Development Review Committee approves several Lewis Drive projects, including affordable units

The Development Review Committee approved several development plans on June 26 for properties along Lewis Drive, voting to accept staff recommendations that included conditions on off‑site recreation credits, back‑of‑house screening and recorded covenants to secure affordable units.

Planning staff presented the first application, a three‑story mixed‑use building at 1105 Lewis Drive that would include 1,484 square feet of ground‑floor retail and two residential units drawn from the community's affordable‑housing allocation. Staff told the committee the project meets setback and impervious‑coverage requirements, and that the proposal must account for 457 square feet of off‑site recreation/open space tied to the master pond. Staff recommended approval with three conditions: attributing the 457 sq ft of off‑site recreation space to the project, screening all back‑of‑house items from the right of way, and executing and recording restrictive covenants to ensure long‑term affordability of the two units.

The committee asked staff for clearer, concise summaries of stormwater routing and parking tallies for future packets so subsequent reviewers and other departments could see how trip generation and impervious‑area impacts were allocated. A committee member said a short 'blurb' in the staff report showing how stormwater ties to the regional pond and a parking tally would be helpful for transportation and stormwater reviewers.

Dan Bellows, representing Benjamin Partners Ltd., confirmed the applicant had not yet submitted building‑permit documents and said, "Everything that I have, will be in the building department within 30 days." He described an Excel tracking spreadsheet that the developer uses to document on‑street, alley and private‑street parking allocations and agreed to provide the parking and stormwater notes staff requested.

The committee also approved a two‑story office building at 1103 Lewis Drive with a staff condition to revise exterior materials so the new building transitions more smoothly to the adjacent corner project; Mark Nasralla, the project's architect, said minor parapet and decorative adjustments could be made between the applicant and staff. A previously approved four‑story mixed‑use project at 1320 Morgan Stanley Avenue was modified and approved as a two‑story building with ground‑floor restaurant and office space; staff said the garage behind the site provides sufficient parking and recommended the usual screening condition.

The committee approved a two‑story mixed‑use plan for the western portion of 1001 North Orlando Avenue (to be addressed as 1006 Lewis Drive) that would include ground‑floor commercial space (listed in the packet as roughly 1,429 sq ft) and six studio affordable units (one on the ground floor, five on the second). Staff said the project will account for 686 square feet of required off‑site recreation/open‑space credit. Committee members questioned how many parking spaces would be removed from the adjacent Ale House lot; Dan Bellows said the net loss was roughly four spaces but noted the recently completed parking garage and additional available capacity.

All motions to approve the presented development plans were seconded and passed by voice vote. Where staff recommended recorded covenants to secure affordability and required screening, the committee included those conditions in its approvals.

The committee recorded no formal dissent during the votes. The meeting moved next to a separate agenda item on signage and then adjourned. The committee is expected to re‑elect a chair and vice chair at its next meeting.