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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSUN COMMUNITIES - THE FOOTHILLS - PDP210001 - SUBMITTAL DOCUMENTS - ROUND 1 - PROJECT NARRATIVEThe Foothills Project Narrative PDP Submittal Past Meeting Dates Conceptual Review Meeting – August 29, 2019 Neighborhood Meeting #1 – May 28, 2020 Neighborhood Meeting #2 – July 23, 2020 Planning & Zoning Board Meeting (2 Modifications) – October 15, 2020 (Approved) Neighborhood Meeting #3 – December 2, 2020 General Information: Sun Communities, Inc. is proposing to build a 204-unit manufactured home community called “The Foothills” on approximately 52 acres of irregularly shaped vacant land near the southeast corner of South College Avenue and Trilby Road. The property is in the Low Density Mixed Use Neighborhood District (LMN) and mobile home park is an allowed use in this zoning district. The project will include an amenity center with a clubhouse, pool, sports courts, and parks. The proposed density is approximately 4 du/acre. To help provide a more diverse streetscape and a more affordable option, there will be 30 “small lots” dispersed throughout the development, which will be 40’ wide lots rather than the typical 55’ lots. In addition, Sun will deed restrict 15% of the homes in The Foothills, so the project will meet the City’s definition of an affordable housing project and provide another affordable housing option in the City of Fort Collins. All homes will be brand new, manufactured in a factory and built to HUD standards. Residents of The Foothills will have the option to either rent or buy their home, and will pay monthly “site rent” to Sun for use of the property, utilities, and amenities. Roads (except for Debra Drive) and utilities will be private and owned and maintained by Sun Communities. Two (2) Land Use Code modifications were approved for this project by the Planning & Zoning Board in October 2020. These modifications include a revised street-like private drive cross- section with no on-street parking, as well as eliminating the requirement for 4 different housing types in this zoning district. Proposed Owners: Sun Communities, Inc. has a purchase agreement to buy this property and intends to be the sole owner of the property once the purchase is complete. There will be an LLC entity created by Sun that will hold the ownership of this property specifically. Residents of The Foothills will either rent or own their homes, but the land will be owned by Sun. Existing Owners: There are two existing owners of the property, which are listed below. Sun intends to close on this property in 2021, prior to the start of construction. College Avenue Properties, LLC MMPMSC, LLC Attention: Kate Douglas Attention: Caryn Blackman 6261 Potomac Way 31474 Upper Bear Creek Road Centennial, CO 80111 Evergreen, CO 80439 Transportation Improvements: Delich & Associates completed a Traffic Impact Study for the proposed project in December 2020. The TIS is included as part of the PDP submittal. “The Foothills” is located near the southeast corner of the intersection of South College Avenue and Trilby Road. Substantial capital improvements for this intersection are already planned by the City of Fort Collins and design for that project is currently underway. The main entry-way for The Foothills will be a boulevard entrance off the south side of Trilby Road. A right-hand turn lane and center-left turn lane are both proposed on Trilby at this entryway as part of this project. Road connections are also proposed to the east at Crown Ridge Lane, and to the west at Rick Drive. Additionally, Debra Drive will be extended through the western portion of the site, completing a missing portion of the road. There will be no new entrance to The Foothills directly from South College Avenue, however, residents will be able to access it from Debra Drive through the Lakeview on the Rise development south of the site. The TIS found that the development of The Foothills is feasible from a traffic engineering standpoint. Neighborhood Meetings: Three (3) Neighborhood Meetings have been held for this project, plus a public hearing during the October 2020 Planning & Zoning Board meeting. The meetings have covered extensive questions and comments regarding this project including: affordable housing, traffic, wetlands, Sun operations and management of communities, road cross-section modifications, landscaping, parking, and environmental impacts. All questions were addressed during these meetings or directly afterwards. The video recordings and notes from these Neighborhood Meetings can be found here: https://ourcity.fcgov.com/devreview/forum_topics/sun-communities. In addition, Sun and its consultants have answered questions from neighbors and residents on multiple occasions via email from City Staff. We welcome any additional questions the public may have, please reach out to Nikki Jeffries via email at njeffries@sunlanddev.com. Site Design & Wetlands/Natural Features: The project will include 204 home sites, a central amenity center including a clubhouse, pool and sports courts, a dog park, a wetland viewing trail, and some additional “pocket park” areas throughout. Generally, the home sites are laid out in one of three general layouts– perpendicular sites (55’ wide x 105’ deep), parallel sites (105’ wide x 65’ deep), and small-lot sites (40’ wide x 105’ deep). Each home site will contain three parking spaces and in addition, guest spaces will be located throughout the community. Two wetlands, totaling 5.5-acres, occur on the site, both of which were found to be non-jurisdictional by the Army Corps of Engineers, but are still regulated by the City of Fort Collins. In an effort to retain this natural feature and wildlife habitat, most of this wetland complex will remain and be improved in the southeast corner of the site. The proposed project will impact 0.386 acres of low-quality wetlands and 1.12 acres of moderate-quality wetlands. To mitigate for these impacts, Sun will construct two storm water ponds 2.89 acres in size and conduct noxious weed control in the undisturbed potions of the wetlands to control the hairy willowherb. The storm water ponds will help reduce sedimentation and wetlands will likely become established in these ponds. This wetland complex will be a feature of the site for both its residents and neighbors. It will also serve as a buffer between this project and the neighborhoods to the south and east of The Foothills. A wetland delineation, an Ecological Characterization Study, and a Functional Assessment (FACwet) have been completed for this site and have been submitted to the City of Fort Collins for review as part of the PDP. Transition Techniques: Perimeter walls and fences are proposed around the exterior of the development as shown on the landscape plan. In addition, the storm water ponds and wetland complex will buffer the neighboring developments to the south and east. Immediate surrounding land uses are all residential. Architectural Design: Sun intends to provide many varied home elevations and floorplans within The Foothills development. At least fifteen (15) different exterior elevations will be offered in the new community. In addition, there will be options for garages, carports and front porches, along with multiple different color schemes to vary the streetscape. Fifteen exterior home elevations plus floorplan and elevations for the clubhouse have been included with this submittal. It is anticipated that additional home elevations will be submitted for approval from the City in the future. Development Phasing Schedule: Sun anticipates that site development for the project will be constructed in one phase once all approvals and permits are in place. Homes will be purchased and constructed in groups dependent on demand. It is anticipated that approximately 40 homes will be constructed in the initial group, additional homes will be placed on site as the initial group sells.