Planning Commission

MINUTES TOWN OF FORT MILL PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING May 21st, 2024 112 Confederate Street 6:00 PM Present: Vice Chairman Matt Lucarelli, Jason Therrell, Erin Pratt, Dan Stout, Sarah Curtis, Daniel Reynolds, Planning Director Penelope Karagounis, Senior Planner Alex Moore, Ted Barnes (Applicant), John Marks (Rock Hill Herald). Absent: Chairman Mark Kerr Vice Chairman Matt Lucarelli called the Planning Commission meeting to order at 6:00 pm on Tuesday, May 21st, 2024. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Vice Chairman Lucarelli gave an opportunity to the Planning Commission to review and comment on the March 19th, 2024, Planning Commission meeting minutes. There being no comments on the minutes, Vice Chairman Lucarelli entertained a motion to approve the minutes. Commissioner Stout made a motion to approve the minutes. Daniel Reynolds seconded the motion. The vote passed 6-0. NEW BUSINESS ITEM 1. Preliminary Plat Request: Catawba Ridge Market Senior Planner Alex Moore presented the staff report and provided an overview of the request, the purpose of which was to review and consider granting approval for the Catawba Ridge Market Preliminary Plat. Senior Planner Moore stated that the Catawba Ridge Market Preliminary Plat consisted of 47 acres and is located at the corner of Fort Mill Parkway and Doby’s Bridge Road. He noted that the project came before Planning Commission on November 19th, 2019, for appearance review at which time approval was granted. Moore indicated that the zoning of the site consisted of HC, Highway Commercial and PND, Planned Neighborhood Development. He stated that a portion of the property is currently undergoing a rezoning from PND to HC. This rezoning came before Planning Commission on October 17th, 2023, at which time a positive recommendation was made by a vote of 6-0. A public hearing was held at the May 13th, 2024, Town Council meeting where the rezoning passed first reading by an affirmative vote of 7-0. Second reading at Town Council will be held on June 10th. 1  Senior Planner Moore then presented the specifics of the preliminary plat as submitted. He noted that the project will include a large parcel consisting of 25.38 acres which will include a Harris Teeter Grocery Store along with two retail buildings. Additionally, there will be nine commercial outparcels along with one residual parcel which comprises the balance of the project. Senior Planner Moore stated that he wished to present the external landscape buffering requirements for the project. This included the following:  A minimum twenty-foot-wide landscaping buffer adjacent to a portion of the southern boundary with Nims Village.  6’ high opaque fence/wall with 15’ wide landscaped buffer required adjacent to southern boundary of Nims Village. This would include the removal of the sidewalk as shown on the current iteration of the preliminary plat so that the landscaping can be maximized.  6’ high opaque fence/wall with 35’ wide landscaped buffer required along a portion of western boundary with Nims Village. That part within COD-N, which is 500’ from Fort Mill Parkway right-of-way.  From this point north to the sewer easement/pedestrian path, there will be a 6’ high opaque fence along with a landscaping buffer which will be approximately 8’ wide.  Then, the PND parcel will have the following buffer requirements: (i) Any building, structure, or parking area must be located so that it is at least 55’ from the adjacent property line; (ii) Any multifamily use, including townhomes, must be located at least 110’ from the adjacent property line.  Within 15’ from the front property line/right-of-way, and inside of the required multiuse path, there will be one canopy tree per 40’ along the Parkway and N. Doby’s Bridge Road along with shrubs as indicated on the Harris Teeter parcel. Senior Planner Moore then briefly discussed the transportation impact analysis (TIA) for the Catawba Ridge Market project. He stated that there have been several iterations of TIA for this site. The most recent TIA was completed on February 7th, 2024, by Kimley Horn, the town’s consulting traffic engineering firm. Based on the results of this TIA, mitigation improvements were identified and codified into a transportation mitigation agreement (TMA). Moore stated that the improvements as noted within the TMA must be completed prior to a certificate of occupancy being issued for any of the buildings on this site. Senior Planner Moore completed his initial presentation by noting that should Planning Commission determine to approve the preliminary plat; town departments would be entering into civil construction review of the project. Such plans must be approved prior to land disturbance beginning on the site. Additionally, Moore stated that offsite civil construction plans for the required traffic improvements would be reviewed by both the town and by SCDOT. These plans would reflect those improvements as enumerated within the TMA. Finally, Moore asked, should Planning Commission determine to approve the 2 preliminary plat, that it be approved with the conditions of the buffering requirements he noted previously. He then entertained any questions from Planning Commission