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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPOUDRE SCHOOL DISTRICT, EAST PROSPECT ROAD SERVICE FACILITY - ODP & APU - 44-08/A - REPORTS - CORRESPONDENCE-NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING (3)A. There are neighborhoods up in Mountain Vista as well. And, our site borders a future City park so there are shared benefits with combing parkland open space with our athletic fields. As mentioned, we think the Mountain Vista site has strong advantages for a future high school. 70. By excavating a detention pond, you will likely hit gravel. This gravel will have to be totally removed in order for the disturbed ground to be amended with soil to grow turf. A. We intend to abide by the City's requirements for surface treatment for stormwater detention ponds and water quality treatment. 71. The pavement on Prospect Road has deteriorated due to construction traffic associated with all the residential developments located to the east of C.R. 5. 73. The project is not compatible with the area. I A. Response from the City: We understand your frustration. The City's Traffic Operations Department will evaluate the District's Transportation Impact Study. From our preliminary analysis, the study appears valid but we consider it a draft at this point. As we have mentioned, the "growth shall pay its own way' policy is fair to tax payers, but it does require developers to create an impact before improvements are constructed. This causes a lag time between the impact and the necessary road widening. 63. The City is pushing up against the County and allowing growth to occur along unimproved County Roads. The City needs to bear the responsibility to build the street improvements that are needed in a timely manner. 64. The underlying assumption of the T.I.S. is that the impact of future phases will be mitigated by road improvements for which there is no funding. This is a flawed analysis. As residents, we will be asked to accept the inconvenience. 65. How will the traffic be distributed? A. According to the T.I.S., 60% will go east and west on Prospect; 20% will go north on C.R. to Mulberry; 15% will go south on C.R. 5 to Harmony; and 5% will go east of C.R. 5 on Prospect. 66. 1 can tell you that the Mulberry/C.R. 5 intersection is dangerous..The Vista Bonita subdivision contributes to the traffic in this area. 67. What about the 50 acres that the District owns on the east side of C.R. 5 south of C.R. 40? A. This land is being reserved for a future school. No decision has been made as to the final use of this parcel. 68. In terms of street improvements, is the District being allowed to do anything less than if the land were being developed by a private sector entity? A. No, we are being treated as if on equal par with a private developer. Street improvements are based on trip generation as calculated by a T.I.S. that meets the requirements of the City of Fort Collins. 69. The District's facility should be placed into the Mountain Vista area. The 1-25 interchange there is in better shape and there would less impact on surrounding neighbors. 10 57. The relationship of the fueling station and the junior high school is flawed. The prevailing wind pattern will blow the diesel fumes toward the school. A. Keep in mind that our buses are plugged in at night so there is no need for engines to be kept idling to warm up. While the majority of the buses would be diesel, we are investigating the use of alternative fuels. 58. I'm concerned about both the District's buses and the County's heavy equipment all engaging at once. The County's operation will go all hours during a snow storm. This will involve diesel engines, back-up beepers, lighting, and staff coming and going. The two entities will create a "double -whammy" for the nearby residences. A. This is why we are proposing the berm along our north property line. 59. How high would the highest building be? A. The warehouse is expected to be approximately 28 to 30 feet in height. 60. Would the warehouse be a metal building? A. We are exploring a combination of materials that includes metal but this would not be a "Butler" building. By way of example, we are looking at a design that is roughly similar to the new Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District building in Berthoud. Other examples include buildings at the Larimer County Fairgrounds, Group Publishing and New Belgium Brewery. These buildings use a combination of metal, pre -cast concrete panels, brick and other accent features. 61. Would our property values go down? A. Don't know. You could ask an appraiser to evaluate the homes in Brittany Knolls, a subdivision in southeast Fort Collins that overlooks our southern bus facility off Trilby Road to see if there is a relationship between property values and our facility. 62. I'm glad you brought up the Trilby Road facility. I used to live off Trilby Road. The City's Transfort facility has been there for over 16 years and Trilby Road is still not fully improved between College Avenue and Lemay Avenue. If this is an example of the rate of public improvements along an arterial street, then we as neighbors can expect to experience all the increase in traffic and no corresponding improvement in the roadway. 9 49. Why is the project needed now? A. The project is needed to support the growth that has occurred with the new schools in the eastern portion of the District. 50. Why is there a proposed access at the Meadowaire alignment? A. It is better to align access points than to create offset intersections. 51. The ground presently includes eight wells. There is a fine source of ground water that can support agriculture. Paving over this ground is a waste of a valuable resource. A. We would use the available ground water to irrigate our turf areas. 52. Would you treat the stormwater runoff? A. Yes, we are required by the City's Stormwater Department to detain for the volume of the 100-year storm and to provide water quality treatment before the detained storm flows exit the site. The proposed stormwater detention pond is at the southeast corner of the site. 53. What about a fuel spill at the fueling station? A. We will be required by the Poudre Fire Authority to have a spill containment area. 54. How "green" or sustainable would the project be? A. The District has a commendable record in this area. Vegetation would be drought -tolerant. Buildings would be energy efficient. We are exploring the use of alternative energy sources such as photo -voltaic solar panels. 