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HomeMy WebLinkAboutEASTGATE PDP - 10-04 - SUBMITTAL DOCUMENTS - ROUND 1 - PLANNING OBJECTIVESIn reviewing our design, we see that the property meets the general and specific requirements of the LUC and should be reviewed in a positive light. We believe that the design and the project will be a positive addition to the fabric of the Neighborhood and the City and should be approved by the reviewing agencies and allow the project to proceed to the building stage. From a prescriptive point of view the landscaping plan meets the requirements for size, variety, and proportions. Water consumption is regulated and grouped as to need and impact. Soil amendments are provided with the design installation to better utilize the water and to have a significant impact visually. Regular maintenance of the property will be assured and undertaken by the Association. Each Homeowner by covenant will be required to be a member and supporter of the Association and its work. The specific Zoning requirements that apply to this project are found in the LUC Division 4.5 titled Low Mixed -use Neighborhood District. The residential intent of this property meets the purpose of this zoning district by providing a concentration of housing that has easy access to transit and a commercial district. Eldora Park, a community oriented park offers the amenities within walking distance for both indoor and outdoor recreation. The commercial businesses provide employment opportunities in proximity that will reduce the need for commuting to and from work for the homeowners. Poudre Valley Hospital provides this opportunity as a heath care facility, an employment center, and an educational center for health issues for the community. This source close to this project promotes the aspect of a compact urban setting and its ability to enhance the quality of life. The project meets the permitted use criteria of the zoning under the residential use category with its multi -family character. The land use for the property meets the standards set in this section of the LUC. The density for the property is within the standards as set for the zoning district. The infill nature of the property is evident upon observation of the area and the infrastructure that is developed surrounding the property. The project provides the variety of housing types required by the LUC. The greater majority of this neighborhood has been a mix of small lot multi -family and single-family residents. More over the mile square section that this property sets also is dominated by single-family homes. The townhome style of housing has been limited in the area. This project helps provide a balance in the housing types in this district of the City. Our project is providing a private park for the use of the public and the residents to meet the requirement for open space. This park is highly visible and accessible to all of the residents and to the general public living on the adjacent apartments that have no openspace. This park area is contiguous and touches the property bounds of the adjacent properties and allow for their continued use of the property. This park area being a part of the storm drainage facility is provided with gradual slopes at the bottom of the basin that add to the usability of the area. The development standards focusing on block standards are met by this development. Though these standards specify areas of much larger tracts of land, the requirements for height, setback, location, and building frontages are met through our design. The orientation of the homes is to the openspace to the east of the building. All homes will have walkways that connect the home to the pedestrian circulation system on a local and community wide basis. The building is constructed to the build -to -line when the utility easement to the west of the building is considered. This allows the units to meet the intention of the LUC that all homes are to be oriented to a public street. The primary building material that will be used with the design of the homes will be wood siding. This siding will be painted and accented with trim and cornice detailing of complimentary colors to the base color of the buildings. The Main body color will be neutral earth tone colors with accents in darker tones and hues that blend with the main body color. The roof materials will be of a high profile asphalt shingle that compliments the color scheme found on the homes. These elements are common to the area and will allow this project to coordinate and fit well with the surrounding properties. The windows and doors will be scaled to the residential user in size and shape. All of these elements will be detailed to accent the pedestrian scale. No high glare surfaces will be used on the buildings found on this development. The landscaping for this project are used to reinforce the pattern of streetscape and used to shape the front yard space for the homes. The trees along the streetscape will provide interest to the pedestrian scale and physical comfort as they use the sidewalk system at this site. The requirement for full stacking of the streetscape is provided formally at the sidewalk and in an irregular pattern as it transitions to the homes to provide a varied view of the homes as you progress along the street. Due to the location and surrounding uses buffering is not a requirement. Native plantings and low water consuming trees are used in the open space and drainage area. The area between the street and the buildings are planted in shrub beds and are low to medium water consuming plantings. The area of bluegrass is limited to the sides of the building as well as a limited area surrounding the patios in the rear of the buildings. The balance of the site is landscaped to limit the consumption of water. The use of native and low consuming plants and native grasses makes up the majority of the landscaping for the site. The prime splash provided by the landscaping is provided around the