HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 11/03/2015 - SECOND READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 133, 2015, AMENDINAgenda Item 6
Item # 6 Page 1
AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY November 3, 2015
City Council
STAFF
Clark Mapes, City Planner
SUBJECT
Second Reading of Ordinance No. 133, 2015, Amending the Zoning Map of the City of Fort Collins by
Changing the Zoning Classification for that Certain Property Known as the Houska Automotive Rezoning.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This Ordinance, unanimously adopted on First Reading on October 20, 2015, rezones one parcel of land, 1005
Riverside Drive, near the southwest corner of the Riverside Drive and Lemay Avenue intersection. Existing
zoning is N-C, Neighborhood Commercial District. Proposed zoning is C-L, Limited Commercial District. The
parcel is 2.5 acres in size and is currently vacant.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinance on Second Reading.
ATTACHMENTS
1. First Reading Agenda Item Summary, October 20, 2015 (w/o attachments) (PDF)
2. Ordinance No. 133, 2015 (PDF)
Agenda Item 12
Item # 12 Page 1
AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY October 20, 2015
City Council
STAFF
Clark Mapes, City Planner
SUBJECT
Public Hearing and First Reading of Ordinance No. 133, 2015, Amending the Zoning Map of the City of Fort
Collins by Changing the Zoning Classification for that Certain Property Known as the Houska Automotive
Rezoning.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The purpose of this item is to rezone one parcel of land, 1005 Riverside Drive, near the southwest corner of
the Riverside Drive and Lemay Avenue intersection. Existing zoning is N-C, Neighborhood Commercial
District. Proposed zoning is C-L, Limited Commercial District. The parcel is 2.5 acres in size and is currently
vacant.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinance on First Reading.
BACKGROUND / DISCUSSION
1967 Original annexation and zoning. In 1967, the property was annexed as part of the Lemay Annexation,
and zoned General Industrial, along with the rest of the Riverside corridor extending from Lemay Avenue to
Mountain Avenue. This also included Lemay Avenue frontage along the area that now comprises the
Albertson’s shopping center at the corner of Riverside Drive and Lemay Avenue.
The General Industrial zoning allowed a whole range of industrial uses. On the property in question, Flatiron
Paving Company operated a concrete batch plant that was later closed and removed.
1991 Rezoning to C-L. In 1991, the property was rezoned into a newly written zoning district called the C-L,
Limited Commercial District as a follow up action of the 1986 East Side Neighborhood Plan. C-L zoning was
applied to the whole south side of Riverside Drive from Lemay Avenue to Mountain Avenue, replacing the
original General Industrial zoning. That C-L zoning is still in place along Riverside except for the subject
property.
C-L zoning reflects the realities of vehicle-related uses that front onto Riverside Drive, allowing a wide range of
commercial and vehicle-related uses. Attachment 5, Pertinent Zoning Information, provides a comparison of
the purposes and permitted uses in the current N-C District and the proposed C-L District.
1997 Rezoning to N-C. As noted previously, the subject property was rezoned to N-C, Neighborhood
Commercial District, in conjunction with the new City Plan in 1997.
That designation was new in 1997 as a prominent topic in City Plan. It represents goals for mixed-use
supermarket-anchored activity centers to be walkable focal points for surrounding neighborhoods. It envisions
an integrally connected pattern of streets and blocks offering access other than arterial streets.
ATTACHMENT 1
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Those goals were translated into a new City Structure Plan map -- a diagram of long-term land use and
transportation patterns within the Growth Management Area. The City Structure Plan map now serves as the
primary basis for zoning decisions.
The Structure Plan map placed the Neighborhood Commercial District designation on the existing Albertsons
shopping center, but with notation as an existing center that would not necessarily be consistent with the City
Plan goals and principles. In such situations, the designation is considered aspirational as a guide to possible
future redevelopment.
City Structure Plan Guidance for Zoning
As noted previously, the City Structure Plan map serves as the primary basis for zoning decisions. The map
does not actually depict the subject property as part of the Neighborhood Commercial District; rather, the
property is depicted as part of the commercial corridor along Riverside, as it had previously been designated
since original annexation and zoning.
The 1997 City Structure Plan map was originally intended to be a somewhat general guide, with exact zoning
of specific properties to be determined at the time of zoning based on detailed interpretation of City Plan
policies and unique conditions on the ground. The map has since evolved to become more parcel-specific in
its depiction of the desired land use pattern.
Because of the way the subject property is depicted, the rezoning request is more consistent with the map than
the current N-C zoning. A zoomed-in view of the City Structure Plan map is provided as Attachment 4.
