English Turn

Zoning text amendment for a studio in the woods

Hearing tomorrow 1:30 p.m. at City Hall Council Chambers

Semi-Monthly Zoning Meeting CPC Deadline: September 24, 2004
Tuesday, August 10, 2004 City Council Deadline: November 2, 2004
Councilmember: Affects all Districts

PRELIMINARY STAFF REPORT
______________________________________________________________________________
To: City Planning Commission Prepared by: Edward Horan
Zoning Docket: 70/04 Date: August 4, 2004


I. WHAT IS THE REQUEST?

Request by City Council Motion M-04-451 for the City Planning Commission to hold “a public hearing to consider amendments to the text of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance No. 4264 M.C.S., as amended, to amend Article 2, Section 2.2 Definitions to provide a definition for an Artist Community, to amend Article 4 Section 4.1.3 Permitted Uses in the RS-1 Single Family Residential District to classify an Artist Community as a permitted use, and Section 4.1.4 Accessory Uses to classify appropriate accessory uses for such, and to amend Article 11 Supplemental Use Standards, to establish appropriate supplemental use standards for an artist community, if applicable.”


II. REASON(S) FOR THE REQUEST

An Artist Community has existed in Lower Coast Algiers since 1990 (and became a non-profit organization in 2000). Called “A Studio in the Woods,” the community now wishes to add new facilities for the artists and to improve public access. It is currently a non-conforming use; thus, a text change is necessary to allow the community to legally exist and expand. The text amendment will affect all Councilmanic districts and would allow the development of additional studios throughout the City.


III. ANALYSIS

A. What is the existing language in the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance?

As mentioned above, the existing use is non-conforming because it is not defined nor is it classified as permitted or conditional in any of the zoning districts in the CZO. New artist communities would not be permitted without the proposed text amendment.



B. What is the language for the proposed use in the City Council Motion?

The City Council motion does not provide specific language regarding the use. It does not provide guidance to the types of supplemental regulations which should be imposed on this use.

C. What is the existing language in the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance for similar uses?

The CZO does not currently address an Artist Community, which is the reason for establishing this amendment to add the definition. The staff has researched similar uses in similar settings in other cities and identified some constants between them. The staff has also reviewed the Working Draft Copy of the Conceptual Master Plan for A Studio in the Woods. This document outlines the facilities presently located and in use on the existing site and provides a list of uses desired to be added to the site in the future.

Most Artist Communities in this country are located in rural areas outside of major cities. They have facilities for artists working in a variety of media. The types of uses, such as cottages for visiting artists, studio spaces, common dining and social rooms, and public presentation space are found in some combination at all the Artist Communities reviewed by the staff.

Many of these comparable facilities are located in areas with some form of Agricultural\ Residential zoning designation or beyond the reach of municipalities and zoning. Few have had any formal zoning issues. One, located in southern New Hampshire, is categorized as a monastery. Another, in the Ozark Mountains in Arkansas, is categorized as a Bed and Breakfast use. The Town of Ghent, New York does have a definition and defines an Artists Cultural Center or Retreat, thusly:

“Land and buildings used as a meeting place, retreat and\or exhibition center for the exchange of ideas between artists, members of the professional art community and the general public…[and] may provide indoor and outdoor exhibition space, work space, meeting space, lecture halls, performance space and sculpture parks, as well as living and dining facilities for the staff, artists and participants in the center’s retreat’s programs”

The staff used this definition as a starting point for the amendment contemplated for our own ordinance. The Council has also directed the staff to consider adding this newly defined use as a permitted use. Since this type of use generally is located in an isolated, minimally developed area, the staff agrees that it should be permitted in the residential districts, specifically in the RS-1 Single Family Residential District. In addition, since these uses are generally part nature preserve and attempt to tread lightly on the land on which they are located, they should be limited to a generally large area. Thus, the use should be subject to specific use-related regulations which will reduce impacts on adjacent properties and limit intrusion on the land on which it is located.

