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Home My WebLink AboutVI (A) Marriot Courtyard Hotel, Preliminary/Final Site Plan Agenda 2-04-2003 ,the Center Of Good Lir CJtem VIA Mayor ommtssioneHowe rs S. Scott Vandergri£t �,,, - if B Danny Howell, District 1 City Manager / OR Scott Anderson,District 2 s Rusty Johnson,District 3anc 1- N J. Parker,District 4 Jim Gleason `��,. -37 y STAFF REPORT DATE: January 27, 2003 TO: Honorable Mayor and City Commissioners FROM: Thomas Grimms, AICP, Senior Planet THROUGH: Russ Wagner, AICP, Community Development Director SUBJECT: Marriott Courtyard Hotel, located just north of the Best Western Motel at the intersection of Maguire Road and State Road 50. Preliminary/Final Site Plan Project# LS-02-005 ISSUE: Should the Mayor and City Commissioners approve the Preliminary/Final Site Plan for Marriott Courtyard Hotel? BACKGROUND: The proposed Marriott Courtyard Hotel will be a 3 story 50,146 square feet building along with a pool and spa. The building will have 80 units. The site is located on the east side of Maguire Road just north of State Road 50, on a 5.744 acre parcel behind the existing Best Western Motel. The site is partially undeveloped on the north side, and the south portion of the site is occupied by part of the existing Best Western Motel building and parking area. This north section of the Best Western Motel, containing 58 rooms, will be removed to provide area for the south parking lot for the Marriott Courtyard Hotel. The owner has decided not to subdivide the property at this time, and will maintain both businesses on the same parcel. DISCUSSION: The surrounding property to the north and east of the site is vacant and partially treed. To the west is the Town Square shopping center and on the south side is the Best Western Motel. There are no wetlands on the site and the site is outside the 500-year floodplain. The site will have primary access from Maguire Road and secondary access from S.R. 50 through the Best Western site. A concrete privacy wall will extend along Maguire Road to the south side of the entrance to the Marriott Courtyard Hotel. City of Ocoee• 150 N Lakeshore Drive•Ocoee,Florida 34761 phone: (407)905-3100•fax: (407)656-8504•www.ci.ocoee.tl.us Due to site constraints, a structured wet stormwater retention pond will be constructed on the north side at the rear. This area will contain a fountain for aeration, as well as for aesthetics. Because of the steep sides on the pond, there will be a decorative fence and screened with 3 gallon confederate jasmine, spaced 30" on center along the north, east and south sides, while the west side of the pond is screened with 3 gallon viburnum odoratissimum. Nine existing oak trees will be preserved along the north property line and five other oak trees along the east property line will also be preserved and credited toward meeting the landscape requirements. The proposed Marriott Courtyard Hotel Preliminary/Final Site Plan meets the requirements of the Land Development Code with the exception of Art. VI Sec. 6-7, B, 3, (d) and Art. VI Sec. 6-14, C, 5,c, (i) and Art. VIII Sec. 8-1 from which waivers are requested. Proposed Waivers: Waiver # 1: The applicanVdeveloper is requesting a waiver from Art. VI Sec. 6-7, B,3,(d) which requires retention ponds in drainage basins with no positive outfall to be designed to the 100- year storm. They are requesting a relaxed standard whereby post-development total volume of runoff permitted from the site will not exceed the pre-developed total volume of runoff from the site during a 25-year, 96-hour frequency storm event. The public benefit in return for granting the waiver would be the preservation of existing oak trees along the north and east property lines. Staff supports this waiver because the requirements of St. Johns River Water Management District would still be met under this relaxed standard. Waiver# 2: The applicant/developer is also requesting a waiver from Art. VI Sec. 6-14, C, 5, c, (i) relating to only one free-standing ground sign permitted per business situated on an outparcel lot or individual parcel. Waiver #3: Also, the applicant/developer is requesting a waiver from Art. VIII Sec. 8-1 relating to off-site signage. These two waiver requests are based on the fact that the Marriott Courtyard Hotel is set back from State Road 50 approximately 350 feet, and coupled with the fact that the existing Best Western Motel will block from view a significant portion of the Marriott Courtyard Hotel to the rear. These two factors greatly reduce the visibility of the new motel to passing traffic on State Road 50. Three signs were previously approved, one