Title
Resolution to Approve AAA Ann Arbor Branch Office Site Plan, 1200 South Main Street - CPC Recommendation: Approval (6 Yeas and 3 Nays)
Memorandum
Attached is a resolution to approve the AAA Ann Arbor Branch Office (1200 South Main Street) Site Plan. Approval of this resolution will allow for the construction of a 14-space parking lot with required landscaping and screening.
Petition Summary:
· The Site Plan proposes to demolish the existing building and parking lot on the site and construct a 14-space parking lot with access from Potter Avenue. Two bicycle storage lockers will also be provided. Right-of-way screening is proposed on all three surrounding street frontages and a conflicting land use buffer is proposed along the rear (west) side of the site. The 14-space parking lot will cover the northern half of the site. The remaining half will be lawn turf.
· A separate site plan, AAA Ann Arbor Branch Office (1100 South Main Street), is proposed to construct a new branch office having 5,443 square feet in phase one and an additional 2,230 square feet in phase two. Twenty-one off-street parking spaces are proposed on that site, which when combined with the 14 spaces proposed by this petition, will provide a total of 35 off-street parking spaces. The total desired parking spaces is four more than the maximum permitted for both phases of the branch office. The petitioner wishes to install all 35 parking spaces as part of phase one of the development.
· A separate petition to rezone a portion 1200 South Main Street from O (Office District) to P (Parking District) has been submitted. Parking lots as a principal use are not permitted in the O district. Approval of the proposed AAA Ann Arbor Branch (1100 South Main Street) Site Plan and the proposed AAA Ann Arbor Branch (1200 South Main Street) Site Plan are subject to this rezoning approval.
The City Planning Commission, at its meeting of March 6, 2012 recommended approval of this request. Three Planning Commissioners did not support this petition, nor the petition to rezone a portion of the site to P (Parking District), generally feeling that principal-use parking lots were not a desirable land use, particularly because on-street parking was available in the immediate vicinity as well as a public park-and-ride lot within a few minutes' walk of the site. These Commissioners were supportive of the proposal to construct a new branch office and accessory parking lot at 1100 South Main Street and limited their objections to the proposed development and rezoning of 1200 South Main Street.
Attachments: March 6, 2012 Planning Staff Report
December 15, 2011 Citizen Participation Report
March 6, 2012 Planning Commission Minutes
Staff
Prepared By: Alexis DiLeo, City Planner
Reviewed By: Wendy L. Rampson, Planning Manager
Sumedh Bahl, Community Services Administrator
Body
Whereas, The Automobile Club of Michigan has requested site plan approval in order to develop a 14-space off-street parking lot, including two bicycle lockers and required landscape screening and buffering;
Whereas, The Ann Arbor City Planning Commission, on March 6, 2012, recommended approval of the petition;
Whereas, The development would comply with the P (Parking District) zoning established pursuant to the requirements of Chapter 55, and with all applicable local, state, or federal laws, ordinances, standards and regulations;
Whereas, The development would limit the disturbance of natural features to the minimum necessary to allow a reasonable use of the land, applying criteria for reviewing a natural features statement of impact set forth in Chapter 57; and
Whereas, The development would not cause a public or private nuisance and would not have a detrimental effect on the public health, safety and welfare;
RESOLVED, That City Council approves the AAA Ann Arbor Branch Office (1200 South Main Street) Site Plan dated February 23, 2012 upon the condition that the petition to rezone a portion of 1200 South Main Street to P (Parking District), and the AAA Ann Arbor Branch Office (1100 South Main Street) site plan are approved.