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HomeMy WebLinkAboutNEW PROSPECT - PDP - 4-10 - DECISION - CORRESPONDENCE-HEARINGAdministrative Public Hearing Sign -In Project: ev-) '�'Y-os Meeting Location: Z f Date: 51 t ob o PLEASE PRINT CLEARLY Address u //i J ♦ /� �i . ice. _ _ � i � c 1, WO i RIM �� • �■ i . i ■ New Prospect Project Development Plan, #4-10 Administrative Hearing, Findings, Conclusions, and Decision May 20, 2010 Page 9 of 9 SUMMARY OF CONCLUSIONS A. A neighborhood meeting was held in December of 2009, and as a result, the Proposed New Prospect P.D.P. reflects adjustments by the developer, based on public comments and is found to be compatible with the surrounding area. B. The P.D.P. complies with the conclusions of the East Prospect Spring Creek Design Charrette of 2004. C. The P.D.P. complies with the land use and development standards of the Low Density Mixed -Use Neighborhood zone district. D. The P.D.P. complies with the applicable General Development Standards, including the request for Alternative Compliance for Section 3.2.3 (B) and (E) by the Applicant. DECISION New Prospect Project Development Plan, # 4-10 is hereby approved by the Hearing Officer pursuant to Sections 3.2.3 (B) Solar Oriented Residential Lots and (E) Alternative Compliance of the City's Land Use Code. Dated this 20`h day of May, 2010 per authority granted by Sections 1.4.9 (E) and 2.1 of the Land Use Code. to Wray nior City Planner New Prospect Project Development Plan, #4-10 Administrative Hearing, Findings, Conclusions, and Decision May 20, 2010 Page 8 of 9 The interior loop road is a private drive not a public street. Therefore, the garage standards do not apply. O. Section 3.6.2(L) — Private Drives The proposed private drive will not attract through traffic and is only connected to one street. (Ellis/Apex is considered one street but is required to have two names by Poudre Fire Authority due to the ninety degree directional change.) The design complies with the Emergency Access criteria of Section 3.6.6. P. Section 3.6.3 — Utilization and Provision of Sub -Arterial Street Connections to and From Adjacent Developments The P.D.P. provides for the extension of Apex Drive from Pinnacle Townhomes. This connects the two projects and allows each two access points to Prospect Road — Robertson Street and Ellis Street. Q. Section 3.6.4 — Transportation Level of Service The Transportation Impact Study has been reviewed and evaluated by the Traffic Operations and Transportation Planning Departments. The project provides vehicular, pedestrian and bicycle facilities necessary to maintain the adopted transportation Level of Service standards as contained in Part II of the City of. Fort Collins Multi -modal Transportation Level of Service Manual. The T.I.S. concludes that the future Level of Service at the key intersections will be acceptable. 4. Compliance with Article 4 and the LMN Zone District Standards: The New Prospect P.D.P. complies with all applicable requirements of Article 4 and the LMN Zone District. No specific evidence was presented to contradict the statements and conclusion of the staff report concerning compliance with Article 4 or the LMN District Standards. New Prospect Project Development Plan, #4-10 Administrative Hearing, Findings, Conclusions, and Decision May 20, 2010 Page 7 of 9 range of buildings styles among the three surrounding projects such that an existing architectural character is not definitively established. Proposed houses will not exceed two stories in height. L. Section 3.5.1(D) — Privacy Considerations There are five lots on the east where the backyards will adjoin Pinnacle Townhomes. There is only one house across the east property line which would be impacted. Public testimony at the Hearing included concerns from a few residents living adjacent to and east of the proposed P.D.P. Project. Comments included maintaining some privacy and impacts to long distance views towards the foothills. The Hearing Officer concludes the proposed P.D.P. is compatible with the existing Pinnacle Townhomes LMN subdivision in density, scale, building height and architecture. The purpose of the LMN District for new development is to be in harmony with the characteristics of the overall neighborhood. As such, any new development shall be arranged to form part of an individual neighborhood. While some of the existing residents have enjoyed views into the vacant field for