TO: Mayor and Commissioners
FROM: Anthea Gianniotes, Development Services Director
THROUGH: Terrence R. Moore, ICMA-CM
DATE: May 7, 2024
Title
RESOLUTION NO. 12-24: A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF DELRAY BEACH, FLORIDA, APPROVING A WAIVER REQUEST TO SECTION 4.4.13(I)(3)(B)1. OF THE LAND DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS APPROVING VEHICULAR ACCESS FROM A PRIMARY STREET, WHEREAS THE ALLEY SHOULD BE THE PRIMARY SOURCE OF VEHICULAR ACCESS TO OFF-STREET PARKING FOR THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT 605 NE 2ND STREET, AS MORE PARTICULARLY DESCRIBED HEREIN; PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. (QUASI-JUDICIAL)
Body
Recommended Action:
Recommendation
Review and consider Resolution No. 12-24, a request to allow vehicular access from NE 2nd Street, a Primary Street, whereas the alley is the required primary source of vehicular access to off-street parking, for the new development located at 605 NE 2nd Street and known as The Edge at Pineapple Grove.
Body
Background:
The subject property is located on the northeast corner of NE 6th Avenue and NE 2nd Street. Currently it is occupied by three buildings: a former restaurant, most notably known as Granger’s, built in 1948, as well as two residential buildings constructed in 1925. A Level 4 Site Plan application (formerly a Class V Site Plan) has been submitted to demolish the existing buildings and construct a four-story, eight-unit townhouse development. As part of the development application, relief from the Central Business District (CBD) regulations is requested. The waiver under consideration is to allow vehicular access from NE 2nd Street, a Primary Street, whereas the alley is the required primary source of vehicular access to off-street parking.
LDR Section 4.4.13(K)(5)(a), Waivers
Section 2.4.7(B)(1)(a) of the Land Development Regulations (LDR) authorizes the waiver of certain regulations irrespective of a property's zoning district. Those waivers may be considered within the CBD in accordance with those specific provisions. When reviewing applications that include waivers that can only be granted by the City Commission, the SPRAB and the HPB shall make formal recommendations to the City Commission regarding those waivers prior to site plan consideration.
The City Commission must take action on the waiver prior to consideration of the Site Plan. Therefore, the current elevations and site plan are subject to change based on further review of the proposed development. Once the site plan is acted on by the reviewing body, the project will appear as an item on the City Commission Appealable Report.
LDR Section 4.4.13(I)(3)(b)1., Vehicular Access from a Primary Street: on Primary Streets, alleys and Secondary Streets, when present, shall be the primary source of vehicular access to off-street parking. Alleys may provide access to parking lots and garages and function as standard drive aisles, provided public access is maintained and access to all properties adjacent to the alley is maintained. Vehicles may back out onto alleys..
Both NE 6th Avenue and NE 2nd Street are designated as Primary Streets. Primary Streets are “intended to develop over time as superior pedestrian environments and, as such, are held to higher standards in the regulations regarding building placement, building frontage, and the location of parking and service uses.”
The goal is to shape a superior public realm, and discourage site plan configurations that negatively impact pedestrian environments. Based on the Primary Street designations, the alley should be the primary source of vehicular access. Primary vehicular access can be either be accomplished solely by using the alley, or by also incorporating another point to augment ingress and/or egress. In this case, FDOT will not allow access from NE 6th Avenue. NE 2nd Street, a local street, is the only other option to the alley for vehicular access.
Alleys are traditionally considered the rears of lots; however, recent infill patterns have begun incorporating units facing alleys, creating new challenges for ensuring pedestrian access to these units' front doors, and in some cases fire access. The current proposal positions the townhomes facing either NE 6th Avenue or the alley, with vehicular ingress to the project from the alley and egress onto NE 2nd Street. Since vehicular access relies upon the Primary Street, a waiver is required.
The configuration has an internal private drive providing access the townhomes' garages. The pavers used for the private driveway contrast with those used in the streetscape. The sidewalk material will remain continuous along the street, which is the City's standard in the downtown area. The proposed detail is not just aesthetic, but also a commonly used traffic calming technique to send visual queues to drivers that this is a pedestrian area.
The overall width of the alley (right-of-way and paving) adjacent to the property has not yet been widened to 20 feet. The existing alley right-of-way width is 18 feet at the intersection with NE 2nd Street and the applicant is required to dedicate two feet, which will achieve the full 20 feet. However, moving north, the alley remains at the original platted width of 16 feet at the north east corner of the property. With the requisite two-foot dedication, the adjacent alley in the northern portion of the site will be18 feet until the property on the east side of the alley is redeveloped and provides the remaining two-foot dedication. There are no proposed plans for this property at this time. The alley in its current form provides vehicular access to multiple properties north and east of the project.
Findings
LDR Section 2.4.11(B)(5), Waiver: Findings
Prior to granting a waiver, the granting body shall make findings that granting of a waiver:
a. Shall not adversely affect the neighboring area.
b. Shall not significantly diminish the provision of public facilities.
c. Shall not create an unsafe situation.
d. Does not result in the grant of a special privilege in that the same waiver would be granted under similar circumstances on other property for another applicant or owner.
LDR Section 4.4.13(K)(5)(b)2. CBD Waiver Standards
2. Within the CBD, the following standards shall be used by the City Commission, SPRAB or HPB when considering waiver requests, in addition to the findings in Section 2.4.7(B)(5):
a. The waiver shall not result in an inferior pedestrian experience along a Primary Street, such as exposing parking garages or large expanses of blank walls.
b. The waiver shall not allow the creation of significant incompatibilities with nearby buildings or uses of land.
c. The waiver shall not erode the connectivity of the street and sidewalk network or negatively impact any adopted bicycle/ pedestrian master plan.
d. The waiver shall not reduce the quality of civic open spaces provided under this code.
Ultimately, the main considerations of the waiver are whether the constrained alley necessitates diversifying access to the site and the effect on the pedestrian experience along a Primary Street. The project results in 44 daily trips, with only 4 during peak hours, which is not considered a significant amount.
The City Commission reviewed this requested waiver for this project on January 4, 2024. At that time, the sole access proposed to the project was from NE 2nd Street with no alley access. The City Commission provided direction to improve the proposed circulation and sent the project back to the site plan review body. As a result, the access has been diversified to include the alley, essentially cutting the number of trips across the sidewalk of a Primary Street in half from the previous version. A complete analysis of the findings is provided in the attached Planning and Zoning Board Staff Report.
Review By Others
On September 12, 2022, the Downtown Development Authority (DDA) reviewed the request and recommended approval on a vote of 5-0.
On April 12, 2023, the Site Plan Review and Appearance Board (SPRAB) reviewed the request and the applicant requested deferral of the item to meet with a few residents in the area who raised concerns at the meeting. SPRAB made a motion to continue with direction to come back before the Board with re-evaluation and discussion.
On November 29, 2023, the SPRAB reviewed the request for vehicular access on a Primary Street and recommended denial on a vote 4-1.
On January 4, 2024, City Commission reviewed the request and made a motion to continue with the direction to revise the primary access of the project and proceed to the Planning and Zoning Board for further review of the requested waiver.
On April 15, 2024, the Planning and Zoning Board reviewed the request for vehicular access on a Primary Street and recommended approval 5-2 with the condition that the ingress is from the alley and the egress is onto NE 2nd Street.
City Attorney Review:
Approved as to form and legal sufficiency.
Funding Source:
N/A
Timing of Request:
Approval of the waiver is required prior to consideration of the site plan application by the Planning and Zoning Board.