STAFF REPORT NATIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR MUSEUM

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Henry Wood
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2 STAFF REPORT NATIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR MUSEUM For reference, the Zoning Code and Land Development Regulations are available online. AGENDA ITEM: 5.b. Case #: Request: Location: Type of Request: Public Hearing: Applicant: Application Link: R Amend the Patriots Point PD, Planned Development District Ordinance, establishing development guidelines and permitted uses for the National Medal of Honor Museum. Also request approval of an Impact Assessment & Conceptual Plan. Patriots Point Road PD Amendment, Impact Assessment & Conceptual Plan PD Amendment - Required; To be held by Planning Commission Impact Assessment & Conceptual Plan Not required National Medal of Honor SUBJECT PARCELS TMS No (portion thereof) Property Owner: Patriots Point Development Authority Approximate Acreage: Approximately acres Plat Book & Page: Book W, Page 025 Comprehensive Plan Future Land Use Map Designation: Waterfront Gateway Current Zoning: PD- Planned Development District MEETING SCHEDULE Body Meeting Date Action Planning Commission Planning & Development Committee of Council Town Council Town Council Recommendation for approval, approval with conditions, or denial of the PD amendment, Impact Assessment & Conceptual Plan. These recommendations are forwarded to the Planning & Development Committee of Council and Town Council. Staff Report Patriots Point PD - NMOHM Page 1 of 10

3 ZONING MAP Staff Report Patriots Point PD - NMOHM Page 2 of 10

RELATIONSHIP TO THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN The Comprehensive Plan 2009-2019 (2014 Update) Future Land Use Map recommends Waterfront Gateway land uses for the subject property (see map below).

4 RELATIONSHIP TO THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN The Comprehensive Plan (2014 Update) Future Land Use Map recommends Waterfront Gateway land uses for the subject property (see map below). The following list of applicable Comprehensive Plan goals and strategies is provided so that they may be considered while evaluating this zoning request: The Town should work closely with Patriots Point Development Authority to ensure that any development plans seek to take advantage of the Town s waterfront as a placemaking, tourist destination, and cultural district opportunity; The Waterfront Gateway District should be an integrated district with a network of pedestrian paths and streetscapes, including walks along the waterfront; Land uses should be mixed, including hotels and lodging facilities, tourist attractions, recreational and marine facilities, restaurants, and entertainment venues; The creation of public spaces and outdoor retail environments should be encouraged, and events should be programmed to help keep the district active and lively; and The Waterfront Gateway District should present an attractive image for the Mount Pleasant community and avoid any monolithic or out-of-scale structures. Staff Report Patriots Point PD - NMOHM Page 3 of 10

