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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCAMBRIDGE HOUSE LOFTS - MODIFICATION OF STANDARD - 6-03 - REPORTS - RECOMMENDATION/REPORTModification of Standards for the Cambridge House Apartments, File # 6-03 February 20, 2003 P&Z Meeting Page 8 6. RECOMMENDATION: A. Staff recommends approval of scenario B of the modification request. B. If the Board does not approve scenario B of the modification request, staff recommends approval of scenario A of the modification request. Modification of Standards for the Cambridge House Apartments, File # 6-03 February 20, 2003 P&Z Meeting Page 7 markets specifically to students who would find it appealing to live in a location where they don't need to have a car. Existing bus lines along Shields and West Elizabeth connect the residents to the rest of town. The applicant has conducted counts of parking space utilization of the existing parking lot, given the current user types of the apartment complex, during various times of the year and at different times of the day on different days of the week. The parking counts demonstrate an extremely high vacancy rate. In no case were there fewer than 70 vacant parking spaces present on the property on any count. Staff finds that the granting of the modification would not be detrimental to the public good because City Plan has identified that reduced parking standards should be applied to Community Commercial Districts in recognition of their proximity to walkable environments and mix -of -uses. The general purpose of the minimum parking requirements is to ensure that the residents parking needs are satisfied on the development site rather than impacting the surrounding neighborhood with overflow parking. Staff finds that the granting of the modification would satisfy the general purpose of the standard equally well or better than a plan that satisfies the standard because it has been successfully shown that the Cambridge House Apartments have a lower demand for parking than typical apartment complexes, and that the future anticipated site expansion's parking demand will be fully accommodated on the site. 5. FINDINGS OF FACT/CONCLUSION: A. The requested Modification of Standards for Cambridge House Apartments, File # 6-03 is subject to review by the Planning and Zoning Board. B. Staff finds that the granting of the modification for either scenario A or scenario B would not be detrimental to the public good because City Plan has identified that reduced parking standards should be applied to Community Commercial Districts in recognition of their proximity to walkable environments and mix -of -uses. C. Staff finds that the granting of the modification for either scenario A or scenario B would satisfy the general purpose of the standard equally well or better than a plan that satisfies the standard because it has been successfully shown that the Cambridge House Apartments have a lower demand for parking than typical apartment complexes, and that the future anticipated site expansion's parking demand will be fully accommodated on the site. Modification of Standards for the Cambridge House Apartments, File # 6-03 February 20, 2003 P&Z Meeting Page 6 (f) A document titled "2003 Permit Info" (Exhibit F) stating the number of parking permits sold for the existing Cambridge House Apartments parking lot as of January 29, 2002; (g) A document titled "Previous Years' Permit Info" (Exhibit G) containing a statement from the previous owner regarding the usage of the parking lot in previous years; (h) A document titled "Current Parking Permit Agreement" (Exhibit H) containing the actual agreement currently required to be signed by the user in order to obtain a parking permit; and (i) A document titled "Proposed Parking Permit Agreement" (Exhibit 1) containing the proposed new agreement that is will be required to be signed by future residents after the number of available parking spaces is increased as a result of the anticipated future PDP application. 4. ANALYSIS OF MODIFICATION REQUEST The applicant requests a modification to Section 3.2.2(K)(1)(a) of the Land Use Code to reduce the required number of off-street parking spaces from 213 to 181 in scenario A, or to 175 spaces in scenario B. Initially, upon review of this modification request, staff was skeptical of the notion that the Cambridge House Apartments consistently provides excess unused parking spaces in their existing lot. Given staff's experience of parking problems at other apartment complexes elsewhere in town, particularly if those apartments cater to student rentals, the assumption was that the Cambridge House Apartments would also have high parking usage. After further analysis, staff determined that the applicant's claims that the parking lot is consistently underutilized is in -fact accurate, because of several factors unique to the site that greatly reduce the demand for parking. This site has a rare combination of several factors that truly reduce parking demand. Such factors are unique and specific to this site, and may not be present on sites within just a few blocks to the west or north of the'site. Clearly the proximity of the campus to the east allows students the ability to only need to cross Shields Street, to get to campus. Additionally, the Moby Arena parking lot is directly across the street from the site, and absorbs the demand of students who drive to campus from other parts of town. Residents are required to have parking permits with window stickers. Any cars parking in the lot illegally are typically towed. The retail and entertainment uses along West Elizabeth are only a half a block away, and within a two - minute walk of the Cambridge House Apartments. Additionally, this apartment complex Modification of Standards for the Cambridge House Apartments, File # 6-03 February 20, 2003 P&Z Meeting Page 5 (b) the proposed project would, without impairing the intents and purposes of the LUC, substantially address an important community need specifically and expressly defined and described in the city's Comprehensive Plan, adopted policy, ordinance or resolution, and that the strict application of such a standard would render the project practically infeasible, or (c) strict application of the standard sought to be modified would result in unusual and exceptional practical difficulties or exceptional or undue hardship due to exceptional physical conditions unique to such property. 