|
Staff Report:
The PRD district is a special district available through
rezoning. It is intended to facilitate predominately
residential development, with limited commercial uses also
authorized. The PRD district has been used at five
locations in the County: Brookside, Vint Hill, Cedar Brooke,
Raymond Farm (unbuilt), and Freedom Place (unbuilt). It is
important to keep in mind that the proposed revisions would
apply to the district as a whole, and could potentially
affect existing PRD developments, particularly should they
seek to amend existing approvals.
Process
The applicant, Doug Darling, originally proposed amendments
to the Planned Residential Development (PRD) district in
conjunction with a development he is planning in Marshall.
The applicant has filed a Comprehensive Plan Amendment
related to the planned development, which is currently
pending as an incomplete application. A detailed staff
commentary on each of the applicant’s originally proposed
changes to the PRD regulations is attached.
In general, staff found many of the proposed changes
unnecessary, and in some cases confusing or contradictory
with existing language. In response, staff prepared an
alternative set of changes to the PRD regulations, taking
the issues and clarifications suggested by the applicant’s
language and incorporating them in a way that staff believes
is more helpful and consistent with the overall goals of the
PRD district.
The Planning Commission held a public hearing on the
proposed text amendment on January 29, 2009. At that time,
the applicant indicated that he supported the alternative
language proposed by staff in lieu of the language changes
he had originally proposed. The Planning Commission
unanimously recommended approval of the alternative language
on February 26, 2009.
The Board of Supervisors held an initial public hearing on
this amendment on April 9, 2009. The Board tabled the item
for up to 90 days in order to allow Supervisor Schwartz to
work with staff on incorporating provisions to promote more
traditional design. A second public hearing was held on June
11, 2009 on the updated version of the ordinance. The
updated version of the ordinance requires a traditional form
of development for new projects, while retaining the
flexibility for already approved PRD projects to maintain
their original forms, even if subsequently amended.
A more detailed review of the substantive changes to the
proposed ordinance is provided below.
Proposed Changes to the PRD Ordinance
Minimum PRD Size
Currently, the minimum size of a PRD is set at 25 acres,
with a 5-acre minimum for additions to an existing PRD.
The amendment reduces the minimum size for a new PRD to 5
acres where the parcel has frontage on the main street of a
town or village. In concept, a PRD addition to a village or
town is similar in character to an addition to an existing
PRD, and for such additions the minimum is already 5 acres.
The lesser acreage is reasonable in both of these cases, as
the 5-acre project is not truly “stand-alone,” but rather an
addition to an existing neighborhood or town. (Section
4-102)
Live-Work Units
The existing language of the regulations is not clear on the
status of “Live-Work” units in terms of whether they are
residential or commercial. The revised language allows
Live-Work units as a principal permitted use, establishing
that such units are effectively counted as residential units
rather than commercial units. In addition, the language
clarifies that commercial space associated with Live-Work
units is not counted toward the maximum commercial allowed,
and that such units are only allowed in projects where there
are at least 50 dwelling units, except along Main Streets.
(Sections 4-103, 4-106.B,D)
Commercial Uses
The existing PRD provisions limit the amount of commercial
to 100 square feet for each dwelling unit in the project,
with additional commercial allowed to be approved by the
Board in higher (2 units or more) density residential
developments where a commercial focus is consistent with the
Comprehensive Plan. The revised text also allows the Board
to approve an increased level of commercial uses where a
project abuts a main street of a town or village.
Lot and Building Requirements
Under the existing PRD regulations, an applicant must
identify an existing traditional zone (such as
R-2/Residential) and utilize the setback and other lot
requirements as a starting point for the development. The
Board may waive any of the requirements, but specific
waivers must be identified for each lot that does not meet
the conventional zoning requirements. This process has
proven somewhat contorted and cumbersome, with every change
to every lot having to be identified, justified and
approved. This amendment changes the process, establishing
general setback standards that are traditional in form
(commercial buildings at the property line, minimal setbacks
of 10-20 feet for residential units) and a requirement for a
variety of lot sizes, lot widths, unit sizes and unit
spacing along streets, with even these requirements eligible
for waiver and the actual requirements are established by
the approval of the rezoning. Under both the existing and
proposed language, any results are possible with respect to
lot requirements, but whereas the existing language pushes
toward a conventional form of development, the revised
language pushes toward a traditional form of
development. (Section 4-107.A)
The proposed amendment also adds requirements for building
form and character. The existing PRD required the approval
of architectural design guidelines as part of the rezoning,
but did not establish any particular standard or goal for
such guidelines. The revised language again pushes
development toward a traditional form, with an emphasis on
building variation, rear loaded garages, and architectural
elements, cues, features and materials that are evocative of
the Virginia Piedmont. (Section 4-107.C)
Open Space
The existing open space requirement is 25% within the PRD,
and this percentage is maintained, with a notation that
lesser open space may be particularly appropriate for a
smaller (less than 20 acres) PRD development focused on a
main street. As with the existing PRD provisions, the
amount of open space required may be waived or modified by
the Board in approving the rezoning. While the existing
PRD has very specific language about the portion of the 25%
open space that is required to be “active” in character, the
specific requirements have been eliminated in the revised
PRD, with the applicant making the overall case for the
character of open space provided, both active and passive,
as part of the rezoning and justification. (Section 4-109)
Modifications
The PRD provisions have always allowed the Board to modify
almost all provisions of the District or other Zoning
Ordinance and Subdivision Ordinance requirements upon
specific request by the applicant as part of the rezoning.
Additional language has been added to the regulations in the
amendment to clarify that the Board can also modify Design
Standards Manual requirements as part of the rezoning, upon
specific request by the applicant. (Section 4-112)
Approval Process and Documents
The approval process and documents remain largely unchanged
in the amendment, with some tweaks to submission materials
to be more consistent with rezoning requirements in other
districts, the renaming of key documents (to Concept
Development Plan and Code of Development) and clarification
of what information should be provided in each document.
(Section 4-113)
Language has been added to clarify that the process set up
to assure that future development complies with the
documents approved by the Board must be a process that is
accountable to the public, rather than simply the developer
or new homeowners in the project. (Section 4-111)
Standards for Approval
One of the most significant changes in the revised PRD is
the replacement of five very general standards set forth as
the basis for considering approval with 14 more specific
standards for the Board to consider. The proposed standards
are based on the standards recently adopted in the
MU-District. In summary, these standards seek to assure
that the proposed PRD development:
·
achieves the stated purpose of the PRD
district;
·
provides a sustainable transition to existing
development;
·
is in conformance with the Comprehensive Plan;
·
provides complementary commercial uses where
appropriate;
·
provides for a mix of housing types and sizes;
·
is pedestrian oriented;
·
includes neighborhoods that are attractive and
inviting;
·
includes a grid street network coordinated
physically with utility placement;
·
provides usable functional open spaces
throughout the development;
·
minimizes parking;
·
includes pedestrian oriented lighting and
signage;
·
efficiently utilizes the available land and
protects natural features;
·
is designed to prevent substantial impact to
adjoining uses; and
·
is adequately served by transportation and
other public facilities. (Section 4-114)
Existing
PRD
In
recognition of already approved PRDs in the County, the
regulations include language that clearly establishes that
any amendments to the regulations are not subject to the new
requirements for traditional neighborhood and building
forms. The revised regulations specifically exempt
amendments to PRDs from these new provisions and also
maintain the old standards for approval of a PRD to be
utilized in approving amendments to such PRDs.
|