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HomeMy WebLinkAboutISLAMIC CENTER OF FORT COLLINS - PDP - PDP110011 - CORRESPONDENCE - CORRESPONDENCE-NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING (11)\1 EIGHBORHOOD h DR!tiI A-TION IMEETIi . s �`D d a°Na c c_c;enl PS409/17,rC GElN7EQ �F� - 3 , oZ Q / / 0[this mcectag' ,cdre `iar,.� Add:'ss Zip Yes I No `Ces, Ya E-,o EPr9A o c.; Y. , v m SAAp A15-, FARILvrt4/ Aid. %o SZf PN�,cLc� i' /Y/ Li�10IT7-(4- /So! S.b4toF.1f Noss-� 0 u..& /l/ies �r �^ P� ,40K QCC t W Tros vc I I I GVrx l`Ica /I()o/I fin. Gf fc %�6dl�P�s e a .nci�a fVP✓rt lc �I I. �f 900 Leda Pw Leo e-- -ad 1601 5hee/-7)r,'Vr _JDAV) L) OVV l aZ SJn�n�p �, I �► 40000l l i lq UA l A Q A 832 w Efj �ooqq I of CoL'� �Tl 3I • � tT't-1 t; iZ I I l�yi�rzn ZJ n m f-i-v ZZL&Off-I '� Parking The parking needs of the new Islamic Center will be met by having a shared parking agreement with Plymouth Church. This will allow the members of Islamic Center to use Plymouth Church's parking on Fridays (Islamic Center's major weekly event is on Fridays) and for Plymouth Church to use Islamic Center's parking on Sundays (Plymouth Church's major event is on Sundays). Traffic Impact The impact on traffic will be determined based on a Traffic Impact Study. Steps will be taken to reduce the impact on city's traffic (if any) as per the recommendations of the Traffic Study. Schedule The schedule for the Phase I of the project will be as follows: Schedule (Phase 1) Design, Planning & Approvals/Permits July-2011 Construction Start August-2011 Construction Complete January-2012 The schedule for Phase II and Phase III of the project is yet to be determined. Project Cost The total cost for Phase 1 of the project is estimated to be $1.3 million. Cost for Phases II and III is yet to be determined. Page 2 of 2 /ef-c,o- //3 0 / / f Project Narrative Islamic Center of Fort Collins 925 W. Lake St. Fort Collins,. CO Introduction Islamic Center of Fort Collins is planning to relocate its operations from 900 Peterson Street, Fort Collins, CO to a new multi -phase facility at 925 W Lake Street, Fort Collins, CO. Below is the tabular description of facilities to be built in each phase: Phase Facility to be Built I Mosque + parking area II Gym III Elementary School The facility will not only serve the religious, social and cultural needs of the Muslim community of Fort Collins but also will also support the larger community by participation in various social and cultural activities in the City of Fort Collins. The construction of Gym (Phase II) and Elementary School (Phase III) of the project will help the City in its growing needs for educational and recreation facilities. Architecture The building architecture will not only represent Islamic architecture by including a dome and a minaret in the design but will also include vernacular exterior which is a Northern Colorado feature. In this respect this building will be unique in its architecture in Northern Colorado and will add to the diverse cultural identity of the City of Fort Collins. The Islamic Center is well aware of its social responsibilities and is very supportive of green technologies which reduce human impact on our natural environment. Therefore the building design will incorporate energy efficient technologies such as solar panels to heat up water based high efficiency (approx. 94% efficiency) radiant heating system. Most of the building will be cooled by evaporated cooling system which again will use much less energy as compared to traditional cooling systems. Lighting systems will utilize energy efficient fixtures with motion sensors which will save power and help reduce operating costs. The main prayer hall will have a capacity to hold 340 people and mezzanine area will be able to house approx. 130 people. Page 1 of 2 /-Fe-A Fact Sheet Neighborhood Meeting Islamic Center of Fort Collins Introduction The Islamic Center Fort Collins (a registered charity under 501(c)3)-in order to meet it's growing needs -is planning to relocate its operations from 900 Peterson Street, Fort Collins, CO to 925 W Lake Street, Fort Collins, CO by constructing a new facility. The facility will include: - Mosque (Praying Area) & Children activity area. - School - Gym In the first phase (Phase 1) of the project only Mosque (Praying Area) will be built. Schedule (Phase I) The schedule for the Phase I of the project is as follows: - Planning and Approvals: July 2011 - Construction Start: Aug 2011 - Construction Complete: Jan 2012 Requirement The Muslim community of Fort Collins is in dire need of a new facility for following reasons: - The current facility is old and is costing a lot of money to maintain - The current facility is unable to house all of the members - Women and Children's area is in the basement which is too small and is not in a very good shape to serve the needs - Parking in the current facility is off the street which is very limited 32. How many members live in the area? A. About 1,000 to 1,500 live in the area. 33. 