3. APPLICANT'S REQUEST The applicant requests a modification to Section 3.2.2(K)(1)(a) of the Land Use Code to reduce the required number of off-street parking spaces from 213 to 181. The applicant has proposed that the modification request meets the requirements of LUC 2.8.2 Modification Review Procedures (H) Step 8 (Standards). Please see the attached written justification by the applicant. The applicant submitted the following three illustrative diagrams, and 6 documents of background information on the current usage of the Cambridge House Apartment's parking permits: (a) A drawing titled "Swimming Pool Conversion Plan" (Exhibit A) depicting the location for an anticipated future PDP proposal to convert the existing swimming pool building into 6 additional two -bedroom units; (b) A drawing titled "New Building Plan" (Exhibit B) depicting the location for an anticipated future PDP proposal to construct a new 5 -story building with ground floor parking, and 12 three -bedroom units; (c) A drawing titled "New Building Elevation" (Exhibit C) depicting the fagade facing Shields Street for the anticipated future PDP proposal shown in plan on Exhibit B; (d) A document titled "2003 Parking Counts" (Exhibit D) depicting the quantity of full and vacant parking spaces counted at anticipated peak demand times between Wednesday, January 29, 2003 and Sunday, February 2, 2002; (e) A document titled "2002 Parking Counts" (Exhibit E) depicting the quantity of full and vacant parking spaces counted at anticipated peak demand times from May 3`d to 91h, 2002, and from December 11th to 19th, 2002; Modification of Standards for the Cambridge House Apartments, File # 6-03 February 20, 2003 P&Z Meeting Page 4 • Policy CCD-1.10: "Relationship of Buildings to Public Spaces. Buildings will reinforce and revitalize streets and public spaces, by providing an ordered variety of architectural features that may include entries, windows, bays and balconies along public ways. Buildings will have human scale in details and massing. While vertical mixed -use is encouraged, maximum building height will be limited to 5 to 6 stories." • Policy CCD-1.18: "Parking. Reduced parking standards should be applied to Community Commercial Districts in recognition of their proximity to high - frequency transit service and their walkable environment and mix of uses. On - street parking should be maximized. Parking structures should be encouraged, including ground floor retail or service uses. All parking must provide for visibility, personal safety and security. Other parking considerations include the following: a. Shared parking is encouraged for nearby uses in quantities reflecting staggered peak periods of demand. Retail, office and entertainment uses should share parking areas and quantities. A portion of any project's parking requirements should be satisfied be satisfied by on -street parking. b. Parking lots will not dominate the frontage of pedestrian -oriented streets or interrupt pedestrian routes. Lots should be located behind buildings, in side yards, or in the interior of blocks to the greatest extent practicable. c. Large -surface parking lots will be visually and functionally segmented into several smaller lots, if practical. Land devoted to surface parking lots should be reduced, over time, through redevelopment and/or construction of structured parking facilities. 2. THE MODIFICATION PROCESS (A) Section 2.8.2(H) of the LUC specifies that in order to approve a modification the Planning and Zoning Board must find that: (1) the granting is not detrimental to the public good, and that (2) the plan as submitted would satisfy one of the following: (a) the general purpose of the standard is satisfied equally well or better than a plan that satisfies the standard, or Modification of Standards for the Cambridge House Apartments, File # 6-03 February 20, 2003 P&Z Meeting Page 3 where the building abuts the street. The applicant is proposing a scenario B that does this. Rather than configuring the ground floor of the Shields Street building as proposed in scenario A the applicant proposes in scenario B to reconfigure that ground floor to include 1900 square feet of interior space (made up of office uses, a potential recreation room, a mechanical room and storage) as well as 4 car ports along the western side of the building. The uses proposed on this ground floor do not require parking according to the Land Use Code. This reconfiguration results in a loss of 6 additional spaces from what was being proposed in scenario A or in other words rather than requesting a reduction from 213 required spaces to 181 spaces, the applicant is requesting a reduction to 175 spaces. The Campus West Community Commercial District Planning Study Report was a public planning process conducted by the City between Fall, 1999 and Fall, 2001. This report was the result of the Campus West Subarea Plan process, that was originally anticipated to be an adopted plan, however it was determined that the process did not result in policies or recommendations that warranted such adoption. The report proclaims itself to be "open- ended on a number of key questions, offering explanations and information from the planning process that may be useful in future