COUNCIL ACTION FORM

ZONING TEXT AMENDMENT TO MODIFY NEIGHBORHOOD COMMERCIAL (NC) STANDARDS AND PARKING STANDARDS FOR APARTMENTS WITHIN CORE LAND USE DESIGNATION

In May, City Council reviewed a request from Luke Jensen of RES Development to amend the Neighborhood Commercial (NC) zoning standards to facilitate an infill apartment project planned for 708 Burnett Avenue. The developer’s narrative describes an interest in advancing the Downtown Guiding Vision with new downtown housing.

RES has submitted a text amendment that specifically asks for a change to the NC standards governing maximum allowed Height, Floor Area Ratio (FAR) and the Parking Requirement for apartment uses located in the Core Land Use designation of Ames Plan 2040. City Council agreed to consider changes to the NC zoning as proposed by the applicant (See attached initial request and a concept rendering of the CityLight project).

NC zoning is unique hybrid zoning district accommodating existing commercial and residential properties located within or adjacent to residential areas. These areas have a legacy of commercial uses and residential uses. NC properties are scattered across the City (see attached), with one significant concentration of properties on the north edge of Downtown between 6th Street and 7th Street, from Duff Avenue to Clark Avenue.  This area acts as a transition between the Downtown commercial area to the south and the historic residential district to the north. 

Because of the wide variety of uses and locations in the city, NC zoning includes many requirements intended to address compatibility of new uses and to accommodate older buildings and uses. The zoning district includes standards requiring Special Use Permits for sites over 20,000 square feet, development standards for height and building size, minimal to no setbacks, parking location restrictions, and a full set of design guidelines regarding building design. The addendum included with the report provides more specific analysis of these requirements in consideration of the proposed text amendment.

PROPOSED CHANGES:

When considering the proposed changes that would increase overall building size, the applicant is aware that the planned CityLight project will require a Special Use Permit to evaluate the project’s conformance to the design requirements and guidelines.  Staff has assumed the Special Use Permit process applies to the applicant’s project in the context of the proposed changes.  A Special Use Permit requires a Zoning Board of Adjustment approval and includes additional qualitative compatibility criteria that do not apply to administrative site plan review.

Additionally, staff is able to distinguish the proposal in the Downtown area from having city-wide implications by the Plan 2040 Land Use Designation of Core. The Core Land Use includes the Downtown and Lincoln Way area along with the NC area that encompasses the land from Grand Avenue to Duff Avenue and south from 7th Street to Lincoln Way. 

Maximum Height

The request proposes to extend the maximum height allowed in the NC zone from the current 35 feet to a new maximum height of 45 feet. This would extend the maximum allowed height by 10 additional feet. The intent of this change is to allow for four-story buildings where three stories is effectively allowed by the current 35-foot height limit. For comparison three stories is the height limit in low density residential zones where commercial areas have maximum height limits that generally equate to 5-8 stories. 

Floor Area Ratio (FAR)

Floor Area Ratio is an overall building bulk regulation where the floor area of a building is divided by the land area of the site. A 1.0 ratio means the land area equals the building area, while a ratio greater than 1.0 means the total building floor area exceeds the land area.  Within Ames, a parking structure is exempt from this calculation.

The current Maximum Floor Area Ratio (FAR) is .70 FAR. The request proposes to eliminate the maximum FAR and have no maximum. This would allow FAR of any number. The FAR is designed to limit the total floor space of a building compared to the size of the land it sits on and a 70% ratio approximates a 2-3 story building with surface parking. Smaller lots commonly have larger value FARs and larger lots have lower value FARs.   Based upon the developer’s CityLight project the FAR would be over 1.0.

Parking Ratio

The proposals change the parking ratio requirement for apartments within area of Ames located in the Core land use designation from the current one parking stall per bedroom to one parking stall per dwelling unit when proposed with two bedrooms or less. This change would be made in Section 29.406(2). This change would only apply to properties within the Core land use designation area. The Core land use is the area that encompasses the land from Grand Avenue to Duff Avenue and south from 7th Street to Lincoln Way.

The applicant's request for a text amendment only references the Core Land Use designation in regards to the proposed change to the Parking Ratio standards for apartments.  

PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION:

The Planning & Zoning Commission considered the proposed text amendment at its September 2 meeting. Staff described the intent of the NC regulations and the projected outcome of the proposed changes and the applicant described his goals for the project. At the hearing, five residents from the area immediately along and north of 7th Street and to the east of the site spoke. The comments generally related to concerns involving the potential size of buildings and allowing for an increase in height and FAR in an area that has been a buffer area between the residential zone north of 7th Street and the Downtown Service Center Zone south of 6th Street.

