HomeMy WebLinkAboutAPPLEBLOSSOM - 712 W. LAUREL ST. - PDP - 22-10 - P&Z PACKET - CORRESPONDENCE-NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING37. Will the alley be closed during construction?
A. We expect the alley to be closed only for paving.
30. There is an existing telephone pole that carries the phone line
from the alley over to my house immediately east of your project.
What will happen to this pole?
A. We will work with the phone company on how best to
continue to serve your house and our project.
31. Will you be providing cable t.v.?
A. Yes, we will work the cable t.v. provider to hook up our
units.
32. Will the new buildings be energy efficient? Will there be windows
on the south for passive solar and light? Will the windows be
operable? Will there be a cooling system?
A. We will be required to comply with the City's Energy Code.
With new construction, we expect the building envelope to
be very efficient. We are investigating a roofing material
that will reflect light to minimize heat gain. All windows will
be operable. We have not yet decided on the cooling
system. We are looking into the feasibility of installing new
and efficient swamp coolers versus typical air conditioners.
33. Will you provide landscaping along Laurel Street?
A. Yes, we will keep the existing trees in the parkway as these
are in public right-of-way and plant additional trees and
shrubs in the front yard.
34. Will there be a lawn?
A. Yes, but it may be an ornamental grass versus Kentucky
Blue Grass.
35. For cars exiting the alley onto Laurel Street, there are existing
overgrown trees / shrubs that block visibility. This is an unsafe
situation.
A. We are aware of this and will trim and prune as necessary.
36. What is your construction timeframe?
A. We would like to complete the development review process
by November and then submit for building permit so that
we could begin construction in time to lease the units in
August of 2011.
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22. Is the proposed density allowed by the Land Use Code?
A. Yes, the property is zoned N-C-M, Neighborhood
Conservation Medium Density, and our proposal complies
with both the minimum required lot size and maximum
allowable floor -to -area ratio. No modifications of standard
are anticipated.
23. What about grading and stormwater runoff?
A. We will have the site graded so that runoff from the parking
lot, rooftops, and yard will flow towards the alley, not the
east property line.
24. It looks like the units are just being packed in.
A. The allowable density in the N-C-M recognizes that there
would be re -development, especially near campus.
25. 1 am under the impression that C.S.U. creates a situation where
parking is dumped onto the neighborhood streets.
26. 1 am concerned about noise. My observation is that the noise
ordinance is not enforced by the police and in neighborhoods
close to campus; the police simply allow a greater degree of
discretion than they would otherwise. The noise ordinance
should be applied equally throughout the City and not selectively
and more liberally in the campus neighborhoods.
27. Are you willing to put into the lease that not every tenant can
have a car?
A. We have not moved far enough along to get to the lease
details.
28. Why not just fix up the existing house?
A. We have explored this possibility but there are significant
major repairs that are needed, especially the sewer that
persuaded us to pursue the present option.
29. Is there sufficient capacity in the water and sewer mains for five
units?
A. Yes, there is a sewer main the alley that we can get grade to
and a water main in Laurel that we can tap. We will be
required to abandon the existing services in accordance
with the required procedures.
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16. I'm concerned about long term property management and upkeep.
A. We are looking into hiring a property management
company. For example, we do not want to depend on the
tenants for lawn mowing, watering and general yard work.
17. Will there be single trash service?
A. Yes.
18. The contemporary design looks very urban and does not fit into
our neighborhood.
A. We understand your concern. There is still some design
work to be done so these elevations are not final.
19. 1 still don't like the lack of three spaces. As a result, there will be
spillover parking and our neighborhood streets are already
congested. There is already a speeding problem and we recently
had one break-in. Also not too long ago, a dog got hit by a car.
This project will just bring in more density and congestion.
20. I'm concerned about tenants being out of control, loud parties,
rowdyism and the impact on our peace and quiet. We already have a
problem with absentee landlords and ineffective property managers.
Where will guests and visitors park? The project seems to be too
dense for our neighborhood.
A. We understand your concerns. We don't want rowdyism
either and want to maintain the value of our investment.
We encourage any neighbor who is disturbed by obnoxious
behavior to call the police department.
20. 1 don't like the new striping on West Laurel Street. Now, it's even
harder to turn onto Laurel than before.
21. You should be aware that the alley acts like a narrow street.
Spillover parking in the alley is a problem. Adding five more units
will just add to the problem. Sometimes there is random parking
along our rear property lines.
A. We will have a curb along our west property line to control
random parking. Again, please call the police or a towing
company if there are cars parked on your properties
without permission.
