HomeMy WebLinkAboutHICKORY COMMONS - PDP - PDP110005 - CORRESPONDENCE - PLANNING OBJECTIVES (3)uses be as flexible as the zoning and parking limitation will allow, to provide ultimate flexibility for small
business owners. The proposed allowed ground -floor commercial uses include:
• ARTISAN/PHOTO STUDIOS;
• DOG DAY CARE;
• ENCLOSED MINISTORAGE;
• EQUIPMENT RENTAL (INDOOR);
• EXHIBIT HALLS;
• FOOD CATERING/FOOD PREP.;
• INDOOR KENNEL; LIMITED INDOOR RECREATION;
• MINOR & MAJOR VEHICLE REPAIR;
• OFFICES;
• FINANCIAL SERVICES;
• CLINICS,
• PRINT SHOP;
• PERSONAL & BUSINESS SERVICE SHOPS;
• PLUMBING, ELECTRICAL & CARPENTER SHOPS;
• RETAIL ESTABLISHMENTS;
• VETERINARY CLINICS;
• VETERINARY HOSPITALS;
• LIGHT INDUSTRIAL USES;
• RESEARCH LABS;
• WAREHOUSES;
• WHOLESALE DISTRIBUTION; OR
• WORKSHOPS & CUSTOM SMALL INDUSTRY.
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Hickory Commons
Project Description
4/4/2012
The Concept of Live/Work
There is a growing national trend where small entrepreneurs and creative types are flocking to the
live/work loft spaces, often in industrial areas. In recent years, work -at-home entrepreneurs are taking
a giant step out of their home offices in suburban neighborhoods and into "live -work" units in
commercial and industrial areas once practically vacant after 6 p.m. The concept is becoming quite
popular in the Los Angeles and San Francisco bay area where the units, typically located in commercial
districts, can be rented like apartments or purchased like condos. In an article in the Los Angeles Times
on August 26, 2007 titled "Feeling at Home in a Live/Work Unit," several residents of these unit types
were interviewed. "I really like the ability to live and work in the same place," said Chris Nelson, 23, a
musician who built a recording business downstairs in his unit at the Biscuit Company Lofts in downtown
Los Angeles. "That was the best part of the deal." He also said he liked being around neighbors who
were working on creative endeavors, a common refrain among live -work occupants interviewed.
"Downtown L.A. is a concentration of artists and free thinkers," said Susan Moses, who does
architectural design and lives with her dog in the Toy Factory Lofts unit she owns on Industrial Street.
"When you live in a house, you feel isolated," she said. "This is a very supportive community." Hairstylist
Louis Crozco lives above his salon in a live -work unit in a Newport Beach complex. "The moment I found
out I could purchase my actual building, the light bulb went on," he said. "It all made perfect sense." The
article goes on to explain, "More and more urban developers are seeing this market niche and are
moving to fill it," said Con Howe, managing director of CityView Los Angeles Fund, which helps finance
urban housing. Several factors make live -work units attractive to certain small-business operators,
including an end to commuting and the opportunity to own their office or manufacturing space. Situated
most often in commercial and industrial areas, live -work lofts may put you near mass transit or in the
heart of downtown excitement. If you're buying, the units may or may not cost more than a house -- but
you're getting property that is zoned for business and often equipped for both living and working.
Live/Work at Hickory Commons
The concept for Hickory Commons is to develop speculative live/work condo buildings similar to those
described in the live/work concept descriptor above. We propose 24 live/work units in 6 buildings with
three different unit types as follows:
Qty.
Descriptor
Residential
Sq. Ft.
Commercial
Sq. Ft.
Patio Sq.
Ft.
Total Interior
Sq. Ft.
Unit Type 1
14
Standard 2-story, 2-bedroom units
1,164 s.f.
927 s.f.
244 s.f.
2,091 s.f.
Unit Type 2
8
Standard 3-story, 3-bedroom units
1,709 s.f.
927 s.f.
1,325
s.f.
2,636 s.f.
Unit Type 3
2
Handicap 2-story, 3-bedroom units
1,584 s.f.
513 s.f.
244 s.f.
2,097 s.f.
For each unit type, except the two handicap accessible units, the floor area of the ground floor will be
entirely commercial with the exception of a residential entry foyer. The upper floors on all units will be
entirely residential. The qualifying handicap accessible units will have approximately 50% of the ground
floor as residential, and will qualify as an accessible Type B Multistory unit type (5 points). The buildings
are designed such that the commercial entries of the buildings (including the overhead doors) face the
interior drive aisle, and the residential entries of the buildings have a separate entrance that faces out
away from the property toward a connecting walkway. It is intended that the approved commercial