several years and towards the foothills, this site is in a low lying area of the City, and new residential development will change this condition to some extent. This is all part of community building. Not all views can be maintained as the City grows over time. While the developer is not required to fully mitigate these concerns, during the Hearing, we did hear interest from the developer to consider building heights of 1 '/2 stories, versus the allowed 2 story maximum height, and provide some additional landscaping to soften the impacts of new single-family homes with existing development. As mentioned, along the west property line, there is only one lot, Lot 25, which will directly adjoin Prospect Commons. During the Hearing the owner of Lot 25 expressed concerns of impacts on privacy, views and shading of their property. Again, as mentioned above, the developer is not required to fully mitigate these concerns. However, the developer has expressed interest in designing the building for Lot 25 such that the proposed one story garage is located on the west portion of the Lot and attached to the two-story home. This proposed configuration appears to help off -set the concerns from the existing neighbor at 1644 Ukiah Land in Prospect Commons. The Hearing Officer concludes these suggested improvements to Lot 25 will help reduce the impacts to the existing property in Prospect Commons. The proposed one-story garage on Lot 25 will provide a greater level of privacy for the existing neighbor. Furthermore, the owner at 1644 Ukiah Lane can still enjoy views towards the existing Mallard's Rest Natural Area and Spring Creek to the southeast - even after New Prospect is developed. M. Section 3.5.2(C)(1) — Relationship of Dwellings to Streets and Parking The interior loop road is a private drive. Lots 3 — 17 will face an internal central green, not the private drive. These lots are referred to as "rear -loaded" as the garages will face the private drive. As mentioned, the central green is served by a network of walkways. All other lots will be "front -loaded" and served by either Apex Drive (public) or the private drive. N. Section 3.5.2(E) — Garage Doors New Prospect Project Development Plan, #4-10 Administrative Hearing, Findings, Conclusions, and Decision May 20, 2010 Page 6 of 9 H. Section 3.2.3(D) — Shading This standard requires that the new houses associated with New Prospect P.D.P., not cast a shadow onto structures on adjacent property greater than the shadow which would be cast by a twenty-five foot hypothetical wall located along the property lines between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. MST on December 2155. The west property line of Lot 25 shares 32 feet with the adjacent lot to the west in Prospect Commons. The applicant has stated the proposed new building on Lot 25 will be setback from the west building envelope by a one- story garage that will be attached to the two-story house further to the east. The new garage will be setback at least five feet from the shared property line. With these parameters, a new house on Lot 25 will not cast a shadow greater than a twenty-five hypothetical wall. I. Section 3.4.1(E) — Establishment of Buffer Zones The site is bordered on the south by Mallards Rest Natural Area and Spring Creek. This standard requires a buffer of 100 feet from the top of bank of Spring Creek. This buffer is provided and demarcated on the plat, site plan and landscape plan. A portion of the stormwater detention pond is located within the buffer which is allowable. J. Section 3.4.1(I) — Design and Aesthetics Lots 23 — 25 adjoin Mallards Rest Natural Area. This area is located between New Prospect and Spring Creek and is the former site of the Brookhaven Townhomes tennis courts. The land has been restored with native grass and riparian shrubs. This standard requires that development in the vicinity of the Spring Creek Corridor be designed to complement the visual context of the natural habitat. Lots 23 — 25 have attached seven additional design guidelines as noted on the Cover Sheet of the P.D.P. These design considerations address: • Massing • Four-sided architecture • Building height • Exterior materials and finishes • Color • Roof materials • Fences and landscaping. The design guidelines will contribute to New Prospect blending in with the natural visual character of the area. K. Section 3.5.1— Building and Project Compatibility New Prospect