building, detailed at the entries and patios to provide a superior curb appeal for the project. This landscaping provides a visual break between the homes and the street adjacent. The City Specifications will be adhered to with respect to the protection of existing trees. The high traffic areas of this project, notably the pedestrian traffic areas are the areas where high water consumption and high maintenance are used and will have the largest impact to the Public and for the Homeowners. The required parking for this residential land use is provided in accordance to the LUC requirements. Each of the homes is a two -bedroom design. Each of the homes is provided with a single car garage. The LUC requires 1.75 parking spaces per unit. The balance of the parking is provided in the driveways. The environmental concerns found on this site will be minimal. No excessive noise will be generated on this site that exceeds City noise ordinances. No air quality standards will be compromised by the residential activities found on this property. This site being an infill and being situated in proximity to the Transfort route may help reduce air quality problems because vehicular trips may be eliminated or reduced in length because of the infill nature of the property. No source of glare is anticipated from the site. There are no know significant historical features of the property nor are there any known historic events that occurred on the property. Water quality standards are being enhances through the incorporation of extended storm water detention on the site. No Natural Habitat area has been identified on the property. No wetlands exist and no endangered species is likely to be found in the area. No adverse impact to the environment can be expected from this project. No aquatic habitat is to be found in the detention area of this project due to the intermittent nature of the water flows. Flows are concentrated during major storm events. No significant plant community exists on this site. There is no knowledge of the existence of any rare or endangered species in this natural area. The trees that exist on site appear to be approximately twenty years old and planted as part of the original detention area development. There is no evidence of raperian habitat or activity on this property. We will be providing an additional setback from Montgomery Street for the future drainage way to enhance the drainage in the neighborhood. We will maintain the native quality of the detention area. Hazards as defined by the LUC including flooding, materials, and point of access view triangles are avoided by this design. The storm drainage basin study notes and all other known reports concur that this property is not within a floodplain. The drainage studies prepared for this property meet the design criteria set forth by the City. .The architectural character of the project is similar in form and massing to the surrounding neighborhood. The design of our buildings is a primary two-story building with single story opposing forms for the garages and front porches. The form and style is similar to that found in the surrounding neighborhood. The needs for fire protection are provided for as well. Proper fire protection is provided with the public water supply system and within the design with fire protection access to any point of all of the structures being within 150 feet. Fire access from Montgomery Street to this building provides for the needs of the project for safety concerns for the project. The safety of the residents of this development is important to the Developer as well as being important to the City. To this goal the Developer has continued the typical design that you find throughout the neighborhood. Of street adjacent sidewalks and driveways leading to the home. This typical design provides separate pedestrian circulation to the front door from the driveway area. The pedestrian circulation is focused on the outside parameter of the property as typical throughout the City. Each home has a front porch that defines the pedestrian space and orientation of the homes. These front porches focus the pedestrian circulation from the front of the home to the pedestrian circulation path. In the areas that the two systems need to cross, the crossings provide a change of texture. The directional pattern of the sidewalk continues through the driveways and becomes predominate. These traffic -calming techniques are used to show the predominance of the pedestrian users over the vehicular circulation. The lighting for the project also provides the safety of the residents. Each of the front porches will be provided with lighting that will illuminate the front door area and the walkway that leads to it. The rear door and the patio areas will be equipped with lights that will allow safe circulation to and from the home. These lights will also illuminate the driveways allowing all to safely transition through the development. The Code requirement for limitation of lighting from any light source is also complied with in this project. All of the lighting sources on the site are down directed. All of the fixtures provide for sharp angle cut-off of the light to limit scatter light from the source. No light source will illuminate to a level greater than ten -foot candles on the surface below. The lighting values provided in the code for illuminating various land uses is adhered to. No source of the light will allow lighting levels from the site to exceed 0.1 foot-candle beyond a limit of twenty feet from any property line. The site itself is an amenity to the residences that will live in the homes. I is rare that a multi family project of only four units will have this much openspace that can be used for both active and passive recreation. The park like appearance of this area directly to the east of the building allows for the residents to gather and socialize. There is plenty of area for children to play in small groups appealing to different age groups and can act as a magnet