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HomeMy WebLinkAboutREIN REZONING (RE: 21-07) - 3-05 - CORRESPONDENCE -ft Recently the City has purchased another tract of land to the east of the site west of its repair and painting center. This further demonstrates the City's intention to continue the industrial uses that it has developed in the neighborhood. The three properties between the Rein property and the City Property Zoned E Employment are in the County. This Zoning we see as inappropriate for the City property west of Wood Street since exterior storage of vehicles, repair and maintenance of vehicles is in tune with the Limited Commercial CL which we believe is the true nature of the neighborhood. The properties that are still in the County have the character of home occupation focusing on the building and craftsmen trade. These descriptions most closely match the CL Limited Commercial district. What do the Owners want for their property? They want a zoning that makes the their land use legal. They want the equivalent zoning for their property as existed when they purchased it. Property with the designation of a non -conforming use does justice to no one. They want the value that the City took from them when it unilaterally rezoned the property to be restored. They want to be made whole. We have examined the Land Use Code and have determined that the zoning district that best fits the current use and the uses allowed when they purchased the property is the Limited Commercial District (C-L) This District designation allows the Reins current business and makes it legal. It allows them to plan the future of their business, which currently is on hold. They would be able to decide to continue the business on this property, expand it, or sell the property and move the business to a different location. This zoning still allows many of the uses including the residential uses that the staff backs for the property and it opens other options that are in conformance to the zoning when the property was purchased. within a half -mile radius, the City owns up to 25 percent of the property. This is enough of the concentration of property owned by one entity to dominate the character of the neighborhood. The utility center at Vine and the east side of Wood Street consist of approximately twenty acres. This area is always active and appears to be updated the physical plant on a continuous basis. This property on its own is a major employment center in the neighborhood. This area is Zoned E Employment. This zoning appears to fit with the exception that a large number of vehicles used by the city for maintenance programs are stored on this property which tends to make me think the CL Limited Commercial Zoning would be a more appropriate zoning category for this property. This facility has parking spaces for two hundred employees in addition to service vehicles. On the northeast corner of Wood Street and Vine is a new City transportation facility for vehicle maintenance. There is room interior of twelve vehicles and twenty employee spaces. To the north of this facility is an older City transportation maintenance facility. At any time you can typically find twenty vehicles at this facility plus the employee parking area for an additional twenty cars. The E Employment Zoning district is a stretch for these two facilities. Their land use being maintenance facilities clearly fits better into the CL Limited Commercial Zoning District. Further west of the new transportation facility is a facility that the City uses to repair and paint vehicles. There are typically twenty to thirty cars and trucks parked outside of this facility. The Building can hold another ten vehicles. The lot can hold nearly one hundred vehicles and from time to time this facility is filled. This is a very high intensity land use area within the neighborhood that does not meet the criteria of the LMN Zoning. This facility does not meet the definition of the E Employment Zoning either. Again this is a CL Limited Commercial defined use. The Owner is not pointing these inconsistencies in the City land use in an acquisition fashion. We are pointing out the true character and nature of the City Service Facilities and want the City to recognize them as well. It is our intention in pointing out these conditions that the City is significant impact in creating the character of the neighborhood. We acknowledge and accept the character that these properties give to the neighborhood. These facilities do not have a residential character and the uses are not neighborhood oriented. The facilities are community oriented and would need Industrial or Commercial zoning to occur outside of the Municipal shield. We see these Municipally held properties in conjunction with the properties directly adjacent to the Rein property to all have an industrial type of character. It is our belief that the Rein property should share in and continue this character and not being a residential island surrounded by commercial type properties. In addition to these developed p;pAertie� t4�i�y tht City is the holder of the most undeveloped property in this half -mile radius of the Rein property. The City owns twenty acres to the east, fifteen acres to the north, and fifty acres to the west of the property. These properties Zoned as the City has been using land in this area would balance this neighborhood to be industrial rather than LMN. return and the sixty plus employees leave. This traffic noise and volume is a deterrent to the Rein property being good residential property. The Zoning does not match what is really happening in the neighborhood. With residential uses being financially and environmentally missed