On April 14, 2021, the Planning Commission held a Preliminary Review Workshop to review drawings for a development known as “Ulrika Plaza.”  The Commission was not supportive of the initial concept plans, and gave direction to the applicant to revise the design.  The applicant returned with a revised design which was again preliminarily reviewed at the Planning Commission’s March 9, 2022 hearing.  The Commission was not supportive of the revised plans, and gave direction to the applicant to revisit the design. 

Revised plans were submitted to the Community Planning and Building Department and the project was scheduled for a Preliminar Review Workshop at the August 10, 2022 hearing, however, the item was continued at the request of the property owner so they could make additional changes to the proposed plans. While not heard by the Commission, the associated staff report and project plans scheduled for review at the August 10, 2022 were published and made available on-line or upon request at City Hall. The applicant has returned with a revised design following the continuance request and is requesting the Commission review and provide feedback on the preliminary design concept prior to returning for a formal Design Review hearing.  This staff report is substantially similar to the report published ahead of the August 10, 2022 hearing as many components and aspects of the project are similar to the project described in the August 10^th report, however, the report has been updated to reflect the portions of the project that require an updated discussion or evaluation.  

Staff recommends that the Planning Commission review the preliminary project and provide feedback to the applicant.

The project site is located at the southwest corner of Dolores Street and 5^th Avenue in the Service Commercial (SC) Zoning District.  The site has been partially developed from two previously approved projects (DR 16-032 & DR 17-482 –referred herein as “Del Dono”) which allowed for the construction of two mixed use building on a merged building site, although construction was halted in 2019 and ownership of the property was later transferred. 

The revised drawings (Attachment 1) do not constitute a complete plan set, but rather illustrate the conceptual design of the project.  A more complete set of plans will be created for the formal Design Review hearing.  Staff has provided a cursory review of the project in order to provide a general analysis and address potential issues.  The items discussed below are not intended to provide a comprehensive list of outstanding or correction items or to be used as a determination of consistency with adopted codes and design guidelines, but rather as discussion topics to guide the discussion of the Commission.  This Preliminary Review by the Planning Commission is intended to provide feedback to the applicant on the design of the proposed project and does not constitute a guarantee of future approval.  No action will be taken at this hearing and a formal Design Review hearing will be required prior to action being taken on the project by the Planning Commission.

Standard of Review and Design Guidelines:

In accordance with CMC 17.14.110, “to assist in the design and review process, the City Council has adopted commercial design guidelines. Proposed projects need not strictly comply with every guideline to be approved but deviations should be minor and reasonably related to good design principles and site conditions. When a proposed project involves construction of a new building or the replacement, significant enlargement, or modification of an existing building, applicants are encouraged, first, to consult the design guidelines and then to prepare and submit conceptual or preliminary drawings for review by the Planning Commission. This preliminary review can promote communication between project applicants and the City’s staff and decision-makers, facilitating an understanding of applicable design regulations and avoiding unnecessary expenditures in detailed plans.”

In considering the proposed plans the Commission should take into consideration that the proposed projects need not strictly comply with every guideline to be approved but deviations should be minor and reasonably related to good design principles and site conditions. Some deviations may be acceptable when determined appropriate for the site and maintaining good design principals. While no approvals are to be granted at this hearing, the Commission should provide feedback as to where appropriate deviations are acceptable, should they exist, and where strict adherence to the guidelines are preferred. 

Zoning District:  This site is zoned Service Commercial (SC).  City Municipal Code Section 17.14.010.B states that the purpose of the SC Zoning District is:  “To provide an appropriate location for services, offices, residential and limited retail activities that primarily serve local needs. This district is intended to provide a distinct transition between the more intense activities in the CC district and the less intense activities in the districts on its periphery.  Mixed uses of commercial and residential activities are appropriate throughout this district.” 

General Plan – Housing Element Policy P3-2.1 states to: “Continue to encourage mixed-use developments (second-floor housing over first-floor commercial uses) as a preferred development form contributing to the village character in all Commercial Districts.”

General Plan – Land Use Element Policy P1-8 states to: “Continue to encourage mixed land uses that create new second floor apartments located over ground floor retail and service uses in the commercial district on streets where a pattern of second story buildings already exists.”

Like the projects previously reviewed by the Commission, the proposed building would be a mixed-use building with 10 apartments (no condominiums) on the second floor and 2 apartments on the ground floor, as well as commercial spaces on the ground floor.  This newest project no longer shows individual tenant spaces on the lower floor plan, but rather shows a commercial shell area with approximately 9,000 square feet of commercial square footage proposed, which is approximately 57 square feet larger than the last iteration.  Although 16 doors entering into the commercial space are shown on the floor plan, it is unclear if 16 commercial spaces are proposed, or if some businesses may have multiple entrances or doors -15 commercial spaces were proposed in the prior version of the project.  The applicant has noted that although 16 doors are shown entering into the commercial floor area, the number of business do not necessarily correlate to 16 business spaces.  The applicant has not informed staff of the number of proroposed business spaces, their layout, or square footages.