1 have lived in this neighborhood for about 40 years and the Plymouth Congregational Church is a wonderful neighbor. A. We agree and please note that we have been on Peterson Street for about 30 years and we intend to be as good a neighbor over here on Lake Street.as we are on Peterson Street. 34. Will you install speed bumps? A. We don't know at this point. 35. How long will it take to build? A. About six to nine months. 6 26. What about the size, scale and height of the building? The building does not have a residential character like Plymouth Congregational. It does not appear as if the height is articulated sufficiently. I'm concerned about the mass of the building and the context of the surrounding area. A. These are good comments. We are trying to balance the need for iconic architecture while still blending in with the neighborhood. Yes, the building has four stories of height but keep in mind that it sits on over three acres of land. Just a bit to the north is one of the newer C.S.U. dormitories which also has height and mass. We are also using exterior materials that are very familiar in Fort Collins. We think the building is articulated which helps break up the mass. 27. Parking appears to be a little short. How will folks park? A. One of the attributes of the site is that we are within walking and biking distance to campus where many of our worshippers live. We are presently on Peterson Street and we have fit in very well over in that neighborhood with the number of worshippers and number of parking spaces. 28. Have you had a neighborhood issues over on Peterson Street? A. No, we are good neighbors. We are as concerned about neighborhood issues as any other neighbor. Like any neighbor, we help keep an eye on things. We maintain our building and property. We will do likewise on Lake Street. Our building will be beautiful and we will take pride in keeping it up. 29. Will there be bicycle parking? A. Yes, there will be bike parking near the front entrance. 30. 1 encourage you to look at providing a solid fence along the west property line to screen the cars. A. Yes, we can look into this. 31. Are there utilities to the site? A. Yes, there are water taps to the site and there is public sewer that can serve the building. We are confident that there are sufficient utilities to serve the site. 5 A. Yes, it is likely that we will need more parking for future phases. We intend to take a close look at how much parking will be needed and provide it onsite as part of the future development. 19. What are the future uses again? A. Future uses include a school and gymnasium. 20. If you don't develop the southern portion of the site with the first phase, how will you control bikes that are now riding across the field? A. We have not arrived at a definitive solution yet but we are as interested as you in discouraging this kind of cut -through activity. 21. Will you have driveway access to Prospect with future phases? A. We do not think the City will allow a new driveway cut onto Prospect as it is too close to the intersection. 22. Why is the mosque crowded into the northwest corner of the site? A. We are preserving as much land as possible for future expansion. 23. What is the setback from Lake Street? A. We are setback from Lake Street about 30 feet. 24. What about terminating Summer Street in a cul-de-sac? A. We are aware of the typical standard of terminating a public street in a cul-de-sac for drivers who are not aware that the street does not go through. But we are also concerned that a public street cul-de-sac needs a 100 foot diameter and this would consume a large piece of our property. As a result, we are intending to work out a solution with the Engineering Department that may include a public access easement through our parking lot to Lake Street instead of a cul-de-sac. 25. What about stormwater runoff? A. The site is divided by a small ridge so stormwater flows in two directions. We will provide onsite detention on the north side of the property in a stormwater detention pond just like the pond constructed by Plymouth Congregational Church. On the south side, we will release storm flows into Prospect Road in conjunction with the design requirements of the City's Stormwater Utility. 4 9. Will there be a fence as well as landscaping? A. We are looking at options regarding fencing. 10. As to cut -through traffic, you need a physical barrier, not visual treatment. 11. You should consider a gate otherwise you cannot prevent cut -through traffic on Summer Street. 