HomeMy WebLinkAboutPEC130018 REV1 Variance Description).pdf . � s
3trate* Land Maim, Inc.
Civil Engineering•Land Planning•Entitlements
Friday, May 24, 2013
Attn: Mr. Warren Campbell
Town of Vail:
Department of Community Development
75 South Frontage Road
Vail, CO 81657
RE: Variance Request (McDonald's Raze and Rebuild at 2171 N. Frontage Road West)
Dear Mr. Campbell,
As we have discussed, our client McDonald's USA, LLC, is planning the redevelopment of their
existing restaurant located at 2171 N. Frontage Road West. The proposed development will
include an approximately 3,330 S.F. building with generous bicycle parking, tandem drive-thru
capability, enhanced landscaping, new lighting, and seating for approximately 29 patrons. As
part of the proposed development, the existing site will be razed and new pavement, lighting,
utilities, and landscaping will be provided. The site is located at 2171 N. Frontage Road West.
The site is bounded on the north and east by an existing shopping center, on the west by a hotel
and drive aisle, and on the south North Frontage Road.
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As you can see from the enclosed Site Plan, careful consideration was given to the layout of the
planned McDonald's site. However, because of the existing conditions, McDonald's is
requesting a variance to allow landscaping areas less that 15'-feet in width, 16.6% total
landscaping, parking within the front setback, and to allow the parking space overhang to count
towards the parking stall depth.
Mr. Warren Campbell Sttategi(Land Mutions, Inc
Variance Request Im Civil Engineering-LandPlanning•Entitlements
Friday-May 24, 2013
Page 2
The proposed site will increase landscaping over the existing site. Additionally, the site
landscape has been designed to incorporate the adjacent offsite landscaping to create a landscape
buffer meeting the intent of the code.
The parking located within the front setback matches the current location of parking on the site,
and the proposed 9'x18' parking spaces match the current parking space size on the lot.
McDonald's standard parking space size is 9'x18', which is used across the country without
difficulty. Furthermore, the proposed design would allow for vehicle overhang at all locations.
The sidewalk along the building is 8-feet wide, because McDonald's has found that regardless of
the parking lot depth most patrons pull forward until their tires reach the curb. Therefore, using
a smaller walk along their building restricts the sidewalk, because vehicles will over have up to
2-feet into the sidewalk. McDonald's has found that using parking blocks in areas where
frequent snow plowing occurs is problematic for maintenance.
Strict interpretation of the setback and parking size regulation would eliminate over half of the
site parking, and would require abandoning the raze and rebuilding of the site. The hotel and
bank to the west of the site both have parking located within their front setback. Furthermore,
the limited site size, the required access to the shared trash enclosure area (Sports Authority also
has an easement to access the area in front of their store), and the grade difference from N.
Frontage Road provide site conditions which severely restrict development of the parcel.
The proposed site plan uses McDonald's smallest available building to allow the maximum
amount of parking. McDonald's legal team has concluded that a two-story building would not
be acceptable for this location, because of the increased liability. They are specifically
concerned with having patrons navigate stairs while carrying food, in a location where patrons
would have snow on their shoes, may be wearing ski or snow board boots, or would simply have
wet footwear.
As described in this letter McDonald's is requesting a variance to allow landscaping areas less
that 15'-feet in width, 16.6% total landscaping, parking in the front setback, and to allow vehicle
overhang to count towards parking requirements. These variances are required to enable
McDonald's to rebuild their existing restaurant. The proposed restaurant would allow
McDonald's to better serve their customers, and would update the location with a building
designed to match the surrounding development. Please feel free to call me if you have any
questions.
Sincerely,
STRATEGIC LAND SOLUTIONS, INC.
Robert J. Palmer, PE (CO, NM,Az)
President for SLS, Inc.A Colorado Corporation
Attachments: As noted above.
cc: Mrs.Lisa Perman,McDonald's via:lisa.oerman @us.mcd.com