Planning Commission Regular Meeting/Work Session

Paul NaptystaffThank you, Chair Feather and members of the Planning Commission. We last had a discussion on this topic back in January. At that time, our consultant, Whitesmith in Casino, had developed a list of issues to deal with with our zoning ordinance as it relates to adopt a small area plans. This was based on feedback they'd received earlier in the process from stakeholder meetings, from analyzing our code, from analyzing state code, and so on. Since that time, they have prepared some recommendations on how we can deal with each of those issues. And these recommendations are really conceptual about how we will go about or potentially amending the zoning ordinance as opposed to the amendments themselves.

Justin WallaceI've tried to create a concise presentation. Hopefully, you've read the document, but I know it was extensive. So we'll talk about the desired uses and development frontages, open space and tree canopy, character elements or land development and height density and community benefits and then we'll end with the zoning framework evaluation so I probably don't need to go into too much detail with this but the comprehensive plan was adopted and included as part of the future land use map the activity center areas which calls for mixed-use walkable development over time and so the focus of this project is specific towards these activity centers and so that really is the focus of these zoning updates the small area plans goes into greater

variation of height throughout the small area plans and so we're looking at ways to address those issues and resolve those issues in the zoning ordinance itself the zoning zoning ordinance update we're again we're looking to align with the policy of the small area plans we want it to be purposeful and making the right things easy and streamlining and making things as straightforward as possible and of course to clarify the community goals and objectives from residents here in Fairfax. Where are we in the process? We're about midway in the project. We've been meeting with community members we had a kickoff meeting back in august we had focus group sessions in october a community meeting in november and we've we met with you guys in early january of this year so right now

And so the core issues, I'll quickly go through these, are to align with the comprehensive plan plan to create a zoning framework for these activity centers, to reinforce the character of the small area plans, and to establish a clear pathway for the desired uses that people want in these areas. To focus on development frontages, which is more of a design-based approach for buildings, We'd like to clarify the open space and tree canopy standards to coordinate elements in the right of way and then find a way to incentivize or encourage those community benefits which are amenities and things that contribute to the general public in terms through the development process. so again we have written a draft of our report with recommendations and the report includes a

are different types of retail that might be accommodated in the flexible commercial frontage. And so that frontage will be focused more on how those types of development transition over time and so that's specific to accommodating different formats of retail and of course the open space frontage is what it sounds like it's where buildings face onto parks trailways or any type of open space that's available and accessible to the public with regards to mixed-use development in all of the small area plans. It called for mixed-use development. So that is a type of development that's envisioned for all activity center areas. And currently, mixed-use projects with the upper-story residential requires a special use permit

sites and then as I mentioned before the residential frontages would promote active and engaging fronts of buildings so that could be through courtyard design porches stoops patios and balconies and all of that could be addressed in the residential frontage type so there was also mentioned in the small area plans about specific uses that were desired in different areas or might not occur in every area but in one small area plan. For example, Boutique Hotel was mentioned in Old Town Fairfax. And so there are a couple ways we can fold that into the zoning ordinance. And one is simply addressing that in the use regulations themselves. And so that would simply be incorporating those conditions in the use regulations or

And what we're proposing is to eliminate or mitigate the 75% non-residential ground floor requirement and to encourage mixed-use development activity centers. And then introducing those development frontage types with design-based strategies and then thinking about incentivizing those unique uses that are called out in the small area plans so I'm gonna stop here and open it up and so I think we're just gonna stop it after each segment so that we can kind of talk through the previous slides and just allow allow you guys to talk through those or ask questions.

That's a good question. It was focused on retail but that I think that's worth evaluating I don't know if all the small area plans called for office but that is something that we can either include or add to the discussion that's a good point because I now add to that I mean when you think of office it's not as active as your storefronts gonna be so So that is probably something that would be either through a different development type or we'll think through that about how to incorporate that.

Sure. And if that, what I'm saying is if the process is allowed to happen and the decisions have been made with recent development, why not bake those types of decisions into the zoning code so that it's not such a process? I mean, if it is proven by recent development, What we're saying is to consider the zoning ordinance, including those types of standards, so that the process itself is not as belabored, I guess, for mixed-use development. I mean, if it's called out in the small area plans as a desired use, what we're saying is that maybe the zoning ordinance could include standards that would facilitate that type of development. But I agree that with you that, you know, not everyone's going to agree with that decision.

do think it's tricky to anticipate the different uses that go into these spaces because then you start getting into the market. And as you said, we don't know what those are going to be. But I think, you know, based off what we heard through the engagement and the small area plans, there was a need for more outdoor dining, more focus on variety and the building face. And so that's where the idea of development furnaces came from. And I think it would help address those issues and just provide more nuance and variety so that you're not getting those developments that you see in other communities. So this idea is to help create unique design opportunities, no matter what the use is in the building.

and the small I do know the small area plans they did contemplate those priority retail streets and so there A FRAMEWORK TO WORK FROM WHEN WE THINK ABOUT WHERE RETAIL IS PLACED. AND SO THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE CAN INVESTIGATE FURTHER WITH PLACEMENT OF RETAIL AND RESIDENTIAL.

