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HomeMy WebLinkAbout616 W. MULBERRY ST., THE SHELDON HOUSE - APU - 15-10 - MINUTES/NOTES - CORRESPONDENCE-NEIGHBORHOOD MEETINGJune 28, 2010 Neighborhood Meeting @ 616 W. Mulberry Street Re: Application for addition of permitted uses for 616 W. Mulberry Street (The Sheldon House B&B) Current Zoning, N-C-M, Neighborhood Conservation Medium Density zone district The request is for 2 additional uses: 1. General Office 2. Personal and Business Service Shops (incidental retail only) At the present time, it is our desire to convert the main floor parlor into a leased office space while continuing the business of the Bed and Breakfast. Over the next year, as we assess the viability of leasing additional rooms for office use, we will continue to convert the rooms. Both the loft and basement apartments will continue as short and long-term leased apartments. Information to Consider: • The Bed and Breakfast has been at this location for 20 years • Positive reputation/No complaints • Sheldon House B&B is recognized as a Historic Landmark — no change to exterior • Located 2 lots from the west Downtown -Canyon Avenue zone district • Convenient for walk/biking to work • 7 parking spaces and a 2 car garage • Alley access • Mulberry Street frontage • Traffic and activity primarily during business hours Respectfully, James and Cynthia Murphy (970)221-1917 thesheldonhouse@gmail.com www.thesheldonhouse.com NEIGHBORHOOD IATION N caO (0 Alro � IYIEETE* W • 04L646—xx- y' DldYou Recc Receive Written �tiotlIIcatfor. of thfs mecttng? ,Correct ,address. Name Address Zit) Yes I No I Yesl No i, V z—,*c o 4ENV 1 �o�r- �-o-v caQ.�.e,�. `E� 9 S, �-ov�n,.�5 0 � 21 I ✓` I I I `� I 0 A. With the B & B, there is a level of traffic with our guests arriving and departing. We serve groups as well as individuals so there are groups of people arriving and departing. We have a positive relationship with our immediate neighbors and there has never been a zoning complaint in 20 years of operation. 19. Again, I disagree. For me, it is all about character. A person living in a neighborhood is one kind of character. A person working in a neighborhood changes this character. A. But how is the character changed when there is no exterior change, similar traffic patterns, and similar level of activity in a house that fronts on a busy street like Mulberry Street? 20. For me, there is a fundamental difference in character between the existing use and the proposed uses. 21. Would you put the house up for sale after obtaining the Addition of Permitted Use? A. We have no immediate plans to sell the property. W 14. 1 would like to reiterate that I see this request as an incremental creep of commercial land uses to the detriment of the neighborhood. What would be next? The house next door? There is a cumulative effect of commercial intrusion. A. I understand your concern. As stated in the hand-out, we are located one-half of a block from the Downtown — Canyon Avenue zone district. On the other side of the zone district line is Aggie Liquor and a three story professional office building. There is already traffic on Mulberry and our proposed conversion would probably add an insignificant number of cars. The house faces Mulberry, not Whitcomb or Loomis. Finally, the traffic and activity associated with.the conversion would primarily be during business hours. 15. 1 think we need a hard line to separate residential from commercial. The proposal is too vague and too speculative at this time. The request reminds me of 1124 West Mulberry which simply allowed the owner to sell his property for more money. 16. My impression is that the City never says no to a developer. A. Response from City — The Addition of a Permitted Use process was authorized by City Council in July of 2008. Since then, seven requests have been made. Of these seven, three were approved; three were approved with condition(s); and one was denied. City Council instructed Staff to use this process judiciously. What is not reflected in the data is the number of requests that were advised not to proceed. Finally, the process was amended in early 2010 to specifically prohibit any activity associated with medical marijuana. 17. 1 live on Loomis Street and love the character of the neighborhood. I am concerned about preserving the character and charm of the neighborhood. A. We have also made a significant investment in the neighborhood. In addition to the Sheldon House, we own a property on West Magnolia Street. Our thinking is that the there would be no outside change in character that would impact the neighborhood. We think that there is a level of activity currently associated with the B & B that would be similar to the proposed activity associated with offices or personal and business services. 18. 1 disagree. I consider a B & B to be residential. An office is commercial. 4 • 7. 1 don't see much difference between the existing Bed and Breakfast and the proposed professional office. 8. My concern is that now that the P & Z Board approved the Addition of Permitted Uses for 1124 West Mulberry, a precedent has been set and it will be harder for the Board to deny this request. A. Response from City — The Board is not constrained by the decision on 1124 West Mulberry. Each project is considered individually on its own merits. 9. 1 am concerned about more traffic in the neighborhood. A. Please keep in mind that office users would go home at 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. There would be less traffic on nights and weekends than the Bed and Breakfast. 