Alexan Apartments – Pharr Road and Grandview – Update #1
The committee is in receipt of a letter from the Garden Hills Civic Association noting concerns about the Trammell Crowe development on Pharr Road reviewed by the DRC in March of 2015 and subsequently approved by the City staff. Below is the excerpted recommendation provided by the DRC. This recommendation is the only variation dealing with any relief from the code requirements regarding the supplemental zone and it applies to Pharr Road, not Lookout Place. Lookout Place was not recognized or presented to the DRC as a variation for the project.
Section 16-18I.016(3)(b)(I) and Section 16-18I.016(3)(c)(I): applicant requests reduction of the supplemental zone on Pharr Road from the required 5 feet to one foot. The committee notes that two different requirements apply along this frontage due to the placement of the leasing and amenity areas as well as the presence of residential units. Residential uses require a minimum 5 foot supplemental zone and non-residential units allow for a minimum of 80% of the surface of the supplemental zone to be pedestrian accessible.
Recommendation: The committee recommends generally that the reduction of the supplemental zone be allowed; however, the reduction should be minimal. Additionally, the committee recommends accommodation of front stoops for the residential units in accordance with Section 16-18I. 017. These stoops should not be allowed to encroach into the sidewalk clear zone.
The DRC committee requests the City review the approved SAP and associated plans to determine what was approved and compare that against actual as built dimensions to determine whether the developer is out of compliance with the approved plans or whether the reduced supplemental zone was approved by the Planning staff.
Additional points of clarification to issues raised in the Garden Hills letter.
- The underlying R4 and RLC zoning codes referenced by the Civic Association have no bearing on this discussion as the zoning was changed to SPI-9 several years ago through a very lengthy and highly participatory public process which included the Garden Hills Civic Association. SPI-9 supplants any underlying zoning that existed previously.
- The 35’ setback on Lookout Place referenced in the Civic Association letter is not applicable under the current SPI-9 zoning. Lookout Place is considered a Type 4 street, as Planner Nathan Brown indicated in previous communications. The minimum requirements for Type 4 streets are a 6’ walk zone, 4’amenity zone and a varying supplemental zone. The varying supplemental zone is controlled by Section 16-18I.016.3.b and c of the SPI-9 code. Residential sidewalk uses require a minimum 5’ supplemental zone and non-residential uses require 80% of the zone to be accessible to walk on, the minimum area no less than 20% of the total square footage of the walk zone plus the amenity one and a minimum of 5’ and minimum linear distance of ten feet.
- The proposed development was not erroneously reviewed through SPI-9 – it is indeed in SPI-9. The civic associations are not kept out of the loop and unable to review plans until things come out of the ground. All plans reviewed by the DRC are made publically available in Livable Buckhead’s monthly Buckheadlines Communication as well as on the buckhead.org/development/ web page. In addition, all sites are required to place “Notice of Issuance of Permit” signs to alert the community of pending development and allow them time to opine on plans.
