HomeMy WebLinkAboutAMENDED CSURF CENTRE FOR ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY - ODP - MJA110001 - SUBMITTAL DOCUMENTS - ROUND 1 - PLANNING OBJECTIVESAmended CSURF Centre for Advanced Technology ODP
Planning Objectives
March 30, 2011
Page 3 of 3
The number of employees for commercial and industrial uses that may be developed within the overall
ODP is unknowable at this time and the phasing schedule for development within the other ODP parcels
is also unknown at this time. Upon approval of the Amended ODP and the accompanying PDP for a
portion of Parcel C, development of Parcel C will be in at least two phases: first, the student housing
project, followed by E uses on the remainder of Parcel C at some future time.
A statement of appropriate City Plan Principles and Policies achieved by the Amended Overall
Development Plan and a summary of issues raised at the January 18, 2011 Neighborhood Meeting are
attached as Exhibit A and Exhibit B respectively. The Applicant and design team appreciate your
attention to this Amended ODP and look forward to your comments.
Sincerely,
RIPLEY DESIGN INC.
; ti
Linda Ripley
Principal
Attachments:
Exhibit A
Statement of Principles and Policies
Exhibit B
Neighborhood Issues Statement
Exhibit C
Explanation of ODP Note Changes
Exhibit D
Block Size Illustration
Thinking outside of the box for over two decades.
401 W. Mountain Ave., Suite 200 . Fort Collins, CO 80521 . tel. 970.224.5828 ■ fax 970.224.1662 ■
www.vfrdesigninc.com
Amended CSURF Centre for Advanced Technology ODP
Planning Objectives
March 30, 2011
Page 2 of 3
to effectively buffer the wetland drainage from the impacts of the collector street. In addition, the
alignment depicted on the ODP would require filling in the floodway. To avoid these undesirable
impacts Campus Crest Development is proposing to move RMD further to the south. By shifting
the alignment of RMD to the south and parallel to the Larimer Canal No.2, disruption of the
floodway would be avoided and the impact to the wetlands would be greatly reduced.
2. Elimination of Northerland Drive
With the alignment of RMD shifting to the south, the connection to Northerland Drive is proposed
to be eliminated, so there would be no vehicular connection between the CSURF property and
the existing neighborhood to the north. While the Land Use Code supports street connectivity, in
this case the disturbance to the wetland and floodway outweighs the marginal benefit of a
vehicular connection between CSURF property and the Windtrail neighborhood via Northerland
Drive.
3. Updating Notes
City staff has requested that notes on the Amended ODP be updated to clarify that all
development within the Amended ODP will be subject to applicable provisions of the Land Use
Code (LUC) and the Larimer County Urban Area Street Standards (LCUASS) in place at the time
of development. Notes regarding development within the floodway have also been updated at the
request of City staff to reflect current regulations. Lastly, typos and language inconsistencies
contained in the approved ODP have been corrected. (Please see Exhibit C - Explanation of ODP
Note Changes for a comparison of the original notes and proposed notes along with detailed
comments regarding each proposed change.)
4. Updated Mapping
The Amended ODP updates the mapping for the existing 100-year floodplain, floodway, wetland
boundaries and the wildlife corridor along the Larimer Canal Number 2 so that these sensitive
areas and valuable natural resources can be protected and enhanced as development within the
Amended ODP occurs. Detailed information regarding existing and proposed open space,
buffering, landscaping, circulation, transition areas, wetlands and natural areas will be provided
with individual Project Development Plans.
5. Removal of Note Regarding Minimum FAR
Note Number 5 on the ODP that read "Maximum Floor Area Ratio (building square footage
divided by land square footage) for all Parcels shall not exceed .37."was on the ODP for
CSURF's own purposes. The City's LUC does not dictate a maximum Floor Area Ratio (FAR).
While the land uses currently proposed for Parcel C in The Grove PDP would meet the .37
minimum, CSURF prefers to remove the note from the Overall Development Plan to avoid
possible confusion in the future about this requirement. The total building square footage for the
Grove PDP (307,212 square feet) divided by the land area (1,197,189 square feet) results in a
FAR of .26.
