Planning commission backs architecture changes for Steel Ridge Plaza Lot 7; site plan otherwise unchanged

The Saratoga Springs Planning Commission on April 24 voted to forward a recommendation to City Council approving a major site-plan amendment for Lot 7 in Steel Ridge (also referenced in staff materials as Stillridge Plaza) that changes building materials and colors but does not alter the previously approved site layout, parking, or landscaping.

City planner (presenting staff) said the owner of Lot 7 sought the amendment because some specified materials had become difficult to source and prices had changed. Staff said nothing on the approved site plan is changing: "Parking stalls are staying the same, landscaping stay the same, locations of the buildings, all of that," the planner said. He described the amendment as a materials-and-color change for two buildings (identified as Building 4 and Building 5 in the staff packet).

Staff presented before-and-after renderings and material callouts showing substitutions in siding, stone and a gray panel material that staff said "looks like a precast concrete" though it is not precast. Staff said metal siding specified in the original elevations will remain where metal was already shown, but colors and certain panels are proposed to change.

Commissioners asked whether the change would create a visually inconsistent plaza; one commissioner said the nearby R and R owner complained the adjacent building was not required to match the same architectural look. Staff replied the plaza includes multiple parcels with separate owners and the city does not require identical building architecture across separate ownership: "We don't require that in the code. No. So we can't enforce it." Staff added that signage agreements among owners had been used to create some consistency for tenant signage.

Commissioners also discussed tenant mix and traffic implications for potential drive-through tenants. Staff noted the city reviews traffic impacts at the site-plan or subsequent tenant application stage and that Title 19 requires a minimum of three stacking stalls for a drive-through.

The commission moved, seconded and voted to forward a recommendation for approval of the requested major site-plan amendment for Lot 7 at Crossroads Boulevard, with the findings and conditions in the staff report. The motion passed with all commissioners voting in favor. Staff noted the applicant was not present at the hearing but had communicated with staff by phone and email.

Staff listed several prospective tenants on the broader plaza map that have applied or submitted interest for other lots in the plaza, including R and R Tactical, Brothers Barber, Fazoli's, Aiken Medical Spa, Fantastic Sam's, Tommy's Car Wash, Marco's Pizza, The Worst Smokehouse and Valley Clippers. Staff said the Lot 7 change will allow the owner to proceed with construction using alternate materials while meeting Title 19 standards for materials and fenestration percentages.