5 PROJECT SUMMARY General Comments 1. Subject properties are part of the Patriots Point Planned Development (PD) District; however, an ordinance establishing permitted uses and development guidelines on Parcel A and the Entrance Parcel was never adopted. Current proposal includes two requests: an amendment to the Patriots Point PD Ordinance to establish permitted uses and development standards for the Medal of Honor Museum (Parcel A) and the Entrance Parcel, and approval of an Impact Assessment & Conceptual Plan. 2. Proposal includes the development of the three buildings comprised of the National Medal of Honor Museum, a landside building (to include the lobby, offices, gift shop, etc.), and the chapel, for a total of 94,312 square feet. 3. The proposed development is in keeping with the Waterfront Gateway Future Land Use designation as it furthers the goal of an active mix of uses including tourist attractions, retail environments, entertainment venues and pedestrian-friendly public spaces (see Relationship to Comprehensive Plan above). PD Document 1. Proposed is to amend the PD ordinance to allow those uses permitted within the Town s AB, Areawide Business District, on both parcels. Other permitted uses are to include Civic Uses (Cultural Facility), Museums (with ancillary uses to include exhibition space, board rooms, offices amphitheater, chapel, classrooms, gift shop, auditorium, etc.) and Event Venues. 2. Proposed significant departures from the Town ordinances include the following: a. Increase in the maximum building height from 50 feet to 140 feet for the museum and 80 feet for all other buildings (chapel and landside). For reference, the hotel is allowed a maximum of 80 feet as is the Renaissance and Motely Rice buildings; all other structures in Patriots Point are allowed a maximum of 50 feet. Justification for the increased height request is included in Appendix 3. b. Reduction in the Town s Impervious Surface setback from 30 feet to 15 feet, with an average of 30 feet width. While Zoning Code provisions currently allow for the use of an averaging technique for the Critical Line Buffer, there is no such provision for the Critical Line Impervious Surface setback. The only planned encroachment into the critical area by the proposed museum development will be the pedestrian walkway between the landside building and the museum and boardwalks. For this, a permit will be required from SCDHEC-OCRM. c. Maintenance of the 15 foot OCRM Critical Line Buffer. While the Critical Line Buffer is currently 15 feet in this area, the Town is considering an Ordinance change which could increase this buffer. This PD condition would ensure that regardless of any future amendments to the Town Ordinance, the subject parcels would maintain the current 15-foot buffer requirement. d. Encroachment of the drive adjacent to the Cold War Memorial into the required Type A Bufferyard for a distance of approximately 60 feet. e. Allowance of pathways within the required perimeter bufferyards. Staff Report Patriots Point PD - NMOHM Page 4 of 10

6 f. Elimination of landscape areas at the end of parking rows if the parking bays include a landscaped island between parking rows or if the rows terminate at a pedestrian way. Zoning Code provision (F)(1) requires the ends of parking rows to be terminated in a landscaped area. g. Elimination of required interior planter islands if the parking spaces front a landscaped buffer or island. Zoning Code provision (C)(1)(a) allows a maximum of 12 parking spaces in a row without a planter island in order to relieve the expanse of paving. 3. Proposed is to provide additional green space in the area labeled Park of Reflection in lieu of above relaxation of landscaping requirements. 4. Design Guidelines: While the proposed development requires review and approval by the Design Review Board, the PD document proposes additional Design Guidelines in place of and/or in addition to those required per the Commercial Design Review Overlay District guidelines in Zoning Code Section Based on review by Staff to DRB, the proposed design guidelines appear to offer definitive and measurable standards which the Design Review Board can apply to make decisions and determine compliance. Impact Assessment & Conceptual Plan 1. An Impact Assessment & Conceptual Plan was submitted in conjunction with the PD amendment for the proposed development. 2. Impact Assessment & Conceptual Plan checklist items are complete and coordination is occurring with the appropriate reviewing authorities. 3. The Zoning Ordinance doesn t specifically provide required parking for a museum use, but instead requires the use of a private study, such as Urban Land Institute standards, or other appropriate standards to justify the proposed number of parking spaces. The Applicant has submitted justification for providing 204 parking spaces based on the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), Parking Generation Manual, 4 th Edition, for museum use (2.16 spaces per 1,000 GSF). 4. The re-alignment of Patriots Point Road appears to result in the loss of a significant parking area that serves the College of Charleston Athletic Area. Addressed in the transportation comments below is a representation of the Patriots Point re-alignment which shows the provision of additional parking areas that appears to satisfy the parking requirement. 5. Tree Removal Plan: A tree removal plan was submitted but not all trees were labeled and there was no corresponding tree assessment. a. Staff Comment: Tree removal is to be determined through the Design Review Process. At that time, an updated tree removal plan should be submitted that is clearly legible where all trees are labeled on the plan, and includes the color coded tree assessment. 6. Interconnectivity While the Conceptual Plan indicates opportunities for future vehicular connectivity to the existing Yorktown parking area, there does not appear to be continuous public access from north to south for pedestrian connectivity. a. Staff Comment: Continuous public access should be provided and clearly delineated on the Conceptual Plan for pedestrian connectivity. Staff Report Patriots Point PD - NMOHM Page 5 of 10

7 Transportation Comments Trip Generation The proposed project was analyzed as a 71,766 sf museum with 19,073 sf of convention center space. The following new primary trips are anticipated: 76 AM peak hour trips 69 PM peak hour trips Access Primary access to the site is from a re-aligned Patriots Point Road. The museum access is proposed opposite a new parking lot access for the College of Charleston athletic center. A general representation of the Patriots Point Road re-alignment is shown below. Staff Report Patriots Point PD - NMOHM Page 6 of 10

Analysis Input Staff coordinated with the traffic consultant to provide information on background traffic growth and the distribution of development traffic.

