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detached house but if someone proposes another sort of use
that is allowed by the LMN district of the Land Use Code,
they will have to go through the same process that the
Boeches are going through now.
The meeting concluded at about 8: 1Opm.
N.B.: Please let me know if I have omitted anything. Since I was talking most
of this meeting, it's entirely possible that I didn't catch everything that was
said.
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that we should limit sprawl at our edges by encouraging infill
and redevelopment in the core.
LMN Zoning encourages a slightly denser pattern of
development than traditional zoning districts like the Low
Density Residential or the Neighborhood Conservation
districts, but it is nonetheless a primarily residential zone
district.
Apparently, from what neighbors said at the meeting, this
area has infilled significantly since the structure plan was
first established in 1997. The residents do not wish to see
the area further developed. If the neighbors collectively agree
that they want to be "down -zoned," there is a process by
which they can appeal for rezoning. The process is known
as a Structure Plan Amendment. (Carla Pasetti has, since
the meeting, initiated this process with the City's Advance
Planning Department.)
6. Concern: One immediate neighbor shared that they are planning on
doing some construction work on their house right about the
time that the B&B is slated to open in February. The
Boeches thanked them for the information.
7. Question: Will this B&B be a five -bedroom, five -bath house?
Answer: The B&B will have five bedrooms, three of which have their
own bath, two of which will share a bathroom.
8. Question: Will there be weddings and receptions?
9. Answer: The house will have no banquet facilities so we won't be able
to have any such large gatherings, but if someone wanted to
host a very small wedding or event, we would be open to
that. Our purpose is not to disrupt the neighborhood, but to
share the things we enjoy about it with others. We intend
this B&B to be low-key.
10. Question: What will happen to the B&B if this business does not
succeed?
Answer: If another B&B wants to go in at that point, that would be
allowed. The property could revert to use as a single family
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several streets (apparently there are 14 or so total) in qualified
income areas as part of the Spring 2005 Competitive Process.
The City did not receive funding. The proposal scored low for
many reasons. Here are a few of the most important ones: 1)
Outrageous cost on a per person benefit basis 2) Also, not an
overwhelming health -safety or basic need issue (as opposed to
shelter, food, etc.). 3) Lastly, the City did not have any other
funding sources to help with the projects. CDBG likes to
coming in as part of the funding solution. With the
increasingly competitive funding environment, and the
priorities u,e have, it's unlikely that a paving proposal would
ever receive funding. For what it's worth, in the City's huge
"community needs" document, the 5-year Consolidated Plan,
those unpaved streets are noted (in case a funding stream
miraculously appears).
Matt Baker came out to the neighborhood with an SID proposal
in 1999 but there was no subsequent activity. It's worth noting
that a very similar paving project happened in the Harmony
Half Acres where the property owners were able to pay for the
improvements by having their properties reappraised with the
paving improvements and using that increase in property value
to qualify for a home equity line of credit, so perhaps that is an
option to consider if the neighborhood wishes to proceed with
paving.
My apologies to meeting attendees for this error. I hope the
information provided here helps clarify the background, City's
rationale for its response and your options with street paving
in this area.
5. Question: There were a number of questions about zoning, both about
the existing zoning and how the neighborhood could change
the zoning and to what.
Answer: (Anne Aspen): The existing LMN zoning is an infill type of
zoning, used where there is ample vacant land within
existing developed areas within the City's Growth
Management Area. The City, with wide public input
developed a "master plan" for how we want to grow over
time; the resulting document is called City Plan (find it at
http://fcgov.com/advancel2lanning/city-plan.php) In City
Plan, the community has expressed it's desires pretty clearly
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Note of Correction: Further research after the meeting revealed
that this neighborhood is a unique situation in Fort Collins.
There are very few areas that are not paved within the City.
Typically these areas are recent annexations into the City from
the County.
In the case of an annexed area, the city will adopt an area
including its substandard streets only if the neighborhood opts
to improve the streets to current City standards using a SID
(Special Improvement District, where impacted property owners
are taxed either all at once or over time) or the City annexes
the area in with the proviso that the neighborhood is
responsible for street upkeep.
