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CITY OF ROCKVILLE PLANNING DIVISION
STAFF REPORT
May 10, 2000
SUBJECT:
Detailed Application for Comprehensive
Planned Development CPD2000-002Z:
Applicant: King Farm Associates
8330 Boone Boulevard
Vienna, VA 22182
Date Filed: March 15, 2000
Property Location: Intersection of King Farm Boulevard and Piccard Drive (See Attachment A)
REQUEST:
The applicant seeks Detailed Stage (final) approval for Parcel U; an office building referred to as the F-3 office building at the above referenced intersection within the Irvington Center of King Farm. The proposal is to allow the construction of an approximately 244,345 square foot office building, which includes 10,000 square foot of ground floor service retail, a 984 space parking garage and related site improvements. In addition, a section of Piccard Drive, between King Farm Boulevard and Redland Boulevard is being amended through this application to add a center median.
PREVIOUS RELATED ACTION:
· CPD95-0002, Concept Plan Application for Comprehensive Planned Development approved by Mayor and Council, July 8, 1996.
· CPD96-002A through CPD1999-0002X, Detailed Plan Applications for Comprehensive Planned Development for Phase I, II and III of the King Farm development. The Planning Commission approved all of the applications.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Approval, subject to the following conditions:
1. Submission, for approval of the Chief of Planning, of eleven (11) copies of the site plan, revised as necessary, according to Planning Commission Exhibit A. It should be noted that through the evaluation process for this application, the applicant has responded to various amendment requests related to this submittal.
2. Submission, for the approval of the Chief of Planning, of eleven (11) copies of a detailed landscaping plan, that addresses all of the City Foresters concerns.
3. 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 to include private surface easements.
b. Stormwater management (SWM) and Best Management Practices (BMP) design including landscaping, computations and easement locations.
c. Sediment control plans for all disturbed areas.
d. All detailed engineering plans must be on 24" x 36" mylars and be at a 1 = 30 scale.
4. That all plans are coordinated and consistent - including BMP, sediment control, forest conservation, storm drain and paving, site plan and landscape plan.
5. No occupancy permits will be issued until the King Farm Pump Station is activated by WSSC.
6. A permit for the Piccard Pond must be issued prior to DPW permits being issued for this office building. In accordance with CDP97-002K, the Piccard Pond may be used for sediment control for this office site for two years from the date of sediment control permit issuance for Piccard Pond.
7. That stream buffers be maintained as specified in CPD97-002K.
8. Submission, for the approval of the Planning Commission, of a record plat application including all required easements and maintenance agreements, as well as dedication of right-of-way and/or open space areas to the City of Rockville, if any.
9. That all buildings meet the applicable accessibility requirements of the State of Maryland and the Americans with Disabilities Act of the Federal Government, as well as all construction code requirements of the City of Rockville.
10. That the King Farm Town Architect approve final plans for the buildings before Building Permits are approved. In addition, all signage must be reviewed by the Sign Review Board and return to the Planning Commission for approval. Sign permits must be obtained from the Inspection Services Division.
11. That all electrical transformers and other utility equipment enclosures will be placed underground as required by City Ordinance.
12. That bonds be posted and permits obtained from the Department of Public Works, WSSC, MDE, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and MDSHA as necessary.
13. Provision on the site plan submitted for signature that indicates 25 parking spaces that are designated and marked for carpool use. These spaces are to be located in a priority area within the within the parking structure. It is expected that these spaces will be within the first two rows of parking that are closest to the building on various levels of the parking structure.
In July of 1996, the Mayor and Council approved Concept Plan Application CPD95-0002, thereby authorizing development of the 430-acre King Farm as a major mixed-use development containing up to 3.2 million square feet of office space, 3,200 housing units and 125,000 square feet of neighborhood retail space. The tract is in the O-3, Restricted Office Zone, where a Comprehensive Planned Development is a voluntary optional method of development.
The subject property is located on 4.23 acres of land on the southeast corner of the intersection of King Farm Boulevard and Piccard Drive. This is an area towards the end of King Farm Boulevard within Irvington Center, where the Concept Plan has designated the land use as commercial office. Adjacent to the site on the east is the Piccard Pond, which as stated before, must be fully functional before occupancy of the building. Within this adjacent pond site is a bike path that runs adjacent to a retaining wall separating the two parcels. To the south of the site is Redland Boulevard, to the west is Piccard Drive, and to the north King Farm Boulevard.
King Farm Boulevard is proposed to continue slightly west of this site, before reaching its terminus at I-270. Within the center median of King Farm Boulevard is the proposed transitway, which runs the length of the road. At the terminus of King Farm Boulevard, the transitway turns north and exits the property. There is with this application a proposal, although conceptual at this point, to have a transit stop on King Farm Boulevard directly to the east of the intersection with Piccard Drive. Before the advent of the light rail, the transitway may possibly accommodate buses. This transit stop could function as a stop for these buses when implemented.
