Agenda - 11-05-20; 8-a - Minutes

Browse Search

31 Michael Birch said offices are on the same main floor. 1 Commissioner Price asked if there is a plan in place for buildings that have a front door 2 on an internal street. 3 Michael Birch said the intent of the wording is for the buildings that are closest to Davis 4 Road, not so much that the building’s front faces Davis Road. 5 Commissioner Price said she is concerned about the height of the building, depending 6 on how the land is graded. 7 Michael Birch said the Applicant had the same concern, and attempted to mitigate this 8 with language about heights near Davis Road. He said the building will be sitting in a hole 9 relative to Davis Road. 10 Commissioner Price asked if this will be a warehouse or a suburban office building. 11 Michael Birch said he does not anticipate this being a multistory office building. 12 Commissioner Price asked if the facility would be more of a warehouse 13 Michael Birch said there are architectural examples in the Applicant’s materials. He said 14 it will not look like a typical warehouse, nor will it look like a standard, storied office building. 15 Commissioner McKee asked if the Applicant could explain how it arrived at the particular 16 language related to the height section, as he finds it to be a way to get past the 40-foot height 17 requirement. 18 Michael Birch said the wording was developed based on the Applicant’s interpretation of 19 the Board’s comments. He said the Applicant worked with staff to focus on the views that will 20 be seen from Davis Road. He said the Applicant capped the height at 40 feet at Davis Road, 21 because buildings behind it will not be visible, as the land is lower there. 22 Commissioner McKee said he brought up the concern of seeing a 60-foot structure from 23 Davis Road. He asked if the Applicant is purporting that one will see the top 40 feet of the 24 building from Davis Road, but not the bottom 20 feet as the elevation is lower. 25 Michael Birch said there is 100 feet from the right of way of Davis Road that is vegetated 26 into the site. He said this will largely screen the building. He said the Applicant may have 27 misunderstood, and is now proposing that the cap be 40 feet, and not be relative to Davis Road. 28 Commissioner McKee said this convoluted language was off putting. He said the 29 accommodation was made by changing the language to 40 feet, and would have been simpler 30 to just make this change in the first place. He said a 100 foot buffer is not as effective as one 31 may hope. 32 Michael Birch said the Applicant was not trying to be tricky, and was seeking to focus on 33 the view from Davis Road. 34 Commissioner McKee asked if the Developer has an opinion on a 30-foot height cap on 35 Davis Road. 36 Michael Birch said a 30-foot building is functionally incompatible with the demands of the 37 market place for these types of uses. 38 Michael Harvey said he can type in modifications as they come up, or staff can simply 39 take direction. He said he needs specifics on which to work with the Applicant. 40 Chair Rich asked for an example of an existing 40-foot building locally. 41 Michael Harvey said the UNC hospital in Hillsborough is about 60 feet. He said the 42 Applicant is willing to amend the language to say buildings on Davis Road will have a max 43 height of 40 feet from floor to rooftop. 44 Michael Birch said the proposed language is 40 feet from finished floor to roof deck. 45 Commissioner Marcoplos said he is glad for the clarification about the height 46 requirement, and feels this is in line with the Board’s wishes. 47 Commissioner Greene asked if there is an appreciable difference between the roof deck 48 and rooftop. 49 Michael Birch said with a flat roof there is the roof deck and then a parapet that is a few 50 feet higher. 51