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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRICHTER MANSION RECEPTION CENTER AND BED & BREAKFAST - MOD - 13-04 - SUBMITTAL DOCUMENTS - ROUND 1 - MODIFICATION REQUESTDirectly to the east of the house and reception site area, I am proposing, is vacant land. The nearest residential dwelling to the yard and the house is 480 feet away. Between the reception areas and the nearest dwelling there is mature landscaping and huge trees. This existing buffering and the established neighborhood Insure the minimal impact of this use on the neighbors in Brookwood Estates. a Although the house to the property line Is about 130 feet It Is very far from any other homes. The nearest parcel with out a dwelling, not owned by the reception site is parcel # 95021-00-002. If someone was to build on this site they could build anywhere they wanted. The most logical place to build on this lot is near Crest Road like everyone else has done. This makes the most efficient sense to run utilities and keep the driveway length maintainable. This lot is 5 acres and if someone was to build on the west end of the property they would be approximately 450 feet away from the receptions areas. All the music will be inside and since the sound decibel level Is measured at the property line for the enforced noise ordinance, it is sure to be silent at any of the surrounding private dwellings. The noise from the rail road tracks are louder and more frequent than the activities at the reception site will be. Proven Compatibility The current owner of 315 W. Harmony Road has lived there for at least 17 years. In that time she has hosted many events. There have been many pool parties and gatherings. She has hosted many large weddings and the neighbors have never complained. She raised 3 children at this property that are now in college. The last two twin boys just graduated in 2003. Many of the events at the house were because of the high school age boys. The neighbors are all very for away and have not been disturbed. My husband and I have a large resume and many special ideas for this reception site. We are qualified business owners and responsible citizens. The site is very appealing for many reasons and we plan on running a unique facility concerned with customer service. A stand alone facility like this offers more options for the people. Please grant us this modification and allow us to use this property for a reception site. Thank you, "lA-ax Stacey Richter The estate home Is a beautifully designed Tudor style home. It is a large home approximately 8,000 square feet including the garage, basement and large office space. There is a beautiful staircase where a bride can make a grand entrance to her wedding ceremony. The great room, dining room and kitchen function together very well for meetings, ceremonies and small receptions. These rooms are versatile enough that you may choose from a comfortable living room setting to a more formal sit down affair. Almost every room has Its own fireplace adding extra ambiance. The occupancy for these rooms depends on the set up, whether It is a sit down meat or a networking stand up event. it Is hard to be sure of an exact number until actually hosting an event, however I am estimating the mandmum occupancy indoors at 80 and the comfort zone at about 50 people. SWe-Outdoors The entrance to the property Is off of Harmony Road. The parties of land total almost 9 aces and as you enter the property there is perfect parting space. There is about one ace of open space, on the east side of the drive way, this is where the proposed parking lot will be built. There Is a circular drive that surrounds mature landscaping. The house sits toward the front of the property with open pastoral land stretching back the last 3.4 acres. There is a beautiful yard set to the South and West of the house perfect for outdoor ceremonies and small garden parties. There is a Deck off the South of the house overlooking the pool and yard. It is greet for casually cooling on the grill. There Is a tennis court to the South East of the house, which is ideal for a building of 'about 7,000 square feet in the future. For now though we are looking to keep It a tennis court for our overnight guests and it can be covered with a temporary stricture such as a tent with ssteurefls for additional function space. This area would hold larger functions in the150-200 occupancy range. Site Distance to Neighbors - North and East Although the property Is in an urban estate setting it is definitely next to many commercial properties. The railroad tracks run along the east side of the property and the North and the East property lines adjoin commercial property. The commercial property to the North is Harmony Hospital for Pets and an additkmal building they rent out to another business. The entrance to access 315 W. Harmony is the some as the entrance for the Harmony Hospital for Pets. It is already a commercial entrance. To the East on the other side of the railroad tracks are the Harmony Walmart, the Arbor Plaza shopping center, Spnadley Harr Ford and other commercial buildings. 