policy discussions." Elements from the report that may be useful in this report include the following: • "Both the City and CSU are confronting the negative impacts of escalating car traffic on the visual and pedestrian environment. Both are looking for ways to support alternatives to car driving, and to repair decades of neglect of urban considerations such as the pedestrian realm and storm drainage." • "Most sites maximize parking, with lacking or substandard setbacks, landscaping and sidewalks. Thus parking hinders, rather than supports, the pedestrian realm. This is contrary to the approach of the City's Comprehensive Plan." • "Multi -story redevelopment would apparently depend on structured or shared parking provided by a parking district or the City. This would likely introduce fees or permits for the first time in Campus West." City Plan's Principles and Policies for Community Commercial Districts provide additional guidance to consider in the evaluation of the modification request as follows: • Principle CCD-1: "Community Commercial Districts will be community -wide destinations and act as hubs for a high -frequency transit system offering retail, offices, services, small civic uses, and higher density housing. The physical environment will promote walking, bicycling, transit and ridesharing, as well as provide a high quality urban life for residents. Vertical mixed -use will be encouraged." Modification of Standards for the Cambridge House Apartments, File # 6-03 February 20, 2003 P&Z Meeting Page 2 3.2.2 Access, Circulation and Parking (K) Parking Lots — Required Number of Spaces for Type of Use (1) Residential and Institutional Parking Requirements (a) Attached Dwellings - This section of the Land Use Code requires that multifamily dwellings provide 1.75 spaces for each two -bedroom unit, and 2.0 parking spaces for each three - bedroom unit. COMMENTS 1. BACKGROUND The surrounding zoning and land uses are as follows: N: CC — Existing neighborhood comprising mainly of multi -family housing, fraternities, and sororities, NE: CC — Existing Church, existing four-plex residential, existing group home at the southwest corner of W. Plum and Shields, E: CSU (not zoned) — Colorado State University main campus, S: CC — Existing Commercial businesses abutting Shields Street and West Elizabeth Street, Existing Church, W: CC — Existing neighborhood comprising mainly of multi -family housing, and single family detached housing. The property is west of Shields Street, east of Scott Street, south of W. Plum Street, and was annexed into the City as part of the Twelfth South Shields Street Annexation in July of 1965. The applicant intends to submit a Project Development Plan application to convert the existing swimming pool building to 6 two -bedroom apartments, to construct a new 5-story building abutting Shields Street with 12 three -bedroom apartments, and to reconfigure the parking lot so that 181 parking spaces are provided, rather than the existing lot's configuration that provides 175 spaces. The multifamily dwelling units anticipated to be proposed in the future PDP are permitted uses in the CC zone district subject to Type 1 review. At the Planning and Zoning Board worksession conducted on February 14, 2003, it was suggested by a board member the new 5-story building abutting Shields Street (that the applicant intends to propose) would have better interaction with the street if there was interior building space abutting the sidewalk rather than strictly parking uses on the _ground floor. It was suggested that the applicant consider changing the request so that there is useable interior building space facing the street and that the modification request ask for a slightly greater reduction in parking. It was generally communicated by the board that they would rather grant a greater reduction in parking in order to achieve a interior space abutting the street sidewalk than to have the parking uses on the ground floor ITEM NO. 7 MEETING DATE 2 20 03 STAFF Troy Jones Citv of Fort Collins PLANNING AND ZONING BOARD STAFF REPORT PROJECT: Modification of Standards for the Cambridge House Apartments, File # 6-03 OWNER: Chris Ray Cambridge House LLC 1113 W. Plum Street Fort Collins, CO 80521 APPLICANT: Bob Mechels Vaught Frye Architects 401 W. Mountain Ave, Suite 200 Fort Collins, CO 80521 PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Scenario A: The owner of the existing Cambridge House Apartments (currently 102 two - bedroom units) intends to submit a Project Development Plan to add .18 dwelling units (comprised of 6 two -bedroom units, and 12 three -bedroom units). Such an expansion would require the site to have a total of 213 off-street parking spaces. The applicant requests a modification to Section 3.2.2(K)(1)(a) of the Land Use Code to reduce the required number of off-street parking spaces from 213 to 181. Scenario_B: In addition to the units proposed in scenario A. the owner intends for the future Project Development Plan to propose 1900 square feet of interior non-residential space (office, possible recreation room, storage, and a mechanical room) located on the ground floor street facing fagade of a building facing Shields Street and thereby change the modification request referenced in scenario A to reduce the reouired number of off- street parking spaces from 213 to 175. RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends approval of the modification request to section 3.2.2(K)(1)(a) of the Land Use Code for either scenario A or scenario B. !EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: This is a request for modification to the following section of the Land Use Code: COMMUNITY PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES 281 N. College Ave. P.O. Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522-0580 (970) 221-6750 PLANNING DEPARTMENT