55. Would the buildings be L.E.E.D. certified? A. We don't know yet. 56. What about lighting? Our rural character would be impacted by an excessive amount of outdoor lighting? A. We are willing to work with you on lighting levels. For example, the new light fixtures are now considered to be "dark sky compliant" and we can explore the use of timers and photo cells to control the timing. s A. We agree that street improvements are not a minor expense. 40. It is very frustrating to travel westbound on Prospect Road and have to stop and wait for a truck making a right turn exiting the truck stop. There is not enough lane width for a truck to make this right turn without encroaching into the westbound travel lane. This is an existing problem that should be fixed. A. We will pass this along to the City of Fort Collins. 41. What are the interim improvements that could be made to the interchange without spending the $25 million on total reconstruction? A. The interchange needs separate east and westbound left turn lanes on Prospect for cars heading north and south on 1-25. 42. What is the worst case scenario for the interchange? A. The worst case scenario is that no improvements are made by 2015. In this scenario, there are Levels of Service failures up and down the system. 43. How long would it take to fully improve the interchange? A. With right-of-way acquisition, design and construction, it could take as long as six years. 44. Does the 2015 scenario assume full build -out of the White property? A. Yes. 45. It appears evident to me that due to the lack of funding by CDOT for interchange improvements, it is irresponsible for the PSD to develop this property as proposed. 46. 1 submit that the two key issues are land use and traffic. These two issues are critical and stand on their own. 47. The project does not fit into the context of the area. 48. Is the PSD willing to plant a double row of street trees as per the Prospect Road Streetscape Program? A. Yes. rl 31. Do the studied intersections currently meet the minimum Level of Service standards for the City of Fort Collins? A. Yes. 32. What are the peak timeframes? A. The morning peak is 7:30 - 9:30 and the afternoon peak is 4:30 - 6:30. 33. 1 don't think the T.I.S. methodology is accurate for 1-25 and the ramps due to the commuting nature of how the highway is used. There is an extraordinary amount of inbound (into Fort Collins) traffic in the morning from out-of-town commuters and reverse in the afternoon. A. The T.I.S. captures the highest one -hour peak. 34. Will PSD and Larimer County build out Phase Two if the 1-25 interchange is not improved? A. We do not know at this point. 35. Would you agree that the bridges over the Lake Canal on Prospect and C.R. 5 and the 1-25 interchange are functionally obsolete? A. Yes. 36. By my analysis, the PSD has only 2 of 50 facilities east of 1-25 and 48 of 50 are west of 1-25. Based on the distribution of facilities, the warehouse should be located west of 1-25, not east. A. We see the proposed location having strategic proximity to Mulberry, Prospect and 1-25. 37. What do you estimate is the percentage of trips that would go north on C.R. 5 and then west on Mulberry? A. We estimate that this would be about 40% of the total. 38. Would Larimer County be required to improve their frontage along Prospect Road to the arterial standard at the time they develop? A. Yes. 39. The two bridges over the Lake Canal need to be replaced. I estimate that this would cost between $750,000 and $one million. The present lack of sidewalks is particularly disturbing, especially for children. 6 22. Like the project proposed for 1-25 and State Highway 392 in Windsor? A. Yes. 23. Are all the interchanges along 1-25 outdated? A. All but Harmony Road. 24. So, bottom line, when does the interchange need to be upgraded? A. According to the assumptions made in the phasing plan, by 2015. 25. I'm concerned that the T.I.S. does not capture the true character of the traffic impact associated with the interchange. Does the T.I.S. count trucks the same as cars? A. Yes. 26. So the T.I.S. indicates that Phase One Warehouse has a low impact? A. Yes, the T.I.S. indicates that during the morning peak timeframe, there would be 13 trips and during afternoon peak, there would be 15 trips. 27. But for Phase Two, these trips increase significantly? A. Yes, for Phase Two, the morning peak would generate 500 trips and the afternoon peak would generate 230 trips. 28. How many employees are expected at the Phase One Warehouse? A. Approximately 25. And, the hours are typically 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. which does not coincide with the peak times on the roadway. 29. How do you estimate the number of trips? A. Good question. We use the trip generation data from Institute of Traffic Engineers which is derived from real examples across the country and updated on a regular basis. 30. How many trips are associated with the 1-25 Visitor Center? A. We do not know but we think we captured these trips in the background analysis and the 1.5% annual growth rate in background traffic for the mid and long term analyses. 5 15. Does the T.I.S include full build -out of the entire site, including the future school and development of the White property? A. Yes, the T.I.S. includes three timeframes, 2010 (short term), 2015 (mid-term), and 2027 (long term). The short term includes the warehouse. The mid-term includes both PSD and County transportation maintenance and bus facilities. The long term includes the school with an enrollment of approximately 750 students. 16. What is the assumption in the growth of background traffic? A. The T.I.S. assumes that there would be 1.5% annual growth in background traffic. 