HomeMy WebLinkAboutBALZERS SUBDIVISION, 624 S. LOOMIS - REPLAT - 51-02 - CORRESPONDENCE - CITY HALLI am in favor of the concept of infill, and would like to see this occur as opposed to
extensive sprawl at the outskirts of town. However, the proposed alley development goes
beyond this philosophy, and puts landlord's motives of increased bedrooms and the
subsequent increase in revenue in direct conflict with the maintenance of the character of
this important, historical part of town.
What has become evident to me is these types of development proposals are being
presented one at a time (stealth development), which does not allow for review of the
total combined, cumulative impact that results. All infill projects within a neighborhood
should be required to go to the Planning and Zoning board as part of a larger planning
issue to determine their cumulative impact.
I thank you for your time and consideration. I hope to hear from you regarding the issues
that are brought up in this letter, and am more than willing to provide additional input.
Please keep me posted on this and other proposed alley development projects within the
City of Fort Collins.
Sincerely,
e� CIJQ�
Eric Odell
CC: John Fischbach, City Manager
Cameron Gloss, Planning
support additional vehicles. The alley associated with the Balzers project is a one lane,
dirt alley (and we absolutely do not want to have this paved). The narrow lane already
causes significant issues when there are many cars using the alley at the same time. This
situation frequently arises, as there is already one existing duplex alley house and a
commercial business located in this alley.
The purpose and character of an alley are being lost here. Instead of maintaining this
enticing feature, we are in effect creating substandard, paved arterials through the centers
of blocks. This should not be allowed to occur.
Our safety concerns are perhaps the most compelling reasons not to allow additional alley
houses. I had to call 911 last summer, as there were 2 people who were not moving lying
in the alley. The emergency vehicles arrived within a short period of time, but due to the
narrowness of the alley, could not safely bring more than one vehicle to the scene. In fact,
all emergency vehicles parked on Myrtle Street, and personnel walked down the alley to
take care of the situation. Fortunately, the two individuals were ok, but if there had been a
more significant emergency, there is no way to bring an ambulance and additional fire
rescue vehicles down the alley to tend to such an emergency.
Additionally, another safety concern has to do with the access from the alley on to Laurel
Street. There have been numerous accidents caused by people trying to turn on to Laurel
going eastbound from the alley. In order to do this, the driver must cross a double yellow
line and do so with very limited visibility.
While the speed limit on the alley is posted as 10 mph, this is never patrolled, and even
less frequently observed. There are neighbors with infant children who play in the back
yard, but are potentially putting themselves at increased risk because of the fast driving,
and already excessive traffic. Before allowing any more development to occur, we urge
the City to take on an extensive traffic study to model volume, speed, frequency of
vehicles.
At the public hearing that was held April 241' to discuss the Balzers proposed
development, at least seven homeowners from the immediate area were present to voice
their concerns. Before this hearing took place, I spoke with many other homeowners in
the area who were opposed to this development, but were unable to make it to the hearing
for personal reasons. In all of my conversations, I did not find a single homeowner who
was supportive of this type of development. We have been told that this area is currently
zoned for this density level of development, but I feel that this is inappropriate, and this
level of zoning should be reconsidered.
At the hearing, we learned that the landowner of the Balzers subdivision plans to build a
duplex, with as many as 6 bedrooms for his 6+ tenants. Even if the `no -more -than -three -
unrelated' tenants per building rule is enforced, this still places an impossible demand on
the infrastructure and safety of the rest of the neighborhood. Additionally, if someone
really wanted to build a house that fit in with the rest of the historical homes, they would
build a 2 bedroom, one bath house that is probably less than 1000 square feet.
RECEIVED
MAY Z 17003
Eric Odell
617 West Myrtle St. City of Fort Collins
Fort Collins, CO 80521
484-5866
Fort Collins City Council
300 Laporte Avenue
Fort Collins, CO 80521
May 6, 2003
RE: Alley Houses
Dear City Council:
We recently received a notice in the mail of proposed re -platting of a lot that is down the
street from our house. For your reference, this was project # 51-02, Balzers Subdivision,
624 South Loomis Street. Their intent is to subdivide their lot in order to build an
additional residential development in the back. This additional development would have
its primary access from the alley that runs North -South between Laurel Street and Myrtle
Street, between Loomis and Whitcomb streets.