It must be noted at this point that as part of this application, a portion of Piccard Drive between King Farm Boulevard and Redland Boulevard is being amended. The road sections of Piccard Drive and King Farm Boulevard surrounding this project were approved under application CPD97-002K. The aforementioned section of Piccard Drive applicable to this application did not show a center median, as was the case with Piccard Drive north of King Farm Boulevard. The purpose of this amendment is to add a center median on Piccard Drive between King Farm Boulevard and Redland Boulevard. Staff supports this amendment to the road section of Piccard through this application, as adding a center median will create consistency and a more pleasant streetscape. This center median will be landscaped in accordance with previous approvals, and is outlined on the landscape plan for the project. King Farm Boulevard is not affected by this amendment.
The applicant has proposed construction of a six-story office building containing approximately 234,345 square feet of gross floor area. Added to this figure is an additional 10,000 square feet of service retail, which is likely to take the form of a restaurant. There is accompanying the building a parking structure that is five levels. Of these five levels, only three will be above ground adjacent to the building. Due to topography considerations, four levels of the structure will be above ground on the Redland Boulevard frontage. There will be three vehicular access points to the site; from King Farm Boulevard to the east of the building, from Piccard Drive that will be between the building and the garage, and a garage specific entrance from Redland Boulevard.
Based on a total site area of 4.23 acres, an approximate Floor Area Ratio (FAR) for this development would equate to 1.33. The retail/ restaurant uses will be facing King Farm Boulevard, with the building having an outdoor seating area and terrace that will contain landscape features. Pedestrian access to the structures will be primarily from King Farm Boulevard where the future transitway will connect the site to the Shady Grove Metro Station.
The Concept Plan recommends that major building facades be brought to the King Farm Boulevard frontage to help provide a lively and attractive pedestrian experience along this major street. The parking garage containing 984 spaces is proposed to be adjacent to King Farm Boulevard and Redland Boulevard. There is a minimum of surface parking associated with this site. In addition, there is an attractive landscape feature and entranceway on the southeast corner of the building, on the interior of the site. Vehicular access to the site from Piccard Drive and King Farm Boulevard will lead to the surface parking areas and entranceway, which will in turn allow access to the parking garage.
Pedestrians will be able to directly access the building from Piccard Drive and King Farm Boulevard, with the corner of the building oriented toward King Farm Boulevard and Piccard Drive being the major entry focus. The bulk of pedestrian traffic not associated with cars parked on the site is expected to use King Farm Boulevard. Sidewalks will lead directly to the office building from Redland and Piccard. In addition, pedestrian and bike connections will be made to allow direct access to the stormwater pond area immediately adjacent to the building. This access will come from King Farm Boulevard. Office users will thus be able to walk directly into the wooded areas enclosing the site during lunch hours or use the paths provided for jogging or other recreational activities.
This proposal meets the setback requirements for CPDs in general and those that were adopted as part of the Concept Plan approval. Parking structure setbacks are waived completely when abutting land is zoned commercial, while building setbacks are 100 feet from the boundary of the CPD. This office building and parking structure is over 500 feet from the boundary of the CPD.
As required for all developments in Rockville, the applicant will be placing the electrical transformer and all other such equipment below grade.
A Final Forest Conservation Plan has been submitted and approved by the City Forester. The applicant will be required to address all of the Forester's concerns before construction permits are issued. Any reforestation generated by this project will occur on other sites within the King Farm development, primarily in the wooded pond areas adjacent to the office building site.
Landscape plans for this development have been submitted for review. Tree plantings within the site to shade the parking lot are shown, as well as to enhance the streetscape along both street frontages. The sloped area separating the building and garage from the stormwater facility to the east will be heavily landscaped, as will the entrance drive of the building. The streetscape will be enhanced with street furniture that should help enliven the area facing King Farm Boulevard, as well as the court area between the building and the garage, as was previously mentioned. The aforementioned corner entrance off of King Farm Boulevard and Piccard Drive will be a pedestrian friendly streetscape, with landscaping, hardscaping, benches, and decorative paving. The entrance will have a curvature, creating a more open feel to the street corners that lend itself to a pedestrian orientation. It is anticipated that this feature will be replicated on the adjacent street corners, creating, in essence, a pedestrian plaza, with the parking for the office use to the rear. In addition to the above, there will be street trees in the design of previous approvals that will carry the theme through the project. The parking garage will also be fully landscaped, mitigating its visual impact. As discussed previously, the building itself will be ringed with landscaping, with emphasis being placed on the outside seating area of the proposed restaurant.
