HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/16/2022 - Planning and Zoning Commission - SUPPLEMENTAL DOCUMENTS - Regular MeetingPlanning and Zoning Board
City of Fort Collins
281 North College Avenue
Fort Collins, CO 80524
June 6, 2022
Re: The Enclave housing development and street connectivity concern
Dear Planning and Zoning Board members,
My name is Amber Franzel, and I am a homeowner in the Meadows at Redwood neighborhood West of
the proposed Enclave development. I am writing to express continued concern over the proposal to
connect Lupine Drive to the new development, The Enclave, being constructed soon.
We want to thank you for the city’s commitment to hearing our concerns, during the last P&Z meeting
held on April 21, 2022. I understand that the approval was pushed back to this week over architectural
concerns, and that public comment will be accepted for the June 16th meeting. As such, I want to put
our concerns on record and update you on our work with DHI Developers and Ripley Designs, which has
occurred since the first meeting.
During that collaborative meeting with members of the Meadows at Redwoods neighborhood, DHI and
Ripley, we discussed their support of the alternative ways to meet the connectivity requirements in city
code, and they have been more than willing to come up with creative solutions. The plan has changed
from the previous developer, so we are aware that the connection to Conifer is no longer an option due
to wetland considerations and a change to the size of the retention pond to the North. However, the
suggestion for meeting connectivity requirements by using pedestrian, bike and emergency vehicle
access is still supported by the neighborhood, the developer, and the designer. They are also willing to
make changes to their overall plan to be “good neighbors”: providing landscape buffers, creating trails
systems and commercial businesses that can be used by our neighborhood, sharing the natural area to
the south of the property, and planning to build privacy fences. We value their work and the time they
have spent making this new property work for everyone in the area.
Increased traffic and citizen safety on Lupine Drive, if vehicular traffic were connected is still worrisome
despite being made aware that Mullein would not be a through street. It seems, based on information
shared from the City, that a traffic study has not been completed with information about trips from both
The Enclave and Northfield, which is concerning. Our neighborhood streets are undersized and even at
the current amount of traffic, passage through the area can be tricky. Currently, our neighborhood is
closely connected, and in the spirit of the Northside Neighborhood Plan, we maintain our own unique
culture and connection with each other. Our kids ride around the cul-de-sacs without fear, we host
potlucks together, we shovel snow for our neighbors, and parents walk to the bus stop together each
morning and afternoon. We enjoy a sense of community that is not felt in many other local
neighborhoods, and we hope to keep it that way if possible. We thank you for your decision to close
Mullein to through traffic, but we feel that extending Lupine would directly threaten our culture and
sense of safety.
That being said, we understand the issue of code compliance in terms of needing to connect
neighborhoods. Since the neighborhood's creation in the early 80s, we knew there would eventually be
ITEM 2, CORRESPONDENCE 1
a connection, but the plans at that time were for our small, single-family neighborhood to be connected
to other single-family neighborhoods. Surrounding us with giant apartment complexes and increasing
the traffic through them, as well as a connection to the even larger Northfield neighborhood seems out
of step with what Fort Collins is looking to accomplish with neighborhood connection. It won’t serve as a
way for us to be more accessible to neighboring developments, it will be a thruway for traffic only. With
the push from city leaders to provide more accessible walking trails, alternative transportation
modalities and sustainable communities, this seems deliberately counter to that, encouraging new
neighbors to use vehicles to get to Redwood.
Let me be clear, we as a community are not seeking to stop the development; we know the need for
new housing to relieve the pressure felt in the city. We’ve even commended the developer on the new
idea (at least for Fort Collins) of a build-to-rent property. This is not us not “dealing with change,” as was
suggested in the last P&Z meeting. We are simply asking that Lupine Drive be connected for
pedestrian, bike, and emergency access only, especially with the added connection to Suniga Road,
which was not an available option when we brought this to your attention in 2018. This would still
promote connectivity, thanks to a trail system set up along the perimeter of The Enclave but would
discourage Lupine being the main point of connection with Redwood and those wishing to travel north.
Given the size of our streets, the increased traffic this connection would bring, and the desire to
maintain our neighborhood connection and community feel, we hope this is something you will
advocate for during this part of the development process.
Thanks for your consideration and your representation of the citizens of Fort Collins.
Sincerely,
Amber Franzel
625 Yarrow Circle
amberfranzel@gmail.com
ITEM 2, CORRESPONDENCE 1