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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAlternative Compliance Request-Scentsy Warehouse 2 cushingterrell.com November 4, 2020 Alan Tiefenbach Current Associate Planner – City of Meridian 33 E. Broadway Ave., Ste. 102 Meridian, Idaho 83642 Dear Mr. Tiefenbach, RE: Request for Alternative Compliance Scentsy Warehouse 2 – 2751 E. Commercial Street, Meridian, Idaho 83642 This letter requests approval for alternative compliance for the Scentsy Warehouse 2 project relative to the requirements of UDC 11-3A-19 “Structure and Site Design Standards”. Background: The applicant has submitted materials for Certificate of Zoning Compliance approval for the Scentsy Warehouse 2 project, a 41,500 square feet Distribution Center/ High Cube Warehouse on an approximate 2.1 acre site located in an I-L zone. The building will contain predominantly warehouse space with loading docks located on the east side of the building. The main entrance to the building is located on the north side and is where pedestrians and employees will enter the facility. To provide safety to pedestrians and employees the parking lot has been located between the building and Commercial Street. The east side of the property has an existing warehouse building with loading docks next to it along with new loading docks for this building. This will help keep employees separated from truck traffic between the two buildings. On the west side of the building is another warehouse along with a fire department drive aisle. There will be forklift traffic between the two buildings on the west side so parking is not preferred for a safety standpoint as well. On the south side of the building there is also a fire department access road along with railroad tracks. This would also add a safety concern as pedestrians would either have to walk approximately 280’ from the south side of the building to the main entrance on the north side of the building. In the future Scentsy would like to extend the rail spur to run down the south side of their campus and that is why the building is pushed to the south to align with the other five buildings along the rail spur. Employees and visitors would have to walk down either a truck traffic area or deal with forklift traffic. 2 cushingterrell.com Standards: Per UDC 11-3A-19 “Structure and Site Design Standards”, for properties greater than 2-ac in size, no more than fifty percent (50%) of the total off street parking area for the site shall be located between building facades and abutting streets. Alternative Compliance can be considered if “2) strict adherence to such standards would create inconsistency in the design objectives of the proposed development”, in which case the Director may consider an alternative design proposal through the alternative compliance provisions in section 11-5B-5. Per UDC 11-5B-5, the Alternative Compliance provisions provide for alternative means to meet the intended purposes of certain design regulations when compliance is not feasible or the alternative means are superior to what is required. The Director’s approval of alternative compliance is appropriate when the overall design proposed by the Applicant meets or exceeds the requirements and is not detrimental to public health, safety, and welfare. UDC 11-5B-5 also requires that requests for Alternative Compliance be predicated on conditions where “Safety considerations make alternative compliance desirable.” We request the Director’s approval of Alternative Compliance regarding the requirements of UDC 11-3A- 19, specifically to permit the Scentsy Warehouse 2 to locate more than fifty percent (50%) of the total off street parking between the building facades and Commercial Street. We encourage the Director to approve this request on the basis of three factors: 1. The proposed building orientation is appropriate by locating the truck docks on the east, away from the public streets. This provides opportunities on Commercial Street for office space, enhances wayfinding, greatly improves the architectural appeal from the public street, and allows for greater landscaping. 2. The passenger vehicle parking areas are properly located to be convenient to the main entrance of the building where most visitors are expected to enter the building. Redistributing parking to the south, east or west edges of the site so that no more than 50% of the parking is along the streets would require placing all parking much farther from the building entries. As noted above, some parking would be as far as 280-ft from the building entry on the north. 3. The placement of passenger vehicle parking away from the truck loading is safer. Co-locating parking with truck traffic increases the likelihood of collisions between vehicles. Further, parking too near truck areas can result in pedestrians traversing truck areas when walking from their vehicles to the building. As proposed, the orientation of truck and passenger vehicle parking in separate areas enhances public safety. The proposed project design, as described in the context of these three factors, is superior to what is required by UDC 11-3A-19, and is not detrimental to public health, safety or welfare. Thank you for your attention to this application. Should you have questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me via email (joshuahersel@cushingterrell.com) or phone at 208-630-3882. 3 cushingterrell.com Sincerely, Joshua Hersel, NCARB Architect | Associate