4/20/2011
            
                Honorable Mayor and Councilors
                City Manager                  
                City Attorney                 
                Clerk of Council
            
            Subject: Subject: (EXCP 2-11-1278) Special Exception Use request for a place of worship  
  
 on less than two acres located at 1726 Boxwood Place.
            
            Mr. Jim Hilt has submitted an application for the Special Exception Use cited  
  
 above. The property is located in a GC (General Commercial) zoning district.   
  
 The purpose of the Special Exception Use is for a place of worship on less than  
  
 two acres:
            
                - 
                    Access. - Is or will the type of street providing access to the use be adequate to serve the proposed special exception use?
                    
                        The proposed place of worship will utilize the existing access to Boxwood  
  
 Place, which has two outlets, Midtown Loop and Boxwood Boulevard. A traffic  
  
 analysis has determined that the proposed development will not have an adverse  
  
 affect on the street providing access to the subject property.  
                    
                 
                - 
                    Traffic and Pedestrian Safety. -  Is or will access into and out of the property be adequate to provide for traffic and pedestrian safety, the anticipated volume of traffic flow, and access by emergency vehicles?
                    
                        Access to the subject property is adequate for the proposed use in a manner  
  
 that will not disrupt the traffic flow on Boxwood Place. The proposed use will  
  
 not affect pedestrian safety or access by emergency vehicles. Furthermore, the  
  
 aerial indicates one ingress/egress point, which will maintain adequate flow of  
  
 traffic to and from the subject property.
                    
                 
                - 
                    Adequacy of Public Facilities. -  Are or will public facilities such as schools, water or sewer utilities, and police or fire protection be adequate to serve the special exception use?
                    
                        Public facilities such as water, sewer utilities, and police and fire  
  
 protection will be adequate to server the proposed place of worship. Public  
  
 schools will not be affected by the proposed use of the subject property as a  
  
 place of worship.
                    
                 
                - 
                    Protection from Adverse Affects. -  Are or will refuse, service, parking and loading areas on the property be located or screened to protect other properties in the area from such adverse effects as noise, light, glare or odor?
                    
                        The proposed use is not expected to adversely affect neighboring properties.   
  
 Issues dealing with parking, loading, external dumpsters / compactors, and  
  
 light are addressed in the UDO.  Noise impacts are addressed in the City Code.  
  
 The applicant has submitted documentation of a shared parking agreement with a  
  
 neighboring property owner located at 1730 Boxwood Place. 
                    
                 
                - 
                    Hours of Operation. -  Will the hours and manner of operation of the special exception use have no adverse effects on other properties in the area?
                    
                        The place of worship will host services on the subject property at 11am on  
  
 Sundays. There will be Bible Study on Sunday evenings. Furthermore, there will  
  
 be a midweek worship on Wednesdays at 7pm. The hours of operation for the  
  
 proposed use will not have an adverse impact on other properties in the area. 
                    
                 
                - 
                    Compatibility. -  Will the height, size or location of the buildings or structures on the property be compatible with the height, size, character or location of buildings or other structures on neighboring properties?
                    
                        There is an existing 8,400 square feet structure that is compatible with the  
  
 existing structures in the immediate vicinity. 
  
  
  
 The proposed use is required to have a minimum of 33 parking spaces that can be  
  
 provided by the use of onsite and adjacent parking.
                    
                 
            
            Council District: District 1 (Barnes) 
  
  
  
 Twelve (12) property owners within 300 feet of the property were notified by  
  
 mail of the proposed Special Exception Use. To date, the Planning Department  
  
 has not received any comments in opposition to the request. 
  
  
  
 The Planning Advisory Commission recommended approval at the March 16, 2011  
  
 meeting.   
  
  
  
 The Planning Department recommends that the Council approve the use because the  
  
 application for a Special Exception Use meets the criteria for approval.