HomeMy WebLinkAbout07/12/2019 - Planning And Zoning Board - Agenda - Work Session* Work session times are approximate and are subject to change without notice.
Jeff Hansen, Chair Conference Room A
Michael Hobbs 281 N. College Avenue
Per Hogestad Fort Collins, Colorado
Ruth Rollins 80524
Jeffrey Schneider
William Whitley
Planning and Zoning Hearing will be held on Thursday, July 18, 2019, in City Hall Chambers.
Regular Work Session
July 12, 2019
281 N. College Avenue – Conference Room A
Noon – 1:30 pm
TOPICS: PROJECTED TIMES:
Consent:
1. May 16, 2019 Hearing Draft Minutes
2. Land Use Code Minor Revisions (Beals)
12:00 – 12:05
Discussion:
(None)
Policy and Legislation:
• (None)
Board Topics:
• CSU Capstone Project (Blochowiak & Shapiro)
• Design Manual Overview (Van Zee)
• Harmony Gateway Plan Update and Standards and Guidelines (Gloss)
• Election of Vice Chair (Everette)
• Transportation Board Liaison Update (York)
12:05 – 1:30
Planning and Zoning Board
Work Session Agenda
1
CSU Capstone Project Overview
Claire Shapiro
Personal Background
• Undergraduate: anthropology & geography
• Social aspects of environmental issues
• Work experience
• Leadership
• Project management
• Administrative
• Moved from Vermont last summer to attend CSU
1
2
CSU Capstone Project
Work Session Packet Pg. 2
2
Program
Fundamentals
Conservation Leadership
Through Learning (CLTL)
15‐month M.S.
Innovative, interdisciplinary,
experiential
Capstone Project
Fundamentals
• 4‐month immersion
• Community‐based
• Useful deliverable
3
4
CSU Capstone Project
Work Session Packet Pg. 3
3
Urban
Conservation
Accessibility and connection to nature, where people live
Human health & wellbeing benefits
Ecosystem services & green infrastructure
Cities as biodiversity hotspots
Nature in the City
• Program Goals
• Easy access to nature
• High quality natural spaces
• Land stewardship
5
6
CSU Capstone Project
Work Session Packet Pg. 4
4
Land Use Code Changes
• Enhance biodiversity & habitat services
• Create corridors
• Improve access to nature
• Align Fort Collins growth with community values
Project
Activities
• Literature review
• Interviews with peer cities
Best practices research
• Design community
• Developers
• Other stakeholders
Outreach
7
8
CSU Capstone Project
Work Session Packet Pg. 5
5
Deliverable
Menu of
Options
Best practices
& lessons
learned
Integrating
NIC into LUC
Flexible
Conclusion &
Questions
9
10
CSU Capstone Project
Work Session Packet Pg. 6
Instructions for Review of Design Manual
Dear Reviewer:
Following the June Planning and Zoning Board work session, a follow-up discussion of the Design Manual
is scheduled for July 12th. This packet is intended to allow the Board more time to review the Design
Manual content and prepare any questions, comments or concerns to discuss at the work session.
Questions to consider while reviewing:
1. Are there any broad topics staff has missed that should be included in the updated
Neighborhood & District Design section?
2. Does the current Design Manual content address the big development challenges facing the
community?
3. Are there topics needing further development or clarity?
What you have heard: The work session presentation on June 14th introduced the Planning and Zoning
Board to the background, purpose and scope of the Design Manual. It explained the organization of the
document, chapter elements and current stage of the new Design Manual.
What has changed: After further examination of the broader topics addressed in the manual, the Guiding
Design Principles and City Design sections have been merged into the Neighborhood and District Design
section. Topics that were previously included in the Neighborhood and District Design section have been
moved to Site Design (refer to p. 6 for new organization). Further text and image edits have been done to
these two sections and are reflected in this packet.
What has been added: The following topics (previously in City Design) have been added to
Neighborhood & District Design and are included in the packet:
-A Holistic Approach (p. 8)
-A Town-like Pattern (p. 9)
-Arranging the Parts (p. 10)
-Balancing Priorities (p. 11)
What is not included in this packet: This packet does not include the sections on Site Design, Building
Design or Definitions which will be presented to the Board at future work sessions.
Any proposed changes or additions the Board recommends will be discussed at the work session. If the
Board has specific edits to be incorporated into the Design Manual, please email them to directly to
svanzee@fcgov.com by Friday, July 19th.
Sincerely,
Shawna Van Zee, Associate Planner
Design Manual Overview
Work Session Packet Pg. 7
The 2019 Fort Collins
Design Manual
Design Manual Overview
Work Session Packet Pg. 8
2 City of Fort Collins
Design Manual Overview
Work Session Packet Pg. 9
Design Manual 3
Who this document is written for:
The Fort Collins Design Manual aims to provide a broad audience
with an illustrated, easy-to-understand explanation of the intent and
concepts behind the City’s Land Use Code (LUC). This user-friendly
document is designed for developers, designers, planners, small
business owners, citizens and decision makers to assist them in the
design process.
Why this document exists:
The purpose of this manual is to take the Land Use Code and provide
substantive, tangible examples of the reasoning behind the Land Use
Code provisions and how to best implement them. The primary goal is
to guide and inspire better development that is in line with Fort Collins’
character and policies and reflects distinctive, less formulaic design.
The Fort Collins Design Manual promotes common understanding
of our local standards and how they can be applied to result in new
development that is less program-driven and more sensitive to Fort
Collins as a one-of-a-kind place. Innovative and creative ideas that
align with City regulations, policy and neighborhood character are
encouraged. This document shows examples of how to meet standards
and guidelines in creative ways.
How this document
functions:
This document addresses
common design issues and
serves as a tool to interpret
complex concepts related to land
development.
It includes specific Land Use
Code Article 3 standards that are
applicable or need explaining
in more detail. These standards
will be “boiled down” into simple
and straight-forward bullet-
point statements throughout the
manual.
The LUC standards are graphically
interpreted in three chapters
that are relative to the scale
of a development project:
Neighborhood & District Design,
Site Design and Building Design.
Purpose + Scope
Design Manual Overview
Work Session Packet Pg. 10
4 City of Fort Collins
INTENT STATEMENTS: These are broad statements about what the
design standards and guidelines seek to achieve as an outcome of their
execution.
STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES: Standards and guidelines will be called
out with a heading and followed by relevant bulleted statements.
Standards are mandatory and are usually repeated from the Land
Use Code but may be reworded to make them easier to understand.
Guidelines offer additional guidance and are recommended.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This additional level of text provides
more detail than the standards and guidelines. They will often offer
examples of how to achieve a certain standard or guideline.
EXAMPLE IMAGERY OR DIAGRAM: Throughout the manual, example
imagery, illustrations, and diagrams provide the reader with visual
interpretations of the standards and guidelines. Photos with a green
check mark are desired applications while photos with a red ‘X’ are not
desired.
REFERENCES AND LINKS: Additional references and links are provided
throughout this document. These will often direct the reader to an
additional, but related document or website.
Document Elements
Design Manual Overview
Work Session Packet Pg. 11
Design Manual 5
Neighborhood and District Design: Neighborhood
and district design focuses on how each individual
project fits into the neighborhood-scale context. Its
goal is to create a livable city where neighborhoods
are connected, amenities serve nearby residents, and
design is sensitive to its surroundings.
Site Design: Site design discusses the programming,
layout, and design of streets and other key elements
in a development plan. This includes the roadways,
sidewalks, landscaping, and building placement that
create public spaces throughout the city built to
create smart connections.