Section 4.1.3 Permitted Uses for the RS-1 Single Family Residential District does not list any uses that are similar in nature to the proposed use except perhaps farming. Farms are permitted uses in the RS-1 District yet are required to be located on a site of at least five (5) acres. This size restriction is useful in maintaining these uses in remote areas which would preserve the natural setting and have limited impacts on adjacent properties. Also, to ensure that Artist communities remain a low density and low impact use, guest quarters should be limited to one (1) guest artist space per acre. This would limit these uses to a density less than that which would be allowed if the site were carved into individual lots for the construction of single-family houses.

Thus, the staff recommends Supplemental Use Standards as follows:

Section 11.__ Artists Community

In all districts in which such use is authorized, the following standards apply:

a. The use shall be located on a site of at least five (5) acres.

b. Guest artist quarters shall be limited to one (1) per acre of site area.

D. Does the text amendment adequately answer the problem that is being addressed; if not, are other modifications necessary?

The staff has looked to our own CZO for additional standards that apply to non-residential uses which are permitted in residential districts. For example, the Supplemental Use Standards for Cemeteries, Article 11, Section 11.11 governs setbacks for those uses and can provide a guide for setbacks for the Artist Community Uses.

The regulations in Section 11.11.1 permits accessory uses such as storage buildings, caretaker’s house, and administrative offices to be part of a cemetery provided the site is at least five acres. They state that the yard area requirements of the underlying zoning district apply and are required to remain free of structures. All cemetery properties are required to be landscaped and permanently maintained. Administrative offices and chapels, which are the public gathering spaces on the cemetery grounds, are required to be setback 10 feet from rights-of-way and 100 feet from any residential property and 20 feet from any other property line. The aggregate floor area of such public spaces is limited to 15,000. The staff recommends that additional supplemental use standards be included:

c. The minimum yard regulations for the underlying zoning district in which the Community is located shall apply to all buildings and shall remain free of structures.

d. Public gathering spaces shall be setback at least ten (10) feet from public rights-of-way and one hundred (100) feet from any residentially-used property.

e. Aggregate floor area of public spaces shall be 15,000 square feet.

In addition, to prevent an Artist Community from becoming a transient vacation rental with a constant flow of visitors, the minimum stay for visiting artists should be 30 days. This is the minimum stay for a “rooming house” which is a somewhat similar use in that an Artist Community would not be a permanent home for someone other than the owner or caretaker. Thus, the staff recommends this additional standard:

f. The minimum stay for visiting artists participating in the Community’s program shall be 30 days.

Further restrictions on the sales of products or works of art from the site should be considered. Since the intent of these types of uses is to provide artists with a quiet space to create and enhance their skill not a place to pursue selling these works to the public, a restriction concerning the sale is recommended:

g. The retail sale of works of art is prohibited at the site.

Parking requirements will need to be considered as these uses are generally to be located on remote sites which are accessed primarily by private vehicles. However, the staff also acknowledges that for most of the time these uses will be sparsely populated. The residential component would obviously require one parking space to be provided for each person, whether a visiting artist, caretaker, or resident owner. Additional parking spaces should be provided for those spaces which are open to public and are used to stage events. The CZO currently requires exhibition halls without fixed seats to provide parking at a rate of one (1) space per 100 square feet of floor area of assembly space. Again, the nature of these facilities is flexible and changeable, and most likely without fixed seats so this use category seems to be most appropriate. In addition, some shared off-site parking could be used to satisfy the exhibition space parking requirements.

Most likely, adjacent property owners would be concerned about the provision of parking on the site. However, to preserve the natural feel of the site, the community may want to limit the amount of paving on the site. To achieve the most available space on site for parking while simultaneously limiting the amount of property devoted to parking, the staff recommends the following supplemental regulations:

h. Required parking shall be calculated as follows:

(1) One (1) off-street parking space is required for each dwelling/ sleeping space in the Community;

(2) One (1) additional space for shall be provided for every 100 square feet of exhibition, performance or gallery space which is open to the public for the purpose of display.

i. Stacked parking shall be permitted for required parking spaces.

j. Driveways and parking spaces need not be paved in accordance with Section 15.2.5.16.

