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Upon the filing of an application for an alternative site plan, the department of planning and building services shall set a date for public hearing on the request. The date for the public hearing shall be a day when the planning commission is regularly scheduled to meet as determined by the rules, policies and regulations as adopted or which may hereafter be adopted by the planning commission for holding public hearings on those requests, or the planning commission may designate a special meeting at which to hear a requested alternative site plan application.
(a) Public notice.
(1) Signs. Signs shall be posted on the property for a continuous period of ten days immediately prior to the public hearing held by the planning commission or city council to consider the conditional use permit. The signs shall be furnished by the department of planning and building services; state the date, time and location of the public hearing and be posted by the applicant in the numbers, design and locations prescribed by the director. Before any action shall be taken by the planning commission, the applicant shall first file with the department of planning and building services a certificate verifying that the signs have been posted at the property location before the time specified by this section.
(2) Written notice. Written notice shall be sent by the city to adjacent property owners within 300 feet, measured from lot line to lot line. The letters shall be postmarked at least ten business days prior to the hearing and state the date, time, and location of the public hearing.
(3) Publication. The public hearing date, time, and location shall be published at least ten days in advance of the hearing in a legal newspaper in the community.
(4) Approval of plan as presented. The alternative site plan approved by the planning commission shall be the plan presented during the public hearing. Planning staff will then only approve a zoning permit if the plan for construction provided is substantially the same.
(Ord. 9-13, passed 3-19-2013)
(a) A major amendment to an approved alternative site plan may be amended the same as a new alternative site plan permit as provided in this section, or entirely withdrawn by the applicant. A major amendment includes any amendment that is not categorized as a minor amendment.
(b) A minor amendment to an alternative site plan may be approved by the director of planning and building and services. Standards for minor amendments will include slight changes of element locations such as trees, landscaping, and signs. Also, a parking layout may be slightly different as long as the number of parking spots and orientation to the buildings is the same as the approved plan.
(Ord. 9-13, passed 3-19-2013)
The city planning commission may approve an alternative common open space plan to reduce setbacks when adequate and appropriate common open space is planned and accommodated in the site plan for the following situations (also see MD1, MD2, MD3, NF2, BCF3 form regulations).
(a) For MD2 and MD3 forms. There may be up to a 10-foot reduction in front yard, 5-foot reduction in side yard, and 5-foot reduction in rear yard when the same overall square footage as is required by the minimum yards is reserved and approved by the planning commission as a common open space area.
(b) For MD1, NF2, and BCF3 forms. There may be up to a 10-foot reduction in the front yard setback when the same overall square footage as is required by the minimum yards is reserved and approved by the planning commission as a common open space area.
(c) Common open space area standards. The planning commission shall determine a common open space when it includes open space that is aesthetically planned and designed with active or passive recreational amenities including, but not limited to, walking paths, plazas, playgrounds, tennis courts, swimming pools, lakes, seating areas, gardens, basketball courts, and other similar recreational amenities. All common open space areas must be designed in a way that is very accessible to residents or employees of the development area. Common open space alternative plans shall not reduce open space on the site to a level under the total minimum square feet of required yards (front, side, and rear yards). Common open space alternative plans shall not reduce any required buffer yards. The intent of common open space alternative plans is to allow a redistribution from one required yard to another required yard. A common open space alternative plan must not impede on the intersection of driveway vision clearance area (see § 160.517).
(Ord. 9-13, passed 3-19-2013; Ord. 22-15, passed 3-3-2015; Ord. 41-19, passed 4-2-2019; Ord. 114-22, passed 10-4-2022)
Intent: The substitution of the general landscape standards (§ 160.485) for the alternative landscape plan should perform at the same or higher level in regard to land use transitions that are required by ordinance through methods such as orientation, parking lot islands, topography, higher level of aesthetics, or barriers that are used to create comparable performance. Reduction of landscape units is not allowed except by a variance granted by the Zoning Board of Adjustment.
The city planning commission may approve an alternative landscaping or buffer yard plan in the following situations:
(a) Street trees are included in the boulevard except along an arterial street.
(b) Pedestrian and bike paths connecting adjacent development areas, public parks, and other pedestrian and bike paths.
(c) Outdoor seating areas and/or plazas are designed in such a way to include additional landscaping and incorporate natural drainage areas, rain gardens, or permeable pavement to mitigate the drainage issues.
(d) Buffer yard alternatives may include, but are not limited to, one or more of the following characteristics:
(1) Native brick, natural stone, or manufactured stone are included.
(2) Building scale is designed to reflect the surrounding neighborhood context.
(3) Architectural techniques are added as details and benefits to contextual elements within neighborhood context.
(4) Walls and berms or combination of the two with high quality building materials that create a barrier 6 feet in height.
(Ord. 9-13, passed 3-19-2013; Ord. 79-14, passed 10-14-2014; Ord. 23-16, passed 4-5-2016; Ord. 37-19, passed 4-2-2019)
A parking reduction alternative plan is eligible for BCF, RE, MU, and WM forms only. Any other parking reductions must be granted a variance by the Zoning Board of Adjustment. When an applicant can show that the required parking amounts are in excess of what is needed for the proposed use, the applicant may submit a request with justification based on the standards below to the planning commission for off-street parking space reductions. The planning commission will consider and act on this request as a part of the full development application process (see application requirement in § 160.595).
(a) Application standards. One of the below standards is required along with a standard that any adjacent or nearby properties will not have significant parking overflow created due to the application.
(1) The requirements for parking found in §§ 160.550 et seq. (Parking, Loading, and Stacking Regulations) do not accurately depict the parking needs of the proposed use and the requested reduction will accommodate the parking demand to be generated by the proposed use. Surplus nonresidential on-street or public spaces in the area may be taken into consideration.
(2) The reduction in parking will provide a benefit for reduced storm drainage runoff with open drainage areas.
(3) The reduction in parking will provide a benefit for pedestrian access to the site.
(4) The reduction in parking will provide a benefit to the overall environment through a certified LEED designed building
(b) Parking study.
(1) Content. A parking study submitted to satisfy the requirements of §§ 160.550 et seq. (Parking, Loading, and Stacking) shall include the following information based upon the reason the parking study is required. The planning director, upon consultation with the director of public works and the agency responsible for approval of off-street parking facilities, may waive any of these required contents or require additional information depending upon the specifics of the application. The parking study shall be reviewed by, and must be acceptable to, the planning director and director of public works.
(2) A site survey that includes an analysis of the peak demand for two similar or like facilities in terms of use and size. The analysis should include the facilities' peak parking days of the week and hours of the day, as depicted by a study of the existing parking spaces hourly during the peak hours of usage and hourly four hours before and after the time for each facility. It should also include the number of spaces each facility contains. The study will include the expected number of people, type of land uses, and times of occupancy of each building in the plan.
(3) Any other information requested by the planning director or the agency responsible for approval of off-street parking facilities.
(4) A site plan showing the location of on-street and off-street parking spaces used in the parking study. The map shall clearly delineate the location and number of spaces used in the study.
(Ord. 9-13, passed 3-19-2013; Ord. 37-19, passed 4-2-2019; Ord. 30-23, passed 5-2-2023)
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