Concerns were focused on that safeguards related to the intensity of use with FAR, height, and parking were all being removed making it possible for much larger projects that previously were not possible in this area that was designed around smaller scale residential compatibility. Many of the speakers supported new housing investment, but were concerned with building size and presence in the existing neighborhood areas would not be compatible.  Many comments focused on the potential changes in other parts of the area beyond the proposed CityLight project, many referencing 7th Street.

The Commission discussed the competing interests for Downtown-adjacent development and compatibility with Old Town. Some discussion related to the context sensitivity of properties fronting on 7th Street and that the current homes and scale were a buffer and transition to the Historic District. During this discussion it was noted that with 7th Street being the boundary between the NC zone and the residential zones and Historic District to the north, some projects could require greater scrutiny for compatibility with Old Town. The Commission also discussed the minimum lot size required for a Special Use Permit where a project is proposed. The Commission discussed what alternatives might allow for CityLight to move forward, but also address the public input received.

Staff offered that if there were concerns about small projects, besides CityLight, being overwhelming in size, they could be required to also obtain a Special Use Permit. The Commission decided that in addition to the applicant's requested changes, they would recommend that the City Council reduce the threshold for a Special Use Permit from 20,000 square feet to 10,000 square feet. 

At that time, the Commission was unsure of what other changes could be made without affecting the timeline of CityLight. While the Planning & Zoning Commission did not offer any additional recommendations to City Council regarding 7th Street beyond the minimum lot size required for a Special Use Permit, staff has had time to reflect on the public comment and has included in the Alternatives an option to include additional standards for properties that abut 7th Street, which include maintaining the 35-foot building height and maintaining a traditional residential appearance to the building. 

The Planning & Zoning Commission voted 4-0 to recommend that the City Council approve the text amendment to NC standards in the Core Land Use Area as proposed with the addition of reducing the minimum lot size required for a Special Use Permit from 20,000 square feet to 10,000 square feet.

1. Approve an amendment to the NC Development Standards in Section 29.801(3) and the Parking Ratio Standards in Table 29.406(2) for apartments in the Core Land Use designation in Ames Plan 2040 as recommended by the Planning and Zoning Commission. (The attached ordinance)
   
   
2. Direct staff to incorporate additional language, described below, into the ordinance and return for approval of the ordinance to amend NC Development Standards in Section 29.801(3) and the Parking Ratio Standards in Table 29.406(2) for apartments in the Core Land Use designation in Ames Plan 2040 with standards that include:
   
   1. Properties fronting on 7th Street maintain a 35-foot height limit and require a traditional residential appearance compatible with single family homes.
      
      
3. Approve an amendment to the NC Development Standards in Section 29.801(3) and the Parking Ratio Standards in Table 29.406(2) for uses in the Core Land Use Area as designated in Ames Plan 2040 with different standards than what the applicant has proposed in their Text Amendment request.
   
   
4. Do not amend the NC Development Standards in Section 29.801(3) and the Parking Ratio Standards in Table 29.406(2) on the basis that the City Council believes the proposed text amendment is not appropriate and does not meet the goals of Ames Plan 2040 or the Ames Municipal Code.
   
   
5. Defer action on this item and request more information from staff. 

The NC zoned area north of downtown between 6th and 7th Streets is different than the other smaller NC zoned areas elsewhere in the community. The character of the area within the zone and in the surrounding areas can be seen to be appropriate to allow the text amendment changes as proposed as applying only to this area with the Core Land Use designation area as identified in Ames Plan 2040, rather than applying citywide. Allowing for larger massed buildings with greater height and parking flexibility is more appropriate in this block of NC zoned area as opposed to other areas across the City that are zoned NC. 

The parking reduction request follows a recent trend of reducing parking for smaller apartment sizes in walkable areas. Downtown has no required parking for small projects containing less than 18 units, while one space is required per dwelling unit for larger projects. One space is also permissible in Campustown and the O-WUPED area. Staff believes the Core area is similar to the Downtown and development in this area can have access to on-street parking within the Downtown area with overnight parking passes if needed to address parking capacity issues. 

The proposed zoning text amendments do not guarantee that the CityLight project will be approved as shown. The Special Use Permit process will have to evaluate the design features, height, and mass against all of the design guidelines and standards.  

Staff believes that conceptually the compatibility of these changes is true in the Core area and that the Special Use Permit process will be critical to address the varying location and site sizes in this area. For example, staff believes the south half of this area closer to 6th Street has a much higher degree of connection to Downtown and its commercial district than the north side that fronts 7th Street.  The 7th Street frontage should be treated as a more limited residential area transitioning to the North while the remaining area is likely to have more opportunities for intensification and redevelopment, which will be an issue of Special Use Permit Review.

Therefore, it is the recommendation of the City Manager that the City Council adopt Alternative No. 2, as described above. This alternative was developed after resident feedback was received at the Planning and Zoning Commission and, therefore, does not reflect the attached ordinance. If this recommendation is supported, a revised ordinance will be required with Council approval at a future meeting.