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

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