HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/06/2014 - Planning And Zoning Board - Agenda - Work Session (2)Planning & Zoning Board
Work Session Agenda
Friday, June 6, 2014
281 N. College Ave – Conference Room A
Web users: Documents for the Consent and Discussion items shown below can be
found online under the June 12, 2014, Hearing agenda.
12:00 – 2:00pm
Consent:
1.) P&Z Hearing Minutes – May 8, 2014
2.) Old Town Design Standards Recommended to City Council (Weinberg)
3.) CSU/City of Ft. Collins Transfort Bus Turnaround SPA140001 (Mounce)
4.) Bucking Horse, Third Filing Major Amendment - MJA140001 (Beals)
Discussion:
5.) Sheldon House Bed and Breakfast – Addition of Permitted Use
APU140001(Mapes)
2:00 – 5:00pm
Board Topics:
• Natural Areas Master Plan (Stokes)
• Downtown Poudre River Plan (Stokes)
Policy and Legislation:
• Budgeting for Outcomes (BFO) offers
• APU request to remove from certain zones (4 attachments)
• Floor area ratio in Eastside/Westside Neighborhoods (requested by Jeff
Schneider)
• TOD Recommendations (see letter from Mayor Weitkunat)
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Jennifer Carpenter, Chair
Planning and Zoning Board
MEMO
Date: June 6, 2014
To: Fort Collins City Council
From: Jennifer Carpenter, Planning and Zoning Board Chair
RE: City Manager’s Proposed 2015-2016 Budget
Dear Mayor Weitkunat and City Council:
On June 12, 2014 the Planning and Zoning Board reviewed several offers for the 2015-2016
budgets. We wish to pass along our support for funding the following items as we believe the
workload and complexity of projects warrant full funding for these important community offers.
As you know development continues to thrive in our community. Residential, commercial and
in-fill projects are at an all-time high. As such, we wholeheartedly support the Development
Review Core offer. We are also in need of some updating planning tools for the downtown area.
With Max coming on line and the many development and re-development projects in the Transit
Oriented Development area it is time to update the Downtown Plan. We believe that a 1989 plan
does not reflect what is needed in our urban core. As such we would ask that you support
funding for the following offer:
75.1 Enhancement: Partnership for a New Downtown Plan (Economic Health)
Current offer: FY 2015: $125,000; FY 2016: $75,000
In addition, we would ask the Council to continue efforts to resolve parking capacity concerns
related to increased development. We believe that developing a parking capacity model and
creating a travel demand management plan are essential tools that are needed in order to build
our urban environment in an orderly and efficient manner. The specific offers we support are as
follows:
144.1 Enhancement: Parking Capacity Model (Economic Health)
Current offer: FY 2015: $45,000; FY 2016: $10,000
2.1 KFCG Enhancement: Travel Demand Management Plan (Transportation)
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Current offer: FY 2015: $125,000; FY 2016: $0
In addition, the board would like to encourage full funding for all transit services, enhancements
and Sunday Service. The planning and zoning board believes improvements to the transit system
will better enable many of the planning efforts taken through study and plan review as our
community transitions into a more urban environment. Those offers include:
7.1 – 7.7 Transit Core Services & Capital Repair & 7.9-7.11 KFCG Sunday Services and
Enhanced Fixed Routes
In closing, we appreciate the opportunity to serve Fort Collins and to participate in the budgeting
deliberations. If you have any questions or concerns regarding our suggestions please do not
hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Carpenter, Chair
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Community Development &
Neighborhood Services
Planning
281 North College Avenue
P.O. Box 580
Fort Collins, CO 80522.0580
970.221.6376
970.224.6111- fax
MEMORANDUM
DATE: June 6, 2014
TO: Planning and Zoning Board
THRU: Laurie Kadrich, Community Development & Neighborhood Services Director
FROM: Cameron Gloss, Planning Services Manager
RE: Eastside/Westside Neighborhoods Floor Area Ratio (FAR) Limits – Follow-up Request
This memo and associated attachments provide the P & Z Board an overview of Floor Area Ratio (FAR)
limits recently created within the Eastside and Westside Neighborhoods.
During the May 2, 2014 P & Z Work Session, a boardmember asked staff to provide the requested
information at the next available Work Session.
Specific Question:
Are the FAR limits for the rear half of the lot unduly limiting the potential for house additions?
Figure 1: Eastside and Westside Neighborhoods
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Figure 1 above shows the location of the East and West Side Neighborhoods.