Building Design: Building design refers to the actual
forms and features of a building such as mass and
scale, articulation, arrangement of windows and
doors, materials, and more.
How This Handbook is Organized
This document is organized in a hierarchy from broad considerations and principles to detailed design
guidance. The organization of the document is intentional to help the reader consider how a project may
impact the community no matter the scale. It is organized as follows:
Design Manual Overview
Work Session Packet Pg. 12
6 City of Fort Collins
Contents
Neighborhood & District Design
A Holistic Approach
A Town-like Pattern
Arranging the Parts
Balancing Priorities
Improving Connectivity
Responding to Context
Incorporating Nature
Site Design
Street Design
Smart Connections
Street Frontage
Emergency Access
Vehicular Access
Parking Lot Design
Bicycle Share & Parking
Commercial & Mixed Use Site Design
Compact, Mixed Use Development
TOD Site Design
Service Areas & Utility Placement
Lighting
Landscaping
Natural Habitats & Features
Low Impact Development
Neighborhood Scale Agriculture
Residential Site Design
Block Dimensions
Buildings Fronting Streets
Sidewalk Zone
Multi-modal Functions
Building Placement
Compatible Massing
Setbacks
Circulation
Trash + Recycling Enclosures
Outdoor Storage
Mechanical
Walls + Fences
Signage
Public Art
Building Design
Compatible Development
Historic Preservation & Adaptive Reuse
Unique Building Design
Scale & Height
Mass & Articulation
Materials
TOD Building Design
Residential Building Design
Roof
Storefront Design
Facade + Enclosure
Performance + Sustainability
Integrated Utilities
Definitions
Development + Redevelopment
Urban Design
Land Use Code
Design Manual 7
Other Documents to Reference
This handbook should be used in concert with
other planning documents, such as the Land
Use Code, City Plan, Master Street Plan, and
other relevant sources as listed throughout
the document. This manual is not a regulatory
document. The Land Use Code is the book of
local regulations, called standards, which govern
land use and development in Fort Collins.
To use this handbook:
Read it on its own. We hope it lends useful
perspective on the overall approach to
designing development, which is not readily
apparent in the Land Use Code’s legal outline
format.
Read it alongside the Land Use Code.
Explanations and examples help interpret
particular code standards.
Discuss it. The explanations and examples
should be used to aid inevitable discussions
about trade-offs, troublesome concepts, and
competing priorities in development plans.
This handbook does not explain the development
review process. This document does not focus
on the development process. For navigating the
development process, readers should reference
the Development Review Guide, located at http://
www.fcgov.com/drg/.
Readers should also reference the following
documents when developing a property:
City Plan - City Plan is the City’s Comprehensive
Plan. It is the policy basis behind Land Use
Code regulations for development, and thus the
basis for this Design Manual. It represents the
culmination of principles, policies and action
items developed with the local community and
adopted by City Council that guide development.
Master Street Plan (MSP) - This plan is a map of
the City's long-range vision for its major street
network. This includes existing and future vehicle,
bicycle, and pedestrian connections throughout
the city and its growth management area The
MSP also reflects the type of street (i.e. collector,
arterial, etc.) and the general location for planning
transportation connections.
Larimer County Urban Area Street Standards
(LCUASS) - These are the requirements for the
design and engineering of public streets in Fort
Collins. Any development plan involving public
street construction must meet these standards.
Area Plans and Design Guidelines- The City
has developed more than 15 neighborhood
and corridor plans containing policies and
guidelines for development in specific areas of the
community. These subarea plans are noted in City
Plan.
Stormwater Criteria Manual - This manual is
a multi-volume set of requirements for water
runoff and drainage in development. This is a
8 City of Fort Collins
To achieve our goal of being a sustainable and livable community,
we must approach neighborhood and district design from a holistic
approach, integrating water, streets, traffic, the natural environment,
and energy into one high functioning, harmonious system.
Specialists can easily design each of the parts – the driveway access,
the parking lot, the sign and building, for example – to serve technical
and consumer marketing purposes in an individual development. The
difficult part is to make the multitude of real estate developments fit in
and fit together over time into a whole greater than the sum of the parts
– a livable city.
A Holistic Approach
Development is reviewed
for its relationship to the
surrounding neighborhood or
commercial district. A developer’s
programming and design
must be based on making the
project an integrated extension
of the unique local context.
Preconceived development
programs or corporate prototype
plans must be modified to
achieve this.
A project may need to fit in with
the current conditions, or it may
need to set a new enhanced
standard as part of a vision for
continuing the evolution of the
City over time. Both of these aims
are often central to the design
process. For this to be a reality, it
must be an interdisciplinary effort
incorporating the public and
private sectors at each level of
development.
Neighborhood & District
Design
Design Manual Overview
Work Session Packet Pg. 15
Design Manual 9
A Town-like Pattern
The foundations of a town-like pattern are the streets. Streets form the
basis of connections. These streets should be simple and direct, easy for
pedestrians to navigate. They form the basis for a mix of uses – housing,
schools, parks, retail, transit stops, etc.
This is an overriding theme in the City’s system.
1. Focus on the thoughtful layout of an interconnected street
network with walkable blocks.
2. Focus on the street itself as a positive public space with trees,
sidewalks, transit stops, bike lanes, crosswalks and other
features.
3. Focus on the street front created by engaging building faces and
entrances brought together along streets. Big, roaring arterials
may pose exceptions.
These three themes all go together in walkable cities. There is not a
new idea here – this is the way towns and cities have traditionally been
built.
Streets are the city’s most important public spaces. They determine
what kind of place Fort Collins will be, under what conditions its
residents encounter each other in public, and what image the City will
project to visitors. They are the basis of accessibility for pedestrians as
well as for vehicles.
Design Manual Overview
Work Session Packet Pg. 16
10 City of Fort Collins
This requires a finely woven pattern of streets and blocks that offer
direct, varied pedestrian routes made interesting through detailed
design. Downtown and the Old Town Neighborhoods exemplify this
idea in Fort Collins. This means confronting and balancing the tendency
for disconnected developments dominated by traffic, parking lots and
garages.
Today’s challenge is to build the advantages of old town patterns
into projects that also accommodate natural drainage systems
and topography, traffic engineering, financing systems, real estate
development industries and modern consumer markets.
Arranging the Parts
Fort Collins Land Use Code
standards deal with the basic
physical fabric of the city. The
fabric is composed of a collection
of parts – some privately owned,
starting with building and parking
lots; and some publicly owned,
starting with streets, parks,
drainage ways and natural areas.
The vast majority of all parts are
built or funded by development,
including most infrastructure that
ends up in public ownership. This
manual shows solutions to some
basic local standards for how to
arrange the parts in real estate
developments.
The Land Use Code calls for
arranging the parts in new
developments in a connected,
mixed, town-like pattern. Our
most valued urban places
are designed for the use and
enjoyment of people on foot.
Design Manual Overview
Work Session Packet Pg. 17
Design Manual 11
Balancing Priorities
The public interests of the community and
the private interests in a given real estate
development often have different priorities
in arranging a site plan. Below is a simplified
comparison of competing approaches that
must be blended and balanced.
Ideally, a simple and memorable system of
streets and outdoor spaces is first formed
in conjunction with schematic architecture.
Driveways, parking lots and corporate themes
can then be fitted into the resulting fabric.
"THIS"
Pedestrian-oriented arrangement based on
urban design of a public space as a framework
(fits with the Land Use Code):
1. Contribute to a framework of streets and
blocks with comfortable streetscapes.