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A. Yes, we are aware of this concern. By virtue of being
across the street from campus, we are anticipating
attracting tenants who may not have a car. Our experience
is that the closer you are to campus, the more you are likely
to walk or ride your bike to class and avoid paying for a
parking permit.
10. Aren't you required to have one parking space per bedroom?
A. No. The Land Use Code has an exemption on providing a
required minimum number of parking spaces if your
property is located within the Transit Oriented Development
Overlay Zone. Our property is within the T.O.D. because we
are across from campus.
11. How will you prevent your tenants from allowing off -site friends
from using your parking lot?
A. We are investigating assigning individual spaces or
charging extra for a space. This would put each space
under a reservation system. Also, the rule prohibiting more
than three unrelated persons per unit should help control
the potential parking overflow.
12. What about snow removal? Where will you pile the snow?
A. We don't know yet. We may wait to see how much the
snow the pervious surface will accommodate.
13. But the pervious surface will not help if the temperatures are
below freezing or if the ground is frozen.
14. The existing perimeter fences are in poor condition, particularly
along the east property line.
A. We are open to working with our neighbors on upgrading
the fencing: We would like to build new fences along the
north and east property lines.
15. Have you thought about security for your tenants?
A. Yes, we plan on providing sufficient exterior lighting and
new fencing for security.
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requires that the duplex be on a lot at least 40 feet wide and the
triplex be on a lot at least 50 feet wide.
3. The design looks out of place and out of character with the age
and style of the existing houses in the neighborhood.
A. We are going with a more contemporary design which we think
lessens the impact of height on the neighborhood. The
contemporary style allows us to utilize a lower and flatter roof
versus a steeper pitched found in many older homes. We plan on
softening the contemporary look with exterior materials that are
typically found in the surrounding neighborhood such as stucco,
brick and lap siding.
4. What separates the two buildings?
A. We have a courtyard between the two
5. Will there be basements?
A. At this time, we are thinking that we will use the existing
basement but not build any new. Outside the existing basement,
the new structures would be slab on grade.
6. The trend in student housing these days is that each bedroom
would have its own bath. Is that the case here?
A. Yes and you are correct about the trend. Rentals that provide a
bathroom with each bedroom lease up faster than those with
common bathrooms.
7. Can you explain your pavement concept for the parking lot?
A. Yes. We plan on using pervious pavement which allows storm
water to filter down into the ground versus simply runoff the
asphalt. You can see an example of this at the new parking lot for
the Odell Brewing Company.
8. Access to the parking lot is from the alley?
A. Yes, there would be no access from Laurel Street.
9. There are only 12 parking spaces and yet 15 bedrooms. At full
occupancy, you will be three spaces short. I'm concerned this,
overflow parking will spillover down the alley and onto our
properties.
NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING SUMMARY
PROJECT: 712 West Laurel Street
DATE: August 30, 2010
APPLICANT: Mark Goldrich and Pru Kaley
CONSULTANTS: Ian Shuff, Aller Lingle Massey Architects
Jim Birdsall, The Birdsall Group
Cathy Mathis, The Birdsall Group
Nick Haws, Northern Engineering
CITY PLANNER: Ted Shepard, Chief Planner, City of Fort Collins
The meeting began with a description of the project. As proposed, the
project consists of five dwelling units on two lots. The existing house will
be removed and the five proposed units will be located within two new
structures, one duplex and one triplex. The site is 712 West Laurel Street
and is located on the corner of Laurel Street and the north -south alley
halfway between Loomis Street and Grant Street. The lot is 12,520 square
feet in size and the zoning is N-C-M, Neighborhood Conservation Medium
Density. Each of the units will have 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, a kitchen
and a living room. Both the triplex and duplex are two stories.
The alley will serve as access to the proposed paved parking lot and will
contain 12 parking spaces and a trash enclosure. Of the 12,520 square foot
area of the two combined lots, approximately 4,406 square feet of the lots
will be paved parking, 3,357 square feet will be building footprints, and
about 1,000 square feet will be sidewalk and patio paving. The remaining
3,757 square feet of the site dedicated to landscaping and open space.
Unless otherwise noted, all responses are from the applicant or
consultants.
QUESTIONS, CONCERNS, COMMENTS
How many total bedrooms?
A. Five units each with three bedrooms for a total of 15 bedrooms.
2. Could you describe the lot line adjustment?
A. The existing house presently sits on two lots. We will adjust the
lot lines to meet the Land Use Code minimum lot width which