10101 Lake Forest CPC Staff Report

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CITY PLANNING COMMISSION

CITY OF NEW ORLEANS

MITCHELL J. LANDRIEU ROBERT DMAYOR EXECUTIV

LESLIE T. ADEPUTY D

City Planning Commission Staff Report

Executive Summary

Zoning Docket 044/16

Applicant: LAKEFOREST TOWER LLC

Request: This is a request for a Zoning Change from a C-1 General Commercan MU-1 Medium Intensity Mixed-Use District.

Location: 10101 LAKE FOREST BOULEVARD

Summary of Proposal:

The purpose of the proposed re-zoning is to allow this existing build

as a residential building with 200 one-bedroom units above the grou

use would be a permitted use under the proposed MU-1 Medium Int

Use District. With a commercial use on the ground floor, the projallowed as a conditional use in the existing C-1 General Commercial

Master Plan: The proposal is not consistent with the Master Plan.

Recommendation:

The staff recommends DENIAL of Zoning Docket 044/16, a requestChange from a C-1 General Commercial District to an MU-1 Med

Mixed-Use District.

Reasons for Recommendation:

1 The proposed zoning district is not consistent with the Master Plan


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City Planning Commission Meeting CPC Deadline: 07/09/1

Tuesday, May 10, 2016 CC Deadline: 60 days

City Council District:

PRELIMINARY STAFF REPORT

Zoning Docket: 044/16

To: City Planning Commission

From: Robert Rivers, Executive Director

Stephen Kroll, Assistant Planning Administrator

Prepared by: Danica Adams

Date: May 3, 2016

I. GENERAL INFORMATION

Applicant: LAKEFOREST TOWER LLC

Request: This is a request for a Zoning Change from a C-1 General Commerc

an MU-1 Medium Intensity Mixed-Use District.

Location: Section 24, Lot 3B-6, Lakratt Tract, in the Third Municipal Distric

Lake Forest and Read Boulevards, Interstate 10 and Deer Park Bo

municipal address is 10101 LAKE FOREST BOULEVARD. (PD 9)

Description: The subject site, Lot 3B-6, is an irregularly shaped interior lot with

Lake Forest Drive in New Orleans East. It is l

a C-1 General Commercial District, the EN New Orleans Renaissance Corridor Use Restri

District and a CT Corridor Transformation D

District. According to the 2013 survey of

provided by the applicant, Lot 3B-6 has 1frontage on Lake Forest Boulevard, and is 1

feet in size, or 2.5267 acres.


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The subject lot is in a larg

shaped square, bounded by

On-ramp to the north, Readthe west, and Lake Forest the South. The Eastern

comprised of multiple smal

well as a public right of wa

The subject site is curren

with a large, “X” shaped, f

structure set back approhundred ten feet (110’) from

is currently vacant, and h

before 2007. Historically was a VOA senior housing

consisted of 200 one-bedro

has a footprint of approxim

thousand three hundred six(13,360 sq. ft.) and is fourtee

tall.

The structure is developed w

lot on all sides and has an e

difficult to find. Theapproximately seventy th

square feet (73,000 sq. ft.) osurface, or 1.6 acres, on the

The property is enclosed wifence. The applicant reque

change to allow multi-fam

proposed C-1 District. Withuse on the ground floor, the project would be allowed as a conditio

existing C-1 General Commercial District.1

Why is City Planning Commission action required?

The City Planning Commission is required to make a recommendation on al

zoning map amendments prior to City Council action, in accordance with Action by the Planning Commission of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinanc


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II. ANALYSIS

A. What is the zoning of the surrounding areas? What is the existing land uare the surrounding areas used?

The subject site is located within a C-1 General Commercial District, the EN

New Orleans Renaissance Corridor Use Restriction Overlay District and aTransformation Design Overlay District.

The C-1 General Commercial District is intended to provide appropriate lo

variety of commercial activities, generally serving a wide area and locatealong commercial corridors with a mix of commercial, service, and residen

Areas of the C-1 District are oriented toward pedestrians but also accomm

commercial uses generally accessed by automobiles.

There are seven lots located within this C-1 General Commercial Distri

including the subject site, are developed. Of the three lots which are develop

of the seven structures are occupied: one is in use as an office building and

medical clinic. The majority of the district is undeveloped, with dense tree cThis portion of Lake Forest Boulevard is a four lane divided boulevard with b

sidewalks on each side. The neutral ground is wide, with mature trees and lanis improved with a walking path. From the intersection of Lake Forest and

traveling east on Lake Forest Boulevard, Joe Brown Park is on the south side

On the north side of the street is a large multi-story glass office building lcorner, followed by the subject site, which is currently vacant. Following th

is a three hundred seventy foot (370’) stretch of dense tree canopy and

followed by a medical clinic located at the intersection of Lake Forest and Dee

Immediately adjacent to the C-1 General Commercial District in which the

located is a C-2 Auto-Oriented Commercial District, a C-3 Heavy Commerci

S-RD Suburban Two-Family Residential District, an S-RS Suburban SResidential District, and an OS-R Regional Open Space District.


