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CITY OF ROCKVILLE PLANNING
DIVISION
STAFF REPORT
May 18, 2000
SUBJECT: Detailed Application for Comprehensive Planned Development CPD2000-0001G, Preserve Parkway
Applicant:
Boston Properties Limited Partnership
401 Ninth Street NW, Suite 700
Washington, DC 20004
Date
Filed: March 31, 2000
Property Location: Tower Oaks:
Preserve Parkway, from just east of Tower Oaks Boulevard and extending northward
to intersect Wootton Parkway
Planning Commission Review Date: May 24, 2000
REQUEST:
The applicant seeks Detailed Application approval for the construction of Preserve Parkway within the Tower Oaks Comprehensive Planned Development (CPD).
PREVIOUS RELATED ACTION:
· Comprehensive Planned Development Application CPD-1-85 (Concept Plan) - to determine the land uses and development potential for the Tower Oaks development; approved by the Mayor and Council on October 12, 1987.
· Comprehensive Planned Development Application CPD-1-85 (Amendment to Concept Plan) - to delete the planned lake from the site plan and reallocate development densities; approved by the Mayor and Council on September 27, 1993.
· Comprehensive Planned Development Detailed Application CPD98-001E, Boston Properties, Inc. - for construction of a 185,000 square foot office building and associated parking garage at the northeast corner of Preserve Parkway and Tower Oaks Boulevard; approved by the Planning Commission on October , 1998.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Approval, subject to the following conditions:
1. Submission, for the approval of the Chief of Planning, of eleven (11) copies of the site plan, revised according to Planning Commission Exhibit A, to show the following:
a) Revision of the proposed road section to indicate a five foot grass strip between the curbs and the sidewalk or bikepath; and
b) Revised turning radii at office entrances to be 25 feet.
2. Submission, for the approval of the Chief of Planning, of eleven (11) copies of the landscape plan, revised according to Planning Commission Exhibit B, to show the following:
a) Additional shrubs and understory trees in medians and outside the right-of-way, as approved by the City Forester.
3. Submission, for the approval of the City Forester, of a Final Forest Conservation Plan (FFCP) for the site of the roadway, reflecting the approved Preliminary Forest Conservation plan (PFCP), as amended, for Development Area 5.
4. Submission, for the approval of the Department of Public Works (DPW), of the following detailed plans, studies and computations:
a) Storm drainage study with computations and drainage area map;
b) Stormwater management (SWM) and Best Management Practices (BMP) design including landscaping and computations;
c) Sediment control plans, with existing and proposed contours, for all disturbed areas;
d) Grad establishment plans;
e) Storm drain and paving plans for the roadway. The use of header curbs for the medians is not permitted;
f) Street lighting plans, with proposed street lights chosen from the City inventory; and
g) Detailed water and sewer plans, including locating the sanitary sewer for the restaurant site on the east side of the roadway.
All detailed engineering plans must be on 24" x 36" mylars, at 1"=30' scale.
5. Submission, for the approval of the Planning Commission, of a record plat application showing dedication of the road right-of-way to the City of Rockville.
6. That all plans be coordinated and consistent - including BMP, sediment control, forest conservation, water and sewer, storm drainage and paving, site plans and landscape plans.
7. That bonds be posted and permits obtained from DPW and the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) as necessary. MDE permits must be issued prior to DPW permit issuance.
8. That appropriate measures for mitigation of the stream buffer encroachment, such as stream restoration, be accomplished by the applicant.
ANALYSIS
Background
The Mayor and Council adopted the governing Master Plan (Planning Area 12 Neighborhood Plan) in 1985. That Plan established the future development pattern for what was then a large tract of vacant land, and recommended office park development on this site. The property is in the O-3 (Restricted Office) Zone, where a Comprehensive Planned Development is permitted when recommended by the Master Plan. In 1987, the Mayor and Council approved the Comprehensive Planned Development Concept Plan Application (CPD-1-85), authorizing development of the 192-acre Westmont Tract (now known as Tower Oaks) as an office park containing 2.5 million square feet of floor area and a residential component of up to 275 dwelling units. The original Concept Plan approval for Tower Oaks was modified by the Mayor and Council in 1993 to delete the original lake and to reallocate development densities within the project.
The Concept Plan included an East Access Road which was intended to provide for two means of access to Development Area 5, the portion of Tower Oaks east of Cabin John Creek. Its location within that development area was unspecified by the Concept Plan, except that it should extend between Wootton Parkway and the general area where the road crosses Cabin John Creek as shown on the Land Use Plan (See Attachment). The final location is to be determined during the Detailed Application review stage. The Concept Plan approval anticipated that the East Access Road would be a private road built to City standards, with the possibility that the road could be dedicated as a public road in the future without the need to modify the Concept Plan.
Property Description
The entire eastern portion of Tower Oaks is approximately 71.25 acres. The property of the subject application is heavily forested, and includes the Cabin John Creek stream valley. There is a change in elevation of approximately 35 feet between the higher portions of the site and the stream valley. To the east and south of the site is the Woodmont Country Club property, which is located in the R-E (Residential Estate) Zone. To the west of the site is the Cabin John stream valley within Tower Oaks, on property owner by Tower-Dawson Limited Partnership, the original developers of Tower Oaks. To the north of the site across Wootton Parkway is forested area and the Citys stormwater management pond. To the south near Tower Oaks Boulevard is the GEICO property, which is located in I-3 (Industrial Park) Zone.
