. However, upon comprehensive review of the detailed plans, additional variations may be identified. As part of the Plan Commission process, the petitioner will be required to provide justification for the requested Variations per the approval criteria as summarized below: The property in question cannot yield a reasonable return if per mitted to be used only under the conditions allowed by the regulations in that zone. The plight of the owner is due to unique circumstances. The variation, if granted, will not alter the essential character of the locality. Finally, staff recommends that the petitioner hold a neighborhood meeting prior to the Plan Commission hearing to introduce the project to the surrounding neighbors to understand what concerns they may have. Traffic & Parking Exhibit 1 (attached) analyzes the current and proposed parking calculations for the subject property. A parking deficit currently exists and the proposed addition to the building and parking area will not eliminate this deficit. Therefore, a parking variation to reduce the number of required parking spaces is necessary. As the existing site operates at a 65% parking deficit, and the proposed alterations to the site will reduce this deficit to 55%, staff is generally supportive of the proposed variation. However, the petitioner will be required to submit a traffic and parking analysis that evaluates the existing and proposed parking demands as well as drop-off and pick-up operations. Staff is not aware of an existing parking problem on the subject property, but will analyze the parking counts submitted by the petitioner to ensure a parking problem does not currently exist. RECOMMENDATION The Staff Development Committee reviewed the proposed request and supports the proposed Special Use Permit and Variations, subject to the following: 1. A neighborhood meeting shall be held prior to the Plan Commission hearing. 2. These are preliminary comments only and should not be relied upon as identification of the only major issues. The Staff Development Committee reserves the right to change its position on issues upon submittal of a formal application and detailed review. ________________________________________ August 5, 2016 Bill Enright, Deputy Director of Planning and Community Development Cc: Randy Recklaus, Village Manager All Department Heads Temp File 1564 Page 3 of 4  Thomas Middle School SUP, Temporary File 1564 Exhibit 1 – Parking Analysis PARKING CODE NUMBER OF NUMBER OF SPACE PARKING RATIO PARKING REQUIRED USE EMPLOYEES CLASSROOMS Existing 1 space per Thomas classroom plus two Elementary School 127 41 295 Middle space per School employee Total Parking Required 295 Total Parking Provided 102 193 (65% reduction in Parking Surplus/(Deficit) required parking) Proposed 1 space per Thomas classroom plus two Elementary School 135 44 314 Middle space per School employee Total Parking Required 314 Total Parking Provided 141 173 (55% reduction in Parking Surplus/(Deficit) required parking) Page 4 of 4  Thomas Middle School - Aerial August 5, 2016 1:4,514 0 0.0375 0.075 0.15 mi 0 0.05 0.1 0.2 km Village of Arlington Heights GIS Copyright 2013