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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCHRIST CENTER COMMUNITY CHURCH - REZONING - 29-09 - REPORTS - CORRESPONDENCE-NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING33. Final comment by the church: The church plans on selling the property with a contingency as to the ultimate allowable use. The buyer will not be able to develop any and all of the permitted uses in the L-M-N zone. We are aware that we will be the neighbor to whoever we sell to and we are very interested in making sure that our new neighbor will be compatible with both the church and the neighborhood. r� 26. Will we be notified of any further development? A. For neighborhood meetings, it depends on the land use. Permitted uses in the L-M-N are divided between those that are subject to Administrative Review (no neighborhood meeting) and Planning and Zoning Board review (neighborhood meeting required). For all projects, however, there will be mailed notice for the public hearing. 27. Are commercial uses allowed in the L-M-N? A. Yes, the L-M-N allows commercial land uses. For example, a neighborhood center may contain retail stores with less than 5,000 square feet of building footprint, convenience retail stores with fuel but located at least three-quarters of a mile from any other such use, personal and business service shops, standard and fast food restaurants (but no drive -through facilities), small animal vet clinics, offices, financial services and clinics with less than 5,000 square feet of building footprint, artisan and photography studios and galleries, adult day and respite care centers, and long term care facilities. 28. So no drive -through restaurants? A. Yes, that is correct. 29. Will art -in -public -places be triggered? A. No, as this would be considered private, not public development. 30. If the entire parcel is rezoned, could the church change to another permitted use as per the L-M-N zone district? A. Response from City Planner: Yes, that would be possible. 31. 1 would prefer that the church develop the west side of their property and not the east side. I live in the neighborhood and I am concerned about traffic, noise, and visual impacts. A. We are aware of your concerns. 32. What is the schedule? A. We plan on going forward with the rezoning request by going to the Planning and Zoning Board on October 15 and then City Council for two readings in November. If you were notified by mail of this neighborhood meeting, you will be notified of the P & Z hearing. Please be aware that the church has no immediate buyer at this time. 6 21. Are there any vacant parcels that are zoned R-L? Are any parcels that are annexed zoned R-L? Is R-L really just a hold -over zone for existing neighborhoods? A. No vacant, or newly annexed parcels are zoned R-L. It truly is a hold- over zone that pre -dates City Plan. In order to implement City Plan, vacant and newly annexed parcels are placed into a zone district that was created after March of 1997. Since R-L zoning does not implement�City Plan, it is not the appropriate zone for new development. 22. We like the open space provided by the stormwater detention pond. It acts as a good buffer, in addition to handling the stormwater. A. The existing stormwater detention pond is a natural low spot. Any subsequent developer will be obligated to continuing using this pond as this is where all the water goes so this portion of the ground will remain open. 23. The groundwater in the area is high. When the church was being constructed, there were some serious de -watering issues that needed to be addressed. I recall that Parkwood Lake had to be lowered and pumps ran 24 — 7. 1 suspect that now that the church has been constructed, the water table has lowered over the years. But, any buyer of the site should be aware that there may be high groundwater present and development could be expensive. A. Thank you for pointing this out. 24. Will this go to a public vote? A. No, this will go to the Planning and Zoning Board for a recommendation and then on to City Council for final action. 25. Is a groundwater study required for a rezone? A. Response from City Planner: No. Keep in mind that groundwater is not regulated like surface stormwater. Groundwater is not a public concern in the regulation of private development. Only if a developer is building a public street does the City review groundwater and a soils study from a geo-technical engineering firm. 5 14. What about the marketing plans for the vacant ground on the west side of the church? Is this parcel being marketed? A. No, the church wants to retain this parcel for the long term. 15. Could the church go bankrupt if it does not sell the parcel? A. No, the church owns all of its property free and clear and is debt -free and financially sound. We are looking to the future and want to maximize our flexibility as a prayer center rather than as a large church. 16. Would streets go through to the east or south into the existing neighborhood as a result of this property developing? A. No, access to the parcel would remain limited to Drake and Lemay. 17. Is a City Park a permitted use in the R-L zone? Would the City Parks and Rec Department be interested in buying the site? A. Response from City Planner: Yes, a City Park is a permitted use in all zone districts. You are free to contact Craig Foreman, the Director of the Parks Planning and Design Department to see if the City is interested in buying and developing the site as a neighborhood park. 18. Would there be a new access drive off Lemay? A. Response from City Planner: The City has strict requirements as to the separation of private driveways that intersect with an arterial street. Due to the proximity of the intersection with Drake, it is highly unlikely that an additional curb cut off Lemay would be granted. 19. How much is the church asking for the site? A. We are asking for about two million dollars, as is. 20. 1 am concerned about the trust issue. During the neighborhood meeting for the Integrity Center, the applicant was deliberately vague and provided less information than what was already available on their web site. A. The Integrity Center project has gone away. We appreciate your concern about trust. Please note that we see ourselves as sellers of the ground, not the subsequent developers. Our hope is that any entity that buys our site and goes through the development review process will conduct themselves respectfully. 