It did not occur to me that the above would apply to this rather
old, relatively central neighborhood, but I researched the
records and though this subdivision was initially created in the
County in 1924, it was not annexed into the City until 1967,
with the substandard streets. My best guess is that because
of the unique and difficult stormwater circumstances in the
area, the neighborhood probably felt that the improvements
would be too expensive to justify doing then (or at any point
since, either.)
So what is the result, and where do you go from here? Well,
development does need to pay its own way, but unfortunately
for this neighborhood, development in this case is development
that happened in 1925. However, the City does not create
forced pavement districts the way some other communities do
unless there is a serious safety issue, which there is not here
at this time. So any paving would be done voluntarily when the
neighborhood wishes and at the impacted property owner's
expense.
I looked into how the few other similar areas to yowl that I am
aware of have managed to pave. Back in the 1970's and 80's
the Buckingham and Alta Vista neighborhoods benefited from
CDBG (Community Development Block Grants) which enabled
them to pave.
Heidi Phelps, the City's CDBG Coordinator says that last
Spring, the City applied for CDBG money for the paving of
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2. Question: How could this be zoned in the future if there is any
expansion?
Answer: We have no plans to expand.
(Anne Aspen): After some clarifying questions, Anne
responded that the kind of expansion that the questioner
was thinking about is not allowed in the LMN zone district.
Any expansion of the property in the future would have to go
through the appropriate city process and likely involve a
public hearing. The changes would have to meet the
standards of the zone district, including facing a street with
parking behind. Since this is not a double lot, it is unlikely
that this would be possible. Also, the applicants have no
plans to expand so it is a moot question at this time.
3. Concern: I am concerned about increased traffic on Frey Avenue and
the dust that increased traffic will kick up. That would be
an air quality issue.
Answer: (Anne Aspen): The applicants will be required to have a
traffic impact study prepared by an engineer registered in
Colorado. This will determine if the traffic counts warrant
any street improvements. Since this project is relatively
small, I am pretty sure that it won't trigger such
improvements. These applicants will have to front the
money in the form of an escrow account for those
improvements once they are warranted. With the change of
use, this property will be responsible for paving the local
street portion (half the width) of Mountain plus the full width
of Frey (since we don't pave just half of a dirt road —half the
cost can be repaid if the property across Frey ever
redevelops), paving the alley, and sidewalks, curb and gutter
on all.
4. Question: What will the cost to us neighbors be?
Answer: (Anne Aspen): Nothing. You will not be responsible for the
cost of paving their frontage at all. At such a time as the
traffic counts or safety issues warrant street improvements
elsewhere in the neighborhood, these improvements would
be paid for by a city wide tax, such as the BOB —Building on
Basics Tax on the Ballot in November. In Fort Collins,
development pays its own way.
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City of Fort Collins
Commt. -ty Planning and Environmenta, -,rvices
Current Planning
NEIGHBORHOOD INFORMATION MEETING
PROJECT: 1734 W. Mountain Avenue
DATE: September 20, 2005
APPLICANT: Steve and Kathy Boeche
CITY PLANNER: Anne Aspen
The Applicant is proposing to change the use of the existing single family
residence at 1734 W. Mountain Avenue to a 5-bed Bed & Breakfast. No
changes to the exterior of the building are proposed.
The meeting started at about 7:1 Opm. After a brief introduction to the City's
process and a brief presentation by the developer, the following discussion
ensued (the questioner or commenter is an audience member unless otherwise
stated, and the answerer or responder is the developer unless otherwise
stated):
QUESTIONS, CONCERNS, COMMENTS, RESPONSES
1. Question: There are only five bed and breakfasts listed in the phone
book. All are struggling claim that they only have a few
busy weekends per year. How will this B&B succeed?
Answer: We have lots of business experience. We have determined
that we only need to have 7 rentals per week to succeed. We
are doing this more for our retirement than anything. We
love this area, this house and we want to build a nest egg for
retirement. We have been visiting Fort Collins for a few
years now because our daughter is a student at CSU trying
to get into the veterinary school.
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