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HomeMy WebLinkAbout616 W. MULBERRY ST., THE SHELDON HOUSE - APU - 15-10 - REPORTS - CORRESPONDENCE-HEARING (3)Finally, we would like to remind the Board that James Murphy, co-owner of 616 W. Mulberry addressed the board on November 19, 2009 regarding the property at 1124 W. Mulberry, and requested that the owner's application for essentially the same additional permitted uses be denied. He cited apprehensions about traffic and other impacts near his home, and was concerned that granting these additional uses would set a precedent. Now he and his wife are before this board asking for the same zoning change that they objected to for 1124 W. Mulberry only nine months ago. Apparently they think their home is more worthy of protection than those surrounding this property. It is inappropriate to grant these non -conforming uses which have the dual effect of creating unearned windfalls for the property owners, while at the same time degrading the surrounding properties. As an astute citizen pointed out on June 28, residential neighborhoods need to be populated with people who sleep there. One wants to know that they have neighbors, not just someone who comes to work in the morning and goes home (presumably to a different residential neighborhood) at night. The city land use code allows for these kinds of uses only if several conditions are met. We believe that the additional permitted uses being requested today do not meet these conditions. They are not appropriate in the zone district, do not conform to the basic characteristics of the zone district and are not compatible with the other listed permitted uses in the zone district (Fort Collins Land Use Code, 1.3.4). Please take to heart the name of this zoning district — "Neighborhood Conservation" — and protect residential family neighborhoods by denying this request for a zoning change for ever more intensive commercial use. Sincerely, Michelle Haefele & Mike Knowles • Date: August 13, 2010 To: Fort Collins Planning and Zoning Board t From: Michelle Haefele and Mike Knowles ( 623 Monte Vista Ave. G L a t b Fort Collins, CO 80521 (970) 493-7898 Qi RE: Request for additional permitted uses for 616 W. Mulberry Street We are writing to encourage the Board to deny the request of the property owners at 616 W. Mulberry street for the addition of permitted uses ("professional office" and "personal and business services"). The current zoning is Neighborhood Conservation — Medium Density (N-C-M) which is a residential zone. Bed and breakfast inns are currently permitted (after Board review) under this zoning. Thus, while this is a commercial use, residents who have property in this zone might reasonably expect such uses. Residents should not, however, have to face the prospect of living next door to an office building. As noted in the materials prepared by the property owner, this property has operated as a bed and breakfast inn for 20 years. The property owner argues that this use has not generated complaints; however, there is no reason to assume that an office building would be similarly compatible. Furthermore, as the property owner notes in the information provided for the neighborhood meeting (held on June 28, 2010), they clearly intend to gradually convert the entire property from a bed and breakfast into an office building. The applicant also noted at the neighborhood meeting that she had conducted an appraisal of the property and was told that it would be more valuable as an office. This does not consider the potential negative impact on surrounding residential property values. It is also a reasonable assumption that the property owners intend to sell the property (why else would they undergo an appraisal) and granting this change to the zoning for this property would in effect create an unearned windfall for one owner at the expense of surrounding residential property values, which is simply not fair. Another point the property owner uses to attempt to make the case for this zoning change is the fact that the property is "2 lots from the west Downtown -Canyon Avenue zone district" (from the information handed out at the June 28 meeting). This argument is entirely specious. There will always be properties on or near the borders of zone districts and to use this as a rationale to chip and chisel away at the residential zone is appalling. In fact, if this property is granted this change in zoning it will create an island of the two lots between 616 W. Mulberry and the edge of the zone. The Planning and Zoning Board should also consider the cumulative impact on this residential area if this request is granted. In particular we would remind the Board that in November 2009, the property owner at 1124 W. Mulberry Street was granted a very similar spot zoning. When we asked about the apparent frequency with which these zoning changes were made we were informed that there have only been a few in several years. However this current request, if granted, would be the second such nearly identical zoning change within a year, on the same street. The property in question today is less than half a mile (only 5 blocks) from the property granted these same additional non-residential uses in November.