Help Brainstorming Zoning Uses

[techbiker]

Dear Appraisers,

I’ve owned a ¼ acre (about 9500 sq ft useable) LI-zoned vacant corner property (500 and 506 S Crockett Ave. in Denison, TX) for a few years. My expectation per the City's 2018 comprehensive plan was to build a residential duplex. The current nearby LI uses are declining or dead. Unfortunately, City staff are now unsupportive of my previous Duplex rezone request. Zoning regulations in the LI district plus lot constraints virtually eliminate my non-residential building area. Any viable non-residential use on this property requires variances, however the City won’t tell me which variances they will grant until I submit another application. I’ve already received a cold response to 1 application since the rezone request.

Since this process has been percolating for 7 months, I’ve decided to crowdsource possible development ideas.

Here are two ideas:

• Residential rezone. City staff will not support this, however I should receive strong neighborhood support.
• A small mini self-storage warehouse. I doubt neighbors would be thrilled or offended. City staff may support this use, however variances are unclear.

Can you think of any other potentially viable (with required variances) uses? I’m hoping to run 4-5 possibilities by my neighbors and gauge support. Major LI zoning restrictions are as follow:

-25’ building setbacks (on both Morgan St. and Crockett Ave)
-12’x12’ dumpster space
-24’ fire lane with 20’ turn radius
-50’ drive spacing
-5’ landscaping buffer
-Parking requirements (depends on use but from 1:1000 sf for warehousing up to 1:100 for restaurants)

There’s also an ongoing zoning policy fight at City Hall, so the final LI use sheet is uncertain. Attached may be somewhat close. I could also try rezoning to a different commercial district.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated! P.S. I'm not seeking ironclad professional advice, just out of the box thoughts.

Thank you very much

Municode Library

MunicodeNEXT, the industry's leading search application with over 3,300 codes and growing!

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[George Hatch]

I don't know why fire access would be a problem for that site. It sides a graded/unpaved street easement - it looks to be ~70ft wide; that provides more than enough room for fire apparatus to maneuver. With those setbacks you still have a 5000+sf building envelope, and the setbacks (normally) only apply to structural improvements, not to parking. The city's map system shows water and sewer at the street.

A cruise through Google Streets shows lots of service-type buildings on that street; your lot is flanked to the north, south and on the west side of the street with such uses. I don't see why you can't get another one on this site.

I doubt any city would go for a residential use on that site due to the adjacent uses fronting the street. It also doesn't look like the street provides enough retail exposure to make a retail use viable. No point in doing a small office there, either.

I think what you see is what you get.

 

[techbiker]

I don't know why fire access would be a problem for that site. It sides a graded/unpaved street easement - it looks to be ~70ft wide; that provides more than enough room for fire apparatus to maneuver. With those setbacks you still have a 5000+sf building envelope, and the setbacks (normally) only apply to structural improvements, not to parking. The city's map system shows water and sewer at the street.

A cruise through Google Streets shows lots of service-type buildings on that street; your lot is flanked to the north, south and on the west side of the street with such uses. I don't see why you can't get another one on this site.

I doubt any city would go for a residential use on that site due to the adjacent uses fronting the street. It also doesn't look like the street provides enough retail exposure to make a retail use viable. No point in doing a small office there, either.

I think what you see is what you get.

Thank you. I'm thinking "warehouse" (self storage) as well. Unfortunately zoning standards appear to require an on-site 24' wide fire lane with 20' turn radii and 50' drive separation/spacing regardless of fire truck access from the streets. I know, it doesn't make sense considering the size of the adjacent streets. Those requirements plus Paw-Paw creek on the south/east sides and 5' landscape buffer appear to pretty much wipe out the building area. Perhaps I should seek a fire lane variance.

P.S. The building to the south is now a small office. West is apparently vacant. North has no parking and is a warehouse.

 

[George Hatch]

It seems to me that if an 11000sf site isn't large enough to support a structure then it doesn't matter what variances you would seek for zoning.

 

[techbiker]

It seems to me that if an 11000sf site isn't large enough to support a structure then it doesn't matter what variances you would seek for zoning.

Your advice is brilliant though. Why install a 24' fire lane when the site already has fantastic fire service access. Setting the building further back and adding a fire lane would reduce already-great access. Perhaps I could bring the building forward and add a 12' single-direction access road around the back.

The City will grant me a viable use. Unfortunately it appears I'll need to produce and propose one as they are not tipping their hands. I'll put together a new mockup and upload here. Thanks again!

 

[Elliott]

One of the first questions I missed on a real estate appraiser course in college on HBU had the correct answer as: Parking Lot.

So I'll go with that.

 

[The Warrior Monk]

Regarding a residential use on that property, I'm not so sure about that. As a general rule, industrial and residential uses are considered incompatible uses. I have seen residential uses permitted in industrial zones, but they're also special circumstances. The most common ones involve one or a few industrial properties located in the middle of a residential neighborhood, where everyone is happy to extinguish the industrial use. The neighborhood of you property is interesting, in that it appears that there are many nearby residential properties, thus there is precedence for residential use (which may consistent of preexisting residential uses).

 

[Tim The Enchanter]

Whose palm do you need to grease?

 

[techbiker]

Regarding a residential use on that property, I'm not so sure about that. As a general rule, industrial and residential uses are considered incompatible uses. I have seen residential uses permitted in industrial zones, but they're also special circumstances. The most common ones involve one or a few industrial properties located in the middle of a residential neighborhood, where everyone is happy to extinguish the industrial use. The neighborhood of you property is interesting, in that it appears that there are many nearby residential properties, thus there is precedence for residential use (which may consistent of preexisting residential uses).

The neat thing about Denison and this neighborhood in particular is the history. I believe my neighborhood first built out in the 1880's/1890's. It got a boost from the KO&G railroad station just east. The area used to be predominantly African-American. These lots used to support an African-American church (financed by local business leaders) and a home. I received a title abstract from the previous owner. Later other homes were built on the site. Commercial and industrial uses were also built on the street. For well over 100 years the area supported a mixture of uses with a strong residential presence. Proof's in the Sanborn maps:

http://maps.lib.utexas.edu/maps/sanborn/d-f/txu-sanborn-denison-1914-28.jpg

https://maps.lib.utexas.edu/maps/sanborn/d-f/txu-sanborn-denison-1930-028.jpg

Personally, I believe mixed use zoning would still serve the street well. Unfortunately the City currently has only one mixed-use district (and LI isn't it). A self-storage warehouse may work here so I'm preparing a concept. Thanks again for all of the help.

 

[techbiker]

Please see attached rough self-storage concept and let me know what you think. Thanks a bunch!

-The single direction access lane should be wide enough for trucks to traverse and would provide access around the entire building for emergency services
-This exceeds the drive spacing and turn radii requirements
-The building would still be 20' away from the road on Crockett Ave.
-FAR should only be around 1:4 and the building wouldn't be any taller than existing nearby structures
-The 5' sidewalk provides access to the storage units
-Should meet/exceed the parking requirement. The building would shield parked cars from view and keep them away from the fire hydrant directly across the intersection.

P.S. I explored the parking lot concept. Unfortunately there isn't much demand for a parking lot in the area. I had a sign up for over a year and received a single offer of about $100 per month (wouldn't come close to covering the paving and grading costs).