CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM
ACTION REQUESTED:
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Receive the staff report for Naperville Self Storage located at 2708 Forgue Drive, PZC 17-1-073 (Item 1 of 3).
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DEPARTMENT: Transportation, Engineering and Development
SUBMITTED BY: Kasey Evans, AICP
BOARD/COMMISSION REVIEW:
The Planning and Zoning Commission considered PZC 17-1-073 on September 6, 2017 and voted to recommend approval of the case (Approved, 7-0). Staff concurs.
BACKGROUND:
The property is located on Lot 2 of the Cantore Place Lot 1 Resubdivision, part of the Cantore Place Planned Unit Development (PUD), which is located southeast of the intersection of Leverenz Road and Forgue Drive, and is zoned B2 (Community Shopping Center District) PUD. The property is approximately 1.3 acres and is currently vacant. It is located south of the new Capital Senior Housing assisted living facility, east of retail and office buildings, north of a detention pond, and west of duplex homes.
DISCUSSION:
The petitioner, 5995 Naperville Self Storage LLC, requests approval of a major change to the Cantore Place PUD to approve a final PUD, rezoning from B2 (Community Shopping Center District) to OCI (Office Commercial and Institutional District), a deviation to reduce the number of parking spaces, and a deviation to reduce the loading berth requirement, to construct a self-storage facility on the subject property.
In 2003, Ordinance #03-165 rezoned the 26 acre Cantore Place property from OCI to B2, and Ordinance #03-166 approved the Preliminary PUD for Cantore Place. The Cantore Place PUD listed land uses as: B2, ORI (Office Research and Light Industry) and R3 (Medium Density Multiple-family Residence). Since 2003, 8 of the 11 buildable lots have been developed with several office buildings, several retail buildings, a veterinary clinic, a bank, a car wash, and a senior assisted living facility. The 3 remaining lots, including the subject property, have been vacant since the Preliminary PUD for Cantore Place was approved in 2003.
Rezoning to OCI
The petitioner is seeking to rezone the property from B2 to OCI to permit a self-storage facility (note: self-storage will become a permitted use in the OCI district, subject to conditions, if the proposed OCI text amendment is approved). The subject property has remained undeveloped under the existing B2 zoning classification. In addition to the property’s lack of frontage on Route 59, there are 3 buildings located between the subject property and Route 59 resulting in extremely limited visibility from the road. The viability of commercial retail uses on the property is further limited by the number of more marketable parcels with good location in relation to Route 59 in the immediate area.
The intent of the OCI district is to act as a transitional zone between intensive business areas and residential neighborhoods. The subject property is situated between office buildings, an assisted living facility and residential homes, and the proposed OCI zoning can provide a transition between the more intense commercial district along Route 59 and the residential neighborhoods to the east. Given this information, staff finds the proposed OCI zoning is appropriate for the subject property. The petitioner’s responses to the Standards for Granting Rezoning are included in the Development Petition. Staff is in general agreement with the petitioner’s Findings and recommends adoption.
Final PUD
The petitioner requests approval of the Final PUD for Lot 2 - Cantore Place Lot 1 Resubdivision, to develop the subject property with a 3-story self-storage facility. The self-storage facility is approximately 84,477 square feet with an FAR of 1.48, in compliance with the maximum permitted FAR of 1.5 in the OCI district. The facility will have access from Forgue Drive via a shared access drive on the south side of the Capital Seniors Housing property, located directly to the north of the subject property. Employees and customers will park and access the facility on the north side of the building, where 10 exterior and 4 interior parking spaces are located. In accordance with the existing and proposed OCI district regulations (see related OCI Text amendment case, PZC 17-1-090), all loading and unloading activities must occur entirely within the building, and trucks longer than 26’ are prohibited.
Most of the building is 3-stories tall; however, the east portion closest to the adjacent duplex homes, is stepped down to 2-stories, in order to transition the building from the commercial area on the west of the building to the residential on the east. The proposed building is primarily brick and stone, with standing seam metal roof accents. Color and texture variations, as well as reveals and banding, provide visual interest to the exterior. The proposed color and architectural elements are complimentary with the existing commercial buildings and the new Capital Senior Housing within Cantore Place.
Landscaping is provided around the entire building. There is an existing 6’ wood fence along the east property line between the subject property and the adjacent residential. A mix of evergreen trees and shrubs, and several shade trees, will be planted along the west side of the fence (along the east property line) to provide a buffer and screening between the self-storage facility and the duplex homes. Trees, shrubs and other plants will be located around the remaining 3 sides of the building to beautify the site and soften the appearance of the building.
