History
This item was continued from the September 1, 2020 CRB hearing. The applicant has submitted letters of support for the project. Staff has attached those letters to the item.
Summary
The applicants, Sean and Donna Reed, are requesting an East Stuart major urban code conditional use approval in accordance with Section 3.02.14 of the City of Stuart Land Development Code.
The applicants are the owner of the property, currently vacant and undeveloped, located one the northwest corner of Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard and Cortez Avenue.
If granted, the East Stuart conditional use would allow deviations from the Urban Code, Chapter 3 of the City of Stuart’s Land Development Code, including the approval of the conditional use of daycare under 3 acres, the granting of a revocable permit to construct on-street parking pursuant to Section 3.02.06.B., and to provide relief of the required parking in order to provide an adequate transitional buffer on the north side of the property, adjacent and across an alley from residential single family.
The applicant is required to request an East Stuart Major Urban Code Conditional use due to the following deviations from the Urban Code:
1. Use: Pursuant to Section 3.02.05.B., child daycare under three acres is listed as a conditional use in the General Residential and Office sub-district of the East Stuart district. The use must also comply with the supplemental use standards in Section 2.06.04. The applicant has met the supplemental use standards, or they have been incorporated as conditions of approval. The applicant has planned the use in order to minimize the impacts of traffic, lighting and noise to the surrounding residential properties. The applicant is meeting or exceeding all other aspects of the code except for the transitional buffer. For this reason, staff is recommending the removal of parking along the buffer, replacement of the buffer, construction of on-street parking and a reduction of the required parking by two spaces.
2. Required number of parking: Pursuant to Section 3.02.05.B., a child daycare facility is required to provide 1 parking space per 6 children and 1 space per employee. The applicant is requesting a maximum occupancy of 117 children and declares that 15 employees will staff the facility. This equates to a requirement of 35 parking spaces. The applicant provided a site plan with 36 parking spaces, however, 10 of the parking spaces are located within the required transitional buffer between residential and commercial uses. Staff recommends that these 10 spaces are removed and replaced by a continued buffer along the entire northern property line and that up to seven new on-street parking spaces are constructed along MLK boulevard. This would result in a net 33 parking spaces, or 2 parking spaces short of the required number. The applicant will agree to this configuration should the CRA recommend approval. Staff notes that this variance is being recommended by staff in order to provide adequate transitional buffering to the residential properties to the north. The applicant agrees to provide a continual 15’ landscape buffer and remove the 10 spaces as shown on the application site plan. Due to this staff recommendation, the applicant is also recommended to make up at least seven, which staff has determined as the number of potential spaces that may be constructed along the northern side of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard immediately abutting the property. Pursuant to the East Stuart code, the applicant may utilize these new on-street spaces as credit to their parking requirements, even though these spaces will be for the general public use. The City Commission should also grant the City Manager the ability to review and record a revocable permit to allow the construction of the on-street parking, as acceptable to the City’s Public Works and Police Departments. Staff finds that the proposed plan revision to relocate the parking spaces will provide the neighbors more relief from light and noise impacts of the parking lot to their yards. In order to accommodate this effort, staff is recommending approval of a reduction of two spaces. Child daycare centers located within an urban setting such as this are expected to have a certain percentage of clients that are within walking distance of the facility. Therefore, staff considers a reduction of two spaces to be consistent with this expectation.