The issue of allowing alley houses in the Old Town part of Fort Collins is of great
concern to me and many of my neighbors for a variety of reasons. We feel that this type
of development leads to the immediate degradation of the quality of life that many people
seek when purchasing a home and living in Old Town. There are safety, traffic, noise,
and occupancy concerns that we feel must be addressed before this particular proposal, as
well as other proposed alley houses within Old Town Fort Collins should be considered.
We strongly urge you and your Building and Zoning departments to not allow any further
development of this sort to take place without further, extensive analysis.
One can take a walk down some of the alleys in this general area and can easily see the
way that the nature of the neighborhood drastically changes when alley houses are
constructed. The density of residential development essentially doubles as alley houses
fill in the back yards of previously charming Old Town homes. This has cumulative
impacts that need to be addressed.
Our specific concerns with this proposed development, which can likely be extended to
this type of development throughout Old Town are as follows. There needs to be
assurances that the existing infrastructure is sufficient to accommodate the number of
people and increased traffic that would follow this development. I claim that the
infrastructure in the alley where the proposed development would occur is insufficient to
accommodate additional residents. Our sewer, which was replaced only last summer,
recently backed up causing a disruption and inconvenience for many of the
neighborhoods residents. The number of on -street parking spaces is limited and cannot
May 29, 2003
Mr. Eric Odell
Page 3
This past year, the City embarked on an update to City Plan, aimed at updating goals and policies that
would better respond to growth pressures and protect and enhance the existing quality of life. Two of the
main topic areas being addressed in the City Plan Update are: 1) Development Patterns, and 2)
Neighborhoods and Housing. Both of these topics pertain directly to the issues you have raised in your
letter.
The Current Planning Department has developed a mailing list of those individuals expressing a desire to
be involved in the inflUredevelopment issues included in this second phase of the City Plan Update.
Your name, as well as others in attendance at the Balzer's Subdivision administrative hearing, has been
placed on the mailing list. This phase will examine our infill policies and determine which ones reinforce
the positive characteristics of neighborhoods and which ones diminish the original character of a
neighborhood.
As of this date, the following tentative public meeting schedule has been developed. I would strongly
urge you and your neighbors concerned about this issue to attend these meetings and become actively
involved in the process.
You will be receiving a mail notice confirming the date, time and location of the public meetings. You're
also welcome to review the City Plan Update schedule summarized on the City's website:
www.fc og v.com.
September 3, 2003 - Neighborhood and Housing, Development Patterns Public Meeting at the Senior
Center at 6:30 p.m. at the Senior Center, 1200 Raintree Drive
October 15, 2003 - Follow-up Public Meeting. Time and location to be determined.
Moratorium
Considering the City's substantial changes to the "alley house" regulations in 1996, that greatly reduced
the development potential for such development, and the on -going effort to refine our
infilUredevelopment policies as part of the City Plan update, it is the staff's opinion that a moratorium on
alley house development would be inappropriate at this time.
Again, thank you providing your comments. Should you have questions about this letter or phase two of
the City Plan update process, please feel free to contact Current Planning Director Cameron Gloss at 221-
6750 or via e-mail at cgloss@fc og v.com.
Sincerely, . aoZa
John)Fischbach
Fischbach
City Manager
/khp
cc: Mayor and City Council Members
Gregory Byrne, Director of Community Planning and Environmental Services
Joe Frank, Director of Advance Planning
Cameron Gloss, Director of Current Planning
Stephen Olt, City Planner
3
May 29, 2003
Mr. Eric Odell
Page 2
Many of these new buildings were larger than the house on the front of the lots, with the original house
becoming subordinate in size to the new house.
City Council members also became concerned about impacts associated with increased residential
density. As a result, Council adopted an emergency ordinance in December 1993 that resulted in an
increase in the minimum lot area requirement from 4,500 square feet per building to 5,500 square feet per
building. The intent of the ordinance was to temporarily halt construction of alley houses. Staff was also
instructed to work with a consultant to prepare design guidelines, reevaluate the lot area/density issue, and
arrive at a permanent solution.
In October 1994, the City hired Winter & Company and RNL Design as outside consultants to assist in
the preparation of design guidelines. A citizen advisory committee was established consisting of
residents of the eastside/westside neighborhoods, representatives from the Landmarks Preservation
Commission and the Affordable Housing Board, and an at -large member. A public outreach process was
begun and three public workshops were held. Additionally, staff met with existing neighborhood
organizations and formed a focus group. Numerous other open houses and meetings were held as well.
Notice of the open houses were delivered to each home in the areas, and over 100 people attended each
session. This process resulted in proposed standards and guidelines that were originally presented to
Council for adoption in August 1995. At that time, Council provided direction to staff to revise the
document to simplify and clarify the text.