8 Analysis Input Staff coordinated with the traffic consultant to provide information on background traffic growth and the distribution of development traffic. In addition to a 2% background growth rate, 90% of the Bridgeside II development traffic was assigned for the 2021 analysis. Traffic Operations Year 2021 AM and PM peak hour analyses were conducted to gauge the museum s impact on critical intersections. Level of Service D is typically considered acceptable for peak hour traffic operations in urban areas. 1. Coleman Boulevard/Patriots Point/Magrath Darby Existing level of service is LOS B and LOS C for the AM and PM peaks respectively, with existing moving queues on the Ravenel Bridge in the PM peak where the uninterrupted flow condition transitions to the Coleman signal system. For the future No-Build condition and Build condition, the level of service remains at LOS B and LOS D for the AM and PM peaks, respectively. Both the No-Build and Build conditions assume laneage improvements at the intersection based upon a study of the Waterfront Gateway planning area. These improvements are depicted in the graphic below. Study Area Coleman Boulevard/Patriots Point/Magrath Darby Staff Report Patriots Point PD - NMOHM Page 7 of 10

Existing moving queues on the Ravenel Bridge in the PM peak are the result of the uninterrupted flow condition transitioning to the Johnnie

9 Proposed Improvements at Coleman Boulevard/Patriots Point/Magrath Darby 2. Johnnie Dodds Boulevard/Magrath Darby Existing level of service is LOS B for the AM and PM peaks. Existing moving queues on the Ravenel Bridge in the PM peak are the result of the uninterrupted flow condition transitioning to the Johnnie Dodds signal system. For the future No-Build condition and Build condition, the level of service is LOS C and LOS B for the AM and PM peaks, respectively. Study Area Johnnie Dodds Boulevard/Magrath Darby Boulevard Staff Report Patriots Point PD - NMOHM Page 8 of 10

3. Patriots Point Road and Harry Hallman Existing level of service for this unsignalized intersection is LOS B or better for sidestreet movements.

With signalization in the future, levels of service are LOS B or better for the AM and PM peaks. Study Area Patriots Point Road and Harry Hallman 4.

10 3. Patriots Point Road and Harry Hallman Existing level of service for this unsignalized intersection is LOS B or better for sidestreet movements. For the No-Build and Build conditions, the analysis assumes signalization, which is an Impact Assessment condition for the Bridgeside II development. With signalization in the future, levels of service are LOS B or better for the AM and PM peaks. Study Area Patriots Point Road and Harry Hallman 4. Patriots Point Road and College of Charleston/Site Access For the Existing and future No-Build, level of service is acceptable for typical conditions at this parking lot access. The count volumes used in the analysis are assumed to be typical as the Town s recreational soccer games start at 5:30 pm. The Build condition assumes relocation of all the sports complex volumes to the museum access location. However, it is likely that redesign of the athletic complex parking area will include three ingress/egress points versus the two that currently exist. The level of service for the AM and PM peaks at the museum access is acceptable with the proposed single lane approaches. With regard to access design, staff will coordinate with roadway and site designers to determine optimal laneage. Staff Report Patriots Point PD - NMOHM Page 9 of 10

Access Staff Report Patriots Point PD - NMOHM Page

11 Study Area Patriots Point Road and Museum/College of Charleston Site Access Study Area Patriots Point Road and Museum/College of Charleston Site Access Staff Report Patriots Point PD - NMOHM Page 10 of 10

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