315 W. Harmony ads as a bridge between these commercial sites and Brookwood Estates. Site Distance to Neighbors - South and West The South and the West of the property are large estate, residential properties each on five acres or larger. The proposed parking area for the reception site would be 380 feet away form the nearest residential dwelling. There is significant buffering between the parking area and the neighbors house. They have an out building, lumber, tractors, storage, mature trees and landscaping that are dense and minimize light and sound. We will additionally be planting trees for looks and buffering. I have consistently worked with other wedding professionals for the past 4 years and they say the same thing. We creed a reception In Fort Collins. it needs to be a unique facility in a convenient location, a mansion type facility In the South of town. This always in the back of my mind and a personal desire, I found the perfect location. I took the next step and cgoduded a market analysis. I surveyed engaged couples actively planning their weddings looking for reception sites. This reinforced the need for a reception site and indicated the location of choice. The surveys were ducted at bridal shows in Fort Collins and Greeley. The couples were asked "Where would you like a reception site to be located In Northern Colorado?'. The droices were, Fort Collins, Loveland, Greeley, or outside the city. The majodty (about 60%) polled Fort Collins as the number one pick. They were also asked "If the site was In Ft Collins where would you prefer it to be?". The answer Choices were North, South, Fast or Foothills. The results indicated that the top pidc.was the foothills and in a very dose second was South Fort Collins. My experience with brides togs me that even though the mountains or foothills may sound like an ideal setting they do not want to make their guests drive, especially if they are serving alcohol. There are also the concerns of poor road conditions that make the foothills lass practical for a wedding celebration. In conclusion after years of observation, demon and research the appropriate location by demand for a reception site Is in South Fort Collins. This is not the sole opinion of the project owner, however a collective consensus from the community and surrounding areas. Common sense also tells us that the location to Fort Collins businesses cannot be beat. Location - based on odter factors Although the primary focus of the reception site is weddings there will be other services that we provide for the corporate world. This location along Harmony Road Is very conducive for the corporate traveler to use the bed and breakfast facilities during the week and be dose to all the shopping and businesses of Fort Collins. It Is dose to College Avenue to give a direct access through town and a 5 mile drive to the Old Town area. It is a great place to stay and feel like you are at a home away from home. Weekly corporate meeting needs can be hosted at the facility as well as other occasions. The Southern Central Location gives travelers a straight shot to and from the Interstate and to mess the mountains. Many out of town wedding guests are on vacation and will look for recreation at Horsetooth Park. The mountains can be accessed simply by staying on Harmony Road. There are many motels nearby to accommodate out of town guests for a wedding or event. I plan on offering and working with these hotels to offer shuttle services to minimize the traffic impact and promote safety. This is the best side of town to stay at for touring the surrounding area. Spa "Ouse Some of the things that make the property at 315 W. Harmony so special is that it Is unique, spacious and perfectly set back from the neighboring properties. it is so unique that the motors cannot find a comparable property to compare it to. Planning and Zoning Board My husband and I have been working with the city for over a year to get this use defined so that we may open a reception site at this property. We have also worked very hard with the city to design perfong8nce standards to allow tMs use in the Urban Estate Zoning District. Collectively with the city we have created and agreed upon specific performance standards that would allow 'Small Scale Reception Centers' in the Urban Estate Zone District. This request was to be presented to the planning and zoning board February 19M, 2004. One hour before that meeting, as I was leaving the house, I received an email with a last minute change to the performance standards. Items (C) and (D) were changed to add the items in bold above. I presented my disapproval of these new addithm to Ted Shepard and he informed me of the modification process. We decided that at this point we did not want to ask the Planning and Zoning Board to make any more changes, we had made changes already and did not want to Comm them more. On that note 1 agreed to not request the change in the performance standerd, back to their original form at that time. When we presented to the Planning and Zoning Board It was made dear that I was accepting of the performance standards under the confidence that I would gain the modification. they seemed approving of my need. Why the last minute change I believe the addition of the text, concerning parcels with out dwellings to the performance standards was to protect a cmcem from Bridget Schmidt on the Planning and Zoning Board. She wanted to protect a person wanting to buy a vacant lot next to a reception site. She thought they would have to build 300 feet away from the reception center. She misunderstood, the performance standard. The performance standard indicates that a reception site must be 3W feet away from the nearest dwelling. If some one wants to build in closer to a reception site they can. As long as the person wanting to come in and built on a vacant lot could do so anywhere on their lot she didn't need this new regulation in the performance standards. The Board decided to leave the regulation in just