city of duluth · on september 25, 2013, notre dame academy submitted an application for a...

CITY OF DULUTH ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS

Staff Report December 4, 2013

CASE NUMBER: CUP2013-002

LOCATION:

4635 River Green Parkway & 0 NE River Green Parkway

PARCEL: 6325 071 & 6325 058

ZONING: Light Industrial District (M-1)

ACREAGE: 25.91 ± Acres

REQUEST: Conditional Use Permit for the operation and expansion of a school in addition to other considerations.

APPLICANT: Notre Dame Academy, Inc. 4635 River Green Parkway Duluth, Georgia 30096

OWNER: Chattahoochee Ames, LLC C/O The Alter Group, Ltd 5500 W. Howard Street Skokie, IL 60077

STAFF RECOMMENDATION:

Approve with Conditions

City of Duluth Zoning Board of Appeals

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I. LOCATION

Figure 1

Figure 1 above identifies the location and zoning of the site for the proposed Conditional Use Permit. The 25.91 ± acre site is located at 0 NE River Green Parkway and 4635 River Green Parkway in Duluth, Georgia.


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II. PURPOSE AND DESCRIPTION OF THE REQUEST Request for Conditional Use Permit (CUP2013-002). Generally, the applicant is requesting the following:

1. Continued operation and expansion of a school in the Light Industrial District (M-1).

III. BACKGROUND Notre Dame Academy was originally approved (CUP0143-05) by the Zoning Board of Appeals on May 25, 2005 and has been operating as a legal use at its current location, 4635 River Green Parkway, ever since. The original approval was conditioned to have a twelve (12) year time limit on the use in the Light Industrial (M-1) zoning district. On May 25, 2011, The Zoning Board of Appeals approved a second Conditional Use Permit (CUP2011-002) for Notre Dame Academy removing the twelve (12) year time limitation on the use of a school in the Light Industrial (M-1) zoning district. On September 25, 2013, Notre Dame Academy submitted an application for a Conditional Use Permit (CUP2013-002) to the City of Duluth for the proposed expansion of the School’s campus to the adjoining parcel. With the proposed expansion, the School area will increase from 5.17 acres to 25.91 acres.

IV. COMPLIANCE WITH POSTING AND NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

All posting and notification requirements have been met by the applicant and the City of Duluth.


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V. REVIEW OF THE PROPOSAL

1. River Green Parkway

Image 1: River Green Parkway

Image 1 above shows the entire River Green Parkway development. The proposed site is in the south west corner of the development.


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2. Current and Proposed Sites

Image 2: Existing Condition (site shown in red) Image 2 above identifies the existing condition of the current and proposed school site. The applicant currently operates Notre Dame Academy in the 48,000 square feet building located on the 5.17 acre parcel at 4635 River Green Parkway. The applicant is requesting approval from the Zoning Board of Appeals to expand Notre Dame Academy and the use of a school. The expansion is proposed on the 20.74 acre parcel adjoining the current location to the south.

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3. Proposed Site Plan The proposed site plan, as presented by Notre Dame Academy, is included in this report as Exhibit “A”. Generally, the site plan includes an additional 146,000 sq ft of new buildings and 244 additional parking spaces. It is of note that the proposed plan is less intensive than the approved plan submitted in 2005 that included 196,000 sq ft of new buildings and 884 parking spaces (Exhibit “B”).

4. Compliance with Zoning Ordinance Staff has reviewed the proposal and determined that the plan is consistent with the City’s Zoning Ordinance. The use of a school in the Light Industrial District (M-1) is allowed with a Conditional Use Permit approved by the Zoning Board of Appeals.

5. Traffic Impact For the purpose of this Conditional Use Permit application, Notre Dame Academy was required to submit a traffic impact analysis (Exhibit “C”) to the City for review. In the analysis, it was found that the proposed expansion of the existing Notre Dame Academy campus located on River Green Parkway will not create significant impacts on the existing traffic operations in the area.

6. Operational Statement For the purpose of this Conditional Use Permit application, Notre Dame Academy was required to submit the School’s operational statement describing the existing and proposed operations (Exhibit “D”). The operational statement includes phases of proposed construction as well as hours of operation, enrollment/capacity, after hour program enrollment current and projected, and parking. Phase I includes the expansion of the existing facilities by adding a multipurpose facility that would include a gymnasium, art and music room, and a cafeteria. The Phase I additions are proposed to include one (1) new building adjacent to the existing school. Phase I will serve the existing school and will not impact or alter existing traffic, traffic flow, or parking. There will be no direct impact on student enrollment during Phase I. Phase II is long-term and is intended to explore the addition of a middle school and high school building. This expansion is proposed to include two classroom buildings, an upper assembly building, and athletic fields.

