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HomeMy WebLinkAbout525 S. TAFT HILL ROAD - ADDITION OF A PERMITTED USE - 36-08 - REPORTS - RECOMMENDATION/REPORT525 S. Taft Hill Road Addition of Permitted Use, # 36-08 December 11, 2008 P & Z Hearing Page 9 • Re -striping the parking lot; and • That as a result of the Minor Amendment review process, the site is improved, to the extent reasonably feasible, as per the recommendations of Development Review Staff and City of Fort Collins Utilities. Further, Staff recommends approval, subject to the following condition: 525 South Taft Hill, Addition of a Permitted Use for lawn mower repair, shall feature no more than six machines on display at any one time. 525 S. Taft Hill Road Addition of Permitted Use, # 36-08 December 11, 2008 P & Z Hearing Page 8 12. Findinos of Fact and Conclusion: In reviewing the request to add Workshop and Custom Small Industry as a Permitted Use for 525 South Taft Hill Road, Staff makes the following findings of fact: A. 525 South Taft Hill Road is a fully developed and landscaped site. The buildings include a small office set behind a large front yard and a shop on the back. Customer parking is adequate. The outside storage yard is screened from public view. B. Up until a few months ago, the site was occupied by Home Detailers. Prior to that, the site was used by Atlas Roofing as a construction company, and prior to that by Royal/Diamond Shamrock as.a gas station. C. Atlas Roofing was approved as a P.U.D. August of 1997 which preceded the Land Use Code. D. Prior to adoption of the Land Use Code, Workshop and Custom Small Industry would have been eligible for approval subject to compliance with the Land Development Guidance System and review by the Planning and Zoning Board. E. After the adoption of the LUC, Workshop and Custom Small Industry is not a Permitted Use within the L-M-N zone. F. Based on the existing building and site improvements, Workshop and Custom Small Industry at 525 South Taft Hill Road would be considered to be in compliance with Section 3.5.1 of the Land Use Code, subject to adding a bike rack near the front entrance, enlarging the trash enclosure to accommodate recycling containers and re -striping the parking lot. RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends that Workshop and Custom Small Industry be added as an allowable use to 525 South Taft Hill Road. At the time of submittal for a Minor Amendment, the site shall be upgraded by: • Adding a bike rack near the front entrance; 0 Enlarging trash enclosure to accommodate recycling containers; 525 S. Taft Hill Road Addition of Permitted Use, # 36-08 December 11, 2008 P & Z Hearing Page 7 In evaluating the applicable standards, site improvements would be needed to bring the project into compliance with the Land Use Code. The following improvements are considered reasonably feasible and may be expanded during a normal Minor Amendment review process. A. Bicycle Parking A bike rack would be needed to be placed near the front entrance. B. Trash Enclosures — Recycling Containers The trash enclosure area would need to be expanded to include sufficient area for recycle containers. C. The parking lot needs to be re -striped. 9. Neighborhood Meeting: A neighborhood information meeting was held on November 17, 2008. One person attended who asked that the outdoor display be limited to only lawn mowers and kept to reasonable number. 10. Minor Amendment Follow-up: If the applicants are successful in their request for an Addition of a Permitted Use, then a Minor Amendment review process would be required. It is during this process that all applicable departments and utilities would have an opportunity to inspect the site and make comments, if any, regarding bringing the site up to a level of improvement that meets the current standards, but only to the extent reasonably feasible. As mentioned, the Current Planning Department will require that the parking lot be re -striped, a bike rack installed near the office and recycle containers provided within the existing trash enclosure. 11. Condition of Approval: Due to the inherent mobility of the products being repaired, and in order to maintain neighborhood compatibility, Staff recommends the following condition of approval regarding outdoor display: 525 South Taft Hill, Addition of a Permitted Use for lawn mower repair, shall feature no more than six machines on display at any one time. 525 S. Taft Hill Road Addition of Permitted Use, # 36-08 December 11, 2008 P & Z Hearing Page 6 B. Section 3.5.1(C) — Building Size, Height, Bulk, Mass, Scale The buildings are compatible in that their size, height, mass, bulk and scale are similar to the two structures to the north. All buildings are generally small and one-story height C. Section 3.5.1(H) - Land Use Transition The buildings and site improvements at 525 South Taft Hill Road are found to be of similar visual character with the buildings in the surrounding area. D. Section 3.5.1(1) - Outside Storage Areas/Mechanical Equipment The outside storage area is setback from Taft Hill Road and located behind the office and a wood fence. The shop doors face south, not the street. E. Section 3.5.1(J) - Operational/Physical Compatibility Standards The buildings and outside yard are screened and illuminated at appropriate levels. The nine parking spaces have proved adequate for Atlas Roofing and Home Detailers employees and customers and should sufficiently serve the lawn mower repair business. The proposed hours of operation are less than Atlas Roofing and less than the two adjoining uses to the north. 