09-26-13 Zoning Board of Adjustment Meeting

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Board of Adjustment September 26, 2013 413-93000005 Page 2 Project calculations are as follows: No. of Units Proposed One bedroom = 107 units Two bedroom = 73 units No. of Parking Spaces One bedroom 107 x 1.5 = 161 parking spaces Two bedroom 73 x 2.5 = 183 parking spaces Parking Spaces Required = 344 Parking Spaces Proposed = 258 (86 less parking spaces than required or 1.4 parking spaces per unit) Using the City's parking standards; the submitted plan does not meet the minimum requirements. Staff offered the following options to the applicant: • Have a creative design to accomplish the parking along with amenities to the detention pond. • Re -arrange the site layout to meet the number of parking spaces required; • Submit a Variance Request to the Zoning Board of Adjustment to reduce the off-street parking requirement. Citing Section 106-192 (b) (2) (b) of the Code of Ordinances, the applicant is seeking a variance to allow a reduction of the off-street parking spaces from 344 to 258 spaces. The applicant's reason for providing fewer parking spaces is that many of the residents will not have the ability or desire to drive. The applicant also contends that senior apartments are less intense than regular multi -family developments and require fewer spaces. Currently, the site is undeveloped with an abundance of vegetation adjacent to Harris County Flood Control drainage channel to the east. To the northeast, the site is hampered by the pipeline easement. A proposed detention pond will outfall into a drainage easement to the south. Two points of ingress/egress along Canada Road are shown on the plan. The main entrance to the facility is designed with a boulevard or split median. Analysis: The Code of Ordinances defines a variance as: "a deviation from the literal provisions of this chapter which is granted by the board when strict conformity to this chapter would cause an unnecessary hardship because of the circumstances unique to the property on which the variance is granted.