2. Place buildings in relation to streets and
other buildings with interesting building
elevations. Create outdoor spaces to line
and anchor streets and corners.
3. Place parking lots and other vehicular
uses where they will not interrupt
pedestrian frontages or dominate the
street scene.
4. Incorporate signs and landscaping into
the urban design framework.
This type of design balances priority among
a broad range of long and short-term needs,
includes all important parts; is more complex,
requires more design work and coordination,
and is therefore initially more costly with
few costs deferred, displaced, or unmet. The
pedestrian-oriented arrangement results in
more efficient land use, energy, time, and
all other resources by creating connections,
mixing uses, compacting the area, and less
vehicle dependence.
"NOT THIS"
Vehicle-oriented arrangement based on private
use attaching onto existing public space (does
not fit with the Land Use Code):
1. Assign a predetermined number
of landscaped streets, blocks, and
comfortable predesigned floor plans to a
parcel.
2. Locate driveways for car traffic, then
maximize parking spaces on the site and
in front of the door.
3. If commercial, pave generous areas for
delivery and service trucks to sides and
rear.
4. Place signs, landscaping, and sidewalk
segments in any leftover spots.
This type of design places priority on a narrow
range of short-term considerations, leaving
out important concepts. It requires less design
work therefore a lower initial cost with more
12 City of Fort Collins
Improving Connectivity
The Land Use Code calls for frequent, direct
connections. New streets within developments
should extend and connect with the community.
The layout should be simple and direct, avoiding
circuitous routes and providing the user with
choices. These connections are crucial for people
who walk, bike, and travel by any other means of
active transportation.
The City’s focus is on making streets safer for all
users. This principle encourages new development
to prioritize safe pedestrian and bicycle connections
to parks and open space, transit stops, civic
destinations, schools and nearby neighborhoods.
Internally, developments should also prioritize safe
pedestrian connections between the buildings.
Improving connectivity also means improving
people’s experience. Sidewalks should be protected
from moving traffic and wide enough for two
people to walk side-by-side. Pathways should be
comfortable, safe, well lit, and landscaped. Bike lanes
should be buffered or protected whenever feasible
and wide enough that people feel safe using them.
Design Manual Overview
Work Session Packet Pg. 19
Design Manual 13
A circuitous, disconnected pattern discourages pedestrians with
unnecessary distances. Residents within close proximity to friends,
schools, or stores end up driving to their destination rather than walking
or biking. Non-direct routes essentially mandate car travel for these
everyday trips. Local car trips are forced onto arterial streets, adding a
burden to a congested network and makes wayfinding difficult. Shorter
blocks reduce speeding and traffic is distributed more evenly, reducing
the stress the street network.
They City recognizes that today’s development makes connectivity
increasingly complicated. Fort Collins has limited vacant, buildable land
available, so most development projects will occur within the existing
street network.
Today, several factors favor development projects isloated from their
context and lacking new connections.
• A developer may not want network connections, preferring
only internal access or parking lots in their individual project to
maximize the private development program and benefits.
• Planning and construction are also simpler and cheaper without
connections.
• Developers and residents sometimes want minimum access and
cul-de-sacs in their real estate developments to avoid traffic and
keep non-residents out. Pedestrian and bicycle connections are
even sometimes unwanted.
Despite these factors, a commitment and effort are needed on the part
of both the City and developers to create a well-connected community.
Design Manual Overview
Work Session Packet Pg. 20
14 City of Fort Collins
Responding to Context
In terms of development, Fort Collins believes that
the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Each
new development should seek to respond to and
seamlessly fit in with the neighboring properties, the
street, the neighborhood, and the city. This does
not mean it has to look exactly like its neighbor,
but it should be compatible and unobtrusive. It
should mitigate impacts of development on its
surroundings.
When designing access to a property, think about
the implications to the larger traffic network and
adjacent neighboring properties. When designing
parking, don’t only think about function - think
about how the parking looks and feels to those
around it. And when designing the architecture,
think about its relationship to the natural conditions,
climate, and the built environment around it. With
an integrated approach to design and context, each
element of a design - from site access to building
materials – is given equal consideration.
New development should respond to the existing
community character. Historic resources contribute
to creating meaningful places, as they help
define the evolving identity of a great city. Saving
irreplaceable historic resources through adaptive
reuse is an important component of our local
development philosophy.
Design Manual Overview
Work Session Packet Pg. 21
Design Manual 15
Incorporating Nature
Fort Collins embraces and celebrates a
connection with nature which contributes
to a healthy environment and the well-being
of our residents. To contribute to a healthy
environment, proper buffering of natural
habitats and features is desired. This will
provide a healthy ecosystem for our native
flora and fauna.
Additionally, Fort Collins supports low impact
development (LID) techniques for managing
stormwater. LID methods mitigate impacts on
our stormwater infrastructure by temporarily
storing and treating the water on-site first.
These natural elements provide desired open
space, a connection to nature, and can have
significant cost savings for the developer and
the city. Highlighting existing natural features
and amenities, such as maintaining a small
waterway or designing a courtyard around an
existing mature and healthy tree, is desired.
Creating more open space connections to
offer respite from the urban environment is
also appropriate. Each site should be designed
to maximize the relationship between a
building and surrounding site amenities and
natural features.
Design Manual Overview
Work Session Packet Pg. 22
Planning, Development & Transportation
Community Development & Neighborhood Services
MEMORANDUM
DATE: July 12, 2019
TO: Members of the Planning and Zoning Board
FROM: Cameron Gloss, Long-Range Planning Manager
RE: Initial Concepts for Harmony ‘Gateway’ Scenarios – Board Feedback
At the work session, staff would like to invite members to offer suggestions and questions about
four potential Harmony Gateway Scenarios (Attachment A), the overall Land Use and Site
Design Characteristics for each scenario, and the tools to analyze them (Attachment B).
Information provided by the Board will help to inform the next step in the community
engagement process that will culminate in community workshops during the month of August
(dates tbd).
Harmony Gateway Plan - Memo
Work Session Packet Pg. 23
Attachment A – Harmony Gateway Scenarios DRAFT July 2, 2019
Harmony Gateway Scenario Summary
The proposed alternative future scenarios are distinguished primarily by differences in density/intensity of
development, mix of uses, and amount of green space, as summarized below:
Scenario A: Base-case (current BINREAC (Basic Industrial and Non-Residential Activity Center) Harmony
Corridor Plan land use designation)
• Mitigate floodplain impacts
• Reflect continuation of the current Harmony Corridor Plan policies and HC zone district standards
• Assumes at least 75% primary employment/industrial uses, with a maximum of 25% secondary
(commercial/retail, housing, public) uses
• 6 story non-residential and 3 story residential building height limit
• 80-foot wide landscaped setback along Harmony Road and I-25
• Habitat buffer surrounding heron rookery
Scenario B: Increased Commercial and Housing w ith Big Box
• Mitigate floodplain impacts
• Assumes a mixed-use employment district, with a greater retail and commercial (max 50%) and
residential (min 25%) with a minimum of 20% primary employment/industrial uses
• Provides limited big box retail (max cumulative 250,000 sq. ft.)