The development complies with all existing and proposed OCI district regulations including FAR, number of stories, and location. The petitioner’s responses to the Standards for Granting a Major Change to the PUD for a final PUD are included in the Development Petition. Staff is in general agreement with the petitioner’s Findings and recommends adoption.
Parking Deviation
The proposed self-storage facility includes 84,477 square feet of building area. Per Municipal Code Section 6-9-3 (Schedule of Off Street Parking Requirements) <https://library.municode.com/il/naperville/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT6ZORE_CH9OFSTPA_6-9-3SCOFSTPARE> self-storage facilities require 0.4 parking spaces per 1,000 square feet of gross floor area; therefore the proposed use is required to have 34 parking spaces. The proposed site plan includes 10 exterior and 4 interior parking spaces on the north side of the building. The petitioner requests a deviation from Section 6-9-3 to allow a reduction in the number of required parking spaces from the 34 to 14.
The 10 exterior parking spaces are generally intended for use by patrons visiting the office regarding leasing a storage unit which is typically only done on the first and last visit to the site, and employee parking. After renting a storage unit, customers would pull inside the building and park in one of the 4 interior parking spaces to load and/or unload the items they are storing at the facility. An approximately 43.3’ by 21’ area behind the interior parking spaces is intended for loading activities. The petitioner provided a parking study stating 10 parking spaces would be sufficient for the facility. Given the information provided by the petitioner and the nature of the proposed business, staff expects the 14 parking spaces to be adequate for the proposed business. A condition will be included in the ordinance requiring the petitioner take appropriate action, such as altering business operations as necessary, in the event the parking needs cannot be accommodated by the proposed parking. The petitioner’s responses to the Standards for Granting a Deviation are included in the Development Petition. Staff is in general agreement with the petitioner’s Findings and recommends adoption.
Loading Deviation
Per Municipal Code Section 6-9-5 (Schedule of Off Street Loading Requirements) <https://library.municode.com/il/naperville/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT6ZORE_CH9OFSTPA_6-9-5SCOFSTLORE> buildings containing 40,000 to 100,000 square feet of gross floor area are required to provide 2 loading berths. The petitioner requests a deviation from Section 6-9-3 to reduce the loading berth requirement for the proposed self-storage facility. Per the proposed OCI required conditions for self-storage facilities, all loading activities must take place within the building. As such, the facility provides 4 parking spaces adjacent to an approximately 43.3’ by 21’ loading area inside the building, for a total area of approximately 1600 square feet for customers’ loading and unloading activities. There will be no exterior loading area on the property.
The petitioner states the proposed loading area in the building will be sufficient to accommodate all loading and unloading activities. Given the petitioner’s statements, the restriction on trucks over 26’ in length, and the requirement that all loading activities take place inside the building, staff anticipates the loading area will be appropriate to service the facility. The petitioner’s responses to the Standards for Granting a Deviation are included in the Development Petition. Staff is in general agreement with the petitioner’s Findings and recommends adoption.
Neighborhood Meeting
The petitioner held a meeting with adjacent property owners on August 24, 2017. Based on feedback received from those in attendance at this meeting, the petitioner has:
• Modified the proposed building elevation to remove the eastern tower features previously included on the building. Neighbors had concerns that these features may limit their sun exposure. Staff has no concerns with the modified elevations (attached).
• Agreed to install a fence, in addition to the landscaping proposed, around the perimeter of the ground-mounted a/c units (northeast portion of site plan). At the request of staff, this fence will be constructed in a material consistent with the proposed building. The landscape plan has been updated to reflect this additional fencing.
Planning and Zoning Commission
The Planning and Zoning Commission opened the public hearing to consider PZC 17-1-073 on September 6, 2017. No members of the public provided testimony on the project. The Planning and Zoning Commission closed the public hearing and voted to recommend approval of PZC 17-1-073 (Approved, 7-0). Staff concurs with the Planning and Zoning Commission's recommendation.
Key Takeaways
§ The petitioner requests rezoning to OCI, a Final PUD for Lot 2 - Cantore Place Lot 1 Resubdivision, and deviations to reduce the parking and loading requirements in order to develop a self-storage facility at 2708 Forgue Drive.
§ Staff supports the proposed redevelopment as it will provide a transition between the intense commercial district along Route 59 and the adjacent residential neighborhoods.
Related Items
The following agenda items are related to PZC 17-1-073:
§ Rezoning the subject property to OCI (Item 2 of 3); and
§ Major change to the PUD for the final PUD, parking and loading deviations (Item 3 of 3).
§ OCI text amendment to add self-storage facilities as a permitted use, subject to conditions.
FISCAL IMPACT:
N/A