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HomeMy WebLinkAboutT-MOBILE (CEDARWOOD PLAZA) WTF - PDP - 38-06A - REPORTS - RECOMMENDATION/REPORTKing Soopers (Cedarwood Plaza) Telecommunications Wireless Facility, Project Development Plan - #38-06A (Type I - Administrative Review) September 5, 2007 Page 9 ATTACHMENTS: ■ Zoning exhibit ■ Half -sized plan set ■ Site Photos ■ Photo -simulations ■ Letters from members of the public: o 'Donna' of Fort Collins o Jeff Valloric of the Fort Collins Housing Authority ■ Notes from the neighborhood meeting held August 20, 2007 ■ Ordinance 122, 1996 of the Council of the City of Fort Collins ■ Section 106 letter King Soopers (Cedarwood Plaza) Telecommunications Wireless Facility, Project Development Plan - #38-06A (Type I - Administrative Review) September 5, 2007 Page 8 FINDINGS OF FACT / CONCLUSIONS After reviewing the King Soopers (Cedarwood) Telecommunications Wireless Facility, Project Development Plan - #38-06A, staff makes the following findings of fact and conclusions: 1. The Project Development Plan complies with all applicable administrative standards contained within Article 2 of the Land Use Code. 2. The Project Development Plan complies with all applicable General Development Standards contained in Article 3 of the Land Use Code, except Section 3.5.1 (A) Building Standards, Purpose. 3. The Project Development Plan complies with all applicable district standards of Section 4.19 of the Land Use Code, NC —Neighborhood Commercial District. RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends approval of the King Soopers (Cedarwood) Telecommunications Wireless Facility, Project Development Plan - #38-06A with one proposed condition: A. The Applicant shall provide coniferous trees on site to screen the adjacent properties from the visual impact of the tower. These trees must be irrigated and maintained by the applicant according to standard landscape requirements in Section 3.2.1 of the Land Use Code. Details of the tree plantings will be agreed upon between the Hearing Officer and Applicant after a study has been made by the Applicant. The study will show where trees are needed to block the view, how tall the trees need to be to block the view and what species will be most suitable. King Soopers (Cedarwood Plaza) Telecommunications Wireless Facility, Project Development Plan - #38-06A (Type I - Administrative Review) September 5, 2007 Page 7 either on the residents' property or on Cedarwood Plaza property, to fully screen the visual impact of the tower. e. Fencing: A six-foot solid cedar fence is proposed to enclose the ground equipment; f. Lighting: Proposed lighting is fully shielded, down directional and mounted at 20 feet high on the pole. It will only be turned on in the case of an evening repair; g. Interference: The proposed facility will not interfere with other types of electronics or wireless providers. If there are problems, the Applicant will be responsible for repairing the equipment; h. Access Roadways: The adjacent service drive aisle is capable of supporting emergency response equipment of the Poudre Fire Authority; Foothills and Hogbacks: This proposal is not in or near the foothills; j. Airports and Flight Paths: The proposed monopole is not located near an airport or within a flight path; k. Historic Sites and Structures: The proposed equipment is not located on a historic structure, nor is the site located within a historic district. A Section 106 letter is attached; and I. Stealth Technology: The facility is designed with a stealth sheath cover for the array which is much less visually intrusive than traditional triangular antenna arrays. A mimic structure was not appropriate in this location. The proposed design has been used successfully elsewhere in Fort Collins. 4. Article 4 — Districts Wireless telecommunication facilities are permitted in the Neighborhood Commercial District, subject to an Administrative Hearing. King Soopers (Cedarwood Plaza) Telecommunications Wireless Facility, Project Development Plan - #38-06A (Type I - Administrative Review) September 5, 2007 Page 6 ground mounted within the NC —Neighborhood Commercial District. There is one existing wireless telecommunication facility on the southern portion of the site. The Applicant made a good faith effort to co -locate with existing facilities in the vicinity with no success. If approved, the Applicant may not prevent future telecommunication carriers from further co - locating upon this structure. Verizon Wireless has submitted an application to co -locate on this wireless facility, which is currently under review. 2) Standards [Section 3.8.13 (C)]— a. Setbacks: The proposed monopole will be set back from the existing residential property line to the southwest by more than 60 feet. The total height of the proposed facility is 50 feet. A future co -location may be placed on this facility, assuming it meets all other standards. b. Wireless Telecommunication Facilities: The proposed monopole will be painted 'desert tan' per staffs recommendation, in order to minimize visual impacts. The equipment at the ground level will be screened by a six-foot cedar fence; c. Wireless Telecommunication Equipment: As noted above, the monopole will be painted desert tan to minimize visual impacts; d. Landscaping: No landscaping or screening at the base of the equipment is required due the location of the ground equipment in an existing fenced grassy area off a service drive aisle and