• Civic/community facilities are viewed independently and are not subject to the use proportions
• Allows potential for drive-through restaurants if screened and in areas subordinate to pedestrian spaces
and focal points
• Average 140-190-foot-wide naturalistic landscaped setbacks along Harmony Rd. and I-25
• 6 story non-residential and 3 story residential building height limit
• Regional trail corridor
• Habitat buffer surrounding heron rookery
Scenario C: Increased Commercial and Housing w ithout Big Box
• Same as Scenario B, but big box and drive through restaurants are prohibited
Scenario D: Clustered (Reduced Floor Area and Increased Undeveloped Green Space)
• Mitigate floodplain impacts
• Clustering of uses with required open space to reduce development ‘footprint’ of buildings and parking
areas
• Assumes a mixed-use employment district, with a greater retail and commercial (max 50%) and
residential (min 25%) with a minimum of 20% primary employment/industrial uses
• Average 140-190-foot-wide naturalistic landscaped setbacks along Harmony Rd. and I-25
• Maximum height of 5 stories for commercial/retail and 3 for residential
• Regional trail corridor
• Habitat buffer surrounding heron rookery
Harmony Gateway Plan - Att A
Work Session Packet Pg. 24
Attachment B – Harmony Gateway Scenario Frameworks DRAFT July 2, 2019
Introduction
This memo outlines a framework for the analysis of four alternative future scenarios for the
Harmony ‘Gateway’ area. The framework builds on discussions with the City Council at a recent
work session and from recent public events with community stakeholders.
Scenario Overview
While there are many discrete land use and design variables between the four scenarios, they
are distinguished primarily by the density/intensity of development, mix of uses, and physical
characteristics.
All scenarios require that impacts to the Poudre River floodplain be mitigated and evaluated
through applicable local, state and federal permitting processes.
• Scenario A: Base-case –reflects a continuation of the current Harmony Corridor Plan
BINREAC (Basic Industrial and Non-Residential Activity Center) land use designation. This
scenario provides the opportunity for suburban-style employment campuses limited
primarily to industrial and/or office uses and limited commercial/retail and residential uses.
• Scenario B: Increased Commercial and Housing with Big Box option – reflects
adjustments to the current Harmony Corridor Plan. Generally, allows a greater amount of
commercial/retail and residential uses than found in other Harmony Corridor employment
areas by providing a greater mix of uses. Large retail establishments aka ‘Big Box’ retailers
are permitted as are drive-through facilities if located in secondary locations.
• Scenario C: Increased Commercial and Housing without Big Box option –
represents a similar overall mix of commercial/retail, residential and employment uses as
Scenario B, but building footprints are smaller.
• Scenario D: Clustered (reduced Floor Area and Increased Undeveloped Green
Space) – reflects a more ‘town-like’ pattern of development within developed areas by
including smaller building footprints parking lots, and also with more land area retained in
an undeveloped state.
Table 1: Scenario Distinctions
Harmony Gateway Plan - Att B
Work Session Packet Pg. 25
Attachment B – Harmony Gateway Scenario Frameworks DRAFT July 2, 2019
Scenario A
Scenario B Scenario C
Scenario D
LAND USE
Overall mix/distribution of uses
Overall mix/distribution
of uses
• Basic construct of
the Harmony
Corridor Plan does
not change
significantly
• Minimum 75%
industrial and
employment uses
• Maximum 25%
commercial/retail
and residential uses
• Civic/community
facilities are
considered
‘secondary’ uses
Overall mix/distribution
of uses
• Harmony Corridor
Plan shifts to
accommodate a
greater mix of uses
• Minimum 20%
industrial and
employment uses
• Maximum 50%
commercial/retail
uses
• Minimum 25%
residential use
• Civic/community
facilities not limited
Overall mix/distribution
of uses
• Harmony Corridor
Plan shifts to
accommodate a
greater mix of uses
• Minimum 20%
industrial and
employment uses
• Maximum 50%
commercial/retail uses
• Minimum 25%
residential use
• Civic/community
facilities not limited
Overall mix/distribution
of uses
• Harmony Corridor
Plan shifts to
accommodate a
greater mix of uses
Attachment B – Harmony Gateway Scenario Frameworks DRAFT July 2, 2019
Scenario A
Scenario B Scenario C
Scenario D
• No mobility hub
required
• No requirement that
Wireless facilities are
“stealth” installations
• Electronic message
center signs
permitted
• Land Use Code
general standards for
building materials
• Regional trail
connection
• Required mobility
hub
• Required stealth
wireless
telecommunication
facilities
• Electronic message
center signs
prohibited
• High-quality building
materials required
that complement the
colors and textures
of the Poudre River
Corridor
• Regional trail
connection
• Required mobility hub
• Required stealth
wireless
telecommunication
facilities
• Electronic message
center signs
prohibited
• High-quality building
materials required
that complement the
colors and textures of
the Poudre River
Corridor
• Regional trail
connection
• Required mobility hub
• Required stealth
wireless
telecommunication
facilities
• Electronic message
center signs
prohibited
• High-quality building
materials required
1
5
HARMONY GATEWAY AREA
Updated 2019
“The goal of gateway planning is to arrange the landscape with a sense of arrival and a positive image of the place”
Michael Barrette
DRAFT – May 1, 2019
Harmony Gateway Plan - Ch 5 Draft
Work Session Packet Pg. 28
2
Harmony Gateway Plan - Ch 5 Draft
Work Session Packet Pg. 29
3
CHAPTER OUTLINE
INTRODUCTION pp 5-10
The Setting
Harmony Corridor Plan Background
General Direction for the Gateway Area
Existing Conditions Issues
Changed Conditions and
New Information Since the Original
1991 Plan
VISION FOR THE GATEWAY AREA
pp 11-23
Overview
Naturalistic River Valley Landscape
Landscaped Setbacks Along Harmony
and I-25 For Visual Image and
Character
Unified Harmony Road Gateway
Streetscape
Fort Collins Entry Sign
Habitat Protection and Mitigation
Regional Trail Corridor
Mobility Hub
Limitation on Commercial Signs
Stealth Wireless Facilities
Land Use and Development—South
Side of Harmony Road
Land Use and Development—North
Side of Harmony Road
GOALS p 23
POLICIES and IMPLEMENTATION
p 24
Harmony Gateway Plan - Ch 5 Draft
Work Session Packet Pg. 30
4
The Gateway Area comprises about 450 acres extending one mile north and one-half mile south of
Harmony Road
Harmony Gateway Plan - Ch 5 Draft
Work Session Packet Pg. 31
5
INTRODUCTION
This updated Chapter 5 builds upon ideas
and recommendations of the original 1991
Harmony Corridor Plan considering over 25
years’ worth of new information and
changed conditions.
Harmony Gateway Plan - Ch 5 Draft
Work Session Packet Pg. 32
6
Harmony Road, formerly State Highway 66,
smooths out the topography of the bluff
North side of the road: Arapaho Bend Natural Area
The Setting
The Gateway Area extends along both
sides of Harmony Road from I-25 to the
edge of the Cache La Poudre river valley,
defined by a bluff just over a half-mile west
of I-25.
The bluff, also known as the valley wall, is
a result of the river’s down-cutting action
as it meandered within its floodplain for
many thousands of years. While it is a
notable geographic feature from a
historical perspective, it simply presents a
modest hill for users of Harmony Road.
Lying within the river valley below the
bluff, the area consists of low ground,
ponds, and wetland areas—all remainders
from extensive past gravel mining
operations.
The Gateway Area is an exceptional
location due to high values the community
places on the Cache La Poudre River
corridor and also on the Harmony Road
interchange with I-25 as the most-traveled
entryway into the city.
This juxtaposition creates the unique
opportunities and significance that make
the Gateway Area a prominent aspect of
the Harmony Corridor Plan.
