HomeMy WebLinkAboutTHE GROVE AT FORT COLLINS - FDP - FDP110015 - CORRESPONDENCE - (58)Less tangible but equally important in addressing your concerns is the ongoing discussion
of the staff role in the development review process. We are committed to improving our
customer service, and that includes all customers. We understand that the formal
development process is complicated, which can make the process seem unclear, and it
may be perceived as unbalanced at times, but we are committed to improving the
underlying attitudes as well as taking specific actions to clarify and appropriately
undertake our responsibilities to City Council and the community. This effort applies to
the work that is currently underway on the final documents for The Grove, and future
land use applications as well.
Like you, I also hope that many of the concerns that you have expressed do not prove to
be valid. While there may have been some missteps during the development review
process for The Grove, I do not believe that there was intentional distortion of the process
by the staff. And, as difficult as this process has been for you and your neighbors, your
efforts have resulted in many positive changes for the City and its neighbors.
Sincerely,
Karen Cumbo
Director, Planning Development and Transportation
cc: Mayor and Members of City Council
Darin Atteberry, City Manager
Diane Jones, Deputy City Manager
Steve Dush, Director of Community Development and Neighborhood Services
City of
Fort Collins
November 4, 2011
Sarah Burnett
714 Gilgalad Way
Fort Collins, Colorado 80526
Dear Ms. Burnett:
Planning, Development, & Transportation
Executive Offices
281 North College Avenue, Suite 100
P.O. Box 580
Fort Collins, CO 80522.0580
970.221.6601
970.416,2081 -fax
fcgov.com/pdt
I apologize for the delay in this response; it has been an extraordinarily hectic few weeks, and I
wanted to take the time to explore your concerns. Your letter of October 20, which we
discussed in person on the 21 ", outlines several issues that have developed over the course of the
development review process for The Grove. I am not going to respond to each of these items
point by point; in some cases they are a matter of perception, and in others the events are long
past and cannot be confirmed or denied. What is most important, however, is the fact that your
extensive work on this project has resulted in many changes to the development review process
that will preclude repetition of several of the problems you identify.
These changes .include the following amendments to the Land Use Code:
1. Prohibition of multiple, like applications from being processed concurrently.
2. Establishment of a minimum period between a required neighborhood meeting and
formal application submittal.
3. Establishment of a "cooling off' period for a parcel that had an application denied.
Another improvement to the process designed to assist neighborhoods is the implementation of
the Development Review Outreach process. This provides background information about the
technical aspects of the process and the most effective ways for neighbors to be involved. This
approach seems to be working well; if it had been in place when The Grove review process
began there would have been much more clarity and much less hostility.
We talked on October 21 about the heating situation at The Grove, and I have attached a memo
drafted a few weeks ago, as well as an e-mail from a developer's representative that was sent to
City Council yesterday.
Additional changes in the works include amendments to the appeals hearing process, and
modifications of the on -site signage requirements, which have also been of concern to you.
There will be a community meeting about the changes to the appeals process on November 30,
2011, and I encourage you to participate in that discussion. Second reading on that ordinance
(Ord. #131) is scheduled for December 20. Changes to the requirements for public notice signs
should be completed by the end of the year.