7. Traffic: The lawn mower repair shop is a small operation consisting of two employees. This is considerably less than previous uses. Potential trips are minimized by the pick-up and delivery service offered by the business. In terms of compatibility, the traffic associated with a lawn mower repair business would not have a negative impact on the neighborhood or South Taft Hill Road. 8. Compliance with Article Three General Development Standards: For projects developed prior to adoption of the Land Use Code, changes of use, minor and major amendments, and re -development projects are required to improve their sites only to the extent reasonably feasible. "Extent reasonably feasible shall mean that, under the circumstances, reasonable efforts have been undertaken to comply with the regulation, that the costs of compliance clearly outweigh the potential benefits to the public or would unreasonably burden the proposed project, and reasonable steps have been undertaken to minimize any potential harm or adverse impacts resulting from noncompliance with the regulation." 525 S. Taft Hill Road Addition of Permitted Use, # 36-08 December 11, 2008 P & Z Hearing Page 5 To the north, the property borders a self-service carwash that is open seven days per week and evenings. North of the car wash is a gasoline station with two service bays and a convenience store. These parcels are zoned L-M-N. To the south, the property borders a single family dwelling that is a licensed home occupation (Coffee Craze). To the west, the property borders a well -established mobile home park. To the east, across South Taft Hill Road, there are single family dwellings, including the new development Raven View. In addition to the applicant's contextual analysis, Staff further notes that the at the northwest property comer, the property borders Hawkeye Information Systems, a software engineering firm that works out of a converted residence. 6. Workshop and Custom Small Industry and Compatibility with the Neisahborhood Context and Section 3.5.1 of the Land Use Code: A. Section 3.5.1(8) — Architectural Character and Building Compatibility Within the surrounding area, only Raven View was re -developed under the Land Use Code. All other properties were developed under prior zoning or in Larimer County prior to annexation. The general area is characterized by a suburban development pattern commonly found after World War Two that is typical of northwest Fort Collins. Most single family dwellings have driveways that take direct access off either West Mulberry Street or South Taft Hill Road. Consequently, there is no dominant character by which to evaluate architectural character and building compatibility. The two buildings are metal painted beige/tan. The office features a large glass front with a green false mansard that defines the top of the building. The two -bay shop features a pitched roof with matching green trim and is screened by a four foot wood fence and evergreen trees. To the north, the carwash building is metal and the gas/convenience store is concrete block with metal trim that matches the gasoline canopy. Staff finds that the two existing buildings at 525 South Taft Hill Road are similar in character and style to the two commercial buildings along the same block face. The outside storage yard is screened on the west and south by a six foot high solid wood fence. Screening on the east is accomplished by the office and an existing four foot high wood fence. The large front yard provides a generous setback along South Taft Hill Road. 525 S. Taft Hill Road Addition of Permitted Use, # 36-08 December 11, 2008 P & Z Hearing Page 4 While lawn mowers are the primary focus, the business may also service snow blowers as an ancillary activity. The expected staffing level is two: one owner and one employee. Hours of operation would be 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. As a seasonal business, it is anticipated that the operations would cease between mid -November and mid -March (depending on the weather). The site is fully developed. There are nine parking spaces including a handicap accessible space. A direct connecting walkway is provided to the sidewalk on Taft Hill Road. There is adequate hard surface turn -round area for trailers. Existing landscape has been well -maintained. A six foot solid fence is provided along the south and west property lines. Mature evergreens are planted along the north property line. B. As mentioned in the zoning history, the former existing uses were Home Detailers (2005 — 2008), Atlas Roofing (1997 — 2005) and Royal/Diamond Shamrock gas station (1968—1987). The gas station was a self-service facility open on a 24-hours per day basis. Most of the site was paved. The existing office was once the pay kiosk. Atlas Roofing was a full service roofing contractor. This firm built the shop and converted the large paved area into a large front yard. Multiple work crews were based at the site and dispatched to the job sites. Administrative functions were based in the office and equipment and inventory were stored in the shop building. This business employed up to 50 persons with five dump trucks parked outside overnight. Operations were conducted six days per week. Hours of operation were generally from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. during peak season. Home Detailers was residential home remodeling business. As with the Atlas roofing, the office was used for administration, sales and product display. The shop was used for various building materials. Crews were dispatched to job sites. 