The types of development that highway
interchanges typically attract do not mesh
well with the community’s values regarding
this unique opportunity.
The challenge is to balance different and
sometimes competing objectives for land
use and development.
Harmony Corridor Plan Background:
General Direction for the Area
The Harmony Corridor Plan, adopted in
1991, identified the ‘Gateway Area’
but did not establish a vision or strategy
for the area. Rather, it explained issues
What’s A Community Gateway -- Why Is It
Important?
Community plans commonly address prominent
entryways as special opportunities to cue entry into and
departure from the given city. A well-planned gateway
can:
• Contribute to a sense of community with a look and
feel of local values, civic intention, and pride
• Offer a sense of arrival and welcome for visitors
• Offer a familiar and welcoming feel for residents,
signifying home in a positive way
• Avoid homogenous highway-oriented corporate
character that blurs local identity
• Invite attention to the city as a place to visit, in
addition to being an area to drive through
7
that were still in flux at the time and
described alternative concepts. It
concluded that:
“Additional work is required to develop a
strategy for shaping the future of this
important segment of the community.”
The starting point for additional work was
to be the concept of a well-planned and
attractive entrance to Fort Collins
integrating quality development with
naturalistic characteristics and features of
the river valley landscape.
This concept was described as ‘Alternative
A’ in the original plan. Key points are:
• Incorporate wetlands, lakes and
drainageway areas as an elaborate open
space network laced with an extensive
system of trails.
• Blend development into naturalistic
landscaping, favoring light industrial
and office uses and discouraging
commercial uses unless they can be
blended unobtrusively into the
naturalistic setting.
• Provide significant setbacks from streets
for any development forming a
greenbelt around the interchange.
• Establish standards for architecture and
landscape plans emphasizing naturalistic
character.
• Ownership, maintenance and liability
issues would need to be negotiated and
could include re-investment of tax
dollars created by development,
dedication of land by property owners
or developers, and public funding.
The Harmony Corridor Plan’s
overarching direction for land use along
the entire corridor included the Gateway
Area. That is, the area was designated as
‘Basic Industrial Non-Retail Employment’
for future development with an emphasis
on business park-type employment uses
and avoidance of highway commercial
“strip” type development with a generous
landscaped setback area along the roadway.
However, while the corridor-wide
employment designation was applied to the
Gateway Area, the area is also highlighted
separately and prominently throughout the
plan in addition to having its own chapter.
The area is distinct and different from the
uplands to the west which comprise the
rest of the corridor.
The plan’s direction for additional work
based on ‘Alternative A’ included a listing
of Implementation Actions—giving
direction on the additional work needed.
Over the past 25-plus years, a large body
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passage of flood flows with virtually no
development permitted.)
The river itself is the north edge of the
gateway area. It angles southeastward to
cross I-25 a half-mile north of the
interchange. It then continues east in the
Town of Timnath.
However, limited flow capacity under the
I-25 bridge crossing would cause flood
flows to back up behind the bridge in a
flood event and break out of the river
channel to flow down through Gateway
Area across Harmony Road.
The Colorado Department of
Transportation (CDOT) and the City are
exploring possibilities for a new I-25
bridge together with downstream flood
improvements that could allow flood flows
to remain in the river channel and remove
the floodway from the Gateway Area.
Unless and until such a solution is reached,
no residential development is allowed in
the floodway and any other development
would face the very difficult challenge of
showing no adverse impact on adjacent
properties. This would not be feasible for
any significant development in the
Gateway Area.
However, developers may propose to
channelize and realign the floodway by
completely reshaping the landscape to
create developable land. The necessary
filling and grading would require a
significant technical process with the City
and FEMA.
Floodway issues are a complex
interjurisdictional matter beyond the scope
of this Harmony Corridor Plan. Any
solution would require a multi-year process
of engineering, design, coordination and
permitting.
This plan update establishes a vision and
strategy for land use and development in
the event that floodway constraints are
removed in a separate process.
Gravel Pit Ponds
In 2019, the five gravel pit ponds on the
south side of Harmony Road are in varying
states of compliance with State water law.
These ponds are unintentional residual
results of past gravel mining and were
never intended to be the permanent land
use on the property.
The technical complexity of the water
issues are beyond the scope of this plan,
similar to the floodway issues noted above
and are interrelated with the floodway
issues.
For planning purposes, these ponds should
9
more intentional habitat improvements as
part of a whole reshaped landscape.
Existing Land Uses
The north side of Harmony Road mostly
consists of the City’s Arapaho Bend
Natural Area and the Transportation
Transfer Center (TTC or park-n-ride), a
joint facility of the City and CDOT that
was carefully carved out of the Natural
Area.
The commercial property abutting the
northwest corner of the interchange is not
within the City Limits.
On the south side of Harmony Road, the
gas station and adjacent cell tower are not
within the City Limits.
A plant nursery business was established
under County jurisdiction prior to
annexation and has since been annexed
along with the remainder of the gateway
area on the south side of Harmony. The
remainder of the south side comprises
gravel-mined property with no economic
use at the present time.
Changed Conditions Since the Original
1991 Plan
Major changes and new information since
1991 have informed the planning process
for the Gateway Area plan update in 2019.
Prominent examples include:
• Jurisdiction over Harmony Road was
transferred from the Colorado
Department of Transportation to the
City of Fort Collins, and the
designation as a State Highway was
removed.
• Gravel mining operations were
completed, throughout the gateway
area, altering the landscape so that no
natural qualities remain and leaving pits
to become ponds.
• The portion of the Gateway Area on
the north side of Harmony Road was
purchased by the City as the Arapaho
Bend Natural Area. (With the
exception of the commercial property
abutting the northwest corner of the
interchange which remains under
County jurisdiction at the present
time.)
• The Transportation Transfer Center
(TTC, aka park-n-ride), was built on
the north side of Harmony Road, by
the City and CDOT (on land
purchased from the Natural Areas
Program). The TTC and Arapaho
Bend protected wetland, wildlife and
vegetative interest described in the
original 1991 plan.
10
• A large, visually prominent cell phone
tower was built adjacent to the
interchange on the south side
of Harmony Road in the Gateway Area
under County zoning.
• The City’s 1997 Comprehensive Plan
update known as City Plan designated
Harmony Road as one of four
Enhanced Travel Corridors for
future high-frequency transit in the
long-term structure of the city.
• City Plan’s land use map (the City
Structure Plan map) envisioned a
‘Green Edge’ of the city along the low-
lying southeastern edge of city
including the Gateway Area, suggesting
that development intensity would
generally taper down to a fairly open
and rural landscape, helping to
preserve the separate identities of Fort
Collins and Timnath.
• The City and County twice extended
Fort Collins’ Growth Management
Area southward from its boundary at
the time of the original Harmony
Corridor Plan ½ mile south of
Harmony Road. At the present time it
extends 3 ½ miles further south to the
SH 392/Carpenter road interchange
area.
• Two Community Separator studies
were conducted, in 1999 and 2003,
describing potential opportunities for
preserving distinct visual and physical
separation and identity of Fort Collins,
Timnath, and Windsor. These studies
were a forum for discussion of
cooperative land use planning among
jurisdictions and property owners.
• The 2003 Fort Collins-Timnath-
Windsor Community Separator
Study specifically identified the Poudre
River floodplain corridor which forms
a broad swath around the I-
25/Harmony interchange, between
Fort Collins and Timnath, as a primary
opportunity.
• The Separator studies generally
described possible implementation
actions, which would require
increasing cooperation and decreasing
competition for sales tax among
regional cities and towns at their edges
along I-25.