Surrounding Zoning and Land Uses
Surrounding zoning and land uses are as follows:
Direction Zone District Existing Land Uses
North U-E, Urban Estate Railroad (across Riverside Drive)
South N-C, Neighborhood Commercial Albertsons-anchored shopping center
properties
East N-C, Neighborhood Commercial Albertsons-anchored shopping center
commercial pad properties
West C-L, Limited Commercial Houska automotive complex and other vehicle
and RV storage uses
Summary of Staff Evaluation
A number of main considerations underlie staff findings in support of the request:
The property is not critical for development as an additional component of this Neighborhood Commercial
District because it is functionally disconnected from the residential neighborhood to the south and west by
industrial land uses. It is oriented to Riverside Drive, an arterial street, with little opportunity to be well-
integrated into a neighborhood pattern of streets, blocks, and walkways leading to the shopping center.
Existing development in the area was done prior to the N-C designation and is not aligned with the
purpose and policies for N-C districts.
The extension of C-L zoning can be compatible with existing surrounding vehicle-related uses including the
truck loading and service area of the abutting shopping center.
Access to the property is highly constrained, and the zoning would support the feasibility of cross-access
with adjacent properties in the C-L zone to the west. This rezoning request is on behalf of owners of the
property adjacent to the west, who operate an auto repair complex and desire to expand their operation,
with a shared single access point on Riverside Drive. This is a crucial consideration because several
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development proposals since 1997 have been thwarted by the highly constrained access on Riverside
Drive.
Access constraints on Riverside Drive are a key consideration. Since 1997, a number of development
proposals have been brought forward under the N-C zoning, for various retail or medical office uses
consistent with the N-C zoning. None were able to proceed. In addition to vehicular access limitations on
Riverside Drive, the ownership of adjacent shopping center property has precluded cross access with the
shopping center.
The rezoning would return the property to zoning that existed on the property prior to 1997. In 1997, a
citywide rezoning was approved by City Council in conjunction with the new comprehensive plan known as
City Plan. The subject property was placed into the new Neighborhood Commercial District along with the
pre-existing Albertsons Shopping Center properties at that time.
The rezoning is consistent with the City Structure Plan map.
Required Findings to Approve the Rezoning Request
In order to recommend approval of this proposal, City Council would have to find that the rezoning is:
(a) consistent with the City’s Comprehensive Plan; and/or
(b) warranted by changed conditions within the neighborhood surrounding and including the subject property.”
The above criteria are found in subsection 2.9.4[H][2] of the Land Use Code, which defines mandatory
requirements for rezonings. In addition, the following subsection 2.9.4[H][3] lists other factors that may be
considered along with the mandatory requirements for this type of rezoning, as follows:
“In determining whether to recommend approval of any such proposed amendment, the Planning and
Zoning Board and City Council may consider the following additional factors:
whether and the extent to which the proposed amendment is compatible with existing and proposed
uses surrounding the subject land, and is the appropriate zone district for the land;
whether and the extent to which the proposed amendment would result in significantly adverse
impacts on the natural environment, including but not limited to, water, air, noise, stormwater
management, wildlife, vegetation, wetlands and the natural environment’; and
whether and the extent to which the proposed amendment would result in a logical and orderly
development pattern.”
Staff Findings
After reviewing the Houska Rezoning request, staff makes the following findings of fact:
1. The rezoning is consistent with the City’s Comprehensive Plan based on the City Structure Plan map
designation, the lack of interconnectivity with surrounding neighborhoods or neighborhood commercial
uses as envisioned under the current N-C zoning, and the orientation to the Riverside Drive commercial
corridor.
2. Conditions have changed in the neighborhood to warrant the rezoning, particularly the history of proposals
to develop the property with N-C uses, which provides a body of new information regarding access
constraints; and the growth of the automotive service center abutting the property, which has created the
opportunity for that use to expand onto the subject property with crucial cross access.
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3. The rezoning is compatible with existing and proposed uses, particularly the automotive center next door,
the rear service area of the adjacent shopping center, existing vehicle storage uses to the south and west,
and the Riverside corridor overall.
4. The rezoning will have no adverse effects on the natural environment because there are no wetlands,
significant vegetation, habitats, or other sensitive environmental conditions on the property or otherwise
affected by the change in zoning from one commercial designation to another.
5. The proposed rezoning would result in a logical and orderly pattern because it fits with the established,
long-standing pattern of service commercial-type land uses along Riverside Drive, and it creates the
opportunity for coordination of an efficient auto-related service complex with shared access being a crucial
consideration.