5. Context of the Surrounding Area: The applicant has provided the following description of the surrounding area: 525 S. Taft Hill Road Addition of Permitted Use, # 36-08 December 11, 2008 P & Z Hearing Page 3 3. Addition of a Permitted Use: This new process was recommended for approval by the Planning and Zoning Board in May of 2008 and granted final approval by City Council on July 1, 2008. The process is equivalent to a Type Two review in that a neighborhood meeting is required and consideration is by the Planning and Zoning Board. The new Addition of a Permitted Use is basically an extension of Section 1.3.4 of the Land Use Code which, prior to July 1, 2008, allowed the Director to add a use to a zone but only so long as: • Such use is not specifically listed as a "Permitted Use" in Article 4; • Such use is not specifically listed by name as a prohibited use. Now, under the expanded process, the Planning and Zoning may add a use to zone under the following criteria: • Such use may be specifically listed as a "Permitted Use" in Article 4; • But, such use, if approved, would be allowed only for the one specific parcel as requested by the applicant and not on a zone district -wide basis. 4. Description of the Proposed Use and Previous Use: A. The proposed use is small lawn mower repair shop. This use is considered to be Workshop and Custom Small Industry. This use is defined as: "Workshop and custom small industry shall mean a facility wherein goods are produced or repaired by hand, using hand tools or small-scale equipment, including small engine repair, furniture making and restoring, upholstering, custom car or motorcycle restoring or other similar uses." The lawn mower repair business would perform minor servicing including oil changes, tune-ups and blade sharpening. Office and shop functions would be divided between the two buildings. The business provides a pick-up and delivery service for customer convenience and to minimize traffic. There would be incidental sales of reconditioned mowers but the owner does not act as a factory authorized dealer for new machines. 525 S. Taft Hill Road Addition of Permitted Use, # 36-08 December 11, 2008 P & Z Hearing Page 2 COMMENTS 1. Background: The surrounding zoning and land uses are as follows: N: L-M-N; Existing self -serve car wash S: R-L; Existing single family dwelling with home occupation E: L-M-N; Existing single family dwellings W: L-M-N; Existing mobile home park 2. Zoning History: The property was included in the West Fort Collins Annexation of 1967 and placed into the B-L, Limited Business zone district. The Royal/Diamond Shamrock gas station was constructed in 1968. The underground gas tanks were removed based on a building permit issued in 1987. The property remained vacant for approximately ten years. In February of 1997, the Atlas Roofing Preliminary P.U.D. was approved. In March of 1997, the property was rezoned to Low Density Mixed -Use Neighborhood as part of the city-wide implementation of City Plan. In August of 1997, the Atlas Roofing Final P.U.D. was approved. In 2005 the Atlas Roofing operation was converted to Home Detailers, a home remodeling business. In Spring of 2008, Home Detailers was discontinued. On August 1, 2008, the owner signed a lease with the lawn mower repair business. On November 6, 2008, the owner applied for an Addition of a Permitted Use for a workshop and custom small industry to allow for a lawn mower repair business in the L-M-N zone. City of ort Collins Planning & Zoning Board STAFF REPORT Item #: Meeting Date 11 aK Staff: IQd eberd- PROJECT: 525 S. Taft Hill Road— Addition of a Permitted Use, #36-08 APPLICANT: Mr. Ed Schneider 5424 Saratoga Circle Fort Collins, CO 80526 OWNER: Same As Above PROJECT DESCRIPTION: This is a request to add Workshop and Custom Small Industry as an Addition of a Permitted Use in the Low Density Mixed -Use Neighborhood zone district specifically for the property at 525 South Taft Hill Road. The property is developed and improved with two existing buildings. The office building contains 360 square feet. The shop building contains 1,050 square feet. The property is platted as Atlas P.U.D. The parcel is .53 acre in size and zoned L-M-N, Low Density Mixed -Use Neighborhood. RECOMMENDATION: Approval with Conditions EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The site was once a gas station and then approved and re -developed for Atlas Roofing P.U.D. in August of 1997 under the jurisdiction of the Land Development Guidance System. This P.U.D. has been discontinued and the property is now governed by the Land Use Code. The proposed use, workshop and custom small industry, is not permitted under L-M-N zoning. The proposed use has been reviewed by the criteria of Section 3.5.1 which addresses compatibility with the surrounding area. A condition of approval limiting the extent of outdoor display is recommended as are threelspecific site upgrades. A neighborhood meeting was held and no objections were raised. If approved, a Minor Amendment will be required to officially process and document the change of use and building occupancy.