10. For me, it is not about the traffic. It is simply the fundamental problem of converting a residential use to a commercial use in an established neighborhood. 11. Would the house be empty at night if converted to office? I would be concerned about the safety in the neighborhood with a dark, empty house at night and on weekends. A. No, the house would not be empty as the two apartments would remain occupied. 12. 1 would like to revisit the issue of parking. I am concerned about spillover parking into the neighborhood. A. At this time, we have seven spaces in the back of the house with access gained by the alley. We also have a two -car garage. There is also a concrete patio at grade that could serve as parking if needed. 13. What are the City's parking requirements? Is this sufficient parking for six offices? A. Response from City — The number of parking spaces is regulated by the maximum, not a required minimum. For example, the land use, general office, cannot provide more than three spaces per 1,000 square feet. In other words, there is no required minimum number of parking spaces. Since at this point we do not know exactly how many square feet will be devoted to professional office or personal and business service shops the square footage — to - parking ratio cannot be determined. 3 0 • QUESTIONS, CONCERNS, COMMENTS How many rooms in the B & B would be converted? A. We have five B & B guest rooms and one parlor and would prefer ultimately to convert all six rooms. But, we would probably phase in the conversion by starting with the first floor parlor. Then, depending on demand, we would convert the five guest rooms which are located on the second floor. 2. Would either of the two rental apartments be converted? A. No, the two apartments (basement and loft) would remain as is. 3. What is your motivation for the proposed conversion? A. We would like to keep the operations associated with the house as economically viable as possible to maintain and preserve the historic character. 4. This sounds very similar to the house at 1124 West Mulberry at the northeast corner of Mulberry and Shields. The existing house at that location is owned by a State Farm Insurance Agency. The owner recently requested an Addition of a Permitted Use to legalize the existing professional office, which was an illegal use, and add Bed and Breakfast for Six or Fewer Beds. We opposed that project for being an example of creeping commercialism into a residential neighborhood. For the same reason, we oppose this request. If six professionals all have clients at the same time, there will be too much traffic. A. I understand your concern. Right now, we have seven parking spaces located off the. alley. Plus, we have a two -car garage. I do not want parking associated with our project to spill out into the neighborhood and we can make some adjustments to prevent that if we have to. 5. If you have a psycho -therapist as an office tenant, then you may have more than one client at a time. For example, family counseling sessions are typical for a psycho -therapy practice. This would require more parking. The project sounds to me like the Stover Building at the southwest corner of East Mulberry Street and Remington Street. 6. Would the increase in traffic diminish the historic character of the structure? A. No, as long as there are no exterior changes, the historic character is not diminished. 4 Ll NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING SUMMARY PROJECT: 616 West Mulberry Street — Addition of Permitted Uses DATE: June 28, 2010 APPLICANT: Mrs. Cynthia Murphy, 616 West Mulberry Street, Fort Collins, CO 80521 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 add professional office and personal and business service shops as permitted uses to the existing building at 616 West Mulberry Street. The house is presently the Sheldon House Bed and Breakfast which has been a continuous operation for the past 20 years. The Bed and Breakfast was approved as a Planned Unit Development in 1990. With the adoption of the Land Use Code in 1997, Bed and Breakfast Establishments with Six or Fewer Beds, is now a permitted use in the N-C-M, Neighborhood Conservation Medium Density zone district. The house fronts on West Mulberry Street and is located along the alley between Whitcomb Street on the east and Loomis Street on the west. The N-C-M zone does not permit professional office and personal and business service shops as permitted uses. The Zoning Code, however, allows for the Addition of a Permitted Use process for ultimate consideration by the City of Fort Collins Planning and Zoning Board. The house was built in 1905 for Charles Sheldon and located at 131 South Howes Street. The house was moved in 1955 to its present location and has been designated by the City of Fort Collins as a historic structure. Please note that personal and business service shops are defined as "shops primarily engaged in providing services generally involving the care of the person or such person's apparel or rendering services to business establishments such as laundry, dry cleaning, retail outlets, portrait/photographic studios, beauty or barber shops, employment service, or mailing or copy shops." Retail sales are only allowed as incidental to the personal service such as beauty products for a hair salon. Retail stores are separately defined and are not included in the definition of personal and business service shops. Unless otherwise noted, all responses are from the applicant.