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Commission grants driveway-spacing relief for Vesper tower in North Hills
Summary
The commission approved a design alternate allowing a 125-foot driveway spacing on Church at North Hills for the proposed 22-story Vesper mixed-use tower after applicant testimony showed urban-block constraints and sight-distance analysis supporting safety.
The Raleigh Design Review Commission approved a design alternate request to allow reduced driveway spacing for a proposed mixed-use tower called Vesper in the North Hills Innovation District.
Jeff Cain, senior planner for the city, presented staff context and the relevant UDO driveway-spacing standard. Applicant counsel Mark Frederick said the project is a 22-floor mixed-use building with a seven-level parking facility and 357 residential units; lead civil engineer Adam Gearhart testified that the block of Church at North Hills is only about 325 feet wide, Church is a 61-foot roadway, and the UDO requires 200 feet of driveway spacing where the roadway is under 80 feet. The applicant withdrew one of two requested alternates after shifting a service drive to the east to meet 200 feet there, leaving a single spacing relief request: placing a parking-entrance driveway 125 feet from the Avion at North Hills intersection to the west.
Gearhart presented sight-distance and turning-movement analyses and stressed life-safety and vehicle-distribution benefits of providing two access points to multi-level parking. "This is a common problem in development, in urban areas with smaller street blocks, and we frequently need to request similar design alternates for projects in Downtown Raleigh and other urban settings," he said. Counsel argued the proposal maximizes available distance along a constrained block, preserves safety, and does not conflict with city transportation projects.
Commissioners said the diagrams and analyses were thorough, asked no additional questions from the public, and voted to approve the alternate. As with other quasi-judicial matters, the commission will issue a written decision after the meeting minutes are adopted.
What happens next: the applicant will receive the written decision after minutes adoption and may proceed with subsequent permitting and design steps that depend on the planning approval.