More specifically, the area consists of three corresponding zoning districts. These zones are the
Neighborhood Conservation Low Density (NCL) zone, the Neighborhood Conservation Medium
Density (NCM) zone, and the Neighborhood Conservation Buffer (NCB) zone.
Background
Design Issues Identified in the Eastside/Westside Neighborhoods Character Study
The City has long-standing limits on building size within both neighborhood areas. The question asked
during the Character Study has been whether the limits are appropriate and provide a balance between
the needs of property owners to construct new houses or additions that meet their needs, and the
protection of the established neighborhood character.
The Eastside and Westside Neighborhoods Character Study (2013) identified and clarified a number of
key issues with ongoing changes that affect existing residents and the unique character and context of
the neighborhoods. These issues led to the Land Use Code amendments that were ultimately chosen.
Key design and character issues include:
• New construction that appears to be overly large in relation to its context
• Building walls that appear to loom over neighbors
• Reduced solar access/shading issues
• Incompatible design features
• Loss of older/more affordable houses that make the neighborhoods unique
• Loss of green space and mature trees
Limiting Floor Area as a Way to Reduce Volume
The most fundamental measure of a building’s size is its volume. In terms of basic geometry, a
building’s volume is its floor area in combination with its height. Floor Area Ratio (FAR) standards
limit the volume of buildings on lots indirectly by limiting floor area, in combination with other
standards that limit height. They limit the total amount of floor area on a lot, and also limit the portion of
the total floor area that can be built on the rear half of the lot. These standards are unique to these
neighborhoods, based on the predominant pattern of narrow, deep lots. Analysis identified these volume
standards as the key variable determining the volume of new building construction in the
neighborhoods.
Volume standards are not stated as simple square footage limits; rather, they limit floor area based on lot
area - the larger the lot, the more floor area is allowed. The most common way of stating this type of
zoning standard is known as Floor Area Ratio, with the floor area divided by the lot area. For example, a
FAR of .50 would allow a 10,000 sq. ft. lot to contain 5,000 sq. ft. of floor area (5,000/10,000 = .50). If
this floor area were in a one-story building, it could cover 50% of the lot area. If the floor area were in a
two-story building, it would cover half as much lot area as a one-story building.
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Eastside and Westside Neighborhood Lot Patterns
Many typical, originally-platted lots have dimensions of 50’ by 190’, which gives 9,500 sq ft of lot area.
However, in many cases, the corner lots at the ends of the blocks were subdivided into two or three
separate lots, which then face the street perpendicular to the original lotting pattern, and create much
smaller lots in the 3,000 to 4,750 sq ft range (see Figure 2 below).
Figure 2: Example of a Typical Old Town Block and Lot Pattern
Lot dimensions within the Eastside and Westside Neighborhoods are generally narrower and
substantially deeper than in Fort Collins’ more contemporary neighborhoods. Lot depths for most single
family development with the same overall density of our Old Town neighborhoods have generally been
in the range of 100 – 120 feet (see Figure 3 below). Our community is consistent with the national trend
toward smaller, shallower lots.
Figure 3: Fort Collins Lot Sizes
Typical 50’x190’ Lots
Lots at ends of blocks divided
to face the other streets
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“While the size of the home has increased steadily based on the year it was built, in recent years the size
of the lot the home is built on has declined. The median lot size on which a single-family home was built,
…, increased from 0.25 acres for homes built in the 1960s or earlier to 0.32 acres for homes built in the
1970s, 1980s and 1990s, and then declined in the 2000s (median of 0.28 acres and 0.25 acres for single-
family homes built between 2000 and 2004 and between 2005 and 2009, respectively). “
Source: US Bureau of the Census
Survey of Existing FARs
Despite differences in lot size, the size of the houses within the neighborhoods was originally fairly
consistent, typically ranging from 800 to 1,400 sq ft. The combination of similar house sizes on
different-size lots creates dramatically varying FARs within a block. For example, a 1,200 sq ft house
on a 3,000 sq ft lot has a FAR of .40. If a 300 sq ft garage is present, the FAR is .50. However, the same
size house and garage on a 9,500 sq. ft. lot has a FAR of .16. Appendix A is a sample of the prevailing
FARs found in the neighborhoods.
The discrepancy between the building square footage allowed in the neighborhoods and the size of many
existing houses in the neighborhoods is a fundamental issue. When typical FARs range from .15-.37
(depending on lot size), and the Land Use Code permits .40 or .50 in the NCL and NCM zones,
respectively, the result is dramatic size differences between existing and new houses. Furthermore, those
concerned with building size further argue that the ability to double, triple, or quadruple the size of a
house adds an economic incentive to demolish and replace existing houses, rather than encouraging
compatible additions.