The building will be independent from the parking garage, but will share the same design vocabulary and building material palette, with a complimentary scale of massing. Though only six stories (approximately 75 feet) in height, the verticality will be emphasized by use of tall slender window bays and precast building fins. Preliminarily, building materials will consist of light buff colored precast concrete and blue/green, clear glass. The design theme of the structures will wrap the building completely so that there will be no back side to the building. Building design elements and materials will be repeated on all four sides of the freestanding, three-story parking garage. As noted above, pedestrian circulation is oriented toward King Farm Boulevard, as required in the Concept Plan. As previously discussed, the main building entrance will be adjacent to King Farm Boulevard, with outdoor dining and retail uses also being accessed directly from King Farm Boulevard. The architecture of the main entrance is curvi-linear, with the same design palette and materials being used for carrying the theme of the architecture throughout the different elements.
As required by the Resolution of Approval of the Concept Plan (Resolution 10-96), the Mayor and Council were presented with the schematic design proposals for the buildings and site layout on May 15, 2000. Any comments received from the Mayor and Council will be forwarded to the Planning Commission during its review of the Detailed Application.
In accordance with the transportation improvement plans that were approved during the Concept Plan Phase, some off-site transportation improvements will be necessary to accommodate the proposed development. All off site improvements will be at the cost of the developer, and will come out of the $1.25 million set-aside during the Concept Phase for these improvements. The improvements recommended below focus on the intersection of Shady Grove Road and Choke Cherry Road. Currently, Choke Cherry Road is a one-block long, dead-end street on the east side of Shady Grove Road. In order to provide relief for the great number of vehicles now using the Gaither Road/Shady Grove Road intersection, Choke Cherry Road is planned to be extended to connect into the King Farm at future Piccard Drive. This connection is dependent upon obtaining the necessary right-of-way at the Choke Cherry Road cul-de-sac, which is now in private ownership. The City is currently seeking to acquire the land required for this extension.
In order to accomplish the above off-site improvements Piccard Drive must be connected to either Gaither Road, Redland Boulevard or King Farm Boulevard so that vehicles leaving the office buildings can access Choke Cherry Road and ultimately reach Shady Grove Road and I-270 northbound. It is imperative that the intersection of Shady Grove Road and Gaither Road receive some relief by providing this alternative method of reaching the I-270 interchange.
In addition to the funds to be contributed by King Farm Associates, it should be noted that the neighboring PCI project has committed $640,000 for off-site transportation improvements and $.10 per square foot of office space for TDM programs. Depending on the timing of construction for both projects, the funds available for land acquisition and other off-site improvements will be available from this source as well.
In addition to these physical improvements, a Transportation Demand Management Program (TDM) is required to be implemented by the applicant when the amount of development warrants initiation of the program. Staff has instructed the applicant begin developing an individual TDM or explore means of participation in a regional TDM system that will affect the King Farm. King Farm Associates and city staff are currently in the process of developing the TDM plan.
Parking for this use has been provided in both limited surface parking areas as well as a parking structure. As noted above, the garage will be treated with an architectural facade that will match the building style and materials of the main office building. The surface parking adjacent to the building in the rear is limited to 31 spaces that are specifically tailored towards visitors to the site.
Per the Resolution of Approval, parking must be provided based on the current standards for any proposed use. Thus, based on the square footage of the office building and the proposed uses for the ground floor (restaurant and retail), 832 spaces are required, with a total of 1,015 spaces provided, resulting in an excess of 183 spaces. There are accessible handicap spaces, as well as three van spaces. Further, as part of this projects location near I-270 and its accompanying High Occupancy Vehicle Lanes (HOV), a condition of approval has been added that the development provide a minimum of 25 parking spaces in priority locations within the various levels of the parking structure that are reserved and signed for carpool use.
The Stormwater Management Concept Plan has been submitted for review to the Department of Public Works. Only water quality treatment will be required on-site. Water quantity will be handled through the use of the adjacent Piccard Pond stormwater facility on the east side of the proposed office site. This facility is sized to treat most of the Irvington Centre office development.
All other utilities are adequate for the proposed use requirements; however, a condition of approval has been added to note that no building permits will be issued until the King Farm Trunk Sewer is activated by WSSC. As noted above, all transformers for this development will be located below-grade. At a later phase, street lights will be removed from the wooden poles on Redland Boulevard and replaced with cast iron poles to match those currently used along Gaither Road extended.
Staff supports this application as a transit and pedestrian friendly addition to the office component of King Farm. The orientation of the building toward King Farm Boulevard, combined with the enhanced, pedestrian friendly building access corner of Piccard Drive and King Farm Boulevard, accent the Concept Plans desire to have a Main Street application of King Farm Boulevard. The buildings façade orientation and transit-friendly design should go far in animating and enlivening this predominant corner of the King Farm office area.
Staff also believes that significant attention has been given to the architecture of the building and the parking garage, creating a quality urban feel of mass and scale, while adding significant landscape and hardscape treatments to mitigate the harshness an office building can sometimes have on an urban environment. Furthermore, the design and architecture of the building, particularly the street level retail/restaurant and outdoor terrace/seating area, fosters a pedestrian atmosphere rarely found with modern office building projects.
Staff believes that this proposal meets the goals and intent of the Concept Plan with respect to the office development, and recommends approval of this proposal.
Attachments