6. Compliance with Block Size Requirement in the MMN District
Local streets have been illustrated on Parcel C to illustrate how the Block Size required in the
MMN District would be met with the proposed development on Parcel C. The City Council stated
at the December 21, 2010 Appeal hearing, that since a Project Development Plan was being
submitted concurrently with the ODP, showing the street system and illustrating that the project
met the Block Size requirement was required as part of the ODP. (See Exhibit D — Block Size
Illustration attached)
There are no parks, school sites or other similar public or semi-public uses proposed at this time. There
is no public open space proposed within Parcel C. Any private open areas proposed within Parcel C are
expected at this time to remain in CSURF's ownership with maintenance provided by the developer(s)
thereof.
Thinking outside of the box for over two decades.
401 W. Mountain Ave., Suite 200 ■ Fort Collins, CO 80521 a tel. 970.224.5828 r fax 970.224.1662 v
www.vfrdesigninc.com
land planning ■ landscape architecture ■ urban design ■ entitlement
March 30, 2011
Mr. Steve Olt
Community Development and Neighborhood Services
281 North College Avenue
PO Box 580
Fort Collins, CO 80522
Amended CSURF Centre for Advanced Technology Overall Development Plan
Planning Objectives
The entire CSURF Centre for Advanced Technology Overall Development Plan (ODP) includes 116.7
acres of property owned and managed by Colorado State University Research Foundation. The property
is located on both sides of Centre Avenue between Drake Road and Prospect Road. Parcels A, B, C, D,
E, and F are currently undeveloped. The Centre for Advanced Technology, Master Plan (AKA Overall
Development Plan) was originally approved by the Planning & Zoning Board, on September 23, 1985.
Since then, the Board has approved three (3) amendments to the ODP on: January 25, 1988; June 27,
1994; and February 20, 2003. An administrative amendment (minor amendment) was also done for the
ODP on January 21, 1999. With the adoption of the Land Use Code in 1997, Parcel C was rezoned to E,
Employment and MMN, Medium Density Mixed -Use Neighborhood.
On October 21, 2010 the Planning and Zoning Board approved an Amendment to the ODP requested by
Campus Crest Development (with permission of the owner, CSURF). The City Council overturned the
Planning and Zoning Board's approval at an Appeal Hearing on December 21, 2010, saying that the ODP
was required to illustrate that the Block Size required in the Medium Density Mixed -Use Neighborhood
District (MMN) was being met.
This request for an amendment to the ODP (the Amended ODP) is in most respects identical to the
previous amendment request. The land uses proposed in the Amended ODP have not changed. Before
the Land Use Code was enacted in 1997, Overall Development Plans included land use descriptions,
densities, building heights, as well as proposed buffers and open space. After the LUC became effective,
it was no longer necessary or desirable to indicate land use on an ODP, since the prescribed zoning and
performance standards in the LUC do that. Note, however, that the permitted uses in the MMN zone
district serve to transition between the surrounding neighborhoods (north and west) and the commercial
areas (south and east), and that potential conflict between the existing single family neighborhoods and
the MMN uses is being avoided with the elimination of the Northerland Drive connection, the existing
wetland areas and the arrangement of the uses in Parcel C. The following changes to the ODP are
requested with this Amended ODP.
Realignment of Rolland Moore Drive
Since the latest version of the ODP was approved in 2003, the mapped FEMA floodplain and
floodway have changed, impacting the proposed alignment of Rolland Moore Drive depicted on
the ODP. Originally Rolland Moore Drive (RMD) was proposed to extend to the west along and
through a portion of the wetlands. To extend RMD as originally proposed would disturb several
acres of wetland, and result in a collector street adjacent to the remaining wetland with no ability
Thinking outside of the box for over two decades.
401 W. Mountain Ave., Suite 200 ■ Fort Collins, CO 80521 ■ tel. 970.224.5828 ■ fax 970.224.1662 ■
www.vfrdesigninc.com