matched for this property let us review what additional land uses are allowed on this property within the current Zoning that could serve as buffering. The Zoning will allow limited civil and public facilities. The City controls most of these. The City has expressed no interest for these types of facilities such as parks (too small), cemeteries (too small), schools, or Churches on this property. Schools and Churches typically need a minimum of 10 acres, which leaves this property out when it comes to providing buffering according to the existing Zoning. The commercial and retail uses have limited appeal to sites such as this first of all because there are not enough homes developed in the area and the site again is too small. A Bed and Breakfast operation is allowed by the zoning but typically they need to be located downtown where amenities are available within walking distance. There are no amenities within walking distance so a Bed and Breakfast is not a match for the property. A Child Care facility is also listed as an allowed use. These need to be located in areas that are close to work destinations or in densely populated areas. The land use density within a mile radius is rather low due to the rural character of properties north of the site. And I checked there are no Child Care establishments that accept children at 5:00 in the morning. The Zoning would allow a Neighborhood Center. Typically centers need a core density that surrounds the property with urban level populations. Again with the edge of the Urban Growth Area within a half -mile the population density is not there. The anchor to the Neighborhood Center of this scale is the C-Store. This is the center of revenue generation. This land use is already there which would deter a developer since there is limited opportunities to attract tenants. This review of the allowable uses for this property do not provide any practical land use taking into consideration the property location and what currently exist. The list of uses in the L.U.C. that are allowed by Planning and Zoning Board review are not that much different then the ones listed as permitted uses. Most of the optional uses apply only to East Vine, which leaves the property out. The land uses in this group of allowed by review all require larger tracts of land then is available. We discussed the factor of size for these uses before finding the property too small. The land use that the LMN Zoning allows does not fit with the reality of the size of the property, the current land use, and the land uses that are adjacent. Because the surrounding uses are not likely to change in the next twenty years The LMN Zoning makes the property unusable. This leads us to the third issue as to why a change in zoning for this property is appropriate. We see a trend in the neighborhood that the Staff does not recognize. As the Code notes that a LMN neighborhood consist of 80 to 160 acres. We see a significant development within this LMN neighborhood by the City. If you inventory the property be a liability to a developer of residential uses as well as a deterrent to sales of homes having both of these obnoxious features to deal with. The lights on this site create the third major deterrent to residential uses on the Reins' property. The intensity and the amount of light spill over onto the Reins' property is too intense for the back yard of someone's home. Since this is an ongoing establishment there is no ability to have them correct these defects. They are not subject to the current lighting standards because this is an ongoing concern. This situation as well as the other two considerations will not be changed as long as the convenience store is operated at this location. There is no pressure to change this land use for it is successful. The problem is that there is no buffering. Good planning principles tell you that buffering of this high intensity commercial use should be provided with a lower intensity land use before you interface with residential uses. This can not happen with the current zoning. Buffering type uses are found in the list of uses allowed in the LMN district. Looking on the west side of Shields you find the vehicle storage facility for Gallagoes Trash Hauling. This is a deterrent to having home on the Rein's property from the standpoint of noise and sight. You can typically find over thirty trash hauling trucks parked on the adjacent property. In addition to the sight and sound blight of this property there are environmental factors that this site creates as well. The exhaust of these thirty diesel trucks starting up at 4:30 in the morning makes residential uses on the property out of the question. The odors, the noise generated by these trucks, light from headlamps, as well as just seeing them across the street makes the LMN Zoning inappropriate for the property. Staff may argue that this property is in the County and would not be approved if it were in the City. But look at the reality. This land use is present. They could not find a place to move if they wanted to. They would bring these same factors with them impacting adjacent property just as they do in this neighborhood. This industrial type of use calls for buffering by a lower intensity use before you try to mesh in residential land uses. Again the LMN Zoning does not provide that land use that buffers such an intense land use. If they were brought into the City as a City initiated annexation, they would be a non- conforming use. They would have no reason to bring a plan into the system, so they could and most likely will be. located where they are until we handle garbage in methods not utilizing landfills. The intensity of land use and this truck