At the April 14, 2021 hearing, the Commission gave feedback to reduce the amount of commercial space provided in the project.  The applicant provided a response letter that was included in the March 9, 2022 staff report that stated:

We have not reduced the overall square footage of commercial space in the new design [approx. 8,900 square feet]. We are providing small commercial spaces ranging in size between 414 square feet and 1,000 square feet in order to support small size neighborhood serving commercial uses. There is no demand for large retail spaces in Carmel, nor would these be suitable for the look and feel of the town. They would also attract larger national retailers which is not what Carmel is looking for. 

In summary, the subject project proposes approximately 9,000 square feet of commercial floor area.  The two prior conceptual project reviewed by the Commission proposed approximately 8,900 square feet of floor area, and the Del Dono project was approved for 5,399 square feet between the two buildings with the remainder of the ground floor area being dedicated to residential uses or amenities for the building. 

Residential Density and Uses:  CMC Section 17.14 establishes the range of permitted and conditional uses that are allowed in the SC Zoning District.  Multi-family projects between 0 and 22 dwelling units per acre (du/acre) are a permitted use.  Projects between 22-33 du/acre require a conditional use permit and projects with densities between 34-44 du/acre require a conditional use permit with a finding that the project complies with State Density Bonus Law (Gov. Code Section 65915). 

The applicant is proposing 12 residential (apartment) units on a 16,000 square foot site, which is a density of 33 du/acre and is therefore requires issuance of a Conditional Use Permit by the Planning Commission.  Due to the number of units proposed, there is no required affordable housing requirement associated with the proposed residential density and requiring affordable units cannot be imposed.  All 12 units are proposed to be long-term rental apartments with none being used as transient (short-term) rental units. CMC 17.14.040.N requires 25% of the units shall be 400 to 650 square feet in size –with 12 units proposed, 3 units would need to be between 400 and 650 square feet. The proposed rental units range in size with three of the units being a one bedroom units that are 650 square feet or less and the largest being a 1,860 square foot two-bedroom unit.  While still market rate units, the smaller units become more “affordable by design” due to the smaller square footage of each unit. 

10 of the 12 apartments are proposed to be located on the second floor of the building with 2 of the units being located on the ground floor near the northwest corner of the property –a change from the prior version of the plans that proposed all apartments to be located on the second floor. 

*8 units were condominimum units

Floor Area: Floor area (FAR) is defined as the total combined area included within the surrounding exterior walls of all floor levels. Floor area includes all floor spaces used for commercial, manufacturing, residential and miscellaneous land uses including space occupied by mezzanine floors, interior walkways, storage areas above ground, hallways, restrooms, and both interior and exterior wall thicknesses.

While the FAR is typically limited to 135% of the site, a 10% floor area bonus is available for sites providing a courtyard or intra-block walkway with additional floor area bonuses available for projects providing affordable housing, up to a maximum of 150% of FAR for the site. This project proposes the inclusion of an intra-block walkway and courtyard and therefore is eligible for a 10% floor area bonus that would bring the allowable floor area to 145% of the site area, or a total of 23,200 square feet. As stated by the applicant, project is proposed to be the less than the allowable square footage and is stated to be 22,964 square feet per the applicant, or 143% of the site area. An approximately 15,200 square foot basement containing 27 parking spaces, mechanical equipment and storage is also proposed, although, in accordance with CMC 17.14.140, the basement is excluded from the FAR for the building site.

The previous projects reviewed by the Commission proposed a FAR of 143% and 145% of the site area and Del Dono was approved for a FAR 147% of the site area (Del Dono I – DR 16-032: 150% FAR; Del Dono II - DR 17-482: 146% FAR). 

At the previous hearing, there was also discussion regarding the size of the individual buildings and whether they exceeded the allowable square footage for a single building.  In accordance with CMC 17.14.140.C, No single structure shall contain more than 10,000 square feet of floor area. Interaccessibility between adjacent structures on one or more building sites by any means that allows passage between structures without first exiting to an open space area shall not be allowed if the resulting floor area contained within the combined structures would exceed 10,000 square feet of area. It was concluded the buildings did in fact exceed the allowable square footage and should reduce in square footage and/or redesigned to be separated.  

