Planning Commission

ATHENS-CLARKE COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES DECEMBER 8, 2022 - 6:00 P.M. 120 W. Dougherty Street MEMBERS PRESENT: Sara Beresford (chair), Catherine Goodrum, Matthew Hall, Alice Kinman, Taylor Pass, Sarah Gehring, and Kristen Morales MEMBERS ABSENT: Lucy Rowland, Joey Tucker, and Monique Sanders STAFF PRESENT: Brad Griffin, Bruce Lonnee, Max Doty, and Stephen Jaques (Planning); Austin Jackson (Attorney’s Office) GENERAL BUSINESS Ms. Beresford called the meeting to order at approximately 6:20 p.m. 1. Introduction of Staff reports and all other documents submitted to the Planning Commission at this meeting into the official record. Ms. Kinman moved to introduce all reports and documents into the official record. Ms. Morales seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. 2. Approval of November 3, 2022 Planning Commission meeting minutes. Mr. Hall made a motion to approve the minutes with corrections. Ms. Kinman seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. 3. MACORTS review and public comment – No comment. OLD BUSINESS 1. 3700, 3706, 3708, & 3710 ATLANTA HIGHWAY – PD-2021-12-3752 Type I – Master Planned Development Petitioner: Scott Haines / W&A Engineering Owners: Athens Construction Group Property Holdings, LLC / KDI Athens Mall, LLC / KDI Anchor, LLC / KDI Athens Outparcels, LLC Request: From Employment Center & General Business to General Business; From C-G to C-G (PD) Tax ID: 073 016, 016F, 016J, 016K, 016S & 016T Mr. Jaques presented the staff report with a recommendation to approve the Planned Development Request with conditions. For: Scott Haines, Jon Williams, David Lyle, Teresa Friedlander Against: Jean Crown, Sidney Kushner, Allison Huff, Nancy Colburn Discussion: Commissioners expressed support of the Staff report and its conditions. Criticism was leveled at the proposal’s architecture, greenspace design (or lack thereof), and the length of Building 4. The need for double travel lanes and plentiful on-street parking along the center green was questioned. The need for housing was noted—especially the need to keep housing cheap to empower the creativity that Athens is known for. It was also noted that the large blocks do not integrate the townhomes into the site very well. The generational nature of the project and the need to not miss opportunities for good design was mentioned. Commissioners supported providing future opportunity to re-distribute the proposed density across a number of “Missing Middle” housing types rather than concentrating them in townhomes and block-scale apartments. If this is to become a Westside “downtown” then it should be more inclusive than Downtown Athens. Future Land Use Motion: Ms. Kinman made a motion to recommend approval of the Future Land Use change. Mr. Hall seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. Zoning Motion: Ms. Morales made a motion to recommend approval with conditions of the zoning request. Mr. Hall seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. Conditions: 1. The applicant must amend the plan to correct the following code compliance issues:  a. The applicant does not show that the apartments are complying with the 450’ minimum square footage requirement of Section 9-15-15. b. The townhomes do not use enough design features to comply with Section 9-25-8(B)1. c. The townhomes do not have enough side fenestration to comply with Section 9-25-8(B)4. d. No children’s play area was designated as required in Section 9-25-8(C)7.c. e. The plan does not comply with the plaza coverage and design requirements of Section 9-25- 8(F)2. f. The site plan does not match the elevations shown for the mixed-use buildings nor the senior housing. The façade offsets shown on the elevations are not shown in the site plan, and the building shapes on the site plan are not reflected in the elevations. The elevations on some of the buildings do not match from one cardinal direction view to the next. g. Applicant showed retaining walls but did not specify which ones would be greater than four feet high. 2. The applicant shall request a waiver for exceeding the 3-acre block maximum of Section 9-25-8(C)3. 3. The architecture can be amended administratively with Staff review and approval. 4. Public dedication of the north/south street running along the western edge of the property between Marilyn Farmer Way and Atlanta Hwy and at least one of the east/west streets connecting Huntington Rd with this north/south street can be considered without amending the planned development. 5. The applicant must provide a publicly accessible bike and pedestrian connection between the center green and the parallel street running between Building 4 and the townhomes. 6. Building 3 shall be modified to provide direct pedestrian connection from the building to the street by removing the parking strip. 7. Phase 2, as shown, on the Redevelopment Concept Plan, dated 10-19-22, shall be approved with the density proposed in this application, but should be afforded an opportunity to be redesigned to reduce building scale and incorporate a wider variety of “Missing Middle” housing types with Staff approval. 8. Greens (including the dual purpose stormwater greens) shall be designed to incorporate public art and other programmed design elements to encourage pedestrian use of these spaces. 9. The submittal shall be amended to comply with the following Public Works requirements: a. The proposed location of the Huntington Rd roundabout creates a potential hazard due to the location of the existing ATM driveway in the northbound Huntington Rd exit lane, very close to the circle itself. Either the roundabout or the driveway needs to be shifted to achieve more separation or perhaps bring the driveway directly in to the roundabout. b. The binding plan needs to note that the Marilyn Farmer Way roundabout and the Huntington Road roundabout pavements will meet ACC paving standards for a major collector. c. Include a TIA including the intersection of Atlanta Highway at Cleveland Road. The TIA must include remedies for any drop in LOS of the affected intersections. NEW BUSINESS 2. 600 & 660 WEST BROAD STREET, 363 REESE STREET, & 0 FINLEY STREET – PD-2022-11- 04080 Type I – Preliminary Planned Development Petitioner: Brett Nave / Studio.BNA Owners: Gamma Holdings, LLC / Orion Athens, LLC / Patricia Huff / Jon Cato Request: From Commercial Neighborhood & Traditional Neighborhood to Downtown; From C-G & RM-2 to C-D Tax ID: 162 025, 062 25A, 062 027, & 062 028 For: Brett Nave, Ed Lane Against: Sidney Kushner, Gail Hurley, Mable Mitchell, Dietre Bonner, Liz DeMarco, Donald Champion, and Avery Thomas Discussion: Generally, Commissioners approved of the building’s architecture, but opposed putting such a large structure on this particular site. The need for historic district compliance was noted. While Commissioners and residents agreed that this site needs redevelopment, they thought Commercial-Downtown zoning was too great a leap from the existing Commercial-General and RM-2 zoning. The design of Broad Street was criticized. The applicant was asked to explain why they have included so much parking. The one- and two-bedroom mix was complimented. The developer was encouraged to work with the neighbors to find an agreeable solution for everyone. Motion: Comment Only 3. 2023 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN – 5 Year Update Draft Review Petitioner: Athens-Clarke County Unified Government Request: Review and comment on draft plan Mr. Lonnee presented the draft plan and the ongoing process of public input and approval. December 22nd was set as the date for Planning Commissioners to submit comments on the Draft Plan. OTHER BUSINESS 1. Planning Commission Chair’s Report—No report 2. Planning Director's Report—Reported on Mayor & Commission voting actions including the ADU vote. 3. Miscellaneous announcements—Congratulated Ms. Beresford on the completion of her thesis. The meeting adjourned at approximately 9:15 p.m.