Eastside and Westside Neighborhoods FAR Standards
Revised FAR Standards
FAR reductions were recently adopted as a tool for addressing identified issues with overly large new
construction and loss of green space.
The adopted FAR formula was selected because it:
• Addresses projects identified as appearing overly large in relation to their context while allowing
flexibility for new construction and home expansion;
• Promotes the scale of new construction that was most often identified as compatible in
community workshops and an online visual survey;
• Works in concert with other recommended tools such as reduced wall heights for solar access
and additional building design standards to address front and side façade character; and
• More directly targets identified issues than the FAR revisions included in the repealed 2011
ordinance.
Overall, the new formula provides greater flexibility through less substantial FAR reductions because it
works in combination with other tools that also address identified issues with new construction that
appears to be overly large in relation to its context, building walls that appear to loom over neighbors
and reduced solar access.
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New FAR Formula
The FAR formula revised the minimum lot area standards that relate lot area to the total floor area of
buildings on the lot in the N-C-L and N-C-M zoning districts. This approach applied new or adjusted
design standards to address the scale and solar access impacts of larger new construction and additions.
The revised standard reduced the maximum FAR from the previously permitted 0.40 in the N-C-L
district and 0.50 in the N-C-M district according to a sliding scale as summarized in the table below. For
example, the formula above limits floor area on a 7,000 square foot lot in the N-C-M district to 2,750
square feet ((7,000x0.25)+1,000=2,750) with an additional allowance for 250 square feet in a detached
rear accessory (acc.) structure on a lot of 6,000 square feet or more, for a total of 3,000 square feet. The
sliding scale generally resulted in reductions of allowed floor area for larger lots in both districts.
New FAR Measurement Method
This change incorporates adjusted measurement methods for calculating floor area, as recommended in
the Eastside and Westside Neighborhoods Strategy Report. These proposed measurement method
adjustments address the issues of high volume spaces not being counted as floor area (which created the
potential for single-story homes being twice as large as a two-story home). This includes basement floor
area in calculation where the new construction raises the finish floor elevation above a certain threshold,
and provides some allowance for accessory structures to promote separate building masses.
The new FAR standards addresses building mass and scale impacts by combining a reduction in overall
building size (reduced FAR), with new design standards to shape building facade features.
Staff Analysis
Are the FAR limits for the rear half of the lot unduly limiting the potential for house additions?
Cases where the new FAR standards and proposed housing and additions are in conflict seem to be
relatively limited. With lots typically 190 feet in depth or greater within the neighborhoods, most
designers are having little difficulty meeting the rear FAR standards whether it be associated with house
additions, garages or carriage houses. The exceptions appear to be on much smaller lots that have been
created through subsequent subdivisions (see Figure 2). On these small lots, the rear FAR is more
difficult to comply with and the staff has seen multiple variance requests to this standard being
considered by the Zoning Board of Appeals.
Since the FAR standards were so carefully scrutinized during the Eastside and Westside Neighborhoods
Character Study, staff recommends that any further evaluation of the standards be delayed until the
Eastside and Westside Neighborhoods Plan Updates effort (quarter 4 of 2014 through 2015) so that the
implications can be fully vetted through the public outreach process.
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Appendix A – Floor Area Ratio (FAR) Analysis