4 9. What the primary differences between R-L and L-M-N zoning? A. The primary difference is that R-L, Low Density Residential, is a hold- over zone district from pre -City Plan (1997) and L-M-N, Low Density Mixed -Use Neighborhood, is a new zone district intended to implement City Plan. Existing neighborhoods as of March of 1997 were kept in the R-L zone. Vacant ground in residential areas, however, was zoned L-M-N with the expectation that new development would fall under the jurisdiction of the new Land Use Code. And, as the name suggests, there are more allowable uses permitted in the L-M-N than in the R-L. 10. 1 am concerned about a land use like the proposed Integrity Center with all of its traffic and buses, etc. I heard that the Integrity Center would generate about 300 buses per week. A. We are not contemplating anything like the Integrity Center. If we are successful with the rezoning application, and if we are offered a fair price for the land, then any subsequent applicant would have to go through the City's development review process. This would include a transportation impact study to evaluate the potential traffic impacts. 11. 1 see where the City will be constructing a new right -turn lane for westbound Drake Road to northbound Lemay Avenue. While this may sound like an improvement, I am concerned that it will only result in adding more traffic to our neighborhood since an improved Drake/Lemay intersection will become an attractive alternative to Timberline Road for northbound traffic on the east side of the City. A. The City Engineering Department thinks the proposed right -turn lane will alleviate traffic congestion but not so attractive as to divert trips that would otherwise continue north on Timberline Road. 12. 1 live in this neighborhood and I am in favor of the proposed right -turn lane. 13. What is the advantage of rezoning from R-L to L-M-N? A. The advantage is that the property can be marketed to a more diverse group of users. The location, at the intersection of two arterial streets, can support a greater number of uses in the L-M-N versus the R-L. Single family detached homes are not the highest and best use for this parcel. 3 4. Are their standards for new development? In particular, are there traffic standards and drainage standards? A. Yes, the City of Fort Collins has standards in place that regulate new development and re -development. At the time of submittal for any new development proposal, a Transportation Impact Study and Drainage Report are required. 5. The site is at the intersection of two arterials. Why are you requesting being placed into the L-M-N? It seems to me that you could justify more density. A. We are comfortable with the land uses afforded by the L-M-N. These uses are appropriate for our property. Keep in mind that we will be the immediate neighbor to whoever we sell to. 6. What are the differences between R-L and L-M-N? A. In the R-L, only single family detached homes are permitted but a variety of housing types are allowed in the L-M-N such as duplexes, townhomes and multi -family. The L-M-N offers a higher residential density than in the R-L. In addition, non-residential land uses are allowed but mostly in designated neighborhood centers. We have passed out a list of permitted uses in the L-M-N. 7. 1 am concerned about parking lot drainage and the capacity of the existing stormwater detention pond. A. Any new development would have to comply with the stormwater regulations of the City of Fort Collins. New stormwater runoff would not be allowed to simply sheet flow off the site. Runoff must be captured and detained for an extended period of time and then released at the historic rate. Since the existing pond was built, and since the Spring Creek Flood of 1997, new stormwater regulations have gone into effect requiring increased stormwater detention pond capacity. In addition, there are new water quality requirements that require pre-treatment of stormwater prior to being released. Drainage and grading will be carefully reviewed by the City of Fort Collins Stormwater Utility as part of the normal development review process. 8. So you are looking at selling only the easterly 11 acres? And this is where the existing detention pond is located? A. Yes, only the 11 acres are for sale and includes the existing detention pond as the pond is in the natural low spot of the overall property. K NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING SUMMARY PROJECT: Christ Center Community Church DATE: August 24, 2009 APPLICANT: Christ Center Community Church, c/o Mr. Fred Urban, 2700 South Lemay Avenue, Fort Collins, CO 80525 CONSULTANT: Mrs. Angie Milewski, BHA Design, Inc. CITY PLANNER: Ted Shepard, Chief Planner, City of Fort Collins The meeting began with a description of the proposed project. This is a request to rezone the church property from Low Density Residential (R-L) to Low Density Mixed -Use Neighborhood (L-M-N). The site is 23 acres in size and located at the southeast corner of East Drake Road and South Lemay Avenue. The existing church is flanked by vacant land that was originally set aside for future expansion for a variety of church -related functions and activities in a campus setting. Christ Center Community Church has now scaled back these future expansion plans and the vacant land is no longer needed for a campus. Unless otherwise noted, all responses are from the applicants or the consultants. QUESTIONS, CONCERNS, COMMENTS 1. Is the church leaving and planning on selling the entire 23 acres? A. No, we are just scaling back our future expansion plans. We simply do not need all the vacant land on our property, particularly the 11 acres on the east side of the building. It is these 11 acres that we are interested in selling but we want to rezone the entire property. 2. Do you have any interested buyers at this time? A. Yes, but nothing serious yet. 3. Will the existing parking lot remain? A. Yes, the church will retain its current parking lot.