James Featherand it does feel like if we're going to bring this new concept in we do have we would have to go back and update small area plans to describe what we want where right now it's just a line on a couple of buildings retail frontage but doesn't really go into this kind of depth or diversity and what we're talking about Sounds like there's more to it than that. Anything more on the subject before we move on? Ms. Briggs.

Paul Naptystaffyeah we actually have a separate project that we hope to begin soon that would be looking at the public side of the small area plans this is sort of the order is focusing on the private side because it's apart regulations through that process we hope to identify where public investments will be needed try to estimate what those will be and determine how we go about achieving those or if we need to change the small year plans because they're unachievable. So that question will be further considered. Time wise though this is probably going to be moving ahead of that.

Justin WallaceMove on. Moving on. So this next segment deals with how land is developed. And so we'll talk about some of the topics for development patterns. The first issue or topic is a master development plan. We found that this was the best available approach that could help with subdivision and development of property and activity centers. It would help with establish those connections with adjacent properties, but also for future or anticipated alleyways or street connections that are called out in the small area plans. We also know that the plan development district currently requires the master development plan. So we have something to look at as a precedent. And so what we're suggesting is to require this for all development and activity center, but with some clear exceptions or exemptions.

transition to historic areas or nearby residential areas and anything above five stories or 60 feet would establish that that trade-off the discussion about what what trade-off occurs with additional height and this oh the gray in the background you can't see too well but this shows you what heights are acceptable in the small based off the small area plans and so all the small area plans allow or called for five stories and then anything what we're showing in this slide is that anything above that five stories developments could potentially earn height in exchange for those community benefits and there would be designated areas for that to occur in. So that's an overview of how the zoning ordinance can

address height. In this next slide, you know, I've talked a lot about community benefits, but what does that mean? And, you know, if we're allowing developers to go taller, wider, or bigger, what are the trade-offs and what should be the community and the small area plans do call out specific ideas and so those are listed here high performance buildings public open space sensitive environments and ecology enhanced storm water and infrastructure public art transportation and mobility those unique specific uses which we talked previously about and historic preservation of buildings and so what this chart is is helping us evaluate what is appropriate or what's a what's suitable to include in a community benefits

Paul Cunningham145 pages worth of staff report and 45 pages for the slides only got me to 190 pages worth of reading about something that's light and focused on the zoning it tied in I think with a lot of history that we have worked through to get to the point we are we are going from this point trying to move forward as we have been all along and saying how do you do it better as i started my conversation tonight which wasn't based on just the small area plans moving forward is a challenging process so i'm willing to to make whatever changes will fit the area each area i would like to see it somewhat individualized because they are individualized as we looked at it. And when Cunningham Quill went through and developed our small area plans,

final approval authority and actually impose their will on any of the other groups and i don't know if that makes sense or not but i think if you look at tailoring these it's not one or the other there may be some mishmash that you can you can make some adjustment and keep it there but that's my sense of moving forward with the small area plans in keeping with with what the city's vision is and i'm not sure i know what the city's vision is at the moment for the small areas thank you

James FeatherI always wondered what it was for. I've read the zoning ordinance countless times, and it's being used, and it seems like it was sort of intended for these areas, but they don't quite capture the vision. I was developed before there were small area plans. It probably just thinking makes sense to start with a clean sheet of paper rather than trying to tweak something that others have already been attempting to use. So that's kind of why I dismissed that. Plan development has, by definition, has its own constraints and things, particularly when I think you mentioned the proffers and inability to get proffers through a plan development. And other districts have that opportunity. So that may be a reason not to pursue plan development either.

It's important that we do this. You know, what we've been going through raises lots of questions among the community, among council members with tons of special exceptions. The optics aren't good when it looks like we're asking for a bunch of special exceptions. Countless times we hear the comments about how many special exceptions for these things, but what's being asked for is consistent with the small area plans. This is the right thing to do. I say the sooner we can do it, the better. This is a big task ahead to do this, and we'll continue to see development proposals in the city. So I don't envy staff the challenge of putting something together and moving it forward apace so that we can keep up with what developers want to do