The design guidelines focused on alterations and new construction. They addressed work affecting the
exterior of properties as seen from public ways, which include both streets and alleys. They were to guide
an approach to construction that would help protect the established character of neighborhoods, while also
allowing new, compatible design. The guidelines focused on promoting a sense of neighborhood identity
and a pedestrian. friendly environment that is based on the traditional scale and character of the two
neighborhoods. It's important to note that these were adopted as "guidelines" and did not hold the same
legal authority as development "regulations".
Two ordinances were presented to Council in February 1996. The agenda item summary contained a
table that reflected an inventory of all lots in the eastside/westside neighborhoods. The purpose of that
study was to provide Council with information about the effect that the lot area change would have on the
ability to construct alley houses. The study revealed that increasing the minimum lot area requirement to
5,500 sq. ft. would reduce the number of larger lots eligible for potential alley houses by 51.3%. The
ordinances contained provisions to change the lot area in the NCM and NCB zones to 5,000 sq. ft. per
principal building and to limit the size of an alley house to 800 square feet. The changes were adopted on
V reading, with the condition that additional changes were to be made prior to 2nd reading. One of the
changes requested by Council was to provide ordinance language clarifying that the standards could not
be varied through a Planned Unit Development (PUD)-the Land Development Guidance System (LDGS-
the previous development code) allowed for any standard to be waived through a PUD. Having completed
this 3-year process in 1996, the decision was made that when the Land Use Code (LUC) was adopted in
1997, the recently approved changes and limitations should just be "rolled over" from the previous NCL,
NCM, and NCB zones to the new. Since the time of the LUC adoption, there have been no code changes
relative to alley houses design and location.
Upcoming City Efforts to Address Neighborhood Compatibility Issues
The City's Comprehensive Plan, known as City Plan, was adopted in 1997 in response to concerns over
increased traffic congestion, loss of open lands, and the loss of community identity and character.
Principles and policies found within the plan encourage infill and redevelopment of existing urban areas.
This more compact form of the city will help contribute to the preservation of environmentally sensitive
areas and rural lands and the efficient provision of public facilities and services.
2
City Manager's Office
City of Fort Collins
May 29, 2003
Mr. Eric Odell
617 West Myrtle Street
Fort Collins, CO 80521
Dear Mr. Odell:
Thank you for your letter dated May 6, 2003, expressing concerns about the Balzer's Subdivision PDP, a
two lot subdivision recently approved by the City of Fort Collins, that would permit a potential, future
"alley house" to be built behind the existing house at 624 S. Loomis Street. Your letter also elaborated on
the design and functional problems you perceive with this type of development in the Old Town area, and
included a request for the City place a moratorium on new alley houses until extensive analysis of their
impacts is completed.
With respect to the Balzer's Subdivision application, the development was approved based on established
criteria of the City's Land Use Code. The 14-day appeal period of this approval to City Council expired
on May 8, since no formal request was received by the City Clerk's office within the prescribed
timeframe. The deadline and procedure for appeal was indicated in a letter from Current Planning
Director Cameron Gloss, to you and other residents who attended the Administrative Hearing held on
April 24.
Although most of the specific issues identified in your letter fall outside of the criteria that the Hearing
Officer is bound to in his review of the development application, you have raised larger policy issues
about the compatibility of infill and redevelopment projects within our established neighborhoods.
Similar safety, traffic, noise, and occupancy concerns have also recently been raised by residents of the
eastside and westside neighborhoods with respect to other development proposals.
To respond to your comments, I have provided a summary of the evolution of alley house regulations in
Fort Collins and a review of upcoming opportunities for you and other members of the public to be
involved in potential changes to the City's regulations regarding alley house development.
Allev House Reaulations- A History
A comprehensive rezoning of the Eastside/Westside neighborhoods (which includes all of "Old Town"),
and implementing regulations, occurred in 1991. At that time, the newly created NCM and NCB zones
required a minimum lot area of 4,500 square feet per single family or two-family dwelling. This meant
that if a lot had at least 9,000 square feet of lot area, then the potential existed for the construction of an
alley house at the rear of the property. Between 1991 and 1993 a significant number of alley houses were
constructed in the 500 and 600 blocks of Meldrum, Sherwood, and Whitcomb. Several were also built in
the eastside neighborhood. The City began receiving numerous complaints from neighbors concerned
that the development of these secondary units were incompatