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� ^. 4.0 BACKGROUND: � L 4.1 The existing Planned Unit Development (PUD) was approved in 1999 and allows .. office/laboratory uses and retail sales of antiques, handicrafts, and gifts in addition to � most of the other uses permitted or conditionally permitted in the underlying Limited 5 Business (B-1) Zoning District. ., 4.2 10 11 I L 13 14 15 16 17 5.0 This PUD Amendment request has been prompted by the applicants' desire to include a bookstore among the permitted uses. OVERVIEW OF PROPOSED AMENDMENT: 5.1 Prior to establishing the PUD in 1999, zoning on the property was B-1; the high-tech laboratory and limited retail sales permitted in the PUD agreement are conditionally permitted uses in the B-1 district. Added flexibility of building and site design seems to have been a significant reason that the 1999 application was for a PUD rather than a Conditional Use Permit which would have allowed the desired uses on the property without the site plan flexibility. In fact, nearly all of the comments in the public record pertaining to the review and approval of the original PUD were related to the size of the proposed structure and the overall layout of the site; any concerns over the uses on the property were quickly revealed to be, at their core, concerns over site development. 18 5.2 The tenant space adjacent to Lexington Avenue has been vacant for more than two years; 19 this is no doubt due, in part, to the restrictive nature of the existing PUD agreement. 2C Planning Division staff believes that the surrounding area would benefit more from a 2 � flexible PUD agreement that allows a greater variety of low-impact uses than a persistent 22 vacancy in such a visible location. 23 5.3 24 25 25 2, 28 2S� 5.4 30 The antiques/handicrafts/gifts sales permitted in the existing PUD represent quiet, low- traffic retailers, and accommodated the specific retail tenant that occupied space in the building after its expansion. Because there is no practical difference between a small antique dealer and any other office or retail use that generates a small amount of customer traffic, Planning Division staff has determined that any such use with a similar intensity would be equally appropriate in that location and could be permitted in an amended PUD. The current request is for a book store that sells predominantly used books. Melissa Olson owns The Bookshop, which is currently housed in the Har Mar Mall, and the 31 proposed PUD amendment would allow her to relocate her business into the building at �2 1940 Lexington Avenue. According to Ms. Olson, The Bookshop currently sees an 33 average of about 30 customers per day, and she anticipates equivalent customer traffic in 3� the new location. Given the nature of her store, Ms. Olson expects that the customer 35 traffic would never exceed 45 people per day. Planning Division staff believes that this 36 level of customer traffic is consistent with the kind of gift shop that is already permitted ; 7 in the PUD. 38 5.5 The PUD Amendment request also identifies the future possibility of incorporating a :;9 small cafe/coffee shop as an amenity for customers of The Bookshop. With appropriate 44 limitations on the size and scope of such a cafe, Planning Division staff believes that it �? may be compatible with the PUD and other uses in the surrounding area. PF07-O50 RCA 092407 Page 2 of 5