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City of Fort Collins -Type 1 Administrative Hearing
Findings, Conclusions, and Decision
Cherry Street Station, PDP W05
Page 9 of 9
3.5. A four-story building where a three story building is allowed must be
examined on its own merits and not in comparison to an unattainable alternative.
The relevant question is whether modifying the height limit to allow an
additional story promotes the purpose of the height limit as well or better than the
three-story limit. The Hearing Officer finds that it does not. A thirty-three percent
increase in the allowed number of stories does not promote the purpose of the
height limit. Allowing an additional story simply allows the project to include bi-
level residential units on each of the three floors of the building, which is not
within the purpose of the height standard in the C-C-R District.
SUMMARY OF CONCLUSIONS
A. The area designated as the third story mezzanine constitutes a fourth
story and does not comply with the height standard in the C-C-R district.
B. A three-story building with a maximum height of seventy (70) feet does not
comply with Section 3.5.1(C) and does not meet the criteria in Section
3.5.1(G).
C. The proposal with four stories does not serve any of the purposes of a
modification of height limit in Section 3.5.1(G)(1)(c).
D. A modification of standards is not available to modify height limits. Even if
the procedure were available, modifying the building height standard to
allow a building with four stories in a district in which the standard allows
only three stories does not meet any of the criteria in Section 2.8.2(H).
DECISION
The Hearing Officer DENIES PDP#9-05 as submitted because it exceeds
the standards for the C-C-R District.
Dated this 16th day of September, 2005.
Claire B. Levy
Hearing Officer
City of Fort Collins -Type 1 Administrative Hearing
Findings, Conclusions, and Decision
Cherry Street Station, PDP #9-05
Page 8 of 9
reinforce the downtown area. An additional story on the proposed building does
not further define and reinforce the downtown area as the major focal point in the
community. Instead it would have the effect of extending the intensity of
development in the downtown area across Cherry Street into the C-C-R District,
which was intended to transition toward the river.
The remaining four purposes identified in Section 3.5.1(G)(1)(c) are not
applicable. Therefore, the Hearing Officer does not find any basis on which
to modify the three-story height limit in the C-C-R district.
4. Modification of Standards Pursuant to Section 2.8.
The applicant requested by letter dated September 8, 2005 a modification
of standards to allow a four-story building using the original design.
Section 2.8.2(H) allows the Hearing Officer to grant a modification of
standards if it finds that granting the modification would not be detrimental to the
public good and satisfies one of four criteria. Since a modification of height limit
pursuant to Section 3.5.1(G) is specifically tailored to the standard for which
modification is requested, the Hearing Officer concludes the process in Section
2.8 is not available to modify a height limit. Notwithstanding that conclusion, the
Hearing Officer will make findings on compliance with the criteria for a
modification of standards pursuant to Section 2.8 as an alternative basis for the
decision.
The only applicable criterion is the first: "the plan as submitted will
promote the general purpose of the standard for which the modification is
requested equally well or better than would a plan which complies with the
standard for which a modification is requested." This criterion is intended to allow
flexibility and variation from the strict application of the standard when a different
approach would achieve the same or better result.
The standard for which the modification is requested is the height limit of
three stories. The purpose of the height limit is to establish the appropriate scale
of development in the C-C-R District in order to achieve the purpose of the
district. The applicant has not demonstrated how four stories promotes the
purpose of the three-story height limit in the C-C-R District. Instead, the
applicant has presented the four story building as a better design solution than a
hypothetical three-story building with a total height of seventy feet. This analysis
is flawed in that it assumes a seventy-foot tall building is an available alternative.
For the reasons set forth above, a building with a fagade of seventy feet does not
meet the criteria for special height review or the building standards in Section
3.5. A four-story building where a three story building is allowed must be
examined on its own merits and not in comparison to an unattainable alternative.
City of Fort Collins -Type 1 Administrative Hearing
Findings, Conclusions, and Decision
Cherry Street Station, PDP #9-05
Page 7 of 9
attention to the scale of the building when evaluating the request for height
modification.
4. Building Height.
All buildings in excess of forty feet in height must meet special review
criteria pursuant to Section 3.5.1(G).
a. Review Standards. Buildings over forty feet in height are evaluated
based on their impact on views, their impact on the distribution of light and
shadows, their potential to infringe on privacy, and their compatibility with the
scale of the neighborhood in which they are situated.