is bounded by Prospect Commons on the west and Pinnacle Townhomes on the east. Across Spring Creek to the south is Brookhaven Townhomes. All projects are zoned L-M-N. In terms of density, all projects are within the allowable density range for L-M- N with New Prospect being slightly lower in density than Pinnacle Townhomes and slightly higher than Prospect Commons. With respect to architectural character, there is a wide New Prospect Project Development Plan, #4-10 Administrative Hearing, Findings, Conclusions, and Decision May 20, 2010 Page 5 of 9 The project consists of both single family detached on lots ranging in frontage between 34 and 60 feet. For single family detached lots 40 feet or less in width, two off-street parking spaces are required. For single family detached lots greater than 40 feet, one space is required. In addition, for the two-family dwellings, 1.75 spaces are required per two bedroom unit. In all cases, two off-street parking spaces are provided. G. Section 3.2.3(B) — Solar -Oriented Residential Lots and Section 3.2.3(E) Alternative Compliance The standard requires that 65% of the lots be oriented to within 30 degrees of an east -west line. Since only 44.4% of the lots comply, the applicant has requested that the Alternative Compliance provision be considered. Staff has evaluated the request and finds that with only 4.78 acres and with a site that is oriented north -to -south, that compliance with 65% is practically infeasible. The site is physically constrained by existing development to the east and west, existing residential along E. Prospect, and by city natural area (Spring Creek) to the south. All three of these make it difficult to provide a traditional street network on this property. In addition, the south east corner of the site is further constrained by the 100 year flood plain and floodway, two existing sanitary sewer lines cross the bottom 1/3 of the site, All of this combined, makes an efficient layout of this site difficult at best, particularly with regards to solar orientation meeting the requirements of LUC 3.2.3 (B). The Hearing Officer agrees with Staff and finds that the P.D.P. complies with the criteria for Alternative Compliance. In reviewing the request for Alternative Compliance from the Applicant dated January 13, 2009, the Hearing Officer acknowledges the narrowness of the property, configured primarily north/south. The Site Plan provides a majority of the required solar -oriented residential lots. The P.D.P. advances the purpose of Section 3.2.3 equal to or better than the Standard for the following reasons: ■ The P.D.P.. preserves and buffers the existing Mallard's Rest Natural Area. ■ The P.D.P. buffers Spring Creek and associated flood plain to the maximum extent. ■ The preferred plan preserves the existing topographic conditions on the site as much as possible, in which there is a significant elevation delta with the adjacent south properties. ■ The preferred plan provides maximizes solar oriented lots meeting LUC 3.2.3(B) within a constrained site. In addition, the remaining lots do have considerable, if not more, opportunity for solar access with wall and roof orientations. • The P.D.P. promotes enhanced neighborhood continuity by being an infill site in close proximity to a public school (Lesher Junior High) and neighborhood center (Park Central). • The P.D.P. ties directly into Pinnacle Townhomes with the extension of Apex Drive. • The P.D.P. provides direct non -vehicular access to the Spring Creek Trail. New Prospect Project Deveiopment Plan, #4-10 Administrative Hearing, Findings, Conclusions, and Decision May 20, 2010 Page 4 of 9 • Spring Creek is an important natural resource that needs to be buffered. • Access to Prospect Road needs to be consolidated. • Floodway and floodplain regulations must be respected. The Hearing Officer agrees with the staff report findings in that the New Prospect P.D.P. accomplishes these objectives. 