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Home My WebLink AboutSOLAR VILLAGE MAPLE - PDP - 23-07 - REPORTS - CORRESPONDENCE-NEIGHBORHOOD MEETINGNEIGHBORHOOD INFORMATION MEETING PROJECT 250�L? L/1/a DAT61 Gal Erin ■ r .1 _ _ i.I N e _ . i 0 INI 210 q Gs_L r:Nil . 1 Response: We are looking to achieve LEED certification. One requirement towards LEED certification is to find ways to reuse existing structures. There isn't much of value in the Hefner Dean building but we may be able to relocate the house and keep it. 18. Question: Why can't I build a carriage house on the alley behind my house if this big building with 20+ units can go in next door? It feels really discriminatory. Answer: (Anne Aspen, after checking in LUC): Carriage houses, or accessory buildings with habitable space are not listed as an allowable use in the downtown. The fact that mixed -use dwellings are allowed and carriage houses are not is an unintended consequence of planning efforts that happened at different times, not a conscious effort. I'll have to check on the process we would use to review such a request, but you certainly have a good case for a modification if that is the proper route. Please contact me for more information on how to proceed. 19. Comment and Question: I like the idea of a solar project. It fits in well with the new efforts towards a Zero Energy District. Is the old house energy efficient enough to keep? Answer: Yes, it is if it is gutted and retrofitted with good insulation, new windows, etc. 20. Comment: I like the idea of having live/work units. There's lots of opportunity there. Meeting concluded at about 8:15pm. 5 and a half stories tall and the mass will be broken up. We've chosen clapboard for the walls to be in keeping with the nearby houses. There will be fencing and landscaping along the property line also. About shadowing, we will do a shadow analysis for winter. The proposed height is about 35 feet. You are welcome to come by the office when we have the modeling done so you can see the shadow analysis. One of our strategies has been to make the front mass as narrow as possible and to reduce the mass of the rest of the buildings on the north of the parcels. 14. Question: What businesses will go in this project? Answer/ Question: The commercial units are for sale. We haven't marketed them yet. What businesses would you like to see here? Response (from attendees): No bars, taverns or businesses that need a liquor license. We don't need Hefner Dean type businesses. Office space and personal services would be good. Response (from applicant): The commercial units will be sized for uses like a yoga studio, an ice cream shop, etc. 15. Question: Will there be any architectural mitigation of the mass of the building? Cherry Street Lofts did not do any. Answer: We want to be responsive to that. We understand the issue. Materials can be blended. There will be windows, a fence, a sense of scale. Decks have been inset into the northwest corner, for example, to `demass' the building. 16. Comment: Consider making the front part of the fence along the north property line lower and/or more open. Response: We can certainly work with you on the design of the fence. 17. Comment: We are concerned about the removal of the existing old house that has a lot of historical character. 4 Answer: Typically we would have a dedicated delivery area. Moving vans are likely to get as near as possible to the elevator, which would be on Maple. Poudre Fire Authority will not stage on the alley. They would stage on Maple. 9. Question: How will trash collection and removal be handled? Answer: There will be a trash and recycling enclosure on the alley. 10. Question: Do you know what the energy costs will be for the residential units? Answer: Not yet. We are still working through the design details and energy modeling to figure out what sustainable technology will be best for this project. We think we will use flush mount panels on the roofs to provide hot water to circulate to the units. Then residents would control a fan/coil system for hot water and heating. Cooling strategies may include a similar system or swamp coolers (evaporative cooling) if that proves effective and marketable for this project. There will be no mechanical equipment on the ground. It will all be roof -mounted. 11. Question: What about heat exchangers? Answer: These are a possibility too. It all depends on the modeling and marketability. We are aiming to be in the Penny Flats price range, not the Cortina price range. 12. Comment: It's beautiful. This will be a great addition to our town. 13. Question: Do you know what the back (north side) will look like? It will be visible to most of the residents on the block and we don't want it to look like the back of a building. Also, neighbor immediately to north commented that he is very concerned about shadow casting on his property --while this project would have great solar access, it will be gone on theirs. Answer: Yes, we have some ideas but they don't show in the printouts because of where we took the shot. Please come by JCL Architecture and we'd be happy to show you what we're thinking there. The massing will be smaller. Those buildings are garages with studios above, so they'll be one 3 Answer: We will have some flexibility built into the sales process. We will assign parking but will offer an opportunity for those with surface spaces to upgrade. 4. Question: Are there two buildings on Maple? Answer: It is essentially two buildings on Maple with a one-story lobby to connect the two. There will be no interior halls in the residential portions of the project. All but one unit will have 3 exterior sides and porches. One elevator and stairs will be provided for access to the upper residential levels. 5. Question: There are some existing trees on site. Will these be preserved? Some of the existing street trees are scraggly Siberian Elm trees that are sorely in need of pruning. Answer: We will do our best to preserve any trees we can. (Anne Aspen): The City has a number of requirements about tree preservation. The City Forester will do a site visit with the applicant and analyze existing trees for species, health and significance. If a tree is unsafe or unhealthy, typically the tree will be removed and replaced with more trees to mitigate the loss. Siberian Elms are no longer allowed as street trees. If the health and safety of the elms is good, the City, developer and neighbors can work together to decide whether a pruning would help or whether to remove the trees and plant a more desirable species. 6. Comment/Question: I like the layout and that it is mixed -use. Is there enough room to maneuver in the parking lot, especially if it is full? Answer: Well look at this very closely as we develop the plans. There are City requirements for parking lot dimensioning and engineering requirements that we must meet. 7. Question: Is there any possibility of a drive access off Meldrum? Answer: It would be nice. We will have a traffic study done which will clarify our needs in terms of the access and parking. 8. Question: Will delivery trucks and moving vans stage on Maple? 2 City of Fort Collins Commun_ , Planning and Environmental S. ices Current Planning NEIGHBORHOOD INFORMATION MEETING PROJECT: Solar Village Maple, NE corner of Maple and Meldrum Streets DATE: July 19, 2007 APPLICANT: Alex Platt, Co -Founder, Solar Village and Justin Larson, JCL Architecture CITY PLANNER: Anne Aspen The Applicant is proposing demolition of the existing commercial structure (Hefner Dean Printing) and construction of a mixed -use project with approximately 24 residential units above approximately 8400sf of ground floor commercial space. A modification of standards will be required to use new on - street diagonal parking towards meeting the minimum residential parking requirements. The meeting started at about 6:40pm. After an overview of the city development review process by City staff and an overview of the development proposal by the applicant, the following questions and comments were fielded from the attendees. Answers are from the applicant unless otherwise noted: QUESTIONS, CONCERNS, COMMENTS, RESPONSES 1. Question: Parking has become a problem in this neighborhood. How will parking be handled for this project? Any underground parking? Garages? Answer: The parking for the project will be a combination of surface parking internal to the project and garage parking. Off- street parking will be accessed from the alley. 2. Question: How will a resident get to choose which kind of parking they get? 1 281 North College Avenue • P.O. Box 580 • Fort Collins, CO 80522-0580 • (970) 221-6750 • FAX (970) 416-2020