members. Planning Commissioner Dan Stout asked for clarification on the number of outparcels. He stated that some of the drawings show eight outparcels and some of the drawings show nine outparcels. The applicant, Ted Barnes of Durban Development, clarified that there were currently eight commercial outparcels with the one residual PND parcel. Planning Commissioner Dan Stout asked if the plan-set indicated a sidewalk shown along the Fort Mill Parkway. Senior Planner Moore replied that there was an eight-foot-wide multiuse path shown along the Fort Mill Parkway. Planning Commissioner Erin Pratt asked if eight feet was as wide as the applicant could make the multiuse path. Senior Planner Moore responded that the eight feet width was the minimum town requirement for this location. Planning Commissioner Pratt then asked if there would be opportunities for pedestrian crossings of the Fort Mill Parkway with relation to this project. Planning Director Penelope Karagounis stated that there would be a pedestrian crossing at the Whites Road intersection. There was then brief discussion about the Harris Teeter fueling center being located on outparcel 5 along with general locations for fast food restaurants. Planning Commissioner Daniel Reynolds noted that traffic currently moves pretty well through this portion of the Fort Mill Parkway except in the morning and afternoon on school days. Planning Director Karagounis noted that SCDOT required that the TIA be updated from the 2019 iteration. This is why there was a pause between the time the rezoning was heard by Planning Commission in October 2023 and when it went to first reading at town council on May 13th, 2024. Vice Chairman Lucarelli reiterated that at this meeting, Planning Commission was only reviewing the preliminary plat He noted that any future uses on the outlots would be reviewed separately. Planning Director Karagounis noted that the future outparcel uses would also come before Planning Commission for appearance review. Planning Commissioner Stout asked what the dual lane on the west side of the Harris Teeter building would be used for. 3 Senior Planner Moore stated he believed this may be the pharmacy drive-through portion of the Harris Teeter. Mr. Barnes, the applicant, concurred with this. Planning Commissioner Jason Therell asked about the location of the loading dock for the Harris Teeter building. Mr. Barnes indicated that the loading dock for delivery trucks would be located at the rear of the building. Vice Chairman Lucarelli asked if stormwater control measure locations as shown on the preliminary plat were going to be dry ponds or wet ponds. Mr. Barnes replied that he would need to look at the civil construction plans to verify what types of stormwater control measures these would be. Vice Chairman Lucarelli stated that his reason for asking was that he wanted to ensure that these locations would be designed to be appropriate aesthetically given their proximity to the Fort Mill Parkway right-of-way. Mr. Barnes agreed and stated that he believed that the landscaping buffer requirements along the Fort Mill Parkway would assist with this. He indicated that his intent would be for the stormwater measures to not be visible from the adjacent roadway. Planning Commissioner Stout asked what type of signage the project would have along the road. Mr. Barnes replied that this had not yet been designed, but that the signage would not be excessively tall. He also noted that there would be signage along Fort Mill Parkway and along N. Doby’s Bridge Road. Planning Commissioner Stout asked about the size of the proposed Harris Teeter store. Mr. Barnes stated that the Harris Teeter would be 61,000 square feet. He said that the design of this Harris Teeter would be a new prototype. He indicated that they were currently doing a job in Lake Wylie which is the same design. He stated that he had completed a Harris Teeter in Greenville, SC in December 2023 which is 63,000 square feet. He said most of the Harris Teeter stores have been between 56,000 square feet and 65,000 square feet. He stated that the Catawba Ridge Market Harris Teeter fits in with the size of the stores that have been done in the last five or six years. Vice Chairman Lucarelli asked if there were any other questions from planning commissioners. Planning Commissioner Daniel Reynolds asked if there would be any way to limit ingress/egress with Pin Oak Court in Nims Village to allow access to only residents of the neighborhood. 