12. What is the building capacity? A. The building will have a capacity of around 300 on the main floor prayer hall and about 120 on the mezzanine for a total of 420. 13. And how much parking will you provide? A. We will have 48 spaces onsite and we plan on entering a shared parking agreement with Plymouth Congregational Church for additional spaces that may be needed for our Friday prayer service. In exchange, the church would be able to use our spaces on Sunday. 14. What is the time of day of your busiest service? A. Friday noon is our busiest service at which we would expect around 250 persons to attend. We have second service on Friday after sunset at which we would expect about 50 persons. 15. Will there be an outside call to prayer? A. No, the call to prayer will be limited to indoors only. 16. What is the City's minimum required parking ratio? A. Response from City: The minimum parking requirement is one space per four seats in the assembly area. 17. 1 do not want parking to spill out on Lake Street. A. We understand. We have observed that parking on Lake Street is generally taken up during the day by college students. 18. Would you need additional parking for future phases? A. Yes, we are aware of this possibility and are concerned as well. We are attempting to design a parking lot that is narrower than a street and with head -in parking on both sides. We hope to create a visual break between the public street and the Mosque parking lot that discourages cut -through traffic. 2. 1 think you will find that the Plymouth Congregational Church has problems with cut -through traffic after they expanded their parking lot so that you can now drive between Prospect and Lake Street. The student population in this general area is known to exhibit aggressive driving behaviors. The church even installed bollards to discourage cut -through but problems persist. A. Thank you for this information. We will explore ways to discourage non-resident traffic cutting through our parking lot. 3. 1 suggest that you consider installing bollards like Plymouth Church. 4. What is the height of the dome? A. The dome is about 50 — 51 feet above grade. 5. What is the height of the building and minaret? A. The building is two stories and the minaret is 70 feet tall at the peak. It is shaped as a six foot wide octagon. 6. You should also plan on aggressive bicycle riding in the area. Right now, students ride their bikes across the vacant property. They use Summer Street as a short cut to the Prospect / Shields intersection. A. Yes, we have seen the path that has been created and are aware that bicyclists are traversing our property. 7. What will happen at the eastern terminus of the sidewalk on Summer? A. We would like to extend this walk, in combination with a crosswalk, so that pedestrians can access our property without being impeded. 8. What is the setback of the parking lot along your west property line? A. We are indicating a seven foot setback, with landscaping, along the west between the parking row and the property line. 2 NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING SUMMARY PROJECT: Islamic Center 925 West Lake Street DATE: February 3, 2010 APPLICANT: The Islamic Center of Fort Collins CONSULTANTS: Dana Lockwood, Lockwood Architects Matt Delich, Delich Associates Joe Delich, Delich Associates CITY PLANNER: Ted Shepard, Chief Planner, City of Fort Collins The meeting began with a description of the proposed project. As proposed, the new facility will include a Mosque (praying area), children activity area, gymnasium and elementary school. The project will be constructed in phases with Mosque being Phase One, the school being Phase Two and the gymnasium being Phase Three. Phase One will be the Mosque and consist of 11,600 square feet. The site is 3.26 acres. The main prayer hall will have a capacity of 340 persons and the mezzanine will have a capacity of 130 persons. For Phase One, parking will be provided onsite and also in the existing parking lot of the Plymouth Congregational Church per a shared parking agreement as the two congregations worship on different days — Fridays and Sundays. Future phases will also include additional parking. The building will not only represent Islamic architecture by including a dome and a minaret but will also include an exterior in the Northern Colorado vernacular. In this respect, this building will be unique in its architecture and will add to the diverse cultural identity of Fort Collins. Unless otherwise noted, all responses are from the applicant. QUESTIONS, CONCERNS, COMMENTS 1. 1 live on Summer Street which currently dead -ends. As proposed, Summer Street will loop through the parking lot and connect to Lake Street. I am concerned that this may attract non -neighborhood and non -Mosque cut -through traffic. I would think the Islamic Center would be concerned about this as well.