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The C-2 Auto-Oriented Commercial District located immediately west of th

fronts on Read Blvd., which is a six-lane divided boulevard with a wide, tree

ground in the center. There are sidewalks on both sides of the boulevard. Mwest towards I-10 on Read Blvd. from the intersection of Lake Forest and

there is a large Save-A-Lot supermarket, Wendy’s fast food restaurant, a sm

Whitney Bank building, Waffle House, Knight Inn, CVS Pharmacy, an

Louisiana Kitchen fast food restaurant. The backs of these properties abut t

the C-1 General Commercial District under question.

The C-3 Heavy Commercial District located to the north of the subject zoningon the I-10 service road. It is currently improved with both occupied

commercial structures, including a self-storage warehouse, a small strip m

hotels. The rear property lines of these businesses abut the C-1 General

District in which the subject site is located.

The S-RD Suburban Two-Family Residential District located directly to th

the subject site is accessed via Deer Park Blvd, a narrow, two-lane boulevthrough the C-1 General Commercial District in which the subject site is

eastern side of the boulevard is intermittently developed with offices, and

developed with portions of a sidewalk. The western edge of the boulevard is

d i th d f h il d d thi k t Th S RD Di t i t i i


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The Joe Brown Park is an OS-R Regional Open Space District located direc

street from the subject site. Joe Brown Park is approximately eight one (81

and contains ball fields, a rec center, pavilions and walking paths, as well as a

B. What is the zoning and land use history of the site?

Zoning: 1929 – Not on the map, but closest area in the east is “Unrest1953 – The area bounded by the Dwyer Road and Canal, Rea

Morrison Road, and the Farrar Canal is zoned “A” S

District

1970 – RM-4 Multi-Family Residential2015 (prior to 8/12/2015) – RM-2E Eastern New Orleans Mu

Residential District

2015 (effective 8/12/2015) – C-1 General Commercial Distri

Land Use: 1929 – (not on the map; presumably undeveloped)

1949 – (not on the map; presumably undeveloped)

1999 – Commercial2

C. Have there been any recent zoning changes or conditional uses

developments in the immediate area? If so, do these changes indicate an

pattern or trend?

In the past five years, there have been four requests for zoning changes andapprovals (including conditional uses and planned developments) for prop

within five blocks of the petitioned site. One was to permit an increase in in

one was to repeal a previous zoning docket, and two were to permit the sal

beverages at existing uses. These are not indicative of a pattern or trend rcurrent application.

D. What is the purpose of the proposed rezoning?

The purpose of the proposed re-zoning from C-1 General Commercial to M

Intensity Mixed Use District is to allow this site to be developed with a resideapplicant proposes the development of two hundred (200) one-bedroom uni

aged sixty two and over (62+). The existing structure was designed and bui

the late 20th century as senior-oriented multi-family housing with two hundr

bedroom units. It was damaged by Hurricane Katrina and appears to have beethat time. Prior to the new Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance (CZO), the si


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E. What impact will the proposed conditional use have on the transportati

any? What are the off-street parking and off-street loading requiremen

be provided on site? If not, is a waiver required?

Traffic

The proposed re-zoning from C-1 General Commercial to MU-1 Medium InUse District is generally considered a decrease in intensity of use. The C

oriented almost exclusively toward auto-oriented commercial uses, whi

District allows less intensive residential uses. Therefore, while bringing

vacant structure into any type of use would substantially increase the volumewould impact the traffic patterns of the area, the MU-1 Medium Intensit

District would generally impact traffic somewhat less than a C-1 General

District.

Parking

Parking requirements are calculated according to use and are impacted b

designation. There are approximately sixty five (65) parking spaces currently parking lot, however, the redevelopment of this structure would require tha

compliance with new parking regulations. Parking requirements for commer by use, and are usually based on GFA. However, the proposed zoning of MU

District allows the first five-thousand (5,000) square feet in gross floor area fo

uses to be exempt from the vehicle parking requirements. Additionally, in boC-1 and proposed MU-1 Districts, on-street parking spaces located along the

property line may be counted toward required off-street parking spaces fo

uses. Compliance with the parking requirements for any particular developm

reviewed as a part of the permitting process.

Loading

Loading requirements are calculated according to use and are impacted b

designation. Neither C-1 General Commercial Districts nor MU-1 Med

Mixed Use Districts have any loading exemptions, limitations, or flexibilitie

F. Can the request be considered a spot zone? Does it fall within the H

Conforming Use Policy?

The terms “spot zone” and “spot zoning” refers to zoning changes which hav


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While this request is to change the zoning of one parcel of land which would b

on all sides by a different zoning district, it would not be considered an inap

zone due to its historic use and zoning as a single-lot zoning district. InComprehensive Zoning Ordinance, the parcel was zoned RM-2E Eastern Multiple-Family Residential District, and was surrounded on all sides by dif

districts. Despite the previous zoning and use as residential, the zoning of th

was changed, effective August 2015, to be part of a larger C-1 General

District. Because the site wa

zoned differently from surrounding properties, the proposed rezoning, continue to treat it differently from surrounding properties, in not a spot zon

give the site preferential treatment.