3. Compliance with Article 3 of the Land Use Code — General Development Standards Staff finds the New Prospect P.D.P. proposal complies with all applicable requirements of Article 3, including the Request for Alternative. Compliance of 3.2.3. (B), Solar -Oriented Residential Lots, which is described below. A. Section 3.2.1 — Landscaping The site is served by a combination of public streets and private drives. The two public streets, Ellis Street and Apex Drive, feature street trees in the parkway. While there is no requirement for street trees on private drives, street trees are provided on five of the eight lots where the houses front on the private drive. B. Section 3.2.1(E)(2) —Landscape Area Treatment The central green is a common area measuring 50 feet by 205 feet for a total of 10,250 square feet. This area will include turf, shrubs and trees. Lots 3 —17 will front onto this green and back onto the private drive. Consequently, the green will be the focal point of the project. C. Section 3.2.2 — Access, Circulation and Parking As a residential project, there are two off-street parking spaces per lot. The combination of public streets and private drives provides for access to Prospect Road from two points — Ellis Street and Robertson Street. Apex Drive will connect east to Pinnacle Townhomes. There are no opportunities to connect west to Prospect Commons. D. Section 3.2.2(C)(5)(6) — Walkways and Direct Connections The central green includes a network for five-foot wide walkways. The private drive includes an attached on one side along the front of Lots 18 — 25. Connectivity is provided north to Prospect Road, east to Pinnacle Townhomes and south to the Spring Creek Trail. E. Section 3.2.2(C)(7) — Off -site Access to Pedestrian and Bicycle Destinations A five foot wide walkway is will connect the project across Mallards Rest Natural Area to the Spring Creek Trail. This walkway ties into the walkway network within the central green. F. Section 3.2.2(K)(1) — Residential Parking Requirements New Prospect Project Development Plan, #4-10 Administrative Hearing, Findings, Conclusions, and Decision May 20, 2010 Page 3 of 9 FACTS AND FINDINGS The Applicant has submitted an application for a Project Development Plan 4-10. Staff finds that the P.D.P. complies with the LMN zone district standards of Article Four and the General Development standards in Article Three, except Section 3.2.3 (B), Solar -Oriented Residential Lots, and Section 3.2.3 (E), Alternative Compliance. The Applicant is requesting an Alternative Compliance provision be considered. Staff has evaluated the request and finds that the P.D.P. complies with the criteria for Alternative Compliance. COMMENTS: 1. Compatibility with Surrounding Uses: The surrounding zoning and land uses are as follows: N: R-L; First Baptist Church S: L-M-N; Mallards Rest Natural Area and Spring Creek E: L-M-N; Pinnacle Townhomes (existing single family attached) W: L-M-N; Prospect Commons (existing single family detached) 2. Compliance with Article 2 of the Land Use Code - Administration: This P.D.P. complies with the applicable requirements of the LUC, specifically the procedural requirements located in Division 2.1 - General Procedural Requirements, Division 2.2 - Common Development Review Procedures for Development Applications, and Section 2.4 - Project Development Plan in Article 2 - Administration. The proposed P.D.P. to develop 29 residential dwelling units on 4.78 acres is a permitted use in the LMN District, subject to an administrative (Type 1) review and public hearing. Neighborhood Meeting The LUC does not require that a neighborhood meeting be held for development proposals that are not subject to a Planning and Zoning Board (Type 2) review. However, a neighborhood information meeting was held on December 7, 2009 that resulted in design revisions to the P.D.P. to promote neighborhood compatibility. East Prospect — Spring Creek Design Charrette In 2004, the Current Planning Department conducted a design exercise for the area bounded Prospect Road on the north, Lemay Avenue on the east, Spring Creek on the south, and the east property line of Prospect Commons on the west. The purpose was to discuss opportunities and constraints with regard to coordinating development in the area. The key findings of the study were • Apex Drive should connect Pinnacle Townhomes to the vacant property to the west (now identified as New Prospect, the subject site.). New Prospect Project Deveiopment Plan, #4-10 Administrative Hearing, Findings, Conclusions, and Decision May 20, 2010 Page 2 of 9 NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING: Evidence presented to the Hearing Officer established no controversy or facts to refute that the hearing was properly posted, legal notices mailed and notice published. The Hearing Officer, presiding pursuant to the Fort Collins Land Use Code, opened the hearing at approximately 5:15 p.m. on