05/09/1995 Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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4 b them, depend.ing on the abutting use. He went on to explain that St. Clarence previously submitted a plan to develop this property in a similar mauner and it would not seem necessary to hold them to a buffer off the driveway, if residents would be walking across it to use the adjacent facilities. The members discussed the proposal among themselves and with the Building Commissioner. Mr. Herbster stated that he would not vote for anything with open retention and that he did not like the rear yard. Mr. Tallon believed that the building height caused several problems and they do not meet at least four of the setbacks for the building. He suggested that they reduce the bu.ilding to three stories in the front and four in the back. Mr. Coury, responded that this would not be economically feasible since they need so many suites to make the numbers work. Mr. Manning believed that this would increase the burden of the Fire Department. Mr. Coury clarified that the assisted living section is phase 2 and is behind the two apartment buildings. Mr. Herbster objected that the required rear setback is 105 feet and they are only showing 20 feet. Mr. Conway clarified that the code requires that he use a view d.imension and, since there is a severe angle on the rear, he has to consider approxima.tely 100 feet of building even though only a minor portion of the structure is that close to the property. The code does allow the commission to address the rear setback issue for senior housing, not only for the use to the rear, but the type of structure that is there. The rear building is not an apartment, it is a nursing home, if this were the assisted living building in full plane and full view, there would be a concern to hold it at the 105 foot. Mr. Herbster stated that the residents would still see the whole wall. It was clarified that Metro Parks is to the rear, and the back yards of the homes on Barton Road are adjacent to the side. Mr. Coury advised that they are also proposing a board on board fence along the west side of the property. The members again discussed the proposal privately. Mr. Coury clarified that the nursing home is only one story, the assisted living area is three floors. Mr. Kaczmar, the architect, presented colored plan which depicted the 3 different levels and explained that phase one would be the west and east buildings with four stories facing Lorain Road with a one story commons/atrium building in the center, but since there is a 12 foot differential in grade over a very short distance, the mid section of the building would be five stories but only four of them would be visible. The assisted living building would be three stories, and the nursing home behind that would be one story which was done intentionally since it could be seen from the residences to the side. It was clarified that there would be 14 units per floor, with one and two bedroom units, and only about 8 u.nits would be on the floor where a variance would be required. Mr. Manning believed that this extra floor would cause more strain on the Fire Department. Mr. Kaczmar explained that the floor to floor height of this type building is about 8 foot, 8 inches, which is less than the standard o?'ice building and asked that they consider that the over height of the building from grade, without considering the root would probably be about 40 to 45 feet. He advised Mrs.. O'Rourke that he was the architect on the St. Clarence builcling and the intention is to make this a campus community. They have not determined the number of stories for St. Clarence's, but there would have to be a miuimum of 70 units in order to make this work. They have done a master plan for the developments and intend to have cross vehicular traffic and pedestrian access. Mr. Coury stated that phase one would probably take about eight months to construct and they hope to start phase two immediately afterward. He is not building the St. Clarence project, but thinks that they would be constructing at the same time. They will have a working relationship with one another since St. Clarence will be using the assisted living and skilled nursing facilities. Assistant Law Director Dubelko advised that initially this project was going to be a joint venture between St. Clarence and the city, but because the financing was not available to the city it was decided to sell the property to this developer. Two conditions of the sale were that the developer would attempt to develop this consistent with St. Clarence's future development, that the developer give preference to city residents and it is he Law Department's view point that the developer is attempting to develop according to the needs of the city. Mr. Coury responded that they intend to honor those commitments to the fullest. Mr. Brennan believed that this would be over development of the property. Mr. Tallon suggested that, since rear building would be closer to the rear 4