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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCARRIAGE HOUSE APARTMENTS - PDP - PDP120035 - REPORTS - CORRESPONDENCE-HEARING (19)Chapter 2, page 11: The provision of adequate parking, in both single-family and multi -family residential areas and in commercial/business areas with the context of the City's Congestion Management Plan's goals, is critical to maintaining the character of the West Central Neighborhoods. Chapter 3, page 25, Parking Policies: Adequate parking should be required in all development and redevelopment projects. Parking areas should be designed to consider the aesthetic impacts on the visual quality of the neighborhoods. Chapter 4, page 2, Land Use: The City should take a more aggressive stance on code enforcement in the West Central Neighborhoods and pursue complaints from neighborhood organizations, as well as from individual property owners, on issues more common in the West Central Neighborhoods (e.g., property maintenance, parking of vehicles, etc.) than in other neighborhoods in Fort Collins. Chapter 4, page 15, Transportation —Parking: The City's parking regulations should be reviewed for new developments which may provide housing for specialized populations which may create demands beyond current regulatory standards. Adequate parking, similar to that provided for developments outside of the TOD , should be provided for residents of this multifamily development. The TOD is really a plan dependent on future developmental processes and future transportation plans or for areas such as the Mason corridor which have been planned with adequate public transportation to areas providing necessary services. A confounding problem with street parking in this area is the location of Bennett Elementary School on Springfield Dr. There is considerable traffic twice a weekday because of parents dropping off and picking up children. If the street is already filled with parked cars, a very dangerous situation could easily develop. Although areas designated TOD have no specific requirements, this particular development obviously needs adequate parking to provide a safe environment near Bennett School. Thank you for your careful consideration of the particular problems associated with this development regarding maintenance of neighborhood character, housing compatibility and adequate parking. Sincerely, Ann Hunt Co President Hillpond on Spring Creek HOA Develop specific Neighborhood Design Guidelines and Standards where necessary to insure new development and redevelopment activities are compatible with existing development, including historically significant resources. Housing changes should be accomplished in a manner that results in positive influences on the overall quality, integrity, and character of the area. IN Encourage responsible rental property ownership, occupancy, and management within the West Central Neighborhoods.. ■ Ensure that additional infrastructure and services are provided to sustain any increase in housing density and intensity. Land Use Policies and Plans —Redevelopment Areas in Chapter 3, page 3, and Housing Policies and Plans in Chapter 3, page 16 include the following: ■ This category does not presume that all existing uses of individual properties are inappropriate for future uses but that the area's predominant uses fail to make the best use of the land. Asa caution, such areas would be highly sensitive to over -development and great care will be required in converting existing uses to avoid dislocation within an area and Incompatibility with surrounding areas. ■ Policy F3: New multi -family structures must be designed and managed in such a way that reduces conflicts with single-family neighborhood character and lessens infrastructure impacts on single-family neighborhoods. IN Policy F4: Multi -family apartments, townhomes, or other attached dwelling unit buildings must be designed to a scale appropriate to their surroundings and that promotes the positive characteristics of the area. Implementation Actions, Chapter 4, Current and Future Student Housing Needs, page 9: ■ New development intended for student housing should be designed to be compatible to the surrounding neighborhoods by being evaluated from the perspectives of both density (housing units per acre) and intensity. I have emphasized certain text by the use of a Bold font —these highlighted phrases are repeated throughout different sections of the West Central Neighborhoods Plan and stress the importance of preservation of the character of a neighborhood as well as ensuring that new development or redevelopment involving multi -family housing should be well -planned in order to promote compatibility with existing single family neighborhoods. Such compatibility issues can be addressed by carefully considered landscaping and transition of the scale of multi -family buildings as well as scaling the intensity of use (numbers of people to be housed). As stated in Policy B4, Chapter 3, page 10, impacts of new residential development and redevelopment activities must be evaluated from the perspective of both density (traditionally, housing units per acre) and intensity, and in Policy B5, Buffer areas are the types of areas which may need a specific set of Design Standards and Guidelines if the City's Land Use Code's criteria are found to be inadequate. Parking issues addressed in the West Central Neighborhoods Plan: Dear Ms. Levingston, I would like to make a few comments regarding the proposed student housing development at the corner of Springfield and Shields. My comments are about 2 critical concerns: 1) character of the neighborhood and neighborhood compatibility Issues and 2) parking Issues, both of which are addressed In the West Central Neighborhoods Plan, a valuable document that seems to be overlooked by both developers and planning staff. Character of the Neighborhoods Goals in the West Central Neighborhoods Plan is found in Chapter 2, page 2, includes the following: ■ Integrate land use planning within the West Central Neighborhoods Plan with implementation tools (City's Land Use Code) and further define and interpret the West Central Neighborhoods land uses in the spirit of City Plan. Anticipate present and future requirements of the area's neighborhoods and provide these needs with greater precision In the Land Use Code. ■ Provide a basis for design standards and guidelines that reflect categories of land use specified In the West Central Neighborhoods Plan and that define the desired character of the individual neighborhoods and the area as a whole, including historic characteristics. A set of specific design standards for the West Central Neighborhoods may be needed if the review criteria contained in the City's Land Use Code are found to be inadequate. ■ Strive to reinforce the existing development characteristics of the West Central Neighborhoods that are positive and encourage improvement of those that are negative. ■ Insure that high density infiill development is sensitive to existing neighborhoods, preserves appropriate open space, and creates or maintains a desirable character for the neighborhoods. Neighborhood Appearance and Design in the Plan is found in Chapter 2, page 5, includes the following: ■ Identify which of the unique and pleasing visual and/or historic characteristics In the West Central Neighborhoods should be conserved and Improved upon during development/redevelopment activities. ■ Review and provide neighborhood input on specific development projects for site design, landscaping, building design and off -site impacts (e.g., through the use of a Neighborhood Design Review Committee). ■ Provide landscape screening/buffering between streets and residential neighborhoods and between adjacent land uses. Housing Goals found in Chapter 2, page 7, includes the following: ■ Preserve existing housing and the single-family character of the neighborhoods in designated areas by ensuring that new development is compatible with the positive values of surrounding buildings and the urban landscape. A development must be evaluated in the context of its compatibility with the entire neighborhood rather than just its compatibility with immediate adjacent parcels.