to draw people together as they observe their children at play. To this end there are benches and tables to encourage the use of the openspace by the residents. The openspace provides active open space by providing field space where pick-up sports games can happen for the older children. The landscaping of this passive area will be in native turf covers and incorporate the existing trees giving the property a physical and visual break from the surrounding property. This project by its location, circumstances, and design meet the three primary Land Use criteria that apply to this project as stated in the City Plan. Being an infill project allows the compact and definable character of the City to be realized. The adjacent properties surrounding have been established over the last twenty to thirty years. Major community facilities, such as Poudre Valley Hospital, are located in close proximity to the site. In addition welt -established employment centers are located in this area such as Water Pik. The make up of neighborhood is a mix of commercial, multi- family and single-family land uses. Over time these uses have matured together as a viable stable neighborhood. The apartments to the south have existed for the last twenty years leaving this parcel the last to complete the area as a residential land use. The development on this property will help reduce the outward and southward pressure for this type of housing. The nature and character of this area was set over thirty years ago when development was occurring in this section of the city. This square mile area has matured over time and has been augmented as a neighborhood and a district with the development of the Eldora community swimming and ice arena. Further identification of the area was set by Poudre Valley Hospital. Resent expansion of these facility as well as expansion of businesses in this area has clearly defined this area as a safe, cohesive and diverse district within the City. The area has relatively well -maintained properties and fairly well landscaped yards make this area an attractive neighborhood within the City fabric. This area though possessing its own identity is not competing but supportive of the City patterns. Its unique district character provides primarily for the residential needs for the community mixed with some neighborhood commercial uses and community wide amenities. The emphasis and prominence of this area is secondary and supportive of the downtown area being the center and focus of the overall community. From the considerations of the general requirements of the LUC the project meets or exceeds the expectations found in this document. The LUC also address the needs for a compact urban design. The major consideration for that LUC's emphasis on the compact design issue is because of the need to create an efficient infrastructure for the Community. This project being an infill project completes the development within a specific neighborhood where the public facilities are all in place. The property meets the requirements of the LUC with respect to having adequate public facilities extended to the Site. There are no off -site improvements required for this project to be constructed. All of the utilities required for a residential development are present on site and ready for connection. The transportation network is completed within the area and adjacent to the property. This includes all of the various modes of transit including private vehicles, public transit, bicycles, and pedestrians. Multi -Modal access is provided to and from the property to all other parts of the City. EASTGATE PDP PLANNING OBJECTIVES This report reviews our proposed project with respect to the current City Land Use Code and the current City Plan. Both tools are part of the Planning Review Process for the City and constitute the elements of the Comprehensive Plan. We will review the major code features that are required by our project on a general nature and specifically with respect to the Low Density Mixed -Use Neighborhood District, which is the current zoning for the project. This project is intending to develop to the current Zoning and the requirements as provided within the Land Use Code. In addition we will measure the Project with respect to the Community wide goals of the City Plan as demonstrated by the design. The project will be a multi -family project that will be configured in the type of a townhome project. By this we mean that the homes will be clustered together into buildings with no units stacked over each other. Each home is a two-story structure with an attached single car garage. Each home is designed to have a private front porch as the transition space from the public pedestrian way to the private interior space. Each home will also possess an exterior private rear patio that is to be controlled by the individual homeowner. These residential units are oriented to the active openspace area that doubles as the stormwater detention area. The project provides the connections to the existing transportation network for safe and convenient transit to and from the site no matter what the means. Private vehicle, public transit, bicycle, and pedestrian means of travel are provided for and are made convenient for all of the homeowners. This property is an infill type and the transportation infrastructure is completed. This project meshes into the existing systems without taxing the existing levels of service. The project is intended to be a housing type that is purchased and sold on an individual basis. The intention is to market the homes to the starter home market as well as to the affordable housing market for those of moderate to lower means. An Association is to be formed with the project to care for and maintain the grounds and the physically constructed improvements. In reviewing the Community values as found in the City Plan we believe that our project will provide the residence these four basic values of Choice, Fairness, Fulfillment and Sustainability.