The applicant submitted an analysis of the impact of the originally
proposed structure on these criteria. That analysis examined the design with a
fifty-five (55) foot elevation to the top of the cornice with any additional height set
back sufficiently that is it not perceptible from adjacent sidewalks. The Hearing
Officer agrees with the applicant's analysis and finds that a building with a
height of fifty-five (55) feet to the top of the cornice complies with the
special review criteria in Section 3.5.1(G)(1)(a).
For the reasons set forth above in paragraph 3.13.2, the Hearing
Officer finds that a building with a facade of seventy feet to the top of the
cornice does not comply with the special review criteria in Section
3.5.1(G)(1)(a).
b. Modification of Height Limits.
The three-story height limit in the C-C-R District may be modified for the
purposes listed in Section 3.5.1(G)(1)(c). A modification is necessary to allow
the applicant to construct the four-story building originally proposed.
A four-story building does not further the first purpose in Section
3.5.1(G)(1)(c), preserving the character of existing residential neighborhoods.
First, this section is not applicable as the structure is not proposed for an existing
residential neighborhood. Second, exceeding the presumptive height limit for the
C-C-R District does not serve to preserve the character of the area. The building
would establish a new character for this largely undeveloped area.
Section 3.5.1(G)(1)(c)2 allows a modification to allow architectural
embellishments. This section is inapplicable as the fourth story is not proposed
as a means of allowing architectural embellishments. It is proposed to allow
additional living space and larger units.
Another allowable purpose of a height modification is to define and
City of Fort Collins -Type 1 Administrative Hearing
Findings, Conclusions, and Decision
Cherry Street Station, PDP #9-05
Page 6 of 9
southern -most end of the C-C-R District as it extends north to the river. Mason
Court is to the west. There is additional P-O-L zoned land east of College
Avenue and the Downtown District to the south. The site must be developed to
relate to and integrate with the P-O-L lands and development in the rest of the C-
C-R district in which it is located. Other C-C-R development will be a maximum
of three stories in height and will not exceed forty feet in height without special
height review.
The applicant presented slides of buildings that exceed forty feet as
context for the proposed building. These buildings were all located in the
Downtown District. The tallest building in the immediate vicinity was the city
office building at LaPorte and Mason, which is fifty-four (54) feet tall. The Mason
Street North project will have heights up to thirty-nine (39) feet; the Northern
Hotel is forty-nine (49) feet tall to the parapet and the city parking structure is fifty-
two (52) feet tall. The county building, Key Bank building and Cortina Lofts are
all taller, but are too far away to be relevant comparisons.
A building that complies with the three-story height standard with a facade
that extends seventy (70) feet to the top of the parapet would not comply Section
3.5.1(C). The applicant argues this height is appropriate based on the maximum
allowable height of 115 feet immediately south in the downtown area. The
Hearing Officer finds that downtown is not the appropriate reference point for this
site. The downtown area is a distinct compact area whose zoning is intended to
provide a concentration of retail, civic, office and cultural uses. The subject
property is not zoned Downtown. It was zoned C-C-R to provide a more
moderate intensity of use. The C-C-R District is intended to be a bridge between
the river and downtown, not a continuation of the downtown. Accordingly, the
appropriate height must be considered in relation to other C-C-R District
developments, the river and the adjacent P-O-L lands, as well as potential
development downtown.
The Hearing Officer finds that the applicant's alternative proposal of
a three-story building with a seventy (70) foot tall facade does not comply
with Section 3.5.1(C).
3. Land Use Transition.
Section 3.5.1(H) requires that when land uses are proposed with
significantly different visual character from those to which it is adjacent, the
development shall, to the maximum extent feasible, achieve compatibility
through compliance with the building standards regarding scale, form, materials
and colors.
Because this proposal is adjacent to lands zoned Public Open Lands and
a Low Density Mixed Use Neighborhood, Section 3.5.1(H) requires particular
City of Fort Collins -Type 1 Administrative Hearing
Findings, Conclusions, and Decision
Cherry Street Station, PDP #9-05
Page 5 of 9
The Hearing Officer also finds that the proposal complies with the
remaining standards in the C-C-R District.
3. Compliance with Article 3 of the Land Use Code — General
Development Standards
The applicant has presented two alternative designs. The original
proposal was for a structure that was fifty-five (55) feet to the top of the cornice
with an additional pitched roof to a height of seventy (70) feet. The Hearing
Officer has determined that this structure is a four-story building based on the
configuration of the floor plan. Alternatively, the applicant has proposed a three-
story structure whose mezzanines comply with Section 3.8.17. This structure
would have an overall height of seventy (70) feet to the top of the cornice and a
flat roof. Both structures require special height review. The original design with
four stories also requires a modification of the height standard either under
Section 3.5.1(G) or Section 2.8.