for the Best Western Motel, and two signs for Perkins Restaurant. Now another, fourth pole sign is proposed by the applicant/developer solely for the Marriott Courtyard Hotel. The City's regulations call for one free-standing sign per parcel. This proposal is significantly in excess of that requirement. DEVELOPMENT REVIEW COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION: The Development Review Committee (DRC) met on December 16, 2002 and reviewed the Preliminary / Final Site Plan. There was discussion about the waivers being requested, especially the number of free-standing signs that would be located on State Road 50. The DRC recommended approval of Waiver #1 but that Waivers #2 and #3 should be modified such that an off-site sign for Marriott will be allowed, but that it be incorporated into one free-standing sign 15 feet in height and 70 SF in total area as a dual business sign with a square footage mix left up to the developer, thus eliminating the need for another free-standing sign. The DRC also recommended that once the combined new Marriott/Perkins sign is erected then the old free- standing sign will be removed and the old Perkins wall sign will also be removed. PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION: At its January 14, 2003 meeting, the Planning & Zoning Commission held a public hearing and reviewed the Preliminary / Final Site Plan for Marriott Courtyard with discussion focusing on the following: • The location of the proposed free standing sign near the intersection of Maguire Road and State Road 50 and its possible obstruction of visibility for traffic. Staff indicated that the sign would be outside the safe sight triangle. • Whether there would be enough distance from the fire hydrant for easy access for a fire truck. Staff indicated that there would be at least ten plus feet distance between the hydrant and the sign. • Whether there was enough parking spaces for the proposed hotel. Staff stated that during the review process the number of parking spaces did meet the code requirements and also noted that when the rear portion of the Best Western Motel was torn down, some of the new rooms are making up for some of the motel that came down, so those parking spaces that are around the rest of the motel tend to make up for the remaining parking spaces. • Concern for the number of handicap parking spaces needed. Staff indicated that when the actual building permit is requested that is checked and any adjustments needed are then made at that time. At this stage of review, the architect indicates the required handicap spaces. • Whether it would be possible to combine both the Best Western Sign and the Marriott Courtyard sign onto one free-standing sign. The Marriott Courtyard representative stated that they did not want to share a sign with a competitor and that a separate sign with Marriott sharing the copy area with Perkins offers the best visibility for Marriott. • The possibility of saving more trees on site. Staff noted that a number of oak trees along the north boundary and east boundary are being saved while the other non-oak trees cannot be saved. • Whether the proposed free-standing sign is an off-site sign. Staff pointed out that the project is part of a planned development of one site. Staff believes that a balance has been struck between the need for visibility and something objectionable. The sign is within the maximum size requirements. The Planning & Zoning Commission voted 7 to 1 to recommend approval based on the recommendation of the Development Review Committee and subject to the following conditions: a. Approval of Waiver#1 pertaining to the stormwater management pond; b. That Waivers #2 and #3 be modified such that an off-site sign for Marriott will be allowed, but that the free-standing sign shall be a dual business sign no more than 15 feet in height and 70 SF in area (square footage mix to be at the developers discretion), thus eliminating the need for another free-standing sign, and c. That once the new combined Marriott/Perkins sign is erected, the old free-standing Perkins sign and the Perkins wall sign shall also be removed. STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Based on the recommendation of the DRC and the Planning & Zoning Commission, Staff respectfully recommends that the Mayor and City Commissioners approve the Preliminary/Final Site Plan for Marriott Courtyard subject to the conditions recommended by the Planning & Zoning Commission. Attachments: Copy of Public Hearing Newspaper Notice Revised Marriott Courtyard Preliminary/Final Site Plan date-stamped January 7,2003 O:\Staff Reports\2003\SR03006 CC.doc