the tower proposed on an existing paved service aisle, nor would such landscaping be effective. However, this standard allows for landscaping requirements that exceed the general standards in Section 3.2.1 due to the unique nature of such facilities. In this case, there are adjacent residential backyards from which this tower will be visible. As noted above and in the proposed condition of approval, additional trees, preferably coniferous, could be placed between the adjacent back yards and the tower, King Soopers (Cedarwood Plaza) Telecommunications Wireless Facility, Project Development Plan - #38-06A (Type I - Administrative Review) September 5, 2007 Page 5 which are attached. The proposed wireless facility meets the review standards including: i. Views: The tower is proposed to be located up against the western wall of the shopping center. Views of the foothills would be from the eastern side of the King Sooper's building, where the tower would not be visible. The view from the west to the east is of the back side of the King Soopers building and associated service aisle, which is already occupied by trash compactors, exterior stairs and semi- trailers. ii. Light and Shadow: The proposed tower is approximately one foot in diameter and 50 feet tall. Shadows cast from this structure are not substantial enough to have an adverse impact on neighboring properties. iii. Privacy: Since the proposed tower is not habitable, no privacy issues will result. iv. Neighborhood Scale: Though the proposed tower is not similar to the mass and scale of either the King Sooper's building or the adjacent single family residences, it is compatible with them in that it is within the allowable height for the zone district and incorporates stealth technology so that it is not much more obtrusive than a light pole or other utlity pole. v. Land Use Transition: This proposal may be considered to represent a significantly different visual character than the adjacent uses. Given that a gradual transition is not possible, the development plan shall to the maximum extent feasible achieve compatibility through compatibility with the rest of the standards of this section, including color and operational standards, which this project has provided for as described below. B. Section 3.8.13, Wireless Telecommunication 1) Location and Co -location [Section 3.8.13 (A) and (B)—The wireless telecommunication equipment is proposed to be King Soopers (Cedarwood Plaza) Telecommunications Wireless Facility, Project Development Plan - #38-06A (Type I - Administrative Review) September 5, 2007 Page 4 3. Article 3 — General Development Standards The King Sooper's (Cedarwood) Telecom Wireless Facility, Project Development Plan complies with the applicable requirements of the Land Use Code, including those located in Division 3, General Standards, with one exception, noted below. A. Section 3.5.1 Building Standards 1) Purpose [Section 3.5.1 (A)] —The purpose of the building standards section is to ensure that the physical and operational characteristics of proposed buildings and uses are compatible when considered within the context of the surrounding area. This proposal meets the compatibility standards as noted below, with one exception. As the Hearing Officer stated in the Decision dated May 30, 2007 about the previous proposal, "With a relative lack of tree canopy near the monopole to provide screening and impart a sense of scale, the facility will provide an unacceptable level of visual quality and be in stark contrast to the immediate surroundings." The applicant has relocated the tower to be up against the King Sooper's building which minimizes it's visual impact from Elizabeth Street. It's new location also takes advantage of some existing mature tree cover for screening. However, as became clear at the neighborhood meeting, the new location, while better for some, is worse for others. Additional screening is needed to visually screen the project for at least some of the adjacent residents. The applicant has made contact with the affected residents since the neighborhood meeting and intends to prepare some sort of proposal for planting mitigating trees where needed. This is listed as a proposed condition of approval in staffs recommendation below. 2) Color [Section 3.5.1 (F)]—The proposed tower will be painted a desert tan to match the King Sooper's building. Light tan shades have been shown to be the best color to minimize visual impacts. 3) Building Height Review [Section 3.5.1 (G)]—Special Height Review/Modifications: The section establishes a special review process for buildings or structures which exceed 40 feet in height. The applicant has submitted required photo -simulations King Soopers (Cedarwood Plaza) Telecom munications Wireless Facility, Project Development Plan - #38-06A (Type I - Administrative Review) September 5, 2007 Page 3 Another wireless provider, Verizon Wireless has indicated interest in co -locating with this facility and submitted a formal application on August 22, 2007. The staff review meeting is scheduled for September 5, 2007, several hours before the hearing for this project. T-Mobile has taken a future co -location into consideration in siting this project and in the construction design of the pole. They have changed their proposed tower from 40 feet to 50 feet to allow for the Verizon co -location. They have also submitted a visual analysis including photo - simulations of the tower, which are attached. City staff