The purpose of this agenda item is to consider an amendment to the Tuscany/Mountain Laurel PDD affecting hours of operation, vertical and horizontal articulation, hillside wall standards, roadway buffer, and loading zones for a proposed day care building on Lot 3, Block B. 

This PDD amendment refers specifically to Lot 3, Block B of the Mountain Laurel Final Plat (Doc #: 200900166 OPRTC), a 3.2110 acre lot located on Bee Cave Parkway within the Tuscany/Mountain Laurel Subdivision.

The applicant, Mark Schuh, R&S Prep School Holdings Two, LLC, is requesting to amend the concept plan for PD-R Ordinance 2008-11, Tuscany Mountain Laurel Planned Development District Ordinance, to establish new development standards affecting five areas of code:

(1) Loading Zones; (2) Roadway Buffers; (3) Hours of Operation; (4) Vertical and Horizontal articulation; and (5) Hillside Wall Standards for a proposed day care building on Lot 3, Block B.

(1)   Loading Zones - Bee Cave Code of Ordinances Section 32.05.001 (d)(5) Off-Street Loading Space – All Districts states:

(5)     Kindergartens, elementary schools, day schools, and similar child training and care establishments shall provide one (1) paved off-street pedestrian loading and unloading space for an automobile on a through, circular drive for each ten (10) students cared for, excluding child care in a residence. An additional lane shall also be required to allow pass-by or through traffic to move while automobiles waiting or parked to pick up children occupy loading and unloading areas.

The applicant requested a deviation from the Code because the site has limited depth and state licensing requirements and Prep School corporate rules state that each child must be escorted in/out of their classrooms and signed in/out for tracking requirements. The proposed request is not to be required to have a drop off lane for safety reasons, as not having a drop off lane minimizes the walking distance from parking stalls along Bee Cave Parkway to the building. With their submittal, the concept plan includes a loading zone for 2 short buses, which is provided via dedicated parking stalls located on a route away from the front doors. The applicant proposes to mitigate this requirement by providing over 100% tree mitigation for this site.

(2)   Roadway Buffers - Bee Cave Code of Ordinances Section 32.05.002 (f)(2) Landscape Requirements for Nonresidential Developments states:

(2)        Buffer along Bee Cave Parkway, Bee Caves Road (F.M. 2244), State Highway 71, Hamilton Pool Road, and F.M. 620. Except for the clearing necessary to provide utilities, sidewalks, or access, no clearing of trees shall be permitted within seventy-five feet (75') of any public street described in this subsection. Any planting in this roadway buffer shall emulate the natural form of the rural landscape. Formal planting patterns with uniform intervals are not allowed. Plant materials shall be grouped informally, emulating native patterns. Planting shall provide the appearance of depth to the site, not just a single-dimensional screen.

The previously approved PDD #2008-11 allows for 25’ of roadway buffer along Bee Cave Parkway, which is 33% of the 75’ that is typically required. The applicant requested a deviation from Code because the site has limited depth and the existing Austin Energy electrical easement limits the potential of tree planting. Accordingly, the proposed request is to be allowed to meet or exceed the tree requirement using the same ratio during the site plan permitting process for landscape design. The applicant proposes to mitigate this requirement by providing over 100% tree mitigation for this site.

(3)   Hours of Operation – Bee Cave Code of Ordinances Section 32.03.010 (e)(6) Hours of Operation – Retail District states:

(6)     Hours of Operation - All permitted uses within this district, with the exception of restaurants, health-care facilities, lodging facilities, such as motels and hotels, emergency veterinary services, and government and public uses, shall have hours of operation between 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m.

The facility is proposed to be open from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., whereby the opening time is one hour earlier than 8:00 a.m. per Code. There is no conflict with closing time. The applicant suggested that typical drop-off times for parents and guardians are at 7:00 a.m., not 8:00 a.m., as they are often en route to work.