because, however It was intended to address what the city thought was her concern. Why This Property is Perfect The estate hone property at 315 W. Harmony Road is pecfec l: to host a reception site in Fort Collins for many reasons, it has the location, space, character, charts, and setting necessary to harmonize this use with it's surroundings. It is a beautiful space with so much potential. Location - based on wedding industry Over a number of years as a wedding coordinator and working In the wedding community I have listened to Fort Collins and the surrounding area wedding couples. They all say the same thing Northern Colorado need a unique place to hold weddings. I have felt the some way since planning my own wedding in Fort Collins in 1998. Combining both uses for a wedding Is ideal to accommodate several needs. A common situation would be for a wedding couple to rent the facility for their wedding and utilize the bedrooms as preparation rooms. The bride and the bridesmaids can get ready in one room while the groomsmen get ready in the second room. After the wedding the third bedroom would be ready to accommodate the wedding couple on their wedding night. The additional bedrooms can be used by the bridal party, parents or other guests as well. They could all join together for breakfast the morning after the wedding. Permitted Use Compliance Both these uses are permitted uses in the Urban Estate Zone Distrld. The property at 315 W. Harmony Is perfect for this use and meets all the specific performance standards that govem the "Small Scale Reception Centers' accept the two mentioned above. The property is very narrow It is 239.12 feet wide at the North One and 1613.64 feet at the West line. The performance standards (C) and (D) site that the Indoor or outdoor event areas must be 250 feet front nearest property line where there Is no dwelling on the land. Since this property is adjoining vacant land and is only 239.12 feet wide at the widest point, I am requesting the modification. Adjoining Parcel With No Dwelling The adjoining property with no dwelling on It is to the West of 316 W. Harmony. This is an additional parcel that Anita Sayed owns along with 315 W Harmony. I plan to purchase both properties. The parcel number for 315 W Harmony is 96021400-005 and the parcel number for the 1.36 acres adjoining on the West Is 96021-00-038. The performance standards do not define ownership of the adjoining property with no dwelling. This raises the question; If the property at 316 W. Harmony adjoins a parcel of land without a dwelNng that Is not 250 feet from the reception areas, however is owned by the reception site owners does it meet the performance standards? To the West of parcel 0 90021-00-M there is a pan;M that does not have a dwelling on it. it appears to be a back yard to the house on parcel # OW21-06-001 to the North of it. The same person awns both parcels and they appear as one, however they do have two separate parcel Vs. According to Ladmer County the second parcel 0 gGW+00-(W is used for Hay. There is also lumber and a tractor stored on the southeast comer of the lot. Our proposed site is not 250 feet away from this parcel, therefore why we do not meet these performance standards. Note: This is illustrated on the enclosed parcel aerial layout and the parcel site layout. AN parcel numbers were obtained by the Ladder County Assessors office and these parcel assessments ate also included with this IetW Stacey and Tr+evis Richter 5108 Arrowhead Lane Fort Collins, Colorado 80526 (970)282-8264 City. of Fort Collins May le, 2M Attention: Ted Shepard, Current Planning P.O. Box 680 Fort Collins, Colorado 80522 To the City of Ft Collins, I am requesting a modification to the performance standards in the Urban State Zoning District for 'Small Scale Reception Centers°. This Modification request is for my project only and not a land use code change. I request that the bold items in (C) and (D) be removed for my project. 'S 761 1..!':�! 4l 1.� �rJ !. 21! - 1 I 1 777 IL r. _t7--77- All buildings shall be located a minimum of three hundred (300) feet from the nearest dwelling on any adjoining property, except that in cases where there are no dwellings on such adjoining property, all buildings shall be located a minbnum of 260 teat from the nearest property line of such adjoining party. � • 111� -, . ,. _,Y [� !�S_l1!.1 � 1! .� !� [EI_.!a l! 1� L=::!� 1L.n � F.i.r All outdoor spaces such as lawns, plazas, gazebos, and/or terraces used for social gatherings or ceremonies associated with the reception center shall be located within on -hundred (100) feet of the primary building and shall be located a minimum of three hundred (300) feet from the nearest dwelling on any adjoining property, except that in cases where there are no dwellings on such adjoining property, all outdoor spaces, as described above, shall be located a minbnum of 250 feet from the nearest property line of such adjoining property. Properly Location The specific property that I am looking at is located at 315 W. Harmony Road. It is currently in the county and because of the growth management agreement I will be annexing the property into the city. According to the structure map, once the property is annexed, the zone district will be Urban Estate. Proposed Property Uses The proposed uses for this property are `Small Scale Reception Center and °Bed and Breakfast°. The property is spacious and ideal to host small wedding ceremonies and receptions indoors and out. The property also has 3 bedrooms, which are very suitable to accommodate overnight guests.