• The retail industry saw the evolution
of “big box” superstores, power
centers, and lifestyle shopping centers,
all serving an increasingly regional
market.
11
• Soon after the Separator studies were
completed, Timnath re-designated the
east entire east side of I-25 directly
across from the Gateway Area for
Regional Commercial development,
extending from the interchange one mile
southward, negating the Separator
concepts for that area. Walmart,
Costco, and associated commercial pads
were developed.
• CDOT undertook an Environmental
Impact Study process evaluating
alternative transportation scenarios for
I-25 and related north-south
transportation facilities between the
Denver Metro area and North Front
Range, showing the Harmony
interchange as a significant hub for
future bus transit.
• Taller buildings began to emerge along
I-25 in Northern Colorado, with an 8-
story hotel under construction near the
Larimer County Events Center and other
6-story buildings planned nearby.
• Development along the top of the
river valley wall has significantly altered
the potential for scenic views looking
west across the river valley to the
mountains beyond, as described in the
original 1991 plan.
• Property owners, professional
consultants, prospective developers, and
City staff have evaluated several land
use initiatives for the south side of
Harmony Road. These were based on
reclaiming gravel-mined land and ponds,
completely reshaping the floodplain,
developing employment-based land uses,
and exploring possibilities for City
purchase of certain property. These
efforts produced significant information
and understanding but none yielded a
workable strategy for land use and
development.
• Most of the property in the Gateway
Area on the south side of Harmony
Road was annexed with the exception
of the existing gas station property.
• Eagle View Natural Area was
purchased immediately south of the area
across Kechter Road.
• An Overall Development Plan (ODP)
was approved for the south side of
Harmony Road based on the
requirement for 75% Primary uses. A
Convenience Shopping Center was
subsequently approved under the ODP
as a Secondary use. The ODP presumes
filling of ponds and complete reshaping
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Gateway Area Looking West
Overview
Property owners, community members, decision makers, and various other
stakeholders, both public and private, need a shared understanding of how
continuing changes should be channeled to contribute to a positive vision.
The original 1991 Harmony Corridor Plan set a direction and starting point:
to create a community entryway that integrates quality development into a
naturalistic landscape with riparian characteristics associated with the river valley.
Office and light industrial uses were encouraged; commercial uses were discouraged
unless they could be shown to blend unobtrusively into the naturalistic setting.
That general direction has remained valid. 25-plus years of changes, new
information, and public discussion have built on that starting point and reaffirmed
the essential ideas to make the most of the unique opportunity to form a Fort Collins
gateway and a special destination over time with distinct local character derived from
juxtaposing a naturalistic landscape and Fort Collins’ values for livability, community
and sustainability in development.
The community’s vision for this entryway includes specific acknowledgement and
direction that is notably different from typical commercial development oriented to
interstate highway exits. Rather, the vision is to provide relief from the attention-
grabbing approach common in recent development along I-25.
Harmony Gateway Plan - Ch 5 Draft
Work Session Packet Pg. 39
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ESSENTIAL HARMONY GATEWAY DESIGN ELEMENTS
Implemented as part of the Harmony Corridor Plan update and related Standards
and Guidelines, ten basic design elements will apply to future development within
the Gateway Area:
1. Naturalistic River Valley Landscape
2. Landscaped Setbacks Along Harmony and I-25 for Visual Image and
Character
3. Unified Harmony Road Gateway Streetscape
4. Fort Collins Entryway Signs
5. Habitat Protection and Mitigation
6. Regional Trail Corridor
7. Mobility Hub
8. Limitations on Commercial Signs
9. Stealth Wireless Telecommunication Facilities
10. Unique Land Use and Development Standards
1. Naturalistic River Valley Landscape
Cottonwood groves, willows, and other native plantings will form the most
dominant aspect of the area’s image as seen by users of Harmony Road and drivers
on I-25. Under this approach, a naturalistic river valley landscape, instead of
buildings and signs, becomes the primary view that’s experienced.
Example of a landscape-dominant entryway corridor
Harmony Gateway Plan - Ch 5 Draft
Work Session Packet Pg. 40
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2. Landscaped Setbacks Along Harmony and I-25 for Visual Image and
Character
Where buildings and parking lots are developed, landscaped setback areas will be
provided that average at least 140-190 feet wide along Harmony Road and I-25.
These newly landscaped areas along streets will be designed to screen parked vehicles
and intentionally frame intermittent views of buildings and their signage as part of
the image of buildings sited within a landscape, rather than maximizing attention-
grabbing visual statements orientated directly to people traveling on the roadways.
As such, the setback can undulate, with some buildings and parking areas
encroaching into that space if parking is fully screened and encroaching buildings are
well-integrated into the landscape.
I-25 Landscape Setback Concept
Grading in these setback areas will be informal and have vertical undulation,
reflecting landforms shaped by river movement to complement plantings and
reinforce the naturalistic landscape. Grading should be at a scale perceivable to
drivers at speeds and volumes on Harmony and I-25.
Grading may double as critical floodway and/or drainage facilities and a trail corridor
depending on outcomes of separate efforts regarding floodway solutions.
Harmony Gateway Plan - Ch 5 Draft
Work Session Packet Pg. 41
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Harmony Streetscape with Naturalistic Landscaping Concept
3. Unified Harmony Road Gateway Streetscape
Perhaps the strongest and most direct impression that can be made for people
moving through or coming to the area is the Harmony Road streetscape.
This streetscape includes the street edges as experience by users of the street, and
medians. It includes improvements with the City right-of-way and improvements as
part of abutting land uses.
In the gateway area, streetscape enhancements will be an extension of naturalistic
landscaping in abutting land uses.
As much as possible within space constraints, informal groupings of trees including
cottonwoods will span across sidewalks which will be detached and slightly
meandering in conjunction with naturalistic grading.
Landscaped medians reduce the scale of the large roadway and add beauty.
For motorists entering the city, medians and streetscape improvements on the north
side of Harmony Road would have the highest visibility.
Harmony Gateway Plan - Ch 5 Draft
Work Session Packet Pg. 42
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Harmony Road Streetscape, Landscape Setback Area, and New Street at Park-n-Ride Signal Concepts
4. Fort Collins Entry Sign
Streetscape design projects will explore the most complementary way to include an
entry sign in conjunction with the landscaping. For years, public interest has been
expressed in a clearer message to motorists that they are entering Fort Collins, at all
major highway entry areas.
In the public planning process for the Gateway Area, community members’ input
clearly indicated that any attention-grabbing sign, monument, sculpture or similar
entry feature is not important in favor of a naturalistic landscape to move through.
A landscaped native stone sign wall or other complementary entry sign would
reinforce the gateway impression and will be carefully considered, sited and designed
considering relationships to similar initiatives at other City gateways. The Fort
Collins entry sign would be installed on the north side of Harmony Road in a
location readily visible to motorists.
5. Habitat Protection and Mitigation
Riparian landscaping will contribute to a larger continuous corridor of riparian
habitat in rural and open lands across the larger southeast edge of Fort Collins.
Harmony Gateway Plan - Ch 5 Draft
Work Session Packet Pg. 43
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City, State, and Federal regulations already govern impacts to existing habitat that
would likely occur with development. They generally emphasize protection in
place but also allow for alternative mitigation of losses if necessary.
On the south side of Harmony Road where greater land use changes are expected,
the changes will include habitat improvements to mitigate expected losses
associated with filling ponds and future development.
