ITEM DESCRIPTION:
Title
AR-2025-0300: Request for the Technical Review Committee (TRC) to consider a waiver of the requirement for a deceleration lane for the property at 3710 S Ridgewood Avenue.
Body
OWNER:
Chris Walsh- Walsh Traffic Engineering, LLC
PROPOSED USE:
The applicant is asking to have the proposed Automotive Repair Facility at 3710 S Ridgewood Avenue be exempt from the right turn deceleration lane requirement set forth in Article V, Section 21-52.05- Street Design Standards (f) by the TRC in order to deem it unfeasible/ impractical.
REQUESTED ACTION:
The removal of Article V, Section 21-52.05 (f) by having the TRC deem the turn deceleration lane deemed unfeasible/ impractical.
PARCEL ID:
8448-01-00-0110
AREA:
2.19 acres
CURRENT LAND USE:
Vacant (Uncleared Commercial Land)
FLUM DESIGNATION:
Commercial with Conservation Overlay
ZONING DISTRICT:
B-3, Highway Commercial
VOTING DISTRICT:
District Four - Council Person Eric Rainbird
DISCUSSION:
The applicant is requesting to have the TRC deem the turn lane requirement as unfeasible/ impractical based on Article V, Section 21-52.05 (f) which states:
Turn lanes - A left turn lane shall be provided at each access point with an average daily trip end of 1,000 vehicles and/or more than 25 peak hour left turn movements. A right turn/deceleration lane shall be provided when the posted speed limit equals or exceeds 35 miles per hour or if the proposed development will generate 100 or more peak hour right turn movements. Turn lane requirements shall be provided on all immediately adjacent roadways affected by any development/redevelopment project unless deemed unfeasible/impractical by the TRC. The applicant provided a traffic impact statement using the LUC 942 ITE generation repair code for Automotive Repair Center. The proposed building is 5,000 square feet with 10 garage bays. The ITE generation table for this land use generates 79.3 average daily trips based upon the square footage and based upon the number of bays, the proposed site generates 124.8 trips per day.
Staff Review:
FDOT Recommendation:
Site Plan:
Staff Comments:
The Technical Review Committee must decide based upon the condition that it is unfeasible or impracticable.
The code states a right turn/deceleration lane shall be provided when the posted speed limit equals or exceeds 35 miles per hour or if the proposed development will generate 100 or more peak hour right turn movements.
The posted speed limit on S Ridgewood Avenue in this location is 55 miles per hour.
The proposed development is generating 5 peak hour traffic trips for the right hand turn movement. This is substantially less than the requirement of 100 trips necessitating the required improvement of a deceleration lane.
Depending upon the development on the north side of Godfrey Road, there is a potential for a traffic light at Godfrey with access to Edgewater Lakes. Future access to this site my come from a collector road running parallel to S Ridgewood Avenue. Concurrently, any future development may connect to this property with said parallel road and the right hand deceleration lane may be better served at another location. City staff note that a proportionate fair share agreement for the development’s transportation impact necessitating the need for a deceleration lane could be established with the City specifically for the transportation improvement.
FDOT provided the following comments based upon City staff sending the development out to the Technical Review Committee for review:
Comment # 4:
If there is potential for additional development to the north of this site, may require a cross access agreement.
Response: We are unaware of the potential for additional development to the north. The so-called “stub out” to the north is intended to be used for deliveries given the site’s lack of depth and need to avoid delivery vehicles impeding typical on-site vehicular circulation.
Public Notice:
Public Notices were mailed to all addresses within 500’ of the proposed project on August 4th,2025.
Staff Recommendation:
Development Services recommends approval for the waiver of the right-hand deceleration lane because the peak hour right hand turn lane movements is 95% less than the requirements of Article V, Section 21-52.05- Street Design Standards (f) of the City of Edgewater’s Land Development Code.
Recommended Motion:
Motion to approve the removal of the turn lane requirement by deeming it impractical, but requiring a proportionate share agreement for the developments contribution for a future right hand deceleration lane with a cross connectivity easement to the property to the north.