Proposal
The proposal is to extend Preserve Parkway from the point where it is under construction near Tower Oaks Boulevard eastward across Cabin John Creek and northward to intersect with Wootton Parkway opposite the Citys stormwater management pond. It is a four-lane, median divided roadway with 22-foot travelways and will be approximately 2,400 feet in length. The design is that of a parkway with large forested and landscaped medians that separate the travelways. The travelways will be on different elevations, to respond to the contours of the varied terrain. Crossing Cabin John Creek, the roadway will utilize a CON/SPAN, which will allow for minimal disturbance of the stream bed because it is a monolithic concrete structure with structural supports outside the streambed. Three median breaks are provided to allow for access to the office development to be located on the east side of the roadway, in addition to the restaurant site on the west side near Wootton Parkway. An eight-foot bikepath will be located along the western side of the roadway, while a four-foot sidewalk will be located along the eastern side. The bikepath and sidewalk will be separated from the roadway by a grass strip.
Forest/Tree Preservation and Landscaping
Forest and tree preservation will be based on the updated Preliminary Forest Conservation Plan for the entire Development Area 5, as well as Final Forest Conservation Plans for individual building sites and the roadway itself. The overall concept for forest conservation involves maintaining a forested buffer around the perimeter of the property, which mostly abuts the Woodmont Country Club. In addition, the portion of the Cabin John stream valley will remain undisturbed, resulting in a total of approximately 25.12 acres of forested area being preserved on this portion of Tower Oaks.
Landscaping for the roadway, in the form of additional trees with at least a 3-inch caliper, will occur in the medians and outside the bikepath and sidewalk areas adjacent to the roadway. This will provide a natural setting in keeping with the forested surroundings. No shrubs or understory trees are proposed, and staff recommends a condition of approval that additional shrubs and understory trees be planted along the roadway and in the medians. Staff notes that street trees are required to be planted along street rights-of-way at a minimum distance of forty feet on-center. Because this is a requirement of the Subdivision Ordinance, a variance request must accompany the Final Record Plat application for the dedication of the street right-of-way.
Stormwater Management
The applicant has submitted a Stormwater Management Concept Plan for the entire Development Area 5. This area will include up to 900,000 square feet of office space in a campus design, as well as a 10,000 square feet restaurant site, in addition to the Preserve Parkway right-of-way. Ultimately, water quantity control will be provided through the use of multiple stormwater management facilities. Currently, underground storage pipe and structural sand filters will provide both most of the quantity and quality control. A fifth facility is proposed as a detention pond with surface sand filter for quantity and quality control. The applicant is also required to submit a separate stormwater management concept plan for Preserve Parkway as well, based on the overall stormwater management concept plan. Approximately one impervious acre of the 4-acre impervious right-of-way is proposed for regional participation for quality control due to physical constraints, which must be approved by the Mayor and Council.
Transportation and Utilities
The roadway will consist of 11-foot wide lanes for vehicular travel, with wide median breaks for all access points. The bikepath on the west side of the roadway will be 8-feet wide, and will be separated by a grass strip of five feet in width. This area may be planted with low shrubs but will not include street trees. Staff recommended a condition of approval for the site plan that the grass panels be a uniform five feet in width. Transportation staff also recommends that the turning radii for access points to the development bays be decreased to a radius of 25 feet to better accommodate expected pedestrian traffic.
Public sewer and water service to serve the adjacent properties will be provided within the right-of-way for Preserve Parkway. Service lines will be stubbed so that no disturbance to the roadway is necessary as development on adjacent property proceeds. DPW recommended that the sewer location for the restaurant site be located on the east side of the parkway.
Environment
Preserve Parkway has been designed to respect the environmental aspects of the site through the parkway design and the proposed landscaping. However, the roadway and its associated grading will involve a minor encroachment into the stream buffer for Cabin John Creek, in an area that is wider than the normal 125 feet buffer due to the existing steep slopes. Staff finds that it may be appropriate to mitigate this encroachment through stream rehabilitation accomplished by the applicant. Staff also notes that there will be no retaining walls along Preserve Parkway, but regrading will be required for transition. In the event that significant trees to be preserved are located near the bottom of the slope, tree wells will be required.
Notification
Over 750 notification postcards were sent to nearby residents, in addition to adjacent property owners. Notifications were also sent to the presidents of the North Farm, Villages at Tower Oaks and New Mark Commons Homeowners Associations.
CONCLUSION
Staff supports this application for the construction of the remainder of Preserve Parkway. The roadway has been designed to respect the existing contours of the land and preserve natural areas adjacent to the stream valley. Approval of Detailed Application (CPD2000-0001G) is therefore recommended, subject to the conditions of approval listed on pages two and three.
Attachments
/rjw
ATTACHMENT A
LOCATION MAP/Tower Oaks CONCEPT PLAN
ATTACHMENT B
APPLICATION
ATTACHMENT C
SITE PLANS
ATTACHMENT D
LANDSCAPE PLANS