17. What is the immediate impact of the Phase One Warehouse? A. This would be the short term condition and we estimate that the warehouse will generate 100 trips per day which can be accommodated on the roadway with the addition of an eastbound left turn lane on Prospect at McLaughlin Lane. 18. What about the mid-term condition? A. By the year 2015, an eastbound left turn lane would be needed at Meadowaire. And the 1-25 interchange would need to be reconstructed to include a four lane overpass, including right and left turn lanes. A traffic signal would be needed on Prospect at the eastern frontage road. And arterial street improvements would be needed along the site's Prospect Road frontage. 19. What about the long term condition? A. In the long term, arterial street improvements would be needed along the C.R. 5 frontage. And a traffic signal would be needed at the intersections of Prospect Road and C.R. 5 and at Mulberry Street and C. R. 5. 20. Who is responsible for the improvements to the interchange and what is the latest cost estimate? And, does any entity have the funding? A. CDOT is responsible and the rough cost estimate is $25 million. We are told that CDOT does not have funding in place at this time. 21. Is there an interim improvement option versus total re -build? A. Yes, the interim improvement would be lane widening. 4 6. When would a school be constructed on the eastern portion of the site and how would it be funded? A. We think a school would be needed in the neighborhood of 2015, depending on the rate of growth in this area of the District. Funding .would also be dependent on a successful bond issue. 7. What would you build with Phase One Warehouse? A. We would build a left turn lane for eastbound Prospect, a stormwater detention pond, and landscaping around the building. We would not build the berm along our north property line with Phase One as we prefer to keep as much land under irrigated agriculture as possible. 8. How much would Phase One cost? A. Approximately $3.25 million. These funds are available from the current bond revenues and from savings on other projects and interest earnings. 9. 1 live in Kitchell Estates and am concerned about the views to south. A. Yes, we understand that the open field provides nice views and that any development could impact views to the south. 10. Would the District be selling land to Larimer County? A. Yes. 11. Would the County then close their operation on East Vine Drive? A. Yes. 12. Does the Transportation Impact Study include the County facilities? A. Yes. 13. Would the District construct a new bridge over the Lake Canal? A. No. 14. Would the District re -locate the ditch with Phase One? A. We do not know yet. 3 ADDITION OF TWO PERMITTED USES The District is proposing to apply to the Planning and Zoning for the ability to place two uses on the site that are currently not permitted in the Urban Estate zone district. These two uses are Office and Warehouse. Unless otherwise noted, all responses are from the applicant or the consultants. Questions, Concerns, Comments 1. If approved by the Planning and Zoning Board, could we take our concerns to the Poudre School District Board of Education? A. Yes. 2. How long as PSD owned the land? A. Since 1999. 3. Does the Board of County Commissioners know of this joint development possibility with the Larimer County Road and Bridge Department? A. Yes, they are aware. 4. Why is this project needed? What's wrong with the current facilities? A. Our current facility is located in the northwest portion of the District. With the recent growth patterns, most of the schools are in the eastern and southern portions of the District. An eastern bus hub would reduce the miles the buses have to travel to and from their bus routes. We would retain the present facility to serve the western and mountain schools. Regarding the warehouse, we are presently over -crowded and lease space in other buildings. A new warehouse would consolidate the leased spaces and we gain efficiencies by being close to 1-25 for both receiving materials and distribution to the new schools. 5. What about funding? A. For PSD, we have funding in place for the Phase One Warehouse only. Future phases would depend on the successful passage by the voters of a bond issue. For Larimer County, all phases would depend on a bond issue. 2 SECOND NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING SUMMARY PROJECT: DATE: APPLICANT: CONSULTANTS CITY PLANNER: Poudre School District — East Prospect Road Service Facility and Junior High School December 15, 2008 Poudre School District c/o Mr. Ed Holder Mr. Bruce Hendee, BHA Design Mr. Eric Bracke, ELB Engineering Ted Shepard CITY TRAFFIC OPERATIONS ENGINEER: Joe Olson This is the second neighborhood information meeting for this project. By way of review, this project represents a joint development between the Poudre School District and Larimer County to develop the 98 acres located at the northwest comer of East Prospect Road and County Road 5. The westerly portion of the property would be devoted to various service functions of both organizations. The easterly portion would be reserved for a future school. For the Poudre School District, these functions include a materials warehouse, an office building, a fleet maintenance building, covered parking for school buses and a fleet fueling station. For Larimer County, these functions include fleet maintenance and storage for the fleet and materials for the Road and Bridge Department as well as a future warehouse and a general parking area. These functions would not all be constructed at once. The Poudre School District's proposed central distribution warehouse would be Phase One. The other various buildings and site improvements would be phased in over time on an as -needed basis. An internal street network is proposed to provide access to the various parcels and to provide the required access for the Poudre Fire Authority. OVERALL DEVELOPMENT PLAN The District is proposing to apply to the Planning and Zoning Board for an Overall Development Plan. The purpose of an O.D.P. is to establish general planning and development control parameters for projects that will be developed in phases with multiple submittals while allowing sufficient flexibility to permit detailed planning in subsequent submittals.