The Motion offered by Council provided the staff and ultimately the Commission with enough flexibility to consider the proposed use, its impacts and necessary standards so, no additional modifications are necessary other those outlined above. The Motion did anticipate that separate Accessory Uses might be outlined for this specific use. However, the staff concluded that the proposed definition contains those accessory uses which are incidental to the establishment of an Artists Community, so no separate amendment is recommended for Section 4.1.4 Accessory Uses in the RS-1 District.


IV. IS THE PROPOSED ACTION SUPPORTED BY OR IN CONFLICT WITH THE POLICIES AND STRATEGIES IN THE NEW CENTURY NEW ORLEANS PLAN?

The 1999 Land Use Plan proposes protecting Lower Algiers (Planning District 13) as a rural residential area. The accompanying maps indicate its proposed general use as single family residential. There is no discussion of supporting or eliminating an artist community. The general nature of the document precluded such specifics as this one use.


V. SUMMARY

The Council Motion offered the City Planning Commission the opportunity to explore an Artist Community as a new use for the City and the CZO. The staff reviewed similar uses which are located in other similar places in the country. Generally these uses are located in a rural setting. Being a combination of retreat and exhibition space, consideration must be given to the preservation of the natural environment on the site and to minimizing impacts on adjacent properties. The staff does not believe that these types of uses, provided they are located on a large site with the recommended setbacks, will impact adjacent properties. By limiting density of visiting artists, limiting the size of public spaces the amount of traffic generated by the use should be minimal. Some on-site parking should be required, yet the paving standards should be waived.


VI. PRELIMINARY STAFF RECOMMENDATION

The staff of the City Planning Commission recommends approval to amend Article 2, Section 2.2 Definitions with the following new definition:

Artist’s Community. Land and buildings used as a meeting place, retreat and\or exhibition center for the exchange of ideas between artists, members of the professional art community and the general public which may provide indoor and outdoor exhibition space, work space, meeting space, lecture halls, performance space and sculpture parks, as well as living and dining facilities for the staff, artists and participants in the center’s retreat’s programs.

The staff recommends approval of amending Article 4, Section 4.1.3 Permitted Uses to add the following:

_. Artist Community (See Section 11.__ for Supplemental Use Standards)

The staff recommends approval amending Article 11, to create Section 11.__ as follows:

Section 11.__ Artists Community

In all districts in which such use is authorized, the following standards apply:

a. The use shall be located on a site of at least five (5) acres.

b. Guest artist quarters shall be limited to one (1) per acre of site area.

c. The minimum yard regulations for the underlying zoning district in which the Community is located shall apply to all buildings and shall remain free of structures.

d. Public gathering spaces shall be setback at least ten (10) feet from public rights-of-way and 100 feet from any residentially-uses property.

e. Aggregate floor area of public gathering spaces shall be 15,000 square feet.

f. The minimum stay for visiting artist participating in the Community’s program shall be thirty (30) days.

g. The retail sale of works of art is prohibited at the site.

h. Required parking shall be calculated as follows:

(1) One (1) off-street parking space is required for each dwelling/ sleeping space in the Community;

(2) One (1) additional space for shall be provided for every 100 square feet of exhibition, performance or gallery space which is open to the public for the purpose of display.

i. Stacked parking shall be permitted for required parking spaces.

j. Driveways and parking spaces need not be paved in accordance with Section 15.2.5.16.


VII. REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATION

1. These types of uses have little impact on the rural locations in which they will be located and should preserve some undeveloped land.

2. The proposed supplemental use standards should minimize impacts on adjacent properties.
IX. Additional Recommendations


X. Public Hearing

XI. Discussion

MOTION:


YEAS:

NAYS:

ABSTENTIONS:

RECUSALS:

ABSENT: