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CONSIDERATION OF THE REVISED PRELIMINARY PLAT FOR LITTLE RIVER TRAILS ADDITION, A PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT. (GENERALLY LOCATED ON THE WEST SIDE OF PORTER AVENUE 1/4 MILE NORTH OF TECUMSEH ROAD)
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BACKGROUND: This item is a revised preliminary plat for Little River Trails Addition, a Planned Unit Development (PUD), and is generally located one-quarter of a mile north of West Tecumseh Road on the west side of Porter Avenue.
The Norman Board of Parks Commissioners, at its meeting of June 7, 2007, recommended private park land for Little River Trails Addition.
City Council, at its meeting of August 28, 2007, approved amending the NORMAN 2025 Land Use and Transportation Plan to place this property in the Current Urban Service Area and remove it from the Future Urban Service Area.
City Council, at its same meeting of August 28, 2007, adopted Ordinance No. O-0607-51, placing this property in Planned Unit Development (PUD) and removing it from A-2 zoning classifications. In addition, City Council approved the preliminary plat for Little River Trails Addition.
The preliminary plat expired August 28, 2010. However, the owner/developer has submitted a revised preliminary plat. The changes involve alterations to the street layout and the reduction from 177 single family residential lots to 119 single family residential lots. Planning Commission, at its meeting of December 13, 2012, on a vote of 8-0, recommended to City Council that the revised preliminary plat for Little River Trails, a Planned Unit Development, be approved.
DISCUSSION: The applicant revised the preliminary plat reducing the number of lots in the subdivision from 177 lots to 119 lots. The applicant reduced the number of lots based on market analysis and the projected need for larger lots in this market area.
The 119 single-family residential lots in this preliminary plat are to be located north of Tecumseh Road and west of Porter Avenue. All access to the proposed addition will be by way of two public street intersections with Porter Avenue to the north of the existing traffic signal at Tecumseh Road. The 119 single-family lots in this addition are expected to generate approximately 1,148 trips per day or 121 trips during the PM peak hour. The traffic capacity on the affected roadways exceeds the demand for existing and proposed trips as a result of this development. No negative traffic impacts are anticipated on these facilities. See Attachment A.
Because of the development's size and traffic generation potential, the applicant was required to update a previous comprehensive traffic impact analysis. The update was completed by Traffic Engineering Consultants, Inc., and was submitted in April, 2011.
The traffic impact study is a more detailed analysis that evaluated future peak hour traffic conditions. The findings of the study, which projected traffic volumes to build out, showed that the nearby intersections affected by the additional development traffic were expected to operate within the required levels of service and that no off-site traffic improvements will be necessary to accommodate the higher traffic demand.
Public improvements for this property consist of the following:
Fencing (screening). Fencing will be installed adjacent to Porter Avenue for the residential lots backing or siding the arterial street.
Fire Hydrants. Fire hydrants will be installed in accordance with approved plans. Their locations have been approved by the Fire Department.
Sanitary Sewers. Eight inch (8") sanitary sewer main (or larger) are proposed for this development located in the service area. A sanitary sewer interceptor line and facilities are constructed to serve the area.
Sidewalks. Sidewalks will be constructed on each lot prior to occupancy. Sidewalks will be constructed adjacent to Porter Avenue.
Drainage. Storm sewers and appurtenant drainage structures will be installed in accordance with approved plans and City drainage standards and conveyed to proposed privately maintained detention facilities. A Property Owners Association will be established for the maintenance of the detention facilities and common features.
Streets. Streets will be constructed in accordance with approved plans and City paving standards. Porter Avenue will be widened to a half width arterial street. Staff may recommend deferral with final platting.
Water Mains. Water mains will be installed in accordance with approved plans and City and Department of Environmental Quality standards. A 12" water main will be constructed adjacent to Porter Avenue.
Public Dedications. All rights-of-way and easements will be dedicated to the City with final platting.
WQPZ. The northern boundary of this preliminary plat is the Little River and a tributary to the Little River. The presence of these water bodies invoked the Water Quality Protection Zone (WQPZ) for the preliminary plat. The requirements of the WQPZ for are the greater of the following; a 100' buffer from the top bank, the 100 year Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) floodplain, or the stream planning corridor as presented in the Storm Water Master Plan (SWMP). In place of these buffer areas, a 25 foot buffer from the top of the bank with engineered solutions may be used. However, due to the stream type an additional 25 foot buffer was required for each of the solutions above. The applicant elected to provide engineered solutions to reduce the total width of the buffer to 50 feet (25 feet with engineered solutions plus 25 feet for stream type). The applicant provided engineered solutions to City staff that met or exceeded the requirements of the WQPZ ordinance with minimal changes to the preliminary plat. The requirements of the WQPZ were met without any loss of lots or developable area. In addition the applicant used buffer averaging to reduce the buffer width in some areas while meeting the requirements of the WQPZ ordinance. The WQPZ will be protected as per standards and requirements through covenants and restrictions that will be filed of record with plats.
Flood Plain. The engineer for the owner has utilized the new FEMA flood maps that were recently adopted by the City Council.
Legacy Trail. A variable width Legacy Trail will be installed in the open space properties by the developer. As part of the Planned Unit Development (PUD) narrative approved by City Council on August 28, 2007, the City will undertake perpetual maintenance and care of the Legacy Trail and its associated easement through the addition, and the City will assume liability for the Legacy Trail and any claims that arise, as it will be a public trail system that will be open to the general public and intended to link through much of the City beyond this Addition.
RECOMMENDATION: Based on the above information, Staff recommends approval of the revised preliminary plat for Little River Trails Addition, a Planned Unit Development.