4 Senior Planner Moore responded, that from the town’s standpoint, he didn’t believe that the access could be limited to just the residents of Nims Village due to fire code requirements, etc. He stated that he was unsure what Mr. Barnes or Harris Teeter might be willing to do in this regard. However, currently it was proposed for full access and that this had been the plan all along. He then stated that the residents of Nims Village did desire for pedestrian access to the project from the neighborhood’s internal pedestrian path. Planning Commissioner Stout asked if there were plans for sidewalks at Whites Road or along Doby’s Bridge Road. Senior Planner Moore responded that there would be an eight-foot-wide sidewalk along the project’s frontage of N. Doby’s Bridge Road. Planning Commissioner Pratt asked if the sidewalk along Fort Mill Parkway is required to be on private property or if could be located within the public right-of-way. Senior Planner Moore indicated that it was preferable that the sidewalk be located on private property. Planning Commissioner Pratt noted that she had concerns about the safety of pedestrians attempting to cross over Fort Mill Parkway to Catawba Ridge Market from the Whites Road area. Mr. Barnes indicated that the intersection improvements at this location will be designed and coordinated with SCDOT. He stated that, while SCDOT had not specifically commented on what they want at this location, the idea would be to create pedestrian crossings at both Whites Road and S. Doby’s Bridge Road. Planning Commissioner Pratt responded that she was concerned about conflicts between vehicular traffic and pedestrians. Mr. Barnes replied that as part of the offsite road improvement plans that they would be submitting to the town and to the state, this would be included. He noted that the project engineers have been trying to set up a meeting with the state to determine what SCDOT wants to see at these intersections. Vice Chairman Lucarelli asked planning commissioners if there were any other questions or comments regarding the preliminary plat. Senior Planner Moore requested as part of the motion, planning commission include the buffering and landscaping requirements as discussed. Planning Commissioner Daniel Reynolds inquired about the impact of exterior lighting for this project on the adjacent neighborhoods. Senior Planner Moore stated that this was an important aspect and that it would be reviewed with the civil construction plans. 5  There being no other questions or comments, Planning Commissioner Dan Stout made a motion to approve the preliminary plat with the buffering and screening modifications as proposed by staff with the condition (friendly amendment by Vice Chairman Lucarelli) that the sidewalk be removed from the opposite side of the internal road from outlot two (as shown on preliminary plat) to maximize plantings, and then to further clarify extending the six-foot-high opaque fence to the point where the sanitary sewer easement is located at the location where the sidewalk connects to the Nims Village property. Additionally, an approximate eight-foot-wide minimum buffer will be extended to this same location (north of the required 35’ wide COD-N Buffer) so that it may be located between the sewer easement and the Nims Village property. Planning Commissioner Sarah Curtis seconded the motion. Then by a vote of 6-0, the Planning Commission voted to approve the Catawba Ridge Preliminary Plat as noted above. 2. Text Amendment: Ambulatory Surgical Facilities Planning Director Penelope Karagounis presented the staff report and provided a brief overview of the ordinance. The purpose of staff’s proposal is to amend the Zoning Ordinance to add a definition for “Ambulatory Surgical Facilities” and to add parking requirements to differentiate such facilities from medical offices. Planning Director Penelope Karagounis explained that ambulatory surgical facilities are less staff and patient intensive per square foot compared to medical offices. Staff proposed that the square footage for parking standards for ambulatory surgical facilities be 3 per 1,000 square feet of gross leasable area (GLA). Commissioner Curtis asked what the requirement is for a medical office building in comparison to staff’s proposal. Planning Director Penelope Karagounis stated that the parking requirement for medical office buildings is 4.5 per 1,000 square feet of GLA. Commissioner Curtis stated that reducing the parking requirement appears counterintuitive due to the idea that additional people will be accompanying patients in the facility. Planning Director Penelope Karagounis explained that, in surrounding areas, the 4.5 per 1,000 square feet of GLA is normal. Commissioner Therrell asked if the parking standard is set, do uses have to comply with the standards. Planning Director Penelope Karagounis stated that they do have to comply with the standards and if they cannot meet the standards they will have to apply for a variance. Commissioner Therrell asked if the Town knows how many businesses’ parking layouts the proposed change will impact. Planning Director Penelope Karagounis stated that there is nothing in the Town that will be impacted by this change other than the 6 proposed location for Carolina Cardiology. Commissioner Therrell asked if the proposal applies to dental surgical offices. Planning Director Penelope Karagounis stated that it would not apply to a regular dental office but would apply to dental surgical offices. Commissioner Reynolds asked if there could be a threshold for a certain number of spaces. Planning Director Penelope Karagounis stated that is something the Commission could recommend. Commissioner Curtis made a motion to recommend denial of the ordinance in favor of maintaining the current parking requirement for medical office buildings. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Therrell. The motion to recommend denial was approved by a vote of 6-0. Vice Chairman Matt Lucarelli adjourned the meeting at 7:00 pm. 7