terminal is more intense than just the vehicles that you see on site. The fact of the matter is this is a major employment center in this area where it is in the County or the City. This site impacts the area with employees arriving between 4:30 AM and 5:00 AM six days a week. Thirty trucks generate sixty employees arriving in the early morning hours plus the thirty trucks leaving the site plus supervisory employees and mechanics arriving all at this early morning hours. This impact goes mostly unnoticed because there is no development on the Rein property. In the evening you have the same impact and concern for noise, odor, and sight when these thirty trucks This information is derived from the Land Use Code. The primary use allowed in this district is residential. The types range from single family to multi -family housing of up to eight dwelling units per building. The density required for this district in a single family design is five dwelling units per acre. The size of the property makes a single-family development unfeasible. The property will support 13 single-family homes. In this market place finding a developer to invest in a project this small will more than likely not happen. A letter from a residential developer specializing in small niche developments is provided as evidence of the residential limitations of the property. The margins are too small when only 13 sites are developed. The market might be more interested in the property in a different location but the local environment is a hindrance, as we will explore later. The multi -family requirements of the LMN Zoning require a density of 7 D.U. per acre. This will yield 19 dwelling units. Previously developers have reviewed the property to determine if a multi -family development could be economically feasibility. These people found that is was not and withdraw their offer for the property. A letterform that developer is provided for your review. If the Owners accept the current zoning, abandons the business on the property and sell the land for residential development, The numbers still do not work. The size and the location work against them. The residential market can not make standard expectations and the risk is too great based on what they see as the negative impacts of the surrounding commercial uses. Let us look closer at these adjacent land uses that the real estate community sees as negative impacts to residential uses for the property. First is the location. Shields is classified as a Major Arterial. Vine is a Minor Arterial in this area. The noise generated from the adjacent streets is a major impact to developing homes on the property. The distance of setback needed to buffer the ambient noise would yield half of the lots required by the L.U.C. The property would be denied on the bases that the density was too low. The second environmental impact is the convenience store on the corner. This property is Zoned LMN and fits the spacing criteria of the C-Store Center being three quarters of a mile from the next closest such establishment. The station was recently remodeled and appears to be a business well established. There are three major features of this site that adversely affect the Reins' property and its potential use as residential property. The first is th4t the fuel storage tanks are above ground for propane and gasoline. These tanks are not screened. Two pf Jt e i s stand vertically twenty feet. These are the significant visual features present on the site making the Reins' property unacceptible to residential development. The second major deterrent to residential development of the property is the tank vents that are located on the property line. Prevailing winds draw the odor and while mixing in the air it is intolerable to be within 100 feet of these vents for any length of time. The carcinogenic nature of gasoline vapors has been studied and found to be true. This would The history shows continuous commercial land use for this property. When City Plan and the L.U.C. was adopted this existing land use should have been recognized and an appropriate compatible zoning should have been granted. The LMN Zoning is not appropriate since it prohibits the historic use of the property. The zoning placed on the property by the City of LMN is a hardship to the Owners that continues. By placing this zoning on the property the City made their existing land use a non -conforming pre-existing land use. By this action the City has hindered the ability of the Rein's to grow their business. The addition that they constructed was a maximum that they could expand. To expand their business further within the current zoning, the Owners would need to process a costly application through the L.U.C. requesting additional floor space to allow there business to exist and grow at this location. This application would have little chance of gaining staff recommendation for approval because the LMN Zoning prohibits the land use. The Owners are stuck without a zone change. They can not grow their business and they can not sell the property. The City has further harmed them economically because they can not sell the property as a commercial property. The land was purchased as commercial land at a competitive commercial value. With this current zoning, placed on the property unilaterally by the City, they can not sell the property at a commercial value because commercial uses are not allowed. Their value went from commercial to a residential lot with the liability of a 10,000 garage. Needless to say they can not sell the property for what they originally paid. A residential lot in this part of Fort Collins sells for approximately $ 50,000.00. A commercial property of this size