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HomeMy WebLinkAboutResponse To Constituent Letter - Mail Packet - 5/22/2018 - Letter From Mayor Wade Troxell To Ron Sladek Re: Building Height Limits On The Buckingham NeighborhoodMayor City Hall 300 LaPorte Ave. PO Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522 970.416.2154 970.224.6107 - fax fcgov.com May 15, 2018 Ron Sladek President Historic Larimer County PO Box 1909 Fort Collins, CO 80522 Dear Mr. Sladek, Thank you for your letter dated April 24, 2018 that was submitted to the City Council and Planning staff regarding perceived impacts of the City’s draft building height limits on the Buckingham Neighborhood. The letter was distributed to the City Council as an attachment to the May 1st Downtown Compatibility and Character Code Work Session Agenda Item Summary. City Council held a relatively lengthy discussion at the Work Session on potential neighborhood impacts and directed the Planning staff to reexamine the draft Code change that calls for the maximum building height to be raised from three (3) to four (4) stories for properties west and south of the Buckingham Neighborhood. In general, the Council expressed support for taller buildings in the interior of the Downtown and a transition in height to the surrounding neighborhoods. Given the direction from City Council, staff has modified the draft height map to lower the maximum allowable height to three (3) stories for buildings near this historic neighborhood. City staff will also be exploring additional Code language that helps ensure that transitions to the neighborhood that respects the long-established context and scale. It is staff’s view that, to the extent reasonably feasible, landscaping and similar screening techniques could also be provided as a buffer between new development and the neighborhood. The amended height map, along with other substantive code changes will be presented to the Landmark Preservation Commission and the Planning and Zoning Board before going being considered for Council adoption as early as July 2018. Thank you for sharing your perspectives and concerns. I appreciate your being engaged in the process. Sincerely, Wade Troxell /sek CC: City Councilmembers Darin Atteberry, City Manager Honor the Past, Imagine the Future P.O. Box 1909 Fort Collins, Colorado 80522 Board of Directors Ron Sladek, Fort Collins – President Jennifer Mayan Kaylor, Wellington - Vice-President Meg Dunn, Fort Collins – Secretary Ray Sumner, Timnath - Treasurer Sharon Danhauer, Loveland Cheryl Glanz, Fort Collins D. L. Roberts, Livermore Sue Schneider, Poudre Canyon Judy Jackson, Bellvue Tracy Briggs, Berthoud 24 April 2018 Dear Fort Collins Planning Staff and City Council, I am writing today on behalf of the board and membership of Historic Larimer County to raise our concern about planned building height allowances for the area around the Buckingham neighborhood. We recognize and celebrate the historic significance of this neighborhood for its direct association with the development of the nearby Great Western Sugar Company factory in 1903. As you are probably aware, the homes there were first occupied by Germans from Russia, who had immigrated to the United States in search of freedom and better lives for their families. As their finances allowed, many of them moved out of the neighborhood to develop farms of their own, and the houses became occupied by a second wave of Hispanic factory and farm workers with the same hopes and dreams. Today the Buckingham neighborhood is still home to some of these families, along with others who have sought its more affordable housing. We ask that Planning Staff and City Council work to protect not only the historic character of the Buckingham neighborhood, but also the quality of life of those who reside there. Because this is not a neighborhood of great wealth or status in the community, we feel it important to speak out and express our concern regarding plans that will allow buildings as tall as four stories to be constructed around much of the neighborhood’s perimeter. Given the one-story height and modest massing of the homes, we feel that even with setbacks this would be insensitive to the existing neighborhood character and would negatively impact its residents. We ask that you consider a buffer zone of lower height allowances around the Buckingham neighborhood that would protect its historic features and its residents’ quality of life. Thank you for your great work and for taking our thoughts into consideration, Ron D. Sladek President