CITY FINANCIAL IMPACTS
Staff finds no direct financial or economic impacts resulting from the proposed rezoning of 2.5 acres from one
type of commercial district to another. The proposed C-L zoning is more likely to result in development due to
the increased ability to overcome access constraints which have thwarted development under the current N-C
designation. Development in the C-L zone will likely result in the creation of technical jobs associated with the
growing automotive center to the west, which is under the same ownership as the subject property.
BOARD / COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION
On September 10, 2015, the Planning and Zoning Board voted unanimously to recommend City Council
approval of the proposed rezoning on the Board’s Consent Agenda. The Board requested that the item be
placed on the Consent Agenda, with no discussion.
PUBLIC OUTREACH
A neighborhood meeting was held on August 20, 2015. Mailings were sent for the Neighborhood Meeting and
for the Planning and Zoning Board hearing. No citizens attended. No known controversy or neighborhood
impacts are involved with the rezoning.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Rezoning Request (PDF)
2. Existing zoning (PDF)
3. Proposed zoning (PDF)
4. City Structure Plan Detail of Site (PDF)
5. Land Use Code Pertinent Excerpts (PDF)
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ORDINANCE NO. 133, 2015
OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS
AMENDING THE ZONING MAP OF THE
CITY OF FORT COLLINS BY CHANGING THE ZONING
CLASSIFICATION FOR THAT CERTAIN PROPERTY KNOWN
AS THE HOUSKA AUTOMOTIVE REZONING
WHEREAS, Division 1.3 of the Fort Collins Land Use Code (the “Land Use Code”)
establishes the Zoning Map and Zone Districts of the City; and
WHEREAS, Division 2.9 of the Land Use Code establishes procedures and criteria for
reviewing the rezoning of land; and
WHEREAS, in accordance with the foregoing, the City Council has considered the
rezoning of the property that is the subject of this Ordinance and has determined that said
property should be rezoned as hereinafter provided; and
WHEREAS, the City Council has further determined that the proposed rezoning is
consistent with the City's Comprehensive Plan and/or is warranted by changed conditions within
the neighborhood surrounding and including the subject property; and
WHEREAS, to the extent applicable, the City Council has also analyzed the proposed
rezoning against the considerations as established in Section 2.9.4(H)(3) of the Land Use Code.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
FORT COLLINS:
Section 1. That the findings set forth above are incorporated into the body of this
Ordinance as if fully set forth herein.
Section 2. That the Zoning Map adopted by Division 1.3 of the Land Use Code is
hereby amended by changing the zoning classification from Neighborhood Commercial (“N-C”)
Zone District, to Limited Commercial (“C-L”) Zone District, for the following described
property in the City known as the Houska Automotive Rezoning:
A tract of land situated in the Northeast of Section 13, Township 7 North, Range 69 West
of the 6th P.M., City of Fort Collins, County of Larimer, State of Colorado, which
considering the East line of the said Northeast 1/4 of said Section 13 as bearing North
00°25' East and with all bearings contained herein relative thereto, is contained within the
boundary lines which BEGIN at a point on the existing South right-of-way line of
Riverside Avenue which bears North 00°25' East 1,319.93 feet to the North 1/16 corner
on the East line of said Section 13 and Again North 48°54' West 403.05 feet, and Again
South 01°04'36" West 35.64 feet from the East 1/4 corner of said Section 13, and run
Thence South 01°04'36" West 183.71 feet; Thence North 89°31 '24" West 331.40 feet;
Thence North 00°35'36" East 468.81 feet to the existing South right-of-way line of
Riverside Avenue; Thence along said right-of-way South 48°54' East 437.90 feet to the
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Point of Beginning. County of Larimer, State of Colorado, measuring 2.49 acres, more or
less.
Section 3. That the Residential Neighborhood Sign District Map adopted pursuant to
Section 3.8.7(E) of the Land Use Code be, and the same hereby is, changed and amended by
showing that the above-described property is not included in the Residential Neighborhood Sign
District.
Section 4. The City Manager is hereby authorized and directed to amend said Zoning
Map in accordance with this Ordinance.
Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 20th day of
October, A.D. 2015, and to be presented for final passage on the 3rd day of November, A.D.
2015.
__________________________________
Mayor
ATTEST:
_____________________________
City Clerk
Passed and adopted on final reading on this 3rd day of November, A.D. 2015.
__________________________________
Mayor
ATTEST:
_____________________________
City Clerk