conducted a neighborhood meeting on Monday, August 20, 2007. Meeting notes are attached. The federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 restricts municipalities' ability to deny telecommunications equipment installations. A municipality may not deny a wireless facility because it does not want such development in the community or because of concerns about negative health consequences from radiation emitted by wireless facilities. Cities can stipulate in which zone districts wireless facilities are permitted. Fort Collins allows wireless telecommunications facilities only in zone districts which are primarily commercial, industrial or in public open lands. The Cedarwood Plaza site was annexed into the City between 1955 and 1964. As far back as records show, in 1965, this site was zoned D—Commercial. Aside from the gas station and what is now the Farmer's Table restaurant, the shopping center was built after the single family houses to the southwest of the parcel, though it was platted at the same time as the residential lots. The property was rezoned BL—Limited Business in 1976. In 1997, with the change to City Plan and the Land Use Code, the parcel was zoned NC —Neighborhood Commercial. 2. Article 2 — Administration The King Sooper's (Cedarwood) Telecommunications Wireless Facility, Project Development Plan complies with the applicable requirements of the Land Use Code, including the procedural requirements located in Division 2.2 — Common Development Review Procedures for Development Applications; and Division 2.4 — Project Development Plan. King Soopers (Cedarwood Plaza) Telecommunications Wireless Facility, Project Development Plan - #38-06A (Type I - Administrative Review) September 5, 2007 Page 2 COMMENTS 1. Background The surrounding zoning and existing land uses are as follows: N: NC —Neighborhood Commercial District (existing commercial offices immediately to the north, Ram's Pointe and Ram's Park apartments across Elizabeth, with MMN—Medium Density Mixed -use Neighborhood District (existing campus -oriented multifamily projects) beyond; E: NC —Neighborhood Commercial District (existing King Soopers grocery store in Cedarwood Shopping Center) with RL—Low Density Residential District (existing residential neighborhoods) beyond; S: RL—Low Density Residential District (existing residential neighborhoods); W: MMN—Medium Density Mixed -use Neighborhood District (existing multi -family housing). Early on in the process, the applicant made a good faith effort to co -locate their facility on an existing Cingular wireless telecommunication facility at the south end of the property behind the Farmer's Table restaurant but the available pole height is not tall enough for effective radio frequency. They also made good faith efforts to locate the facility on other properties in the immediate area that are zoned commercial including the Bethel Baptist church and elsewhere in the Cedarwood Plaza (on top of King Sooper's, in front of King Soopers). This project came in first as King Sooper's (Cedarwood Plaza) Telecom Wireless Facility PDP-Type 1 #38-06. A neighborhood meeting was not required and none was held. Before the first hearing, staff received one phone call from a resident concerned about the health implications of wireless technology in general, but not concerned with this project specifically. The project was reviewed by City Staff and presented before the Administrative Hearing Officer who found the project to be non -compliant with the compatibility standards contained in Section 3.5.1 of the Land Use Code. The Hearing Officer denied approval in a Decision dated May 30, 2007. The applicant submitted a new project on July 20, 2007 which responded to compatibility issues raised during the previous Administrative Review by moving the monopole approximately 60 feet to the southeast, where mature trees might buffer visual impacts more effectively. The proposed wireless facility is a monopole with a stealth sheath configuration. ITEM NO. I 1 MEETING DATE 6D STAFF City of Fort Collins HEARING OFFICER STAFF REPORT PROJECT: King Soopers (Cedarwood Plaza) Telecommunications Wireless Facility, Project Development Plan - #38-06A (Type I - Administrative Review) APPLICANT: Chris Stryker Stryker Site Services, LLC 9643 Timberhawk Circle #26 Littleton, CO 80126 OWNER: Robert Perry and Associates 6500 S. Quebec St. Suite 300 Englewood, CO 80111 PROJECT DESCRIPTION: This is a second request to install a wireless telecommunications monopole on the northwest corner of the Cedarwood Plaza site on the service drive aisle, just behind the King Sooper's grocery store. The site is located south of Elizabeth `Street and west of Taft Hill Road. The property is zoned NC'Neighborhood Commercial District, which allows wireless telecommunication facilities, subject to a Type I review. RECOMMENDATION: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Approval, with one condition Wireless telecommunication facilities are permitted in the Neighborhood Commercial District, subject to an Administrative Hearing. This Project Development Plan (PDP) complies with the applicable Administrative and General Development standards and the Zone District standards of the NC — Neighborhood Commercial District with one exception, which is noted as a proposed condition of approval. COMMUNITY PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES 281 N. College Ave. P.O. Box 580 Fort Collins, CO.80522-0580 (970) 221-6750 PLANNING DEPARTMENT