G. Compliance with approval standards

The City Planning Commission recommendation and the City Council de

zoning map amendment are matters of legislative discretion. In m

recommendation and decision, the City Planning Commission and the Cityrequired to consider the standards in Table 4-1: Standards for Zoning Am

the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance. In this section, the staff evaluates th

using those standards.

The proposed amendment is compatible with the Master Plan and Futu

Map.

Thi t d d i t t “Ch t 14 L d U Pl ” f th M t Pl d

Previous Zoning as RM-2E Eastern New Orleans

Multiple-Family Residential District Current Zoning in C-1 General Commerc


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neighborhoods by allowing commercial establishments in select loc

walking distance to surrounding residential areas.

Range of Uses: Retail and professional service establishments neighborhood area residents. Common uses include small grocerie

barber shops/salons, clothing boutiques, banks, pharmacies, and

professional offices. Conversion to multifamily may be allowed for chistoric institutional, commercial or other non-residential buildings.

Development Character: Buildings are oriented to the sidewalk (p

where possible) with maximum heights related to the character Landscape requirements for parking lots facing the street.

According to the consistency table located in Appendix A of the CompreheOrdinance, a zoning change from C-1 General Commercial to a MU-1 Med

Mixed Use District is not consistent with the Neighborhood Commercial desi

existing zoning designation of the site as a C-1 General Commercial District

compatible with a Neighborhood Commercial Land Use designation.

The proposed amendment is compatible with the place designat

Ordinance.

This standard is met. The proposed amendment requests an MU-1 Med

Mixed Use District, which is compatible with either suburban or urban districflexible nature of this designation, an MU-1 District can be located in either

designations.

The proposed amendment is compatible with existing use and zonin

property.

This standard is met. Althou

property is currently vacahistory of multi-family re

The zoning of the property t

the subject site is commerzoning to the east of the

General Commercial Distri

residential and partially

Across the street is Joe Blarge open space. The pro


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would be compatible with all of these existing zoning designations.

The proposed amendment promotes the public health, safety and welfar

This standard is met. The proposed zoning change is intended to allow

development, which would not harm the public health, safety and welfare of

The proposed amendment is a more suitable zoning classification for

than the current classification.

This standard is not met because the proposed MU-1 District is not consis

Master Plan future land use designation.

Based upon the length of time that the property in question has been

proposed amendment is a more suitable zoning classification for the p

the current classification considered in the context of development in th

the property is located.

This standard is met. The current zoning is inhibiting the property owner’s

the subject site as it was originally developed. A more flexible zoning, whichuse, commercial or residential may be appropriate, if not for the conflict wi

Plan.

According to historic Sanborn maps, the subject property has a history of r

until 2007. In August 2010, the Plan for the 21st Century was adopted design

as Neighborhood Commercial, and in May 2015 the City Council voted to

Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance. The lot has remained vacant during this there are commercial uses on the same blockface as the subject site, the m

structures in this C-1 General Commercial District are vacant, and have been

The trend in the immediate vicinity has not been for new construction o

businesses. In fact, as mentioned previously, only two of the seven existing

occupied, and no new commercial structures have been constructed. Given thdevelopment and the development trends of the area, the staff believes that

zoning change from C-1 General Commercial to MU-1 Medium Intensit

District would be more suitable for the subject site if not for the conflict wi

Plan.


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The proposed amendment would not have a significant impact on the City as

The proposed amendment provides a more workable way to achieve th

purposes of this Ordinance and the Master Plan.

This standard is met. The Master Plan designation of Neighborhood Cintended to enhance the pedestrian character and provide commercial e

within walking distance of surrounding residential areas. The development o

structure in accordance with the C-1 General Commercial uses would not

pedestrian character intended in the Neighborhood Commercial designationMU-1 zoning designation, with its inclusion of residential uses in addition t

uses, is inherently more flexible, it provides a greater range of uses which bett

the goals and range of uses described in the Neighborhood Commercialdespite it not being considered consitent.

The proposed amendment does not create a significant number of nonco

This standard is met. The proposed amendment would not create a non-conf

IV. SUMMARY

The purpose of the proposed re-zoning is to allow this site to be developed int

building with 200 one-bedroom units above the ground floor. This use is not

current C-1 General Commercial District without commercial on the grounconditional use. The use would be allowed under the proposed MU-1 Med

Mixed-Use District. The staff does not support the zoning change becaconsistent with the site’s neighborhood commercial land use designation.

V. PRELIMINARY STAFF RECOMMENDATION4

The staff recommends DENIAL of Zoning Docket 044/16, a request for a Zfrom a C-1 General Commercial District to an MU-1 Medium Intensit

District.

VI. REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATION

1. The proposed zoning district is not consistent with the Master Plan


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City of New Orleans Property Viewer

Bloomfield Township MI,

Override 1

April 11, 20160 0.

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10101 Lake Forest Boulevard

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t B l v d.


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Documents

10101 Lake Forest CPC Staff Report