City of Fort Collins
West Side FAR Analysis
NCM West
Address Floor Area Total Lot Area FAR
330 West St 1892 8556 0.22
328 West St 1502 8500 0.18
326 West St 1808 8500 0.21
320 West St 1092 8281 0.13
318 West St 1252 8653 0.14
316 West St 1648 8500 0.19
312 West St 2316 8408 0.28
308 West St 1720 8577 0.20
302 West St 996 8097 0.12
Average 1581 8452 0.19
938 Maple St 2259 4505 0.50
301 Park St 1054 3821 0.28
Average 1657 4163 0.39
528 S Grant Ave 1459 6261 0.23
524 S Grant Ave 884 8300 0.11
520 S Grant Ave 2179 12417 0.18
512 S Grant Ave 1658 12431 0.13
504 S Grant Ave 1348 5282 0.26
500 S Grant Ave 1262 7255 0.17
Average 1465 8658 0.18
717 W Mulberry St ? ? ?
713 W Mulberry St 1508 6780 0.22
709 W Mulberry St 1342 6206 0.22
705 W Mulberry St 931 6236 0.15
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Average 1260 6407 0.20
NCB West
Address Floor Area Total Lot Area FAR
503 W Mulberry St 1886 5500 0.34
507 W Mulberry St 1622 9500 0.17
511 W Mulberry St 1375 9500 0.14
515 W Mulberry St 1167 9500 0.12
Average 1513 8500 0.20
504 S Whitcomb St 1256 9000 0.14
506 S Whitcomb St 1711 9000 0.19
510 S Whitcomb St 832 9000 0.09
516 S Whitcomb St 1613 9500 0.17
522 S Whitcomb St 3138 9000 0.35
526 S Whitcomb St 2508 5500 0.46
530 S Whitcomb St 2625 5750 0.46
Average 1955 8107 0.26
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NCL West
Address Floor Area Total Lot Area FAR
200 S Grant Ave 1204 5822 0.21
719 W Oak St 1160 3570 0.32
713 W Oak St 1245 6300 0.20
Average 1203 5231 0.24
201 S Loomis Ave 1845 6254 0.30
205 S Loomis Ave 1522 6962 0.22
209 S Loomis Ave 2623 9530 0.28
215 S Loomis Ave 2603 9500 0.27
219 S Loomis Ave 1971 9635 0.20
221 S Loomis Ave 1015 9500 0.11
225 S Loomis Ave 1424 5114 0.28
229 S Loomis Ave 1534 5044 0.30
Average 1817 7692 0.24
1404 W Mountain Ave 1789 8519 0.21
1408 W Mountain Ave 2944 8506 0.35
1412 W Mountain Ave 2774 8406 0.33
1416 W Mountain Ave 2670 9446 0.28
1420 W Mountain Ave 2896 9000 0.32
1426 W Mountain Ave 2480 8078 0.31
Average 2592 8659 0.30
104 N Roosevelt Ave 2366 5670 0.42
116 N Roosevelt Ave 1566 8275 0.19
120 N Roosevelt Ave 1536 8275 0.19
124 N Roosevelt Ave 1528 8486 0.18
128 N Roosevelt Ave 1192 8275 0.14
134 N Roosevelt Ave 2472 8469 0.29
140 N Roosevelt Ave 1059 5765 0.18
150 N Roosevelt Ave 984 6417 0.15
Average 1588 7454 0.22
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City of Fort Collins
East Side FAR Analysis
NCM East
Address Gross Floor Area Total Lot Area FAR
330 Peterson St 2898 9500 0.31
416 E Magnolia St 1376 4500 0.31
420 E Magnolia St 1037 4500 0.23
Average 1770 6167 0.28
509 E Plum St 1150 4750 0.24
519 E Plum St 464 2500 0.19
521 E Plum St 666 2500 0.27
525 E Plum St 724 2250 0.32
Average 751 3000 0.25
801 Smith St 732 2000 0.37
805 Smith St 2810 9500 0.30
807 Smith St 1389 9500 0.15
809 Smith St 1048 9500 0.11
817 Smith St 996 9500 0.10
821 Smith St 1560 9272 0.17
825 Smith St 2546 9728 0.26
829 Smith St 1132 5000 0.23
Average 1527 8000 0.21
516 Locust St 1056 4500 0.23
512 Locust St 1651 5250 0.31
500 Locust St 1717 8500 0.20
Average 1475 6083 0.25
521 Garfield St 1105 5435 0.20
517 Garfield St 1374 5600 0.25
513 Garfield St 1195 8400 0.14
509 Garfield St 1124 7308 0.15
511 Garfield St 1468 7000 0.21
Average 1253 6749 0.19
1100 Whedbee St 1514 5609 0.27
1104 Whedbee St 1518 5425 0.28
Average 1516 5517 0.27
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NCB East
Address Gross Floor Area Total Lot Area FAR
1016 Remington St 2260 7433 0.30
1010 Remington St 3944 9100 0.43
1008 Remington St 4136 9100 0.45
Average 3447 8544 0.40
211 E Mulberry St 3762 ? ?
215 E Mulberry St 2246 2380 0.94
503 Matthews St 3066 7420 0.41
Average 3025 4900 0.68
NCL East
Address Gross Floor Area Total Lot Area FAR
409 Buckeye St 1256 8346 0.15
415 Buckeye St 1686 11756 0.14
423 Buckeye St 2234 9480 0.24
427 Buckeye St 985 9750 0.10
Average 1540 9833 0.16
1401 Whedbee St 2425 7648 0.32
1415 Whedbee St 1966 7319 0.27
1445 Whedbee St 1553 7893 0.20
Average 1981 7620 0.26
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