7. Ingress and Egress The applicant states that the proposed Conditional Use Permit will have no substantial effect on traffic flow and control, as the subject property already serves as the location of the School. The current and proposed point of ingress and egress are located in the front of the property on River Green Parkway. Notre Dame Academy’s transportation policies and ingress and egress plan are included in this report as Exhibit “E”. The ingress and egress plan has been reviewed by a traffic engineer. During that review, it was determined that the existing procedures for the management of the delivery of students to the school in the morning and picking up the students in the afternoon has been carefully devised and provides for safe movements of the students within the parking area. The procedures also minimize vehicular queuing on River Green Parkway.

8. Parking Notre Dame Academy’s current campus has 270 parking spaces. The proposed expansion includes an additional 244 parking spaces making a total of 514 parking spaces. Staff has reviewed the plan and determined that both the current parking and future parking associated with the proposed expansion meet the requirements found in Article 9 of the City’s Zoning Ordinance.


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9. Refuse

Refuse and service areas are proposed to be located at the rear of the property. All refuse will be collected by Republic Service. Staff recommends that a condition be placed on the approval of CUP2013-002 to require any refuse collection area(s) and/or dumpsters be enclosed by a screen wall of durable material and kept in good repair.

10. Utilities The property contains suitable utility connections.

11. Screening and Buffers

The applicant intends to leave natural, undisturbed buffers, where required, and believes that the large, natural flood plain and wooded property adjacent to the athletic fields will provide additional buffering and screening from any potential residential neighbors. The applicant will comply with all applicable buffer, landscape, and tree requirements. The applicant will comply with all applicable bulk and area regulations found in the Zoning Ordinance.

12. Signs As part of the requested use of a school, the applicant proposes brick based signs at the entrances of the School consistent with the elevations shown in Exhibit “F”. The signs will be compatible with the proposed and existing buildings and similar constructed brick buildings in the vicinity.

13. Required Yards and Open Space Staff has reviewed the proposed plan and finds that the applicant meets all requirements for required yards and open space.

14. Compatibility with Surrounding Properties Notre Dame Academy has been at its current location since 2005 without any documented incidents or complaints. Nearby school uses and the existing school operated by the applicant have proved to have little to no negative impact on the River Green office park and furthermore have proved to be compatible with the office, commercial, residential, and industrial uses in the immediate vicinity. The requested Conditional Use Permit to expand the use of a school in the existing zoning is not anticipated to cause excessive use of existing streets, transportation facilities or utilities. When compared to an expanded office, industrial, and/or business park use, the uses currently permitted by right, the school will have a less intense impact.


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VI. PLANNING STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Planning staff recommends approval of the proposed Conditional Use Permit (CUP2013-002) based on the conditions below:

1. Prior to the issuance of any development permits, parcels 6325-071 and 6325-058 shall be legally combined or the owners of said parcels shall record all necessary reciprocal access, maintenance and easement agreements.

2. The Conditional Use Permit (CUP2013-002) is approved for Notre Dame Academy and its use of a school. If the

use changes, is discontinued or abandoned for a period of ninety (90) days, the Conditional Use Permit is considered terminated.

3. Any modifications to the approved site plan must be submitted to and approved by the Director of Planning and Development.

4. Annual student enrollment must be submitted to the Director of Planning and Development at the beginning of

each academic year. Significant increases in student enrollment may require additional application material and Conditional Use Permit modification.

5. The use of any loudspeaker, loudspeaker system, sound amplifier or other similar device on the property shall be

prohibited unless a Special Use Permit has been obtained from the Mayor and Council of the City of Duluth for the operation of such loudspeaker, loudspeaker system, sound amplifier or other similar device as is required per Section 9-65 of the City of Duluth Municipal Code of Ordinances.

6. An outdoor lighting plan shall be submitted to and approved by the Director of Planning and Development prior to the installation of any new outdoor lighting. The plan shall include, at a minimum, placement light poles, light spill over/trespass, and glare. The Plan will be reviewed to ensure light spill over/trespass and glare do not negatively affect surrounding properties or negatively affect vehicular traffic.

7. Any refuse collection area(s) and/or dumpsters shall be enclosed by a screen wall of durable material and kept in good repair.


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Exhibit “A”


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Exhibit “B”


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Exhibit “C”


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Exhibit “D”


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Exhibit “E”


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Exhibit “F”

city of duluth · on september 25, 2013, notre dame academy submitted an application for a...

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