Newly created ponds, channels, and landscape areas would be part of the framework
for development and would be extensively landscaped with native river valley
plantings. This would provide a basic degree of urban habitat, mainly for birds and
small aquatic species.
With sweeping reshaping of the most or all of the landscape, there are apparent
opportunities for improvements to go beyond minimal mitigation of losses and
achieve significant enhancement over unintentional and unsanctioned status of
the habitat that has formed in the gravel-mined landscape.
6. Regional Trail Corridor
A landscaped trail corridor thirty to fifty feet wide (or more) will run like a ribbon
through the south side of Harmony road to assist in linking trails and Natural
Areas to the north and beyond the Gateway toward the south—the Poudre River
Trail in Arapaho Bend Natural Area on the north, and Fossil Creek Trail in Eagle
View.
The corridor will be an integral part of the formative framework of public space
into which buildings and parking lots will fit. The corridor may be located within
required landscaped setbacks.
The developer(s) will coordinate with the City Parks Department on appropriate
design, including alignment, width, surface materials and details.
Harmony Gateway Plan - Ch 5 Draft
Work Session Packet Pg. 44
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Trail Corridor Concept, North Portion of South Side of Harmony
7. Mobility Hub
City Plan identifies the Harmony interchange area as a Mobility Hub recognizing its
long-term potential to offer transfers, drop-offs, a station for bus rapid transit (BRT),
intersecting multi-use trails, and regional bus transit in addition to its park-n-ride
function.
This recognition centers around the TTC; but if any significant development is
brought to fruition on the south side of Harmony as envisioned, it will complement
the functioning of the TTC starting with a BRT stop and a comfortable pedestrian
crossing of Harmony Road. Such development could add options such as car shares,
electric charging, and shuttles or shared vehicles to connect across Harmony.
8. Limitations on Commercial Signs
Commercial signs within the Gateway will be consistent with the Plan’s character
elements as well as compliant with the City’s Sign Code. Present code provisions
prohibit off-premise signs (billboards) and places limitations on sign size, height, and
manner of display.
Requests for modifications and/or variances to the Sign Code will be evaluated
against adopted Harmony Gateway policies. Further, any Planned Unit Development
Harmony Gateway Plan - Ch 5 Draft
Work Session Packet Pg. 45
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(PUD) application would be required to submit a Uniform Sign Program specifying
sign type, heights, sizes, placement and lighting.
9. Stealth Wireless Telecommunication Facilities
Making a provision for wireless telecommunication facilities (typically cell towers)
balances the needs for residents and the travelling public to have adequate
telecommunication services while still protecting key views and upholding the
naturalistic design character of the Gateway. New standards would prohibit
conventional wireless and other telecommunication towers, unless in those cases
where they are screened, roof-mounted equipment or are “stealth” installations
located within church steeples, grain silos or other similar structures common to the
area’s landscape.
10. Land Use and Development Standards
South Side of Harmony Road
This ½ mile area has been zoned for development in the Basic Industrial Non-Retail
Employment Activity Center land use designation and has the potential for
significant future development if the floodway can be removed and gravel pit ponds
filled.
The entire gravel-mined floodplain landscape is completely reshaped from the
current gravel pit configuration, filling the ponds to eliminate non-compliant water
surface water exposure, and to create land enabling development of more intentional
uses of the property.
Naturalistic river valley landscaping dominated by groupings of cottonwoods and
willows create a significant riparian greenbelt image along Harmony Road and I-25
to complement and contribute to the larger swath of open and rural lands at this
southeast edge of the city. The intent is to complement the image and experience
created by riparian tree groves on the north side.
Groupings of evergreen trees screen parking and help to frame selective intermittent
visibility of buildings and their signage and add winter interest. Future development
will include an interesting, walkable mixed-use destination with buildings brought
together along sidewalks and other walkways and outdoor spaces. While most
people will arrive by private vehicle, the pattern will make it convenient and inviting
to ‘park once’ and walk within the area.
Because of the focus on a pedestrian framework, development is mutually
supportive of public transportation, by being convenient for walking, transit use,
and bicycling upon arrival.
Harmony Gateway Plan - Ch 5 Draft
Work Session Packet Pg. 46
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Buildings Brought Together in a Walkable, Mixed-Use Area
Beyond the visual image, it reflects multiple community values regarding livable,
sustainable community development. Its character defines it as a gateway to Fort
Collins and a unique shopping/employment/living destination in the region and
state.
Mixed Land Uses
A diverse mix of businesses, jobs, and urban housing at relatively high densities,
allowing as many opportunities for cross-use as possible within walking distance.
This mix offers a chance for people to live, work, and visit with minimal
dependency on cars.
Uses could include retail, anchor retailers, office and institutional buildings,
corporate and light industrial employment, lodging and hospitality uses, and a
variety of urban styles of housing.
The mix of uses would be limited to the following distribution (as a percentage of
net developable acreage):
Residential: 25% minimum
Retail and commercial: 60% maximum
Employment: 30% minimum
Harmony Gateway Plan - Ch 5 Draft
Work Session Packet Pg. 47
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(office, light industrial, institutional)
Public Space Framework of Streets
Buildings and parking lots will be fitted into a well-planned framework of public
space, with blocks formed by streets, or pedestrian ‘spines’ in lieu of streets. ‘The
term ‘streets’ is inclusive of street-like private drives.
Pedestrian Crossings of Harmony and Strauss Cabin Roads
Prominent pedestrian crossings are provided at Strauss Cabin & Harmony Roads
that link east-west and north-south pedestrian movements. The Strauss Cabin
traffic signal engineering and intersection geometry favor travel on foot and
pedestrian
activity.
Strauss Cabin Pedestrian Crossing Concept at Apartments on West Side
Buildings and Parking Lots
Buildings and their entrances are brought together along streetfronts that may
combine with a trail corridor and small park and public spaces and define the
district.
Harmony Gateway Plan - Ch 5 Draft
Work Session Packet Pg. 48
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Building Fitted in and Brought to Streetfronts
Accordingly, parking is either distributed along active pedestrian streets, or
consolidated in lots or structures that do not interrupt the pedestrian and visual
environment. Landscape plantings internal to parking lots reflect the plant pallet
for the naturalistic river valley landscape.
North Side of Harmony Road
The existing land use and development noted in the previous Existing Conditions
section is likely to remain within a reasonable planning time horizon. The park-n-
ride could potentially expand to a degree or add a parking structure as part of long-
range plans for a Transit Hub, but its essential footprint, function, streetscape, and
naturalistic landscape will remain consistent with the overall vision.
TTC (Park-n-Ride) Landscape Setback Character
The commercial property abutting the interchange, under County jurisdiction,
appears unlikely to request annexation and redevelopment within a planning time
Harmony Gateway Plan - Ch 5 Draft
Work Session Packet Pg. 49
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frame. In the meantime, it will remain a reminder of a past era when it was zoned
for commercial uses at an outlying highway exit beyond the City Limits.
Northeast Commercial Corner Abutting the Interchange
DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS TO IMPLEMENT THE STRATEGIES
Architectural, site, landscape and sign plans will be subject to design standards and
guidelines that emphasize a distinct place and image consistent with the vision.
PUBLIC SPACE MANAGEMENT
Trail corridor and other open spaces: ownership, maintenance and liability issues
would have to be negotiated. Retaining significant amounts of open space may
require the expenditure of public funds or a reinvestment of tax dollars created by
the development.