A. Site Planning and Design Standards — Division 3.2
The project would comply with the standards is Division 3.2 with the
changes identified in the Staff Report to achieve compliance with the parking
dimension requirements in Section 3.2.2(L) and the lighting standards in Section
3.2.4(D)(3).
B. Building Standards — Division 3.5
The purpose of the Building and Project Compatibility section is "to ensure
that the physical and operational characteristics of proposed buildings and uses
are compatible when considered within the context of the surrounding area."
Architectural Character.
The applicant has proposed a building whose architecture draws from the
design of buildings at the turn of the 201h century. The architecture is generally
appropriate for this area adjacent to downtown with nearby buildings that are
predominantly composed of brick. The architecture echoes the old freight train
depot and the power plant to the north.
2. Building size, height, bulk, mass, scale.
This standard requires buildings to be similar in size and height to the
mass and scale of other structures on the same block, or if no buildings exist
thereon, then on adjoining blocks.
The land on two sides of the site is zoned P-O-L. The site is at the
City of Fort Collins -Type 1 Administrative Hearing
Findings, Conclusions, and Decision
Cherry Street Station, PDP #9-05
Page 4 of 9
The area designated as "mezzanine" above the third story of this PDP is
not a balcony or mezzanine consistent with Section 3.8.17(A)(2). It does not
project over the main floor and is not in the nature of an intermediate level
between the floor and ceiling of the floor below it. Although it contains less than
one-third of the floor area of the floor below, two-thirds of the main floor area is
not open to the ceiling above the mezzanine. In both appearance and function
what is labeled as a mezzanine is a separate almost fully enclosed floor of the
condominiums on the third story of the project.
The Director of Neighborhood and Building Services determined that the
area above the third floor meets the requirements for a mezzanine in the Uniform
Building Code ("UBC") as adopted by the city. The Staff Memorandum #2 dated
September 8, 2005 from Anne Aspen does not identify the criteria in the UBC
used to determine that this area qualifies as a mezzanine. The Hearing Officer
finds that, while the UBC is a permissible source for undefined terms, it is not
binding authority for defining terms in the Land Use Code. The purpose of the
UBC, insuring structural integrity, adherence to life -safety codes, and creating
minimum functionality standards, is fundamentally different from the purpose of
the Land Use Code. The Land Use Code uses stories to establish a maximum
height in the C-C-R District as a means to regulate appropriate massing and
scale. The guidance in Section 3.8.17(A) together with Webster's 31d New
International Dictionary and the New Illustrated Book of Development Definitions,
better support the purpose of massing standards than does the UBC.
Therefore, the Hearing Officer finds that the applicant has proposed a four-
story building that does not comply with Section 4.16(D)(a)(1) of the Land
Use Code. Accordingly, the PDP cannot be approved without a
modification of height pursuant to Section 3.5.1(G)(1)(c), or a modification
of standards pursuant to Section 2.8.
2. Character and Image.
Section 4.16(D)(3)(b) requires buildings to form outdoor spaces such as
balconies or courtyards, and to integrate development with the landscape to the
extent reasonably feasible. This section seeks windows that establish and
define the building stories and establish human scale and proportions. Pitched
roofs are preferred with cornice treatments on flat roofs.
The Hearing Officer finds that the design of the proposed building
complies with these requirements. Although the windows are very large, they
are clearly defined with frames, sills and lintels, and visually establish separate
stories. The style of the building evokes late 191h and early 2011 century train
stations, public school buildings and other public buildings. The design detail
included in the building facades establish a human scale notwithstanding the
size of the window openings.
City of Fort Collins -Type 1 Administrative Hearing
Findings, Conclusions, and Decision
Cherry Street Station, PDP #9-05
Page 3 of 9
moderate intensity development that support the downtown and that are
compatible with the scenic, cultural, natural and historical context of the river and
downtown.
A. Allowed Uses.
Multi -family and mixed use dwelling units are permitted in the C-C-R
District subject to administrative review. Therefore, the proposed multi -family
development with a minimal amount of office use is an allowed use.
B. Building Standards
1. Massing and placement.
Section 4.16(D)(3) allows a maximum building height of three (3) stories.
Section 3.8.17(A)(2)(a) states that a balcony or mezzanine is counted as a full
story when its floor area is in excess of one-third of the total area of the nearest
full floor directly below it.