(4)   Vertical and Horizontal Articulation - Bee Cave Code of Ordinances Section 32.05.005 (c)(6)(B) Vertical Articulation and 32.05.005 (c)(5)(B)(i) Horizontal Articulation states:

(6)     Vertical Articulation, as defined above, shall be accomplished as follows: (B)     Except for pitched roof buildings, no less than thirty (30) percent of the roofline distance for each building side shall have vertical articulation of at least two (2) feet or ten (10) percent of the average height of the wall plane, whichever is greater; however, no single run of roofline shall exceed sixty (60) feet in length without a minimum two-foot transition in vertical roofline height; and,

(5)     Horizontal Articulation shall be accomplished as follows:

 (B)     No wall plane shall extend more than fifty (50) feet in length. Larger buildings shall be divided into modules, preferably not exceeding thirty (30) feet, but permitted up to fifty (50) feet in length, that are expressed three-dimensionally throughout the entire building (modifications to the facade only shall not meet this standard). The building modules should be expressed with at least one of the following:

(i)     A setback in wall planes a minimum of four (4) feet;

While the vertical articulation of two (2) feet is provided in the design, the applicant is requesting a deviation from the horizontal articulation for safety concerns. The intent of the proposed design is to optimize safety by allowing teachers to observe children at all times. The applicant reasons that the creation of nooks or jogs in the walls makes it difficult for teachers to monitor children at all times, both inside the building and outside.

(5)   Hillside Wall Standards - Bee Cave Code of Ordinances Section 32.05.003 (d)(1) Hillside Wall Standards states:

(d)     Hillside Wall Standards. The intent of hillside wall standards is to reduce the visual impact of screening and retaining methods. Specific criteria for design include the following:

(1)     For each 8 feet of vertical height, a 4-foot horizontal offset shall be provided;

The proposed request is to be allowed to exceed the eight feet (8’) in wall height for a short distance and not have a four-foot (4’) horizontal offset to allow for a grading and building elevation methodology (there is a 15’ elevation difference across the site), which also allows for maximum outdoor activity area for the Prep School programs. A four-foot horizontal offset would negatively affect the Prep School site plan and cause additional existing trees to be removed along the drive aisle. The applicant is proposing to provide stone walls with Hill Country tones (see attachment). The walls will be engineered by a Texas Licensed Structural Engineer with an increased safety factor of 2.0, which is above the standard practice of 1.5. Significant landscape planting will screen the entire length of the walls, including areas where there is less than eight feet, and a permanent irrigation system will be in place to ensure watering on schedule. 

Differences/Improvements from the previously approved Concept Plan (Ordinance 2008-11):

• Parking: The parking count for this site, including the medical office space, is eighty-one (81) stalls plus two (2) bus parking stalls. Both the Prep School and the 7,000 SF medical office space shall meet the parking standards per Code requirements without relying on shared parking. The total stalls provided for the Prep school is forty-one (41) plus the two (2) bus spaces. The applicant conducted a traffic analysis based on ½ hour increments of a Prep School in McKinney of the same size (see attachment). The results show that at peak drop-off and pick-up times, there is a need for fourteen (14) stalls for parents and any additional staff members, which leaves a remainder of twenty-seven (27) parking stalls. The expected number of employees on site at one time is twenty (20) (18 teachers, 1 cook and 1 front desk clerk). The submitted concept plan provides a decrease in parking by 32% or 37 stalls from the previously approved concept plan, which included 118 parking stalls.

• Open Space: The open space associated with the Prep School concept plan has a 3.5% increase over the previously approved concept plan

• Tree Plan: The caliper inches of trees saved with the Prep School concept plan is 833” as compared to the previously approved concept plan which had 619” saved, an increase of 35%. See tree plan in attached Concept Plan.

• Pedestrian Connectivity Easement: The applicant has agreed to provide a 20’ pedestrian easement along the frontage of the lot along Bee Cave Parkway to allow for potential future placement of a sidewalk/pedestrian trail.

Staff’s recommendation for approval of the replat and site plat are contingent upon them being in conformance with the Council’s recommendation on this issue. 

The PDD Amendment does not include any development standard language specific to the proposed medical office building.