May 10, 2010 in 281 North College Avenue Conference Rooms C & D, Fort Collins, Colorado. HEARING TESTIMONY, WRITTEN COMMENTS AND OTHER EVIDENCE: The Hearing Officer accepted during the hearing the following evidence: (1) Planning Department Staff Report; (2) application, plans, maps and other supporting documents submitted by the applicant and the applicant's representatives to the City of Fort Collins; (3) a sign-up sheet of persons attending the hearing; and (4) a tape recording of the hearing. The LUC, the City's Comprehensive Plan (City Plan), and the formally promulgated policies of the City are all considered part of the evidence considered by the Hearing Officer. The following is a list of those who attended the meeting: From the City: Ted Shepard, Chief Planner From the Applicant: Dan Tweeton (Applicant) Terrence Hoaglund (Vignette Studios) John Gooch (Apex Engineering) From the Public: Lynne Miterotonda Mary Simber Kevin Borchers Lyndon Johnson Steve Wolf Linda Lalamente Frieda Banma Lou Abbott Mark Rohrer Marilyn Hochstatler 1500 Luke Street, Fort Collins, CO 80524 P.O. Box 1889, Fort Collins, CO 80522 238 Walnut Street, Fort Collins, CO 80524 1633 Ukiah Lane, Fort Collins, CO 80525 1644 Ukiah Lane, Fort Collins, CO 80525 1644 Ukiah Lane, Fort Collins, CO 80525 1711 W. Brookhaven Cr., Fort Collins, CO 80525 714 Brookhaven Cr., Fort Collins, CO 80525 1645 Robertson Street, # 3, Fort Collins, CO 80525 1645 Robertson Street, # 3, Fort Collins, CO 80525 815 Apex, Unit A, Fort Collins, CO 80525 815 Apex, Unit A, Fort Collins, CO 80525 4214 Idledale Drive, fort Collins, CO 80526 Written Comments: None New Prospect Project Deveiopment Plan, #4-10 Administrative Hearing, Findings, Conclusions, and Decision May 20, 2010 Page 1 of 9 CITY OF FORT COLLINS ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING OFFICER TYPE I ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND DECISION ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING DATE PROJECT NAME: CASE NUMBER: OWNER: HEARING OFFICER: PROJECT DESCRIPTION: May 10, 2010 New Prospect Project Development Plan #4-10 Dan Tweeton c/o Vignette Studios PO Box 1889 Fort Collins, CO 80522 Same as applicant Pete Wray Senior City Planner This is a request for 25 single family homes on individual lots that may be either detached or attached. In addition, there would be four duplex units. The total number of dwelling units would be 29. The site contains 4.78 acres. The density would be 6.5 dwelling units per acre. The parcel is located on the south side of East Prospect Road. The site is primarily located at 805 East Prospect Road. The project also includes the southerly portions of 807 and 811 East Prospect Road. The two existing houses on 807 and 811 East Prospect Road will remain and not be a part of the project. The zoning is L-M-N, Low Density Mixed -Use Neighborhood. SUMMARY OF HEARING OFFICER DECISION: ZONING DISTRICT: The parcel is zoned Low Density Mixed -Use Neighborhood (LMN). STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Approval of New Prospect Project Development Plan, # 4-10. Planning, Development & Transportation Services � of t Collins May 20, 2010 Community Development & Neighborhood Services 281 North College Avenue P.O. Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522.0580' 970.416.2740 970.224.6134- fax fcgov.com Attendee of the New Prospect Project Development Plan, # 4-10 Public Hearing, Please find attached to this letter a copy of the Type I Administrative Hearing Findings, Conclusions and Decision for New Prospect Project Development Plan, # 4-10. Pursuant to Section 2.2.7(D) of the Fort Collins Land Use Code, this Decision has been mailed to the applicant and any person who provided testimony at the public hearing. This final decision of the Administrative Hearing Officer may be appealed to the City Council, in accordance with Chapter 2, Article Il, Division 3 of the City Code, within 14 calendar days of the date of final action May 20, 2010 by the Hearing Officer. The deadline to file an appeal is 5:00 p.m. on , June 3, 2010. Guidelines explaining the appeal process, including the Code p visions previously referenced, can be found online at fcqov.com/cityclerk/appeals.php, ay be obtained in the City Clerk's Office at 300 LaPorte Avenue. If you have any questions about the attached Decision othe appeal process, please contact me at 221-6754. Sincerely, Pet Wray Senior City Planner S p A y