GATEWAY AREA GOALS
1. Emphasize opportunities of the river valley setting.
2. Express a positive image, community values, and a distinct local feel.
3. Create a distinct image along I-25.
4. Shape the future of the gateway area, so that scenic qualities are emphasized, and
natural resources are protected. Enable the community to take advantage of
recreational and educational opportunities associated with the Cache la Poudre
River, lakes and wetlands.
5. Take advantage of future public transportation systems along Harmony Road
and I-25 by creating a Transit Hub.
6. Create a pedestrian district south of Harmony Road including diverse businesses,
jobs, urban styles of housing and city amenities.
Harmony Gateway Plan - Ch 5 Draft
Work Session Packet Pg. 50
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POLICIES
GW-1 Establish a well-planned and attractive gateway entrance to Fort Collins
at the I-25 interchange, emphasizing the natural scenic qualities of the
area.
GW-2 Protect and enhance the natural resource value of the Cache la Poudre
River.
GW-3 Encourage continued master planning efforts in the gateway area.
GW-4 Establish design standards and guidelines for development in the gateway area
that emphasize scenic and natural resource values.
GW-5 Discourage development from encroaching upon the bluffs that define
the edge of the floodplain.
GW-6 Create networks of open space and trail systems, that incorporate wetlands
and wildlife habitat.
GW-7 Support a balanced transportation system within the context of a pedestrian
district that prioritizes pedestrian, transit and bicycle use as well as driving.
IMPLEMENTATION ACTIONS
The following actions need to be taken by the City to ensure that the gateway section
of the Plan is implemented.
1. PLAN ADOPTION
Gateway Plan adoption by City Council.
2. GATEWAY PLANNING PHASE TWO
The City should continue the gateway planning effort through the following design
and coordination activities:
DESIGN
• Adopt Harmony Corridor Gateway Design Standards and Guidelines.
• Design a Fort Collins entry sign and develop a funding mechanism.
• Develop a conceptual plan for a regional multi-purpose trail.
• Design a naturalistic landscape design for the Harmony and I-25 rights-of-way.
COORDINATION
• Coordinate with the Natural Resources Department both in regard to the
environmental management plan and the prioritization of wetlands.
• Coordinate with the long-range planning efforts of other City departments –
Transportation, Parks and Recreation, Water, Wastewater and Stormwater Utilities.
• Coordinate with the Colorado Department of Transportation in regard to
decommissioning of frontage roads, and landscaping in the highway right-of-way.
Harmony Gateway Plan - Ch 5 Draft
Work Session Packet Pg. 51
of the floodplain.
• An apartment complex was built at the
southwest corner of Strauss Cabin Road.
• Regional traffic volumes continue to
increase dramatically on Harmony,
Strauss Cabin, and Kechter Roads.
VISION FOR THE GATEWAY AREA
Harmony Gateway Plan - Ch 5 Draft
Work Session Packet Pg. 38
• In 2003, the Larimer County Events
Center and the Centerra Lifestyle
Shopping Center opened.
• Retail/commercial activity and
competition for sales tax has changed
rapidly and becoming increasingly
aggressive along the I-25 corridor. The
interstate has become a focus of
annexations and development, with
advocates of regional metropolitan
development widely promoting I-25 as
“Northern Colorado’s Main Street”.
• Fort Collins’ position in the regional
retail trade area has weakened
significantly since 2001. The City of Fort
Collins faces increasing competition for
regional retail purchases; this has
translated into a decrease in retail sales
inflow and increased retail sales leakage
since 2001.
Harmony Gateway Plan - Ch 5 Draft
Work Session Packet Pg. 37
• The portion of the Gateway Area on
the south side of Harmony Road was
considered for purchase as City
Natural Area for Community Separator
and viewshed purposes starting in the
late 1990’s. Habitat was not considered
a significant purpose due to the gravel
mined landscape. The City considered
the opportunity on multiple occasions
Harmony Gateway Plan - Ch 5 Draft
Work Session Packet Pg. 36
be considered as likely to be completely
changed with exposed water significantly
reduced by filling and grading.
The habitat value associated with the
ponds has been increasing with time as
wetlands develop around the edges in
addition to the habitat value of open water.
Anticipated future changes to the property
would necessarily involve at least some
degree of loss of habitat and such changes
require mitigation of the habitat loss under
City Land Use Code standards. Because
the existing conditions are the
unintentional results of complete human
alteration of the land, mitigation
requirements would offer opportunities for
Harmony Gateway Plan - Ch 5 Draft
Work Session Packet Pg. 35
of that work along with new information,
changed conditions, developer initiatives,
studies and analysis has led to this 2019
amendment which sets forth a vision to
fulfill the direction of the original plan.
EXISTING CONDITIONS ISSUES
Poudre River Floodway
In 2019, nearly all of the property in the
Gateway area is within a 100-year
floodplain of the Poudre River, and
significant portions of the area are within a
floodway (a mapped area reserved for the
Harmony Gateway Plan - Ch 5 Draft
Work Session Packet Pg. 34
Harmony Gateway Plan - Ch 5 Draft
Work Session Packet Pg. 33
that complement the
colors and textures of
the Poudre River
Corridor
Scenario Analysis Tools
A range of existing tools will be used to evaluate each scenario in the areas identified above.
These tools include:
• Transportation Impact Study — trip generation, trip distribution, mode choice and traffic
impact to key intersections. The study will determine what thresholds will be reached for
public street improvements triggered by gateway development.
• Open Space — Ratio of open space to developed area, amount of contiguous open space,
open space dimensions, and degree of landscape screening from adjacent roadways.
• Placemaking — Evaluation of the use mix, number of “third places”, quantity of active
public space, and degree that site and building design reflects a human scale.
Harmony Gateway Plan - Att B
Work Session Packet Pg. 27
• Minimum 20%
industrial and
employment uses
• Maximum 50%
commercial/retail uses
• Minimum 25%
residential use
• Civic/community
facilities not limited
Density/ intensity
• 6 story non-
residential and 3
story residential
building height limit
• No Big Box
retail/drive-through
restaurants
• 6 story non-
residential and 3
story residential
building height limit
• Big Box retail/drive-
through restaurants
• 250k sq. ft.
Maximum Big Box
cumulative size
• 6 story non-residential
and 3 story residential
building height limit
• No Big Box
retail/drive-through
restaurants
• 5 story non-residential
and 3 story residential
building height limit
• No Big Box
retail/drive-through
restaurants
SITE CHARACTERISTICS
• Street pattern based
on a 660-foot street
grid
• 80-foot landscape
setback from
Harmony Road and
I-25
• No open space
requirement
• No required trail
system
• Street pattern based
on a 660-foot street
grid
• 140-190-foot-wide
naturalistic landscape
setback from
Harmony Road and
I-25
• No open space
requirement
• Street pattern based
on a 660-foot street
grid
• 140-190-foot-wide
naturalistic landscape
setback from
Harmony Road and I-
25
• No open space
requirement
• Street pattern based
on a 330-foot street
grid
• 140-190-foot-wide
naturalistic landscape
setback from
Harmony Road and I-
25
• 40% of area retained
as open space
Harmony Gateway Plan - Att B
Work Session Packet Pg. 26
costs deferred, displaced, or unmet. The
vehicle-oriented arrangement results in less
efficient land use, energy, time, and all other
resources by segregating uses and exclusive
car dependence.
Design Manual Overview
Work Session Packet Pg. 18
fundamental aspect of any new development
and can be a primary determinant in how
development is arranged on site.
Design Manual Overview
Work Session Packet Pg. 14
Infill
Greenfield Development
Brownfield Development
Change of Use
Design Manual Overview
Work Session Packet Pg. 13