Consider Site Plan and Minor Plat for Storyteller Cafe Located at 7790 Sunwood Drive NW (Project No. 23-118); Case of Stories Foundation

The purpose of this case is to review a Site Plan and Minor Plat for a proposed mixed-use building to be located at the southeast corner of Sunwood Drive and Yolite Street (the "Subject Property").  Stories Foundation, the "Applicant", is seeking approval for a three (3) story building that will include restaurant and retail space on the ground floor, three (3) apartments and office space on the second floor, and rooftop patio space on the third floor.  At least some of the Planning Commissioners may recall this project, as it went through the approvals process in 2021; however, those approvals have since expired.

The Storyteller Cafe will serve breakfast and lunch.  The building will provide office space for the nonprofit company, Stories Foundation, which will operate the cafe.  The Applicant currently employs three (3) full-time staff and two contract employees.  The Applicant would hire at least one more full-time manager and 2-3 part-time employees to run the cafe and retail spaces.  The Applicant's goal is to begin using the space to offer job training in year two of operation. Job training would be provided in a variety of industries and for vulnerable people and those who have been exploited.

While a Public Hearing is not required, Staff did send out a public notice to all property owners within 350 feet of the Subject Property to inform them of the applications and meeting.  A  "proposed development" sign was placed on the property.

General Project Summary
The Applicant is proposing a three (3) story building, with a footprint totaling near 6,900 square feet.  This would be a mixed-use building, including retail, restaurant, and office space, as well as three apartments.  The Subject Property is approximately 0.52 acres in size and just slightly over eighty (80) feet in width.  

Zoning and Guidance
The Subject Property is currently zoned COR, and is located in the COR-2 subdistrict.  The Subject Property is guided as Mixed-Use in the 2040 Comprehensive Plan, which allows a density of anywhere between five (5) and seventy-five (75) units per acre.  Retail, restaurant, and office uses are all permitted in the COR-2 subdistrict.  Live-work units are a conditional use.  There are two potential options to address the residential aspect of this project: (1) Process a Conditional Use Permit for the live-work units or rezone the Subject Property to COR-1, where live-work units are permitted.  In an attempt to continue moving this project forward, the City Council can hold a Public Hearing to consider one of the aforementioned options, based on the Planning Commission's recommendation.
 
Architecture
Building elevations, along with a color rendering, have been submitted (and are attached to this case).  The exterior finish of the building will consist of stucco, brick veneer, stone veneers, decorative smart panels, and glass windows/doors.  The building has been designed with 4-sided architecture as outlined in the COR Design Framework.  The rooftop patio space also provides an amenity currently not offered anywhere within The COR.

Site Plan
The building is proposed to be thirteen (13) feet from the property line along Sunwood Dive, which does comply with the COR Design Framework and one of the contingencies from the 2021 approval.  The Applicant did modify the Site Plan by eliminating a drive-thru that had previously been proposed and consolidating access to a single point off Yolite Street.  A small patio area is proposed between the building and Sunwood Drive for the cafe patrons.  There are twenty-one (21) proposed parking stalls, including two (2) handicap spaces.  Parking with The COR is subject to the following:

Use	Minimum # of Parking Stalls	Maximum # of Parking Stalls
Retail	2 stalls per 1,000 square feet	4 stalls per 1,000 square feet
Offices	2 stalls per 1,000 square feet	3 stalls per 1,000 square feet
Restaurants	1 stall per 2 seats	1 stall per 1 seat
Residential	1 per unit	2 per unit

More information about seating for the cafe is required to verify compliance with the parking standards.  But, a minimum of eight (8) stalls are required for the retail, office, and residential spaces, which leaves thirteen (13) spaces for the cafe use. Screening, in the form of a decorative wall, railing, hedge, or some combination thereof, will be required along a portion of Yolite Street and along Veterans Drive. 

Plat
The Subject Property is currently an outlot and thus, a Minor Plat is necessary to convert the Subject Property into a buildable lot.  No new roads are needed and utility services are already available.  Minor modifications to the Plat are required as the City is no longer the owner of the Subject Property (the Applicant purchased the Subject Property from the City late in 2021).

Alternatives

Alternative 1: Motion to recommend approval of the Site Plan and Minor Plat and provide direction on the preferred method to address the residential units in the COR-2 subdistrict.  This project previously received approval by the City in 2021; however, the Applicant was and is still fundraising, and thus, the previous approvals expired.  The Applicant did incorporate the revisions that were identified during the original review and approval process into this plan set.  This project will result in the first true vertically mixed-use building within The COR.  Staff supports this alternative.

Alternative 2: Motion to recommend the City Council not approve the Site Plan or Minor Plat based on certain findings.  The civil plans were revised address previously identified issues from 2021, such as compliance with the build-to requirements, adjustments to access, and eliminating the drive-thru component.  This project will be the first true vertically mixed-used building within The COR, something that has always been part of the vision.  This project also will provide the first rooftop patio within The COR, an exciting new amenity.  Staff does not support this alternative. 
 


 

The Applicant is responsible for all costs associated with this application.

Staff recommends approving the Site Plan and Minor, contingent upon compliance with Staff's review comments (this contingency is incorporated into the attached Resolution), and that the Planning Commission provide the Staff and Applicant direction on the preferred method to address the proposed live-work units (Conditional Use Permit or a rezoning from COR-2 to COR-1). 

Motion to recommend adopting Resolution #23-296, granting approval of the Site Plan and Minor Plat for Storyteller Cafe and directing Staff and the Applicant to address the live-work units via Conditional Use Permit or a Zoning Amendment to rezone the Subject Property from COR-2 to COR-1.