with an existing commercial building sells for $ 1,200,000.00. A million -dollar hardship is too much for a City to ask one party to . absorb due to what we see as an oversight in preparing a map. The Zoning by the City has devalued the property because the Rein's are limited in whom they can sell the property. The City has informed the Reins that they can sell the property as commercial under the condition that the purchaser be a business of similar nature. In layman terms Mr. Rein is limited to selling the property to a competitor or selling the property with the business. Checking the phone directory you will find ten other companies in Fort Collins doing similar business. The chances of the Rein's selling the property under the Zoning restrictions is almost zero. The value of the property would need to be greatly discounted because a new purchaser would not be able to expand and would have the same limitations of potential resale. In this situation the property has been compromised to be worth only what the current zoning allows which is residential. For these reasons the City should instate a Zoning that restores the value that it took away. You might ask what is wrong with residential uses for this property. This brings us to the second issue fot 10j9v(ing a zone change for this property. Let us first look at the housing types that are encouraged by the LMN Zoning. REIN ZONING CHANGE REQUEST The intention of this report is to substantiate our request to rezone the property owned by the Rein's located adjacent to the northeast intersection of Vine Drive and Shields Street. The property has frontage on both streets and is separated from the corner by the convenience store that controls the comer. We are basing our request on three issues. These three issues are (1.) the history of the property, (2.) the nature of the surrounding properties, and (3.) the emerging trends in land use within the area. After examining these points we believe that it will be clear to you that the LMN Zoning given to this property at the time of the establishment of City Plan and associated Land Use Code was improper and the Zoning of the property as CL Limited Commercial is the right course of action for the City to take. The property is Lots 1 and 2 of the Snyder Minor Subdivision and has been owned by one party previous to the Rein's ownership. The portion of the property that faces West Vine Drive has an ongoing commercial business on it that predates the current ownership and predates the City Plan and Land Use Code. The Reins have operated Apex Gutter Company since they purchased the property, which predates the City Plan. The property was acquired in 1996. The County records note and have taxed the properties as commercial property since purchased by the Rein's The history of this property is that it has been used as a commercial establishment for more than 15 years. The previous zoning for the property prior to City Plan was RL Residential Low Density for Lot 1 and C Commercial for the developed portion of the property. The City made the unilateral move to change the zoning of this property to a residential oriented LMN Low Density Mixed -Use Neighborhood District. The City by its action made the business a non -conforming use and adversely affected the value of the property. By its action the City limited the ability for the Reins to grow their business. The LMN zoning allows them to operate the business as is and limits expansion to a small percentage of the existing building footprint. Because the Reins have grown their business they have already expanded the business to the maximum allowed by the Zoning. The Zoning given restricts business and hampers their business potential for future growth. The Zoning is unjust because the investment in their business and property was made prior to the zoning change when it was zoned commercial. Zoning by the City should not restrict an ongoing business it should foster it. The Rein family purchased the property approximately ten years ago at the time when the City Plan system for land uses was being established. At that time there was an existing commercial operation using the property and the Rein's continued to operate a business on the property continuously to this time. The zoning of the property at the time of purchase was C-Commercial for the commercial operation on the property. The Rein's operate Apex Gutter Company from this property. The business is run from an office warehouse building of approximately 10,000 S.F. to which they have made improvements to over time by adding the office portion on the building of approximately 700 S.F. The north part of the property has been vacant and the Rein's fenced the property to provide screening from adjacent land uses. Reasons for Rezoning Request 1. The property was rezoned from Commercial to LMN when the City Plan Zoning was approved. The same commercial business was in operation prior to the City Plan that exists on the property today. 2. The vacant property was changed from a commercial zoning to a residential land use at the time City Plan was approved. 3. The surrounding land uses are predominately commercial in nature. 4. The property would be used as a buffer between the existing fuel filling station and the existing truck service yard to the west and existing residential uses. 5. The existing land uses on the north side of Vine Drive are primarily commercial 6. The City is changing the character of the neighborhood with its current service center and new construction. 7. The City is the largest landowner of undeveloped land within 500 feet of the property. The City has shown a trend of using land in this area for intense commercial development.