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CITY OF ROCKVILLE PLANNING DIVISION
STAFF REPORT
June 1, 2000
SUBJECT:
USE PERMIT USE2000-00608, Proposed Building Addition with Parking Lot and Landscape Island Revisions at 1065 Seven Locks Road, Potomac Woods Plaza
Applicant:
Seven Locks Plaza L.C.
c/o Finmarc Management,
Inc.
4733 Bethesda Avenue
Bethesda, MD 20814
Date Filed: March 22, 2000
Property Location: 1065 Seven Locks Road Intersection of Seven Locks Road and Fortune Terrace. (See Attachment A Location Map)
REQUEST:
The applicant seeks approval for a Use Permit to accommodate a 4,634 square foot building addition, a parking lot reconfiguration, amended landscape islands and a façade change at an existing retail shopping center at the above referenced location.
PREVIOUS RELATED ACTION:
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, to:
a. Show a pedestrian access closer to Seven Locks Road than the current Fortune Terrace vehicular entrance.
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, including:
a. An approved Forest Conservation Plan.
b. Any required easements or tree protection measures.
3. Submission, for the approval of the Department of Public Works (DPW), of the following detailed plans, studies and computations:
a. Stormwater management (SWM) and Best Management Practices (BMP) design including landscaping, computations and easement locations.
b. Sediment control plans for all disturbed areas, as well as a Storm drain study.
c. All detailed engineering plans must be on 24" x 36" mylars and be at a 1 = 30 scale.
d. Show existing and proposed Water House Connection (WHC).
4. That all electrical transformers and other utility equipment enclosures will be placed underground as required by City Ordinance.
5. 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.
6. All construction must meet the requirements of the Citys construction codes, fire code, life safety code, the Maryland Accessibility Code and Federal ADA requirements.
7 That permits be obtained for all signs from the Inspection Services Division. Impacts on residential properties should be addressed through the sign location, as well as the hours of illumination being consistent with the standards of the C-1 Zone. This Use Permit does not include signage.
8. That prior to issuance of building permits, bonds be posted and permits obtained from the Department of Public Works as necessary.
9. That all architectural changes to the three buildings on site are compatible and relate to each other consistently throughout the site.
ANALYSIS
Background
On November 4, 1998, the City of Rockville Planning Commission approved Use Permit application USE98-0587, which authorized renovation of the Seven Locks Plaza. The approval consisted of a 23,186 square foot addition to the existing 52,970 square foot shopping center (for a total square footage of 76,156). Along with this approval were significant site modifications, including a new entrance drive and parking structure, as well as drive aisle, parking lot and landscape modifications.
The renovations were proposed to facilitate a revitalization of this center, which has been without a major tenant for some time. Although a building permit was filed for a Safeway, consistent with USE98-0587, the review was not completed at the request of the applicant. This new application represents a significantly less ambitious addition and modification, meant to facilitate a new major tenant in the form of a different grocery store.
Property Description
The subject property is located on 5.45 acres of land at the Southeast corner of the intersection of Seven Locks Road and Fortune Terrace. The property is zoned C-1, with a triangular portion along the Seven Locks Road zoned as I-3, and is improved with a retail shopping center of 52,953 square feet. There are three buildings currently located on the site. The first, located to the extreme eastern portion of the site, directly adjacent to Fortune Terrace, is a 5,340 square-foot two-story structure with retail on the first floor and offices on the second floor.
The second building, directly adjacent to the first building, perpendicular in orientation to Fortune Terrace, is a one-story retail building of 7,620 square feet. The third building on the site, which is the subject of this request, is the largest at 37,713 square feet. The majority of the one story building has Fortune Terrace as its frontage. The eastern portion of this building has a semi-circle drive adjacent to the front of the stores that access some of the smaller retail shops. The facade of this strip of shops rotates via the semi-circle drive to orient itself as perpendicular to Fortune Terrace.
Parking is provided adjacent to the Fortune Terrace frontage for the larger building, and towards the eastern most property lines for the other buildings. The entire site is surrounded by low density, single family residential zoning, save for across Fortune Terrace, which is zoned I-3. There is a planted buffer area adjacent to Seven Locks Road associated with this site.
Proposal
The applicant is proposing a 4,634 square-foot addition to the western side of the larger retail building adjacent to Seven Locks Road, bringing the total center square footage to 57,587. In addition, the applicant is making a request to modify the parking area adjacent to this new building by re-striping, elimination of some parking adjacent to the Seven Locks Road frontage, the creation of a parking area adjacent to Fortune Terrace, and the creation of new landscape islands. There are significant architectural improvements associated with this application that will cover the entire project, as well.
The addition, while proposed for retail, is meant to facilitate the creation of space for a new grocery store tenant. This new tenant, Giant Food, is creating a store that is unique in its operation. This uniqueness comes in the form of the size and nature of the grocery store. Typical grocery stores have increased their square footage requirements in recent years from approximately 30, 000 square feet to well over 50,000. This Giant, which will be a specialty Giant and Pharmacy, will encompass approximately 30,000 square feet of the new center. The addition on the end of the building will accommodate accessory retail as is found through the rest of the center, and it is not planned to be a part of the Giant at this time.
Forest Conservation and Landscaping
A Final Forest Conservation Plan has been submitted and must be approved by the City Forester prior to issuance of permits. 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 site
In an effort to mitigate the distance pedestrians will have to walk from Seven locks Road to the entrance from Fortune Terrace, staff has required as part of Exhibit A a pedestrian path towards the western part of the site. The path is anticipated to be directly adjacent to west side of the new proposed parking adjacent to Fortune Terrace, running near the existing storm water basin.
Architecture
The three separate but distinct buildings on the site will share the same design vocabulary and building material palette, with a complimentary scale of massing given their individual functions. Building permits have been filed for the renovation of the portions of the center that are not part of the Use Permit application. Staff has ensured that the architectural design elements of all the buildings are consistent and compatible with this application.
The new architecture will include the addition of tower elements, awning type structures, new gambrel type roof elements and dormers above the roofline. The new grocery store will have a new arched entry feature. The predominant color of the center will be a light buff type color. In addition, there will be reveals and scoring that will accent the façade of the entire building. These architectural elements will be continued along the west side of the building.
Parking
As stated earlier, the parking lot for this site is to be amended as part of this application. There will be a row of parking removed adjacent to the Seven Locks Road frontage in order to create a better flow throughout the site. This area consists of approximately 25 spaces. Sixteen spaces will be added as part of the revised layout adjacent to the Fortune Terrace frontage toward the front of the site.
Based on all of the uses upon this site, including proposed restaurant uses and the new addition, 320 parking spaces are required. Through re-striping and a revised layout, the applicant is providing 320 spaces, including eight handicap spaces. Staff believes that the revised parking layout and modification of the landscape islands will improve the accessibility and convenience of the site.
STAFF COMMENTS
Staff supports this application as a dramatic improvement to this problematic site. The architecture of the proposal is appropriate, and should go a long way to enlivening and rehabilitating this site. The parking lot modifications should help provide a more accessible, useful and viable shopping center for the convenience of the adjacent neighborhoods.
This application represents a significantly scaled down version of the previous approval. There are significant elements that remain, however, such as the significant architectural improvements.
In conclusion, staff supports the addition and site modifications to Potomac Woods Plaza, and recommends approval. In addition to notifications being sent to the surrounding communities, the City and the developer have held open houses via the Citys Neighborhood Resource Coordinator to keep neighbors abreast of the proposal. To date, staff has received no negative comments regarding the proposal.
Attachments