The applicant has revised the project to consist of four individual buildings, each less than 10,000 square feet to:

•  Building 1: 3,630 sf
• Building 2: 5,119 sf
• Building 3: 6,604 sf
• Building 4: 7,611 sf

The revised building siting and layout appears to meet the intent of the maximum building size requirement prescribed in the municipal code with the only connection between the buildings being an exterior staircase connecting buildings 2 and 3 and an uncovered second floor egress balcony that connects the buildings on the second floor. A small portion of the ground floor of Building 1 and the 2^nd floor of Building 4 will overlap and share a physical connection (Figure 1, below), however, there is no interaccessabiliy between the two structures, as illustrated in Figure 2, below (see Intra-Block Walkway section).   

Figure 1. Overlap and shared connection between Building 1 and 4

As stated above, Interaccessibility between adjacent structures on one or more building sites by any means that allows passage between structures without first exiting to an open space area shall not be allowed if the resulting floor area contained within the combined structures would exceed 10,000 square feet of area.  An open space area is defined as an “an open area that is free of structures and is visually accessible from public ways or walkways” (CMC 17.14.170).  On the ground level, a person would need to enter into the intra-block walkway, or courtyard, before entering into any other building.  On the second floor, a person would need to exit onto the egress balcony before entering into any other building (whether on the ground floor or second floor). If the Commission does not agree with this interpretation and finds that the buildings still exceed the allowable square footage (either 1 and 4 by the connection between the 1^st and 2^nd floor, the exterior stairway connection between 2 and 3, or the connection of the egress balcony connecting any of the four buildings, the commission should give direction accordingly.

Additionally, CMC 17.14.120, Maximum Building Site Area, states that the maximum building site in the SC Zone District is 12,000 square feet (subject site is 16,000 square feet) and development of a parcel larger than these limits requires that the land area be broken up into two or more distinctly different developments to avoid the appearance of a single large project and to maintain the small scale and village character of the City. Dividing the project into four smaller different buildings helps to achieve this zoning standard by dividing the buildings into smaller buildings. Additional discussion is provided below in the building finishes/details section.   

Building Coverage: Building coverage is defined as the total ground area of a site occupied by any building or structure as measured from the outside of its surrounding external walls or supporting members. Building coverage includes exterior structures such as stairs, arcades, bridges, permanent structural elements protruding from buildings such as overhanging balconies, oriel windows, stories which overhang a ground level story, and covered carports.

The building coverage is proposed be approximately 12,221 square feet (~76% of lot area) in area.  The allowed building coverage for a two-story building in the SC Zoning District is typically 80% of the site area for projects that fully implement Commercial Guidelines III-A., although CMC 17.14.130.A states, exceptions may be granted up to a maximum building coverage of 95 percent.   The exception described allows for a commensurate amount of bonus building coverage to be added to the site for any bonus floor area granted (for example: a 10% floor area bonus allows for an additional 10% building coverage bonus).

While up to 95% of the building site may be occupied by building coverage improvements, the site is proposed to only be 76% covered.  The prior project proposed building coverage of 88% and Del Dono was approved for building coverage of 95%

The remaining area of the site that is not building coverage is considered open space. A minimum of 50% of the required open space on each site shall be landscaped which may include nonliving materials such as garden benches, water features and patterned paving treatments as long as the combined total area of such plant alternatives is not used as more than 25 percent of the required landscaping on any site. All landscaping improvements is required to include upper canopy trees on-site and/or in the sidewalk in front of the property whenever possible. A complete landscape plan is currently being developed, however a preliminary landscape plan has been included on Sheet A201 of the project plans. 

Intra-Block Walkway/Courtyard

A discussion topic at the previous hearing was the concept of designing an intra-block walkway consistent with the Commercial Design Guidelines.  The Commercial Design Guidelines State:

Courtyards and intra-block walkways are important design features of the commercial districts. They provide pedestrians the anticipation of the unusual, swift and gratifying shifts in prospect, and often intriguing connecting routes between two or more streets defining a block.

1.      A courtyard should maintain continuity of architecture, colors and materials.

2.      The area of a courtyard should be compatible with the size of the building site.

The courtyard and intra-block walkway has been re-organized so that movement throughout the courtyards area would requires a person to navigate throuht the courtyard, and landscape areas, as opposed to being able take a direct and linear path of travel (refer to figure 2 below).  The project maintains additionals opportunites for circulation around the site, however, the additional circulation opportunities has been limited by the inclusion of private outdoor patio areas for the two ground floor apartatments. The patios limit access along the southern end of the propty, adjacent to the Carmel Art Association, and around the west side of Building 1 through the outdoor dining area (refer to Figure 1, below).

The courtyards on the site (walkways, arcades, and street frontage recesses excluded) make up a considerable amount of open space for the building site and appears compatible with the size of the building site, though a portion of the open space appears to be dedicated for a future outdoor dining area.