The Hearing Officer received testimony and evidence concerning whether
the proposed building complied with this height limit. The building contains three
stories with ceiling heights of up to eighteen feet. The first and second stories
include mezzanine areas that protrude into approximately 27% of the floor area
of each story. The remainder of the floor area is open for eighteen feet from
floor to ceiling. The area above the third story, while labeled "mezzanine" on the
floor plan, consists of a room that opens onto a private roof top patio. The floor
of the patio forms the ceiling over the floor below. Only a small portion of the
third story is open to the full height of the "mezzanine" area above. The
Applicant's February 8, 2005 letter to Cameron Gloss concerning compliance
with building height standards acknowledged that the upper level of the third floor
is not technically a mezzanine because it would allow users to walk out to the flat
roof of the floor below.
Two allowable sources for definitions of terms that are not defined in the
Land Use Code are Webster's 3`d New International Dictionary and the New
Illustrated Book of Development Definitions. These sources define mezzanines
as, in essence, an intermediate level between two main stories of a building. A
mezzanine projects in the form of a balcony over the ground story. Section
3.8.17(A)(2)(a) groups balconies and mezzanines together for purposes of
regulation. That section requires a balcony or mezzanine to be counted as a full
story when its floor area exceeds one-third of the total area of the floor below it.
In other words, no less than two-thirds of the main floor must be open to the full
height of the ceiling above it. The balcony or mezzanine may project into no
more than one-third of the otherwise open floor to ceiling height.
City of Fort Collins -Type 1 Administrative Hearing
Findings, Conclusions, and Decision
Cherry Street Station, PDP #9-05
Page 2 of 9
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING: Evidence presented to the Hearing Officer
established no controversy or facts to refute
that the hearing was properly posted, legal
notices mailed and notice published.
PUBLIC HEARING
The Hearing Officer, presiding pursuant to the Fort Collins Land Use Code,
opened the hearing at approximately 6:35 p.m. on September 8, 2005 in the City
Council Chambers at 300 La Porte Avenue, Fort Collins, Colorado.
HEARING TESTIMONY, WRITTEN COMMENTS AND OTHER EVIDENCE:
The Hearing Officer accepted during the hearing the following evidence: (1)
Planning Department Staff Report; (2) application, plans, maps and other
supporting documents submitted by the applicant and the applicant's
representatives to the City of Fort Collins; and (3) public testimony provided
during the hearing. The LUC, the City's Comprehensive Plan (City Plan), and
the formally promulgated policies of the City are all considered part of the
evidence considered by the Hearing Officer.
FACTS AND FINDINGS
1. Surrounding Uses: The following zoning and land uses surround the
proposed development:
N: POL — Public Open Lands — Railroad right-of-way with CCR beyond
NW: POL — Public Open Lands - Vacant
S: D — Downtown District (Civic Center Subdistrict) — Existing commercial;
existing municipal government offices
E: CCR — Community Commercial — Poudre River District — vacant land west
of College with existing commercial east of College
W: POL — Public Open Lands — Vacant land with Lee Martinez Park and LMN
— Low Density Mixed -Use Neighborhood District beyond
2. Compliance with Article 4 and the C-C-R Community Commercial —
Poudre River District Standards
The C-C-R Community Commercial — Poudre River District (hereinafter
referred to as "the C-C-R District") is for downtown fringe areas in the Cache La
Poudre River corridor. The C-C-R District is intended to provide locations for
City of Fort Collins
Commun_-,y Planning and Environmental. . vices
Current Planning
CITY OF FORT COLLINS
ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING OFFICER
TYPE I ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING
FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND DECISION
ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING DATE: September 8, 2005
PROJECT NAME:
CASE NUMBER:
APPLICANT:
OWNER:
HEARING OFFICER:
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
Cherry Street Station
PDP #9-05
Mikal Torgerson
M. Torgerson Architects, P.C.
223 N. College Avenue
Fort Collins, CO 80524
North College Lofts, LLC and
Cherry Street Station, LLC
223 N. College Avenue
Fort Collins, CO 80524
Claire B. Levy
Claire B. Levy, LLC
3172 Redstone Road
Boulder, CO 80305
A request to develop a vacant .349 acres site located on the north side of Cherry
Street just west of College Avenue with a 15 unit multi -family project with 200
square feet of office use.
SUMMARY OF HEARING OFFICER DECISION: Denied.
ZONING DISTRICT: C-C-R — Community Commercial — Poudre River District
STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Approval with Conditions
281 North College Avenue • P.O. Box 580 • Fort Collins, CO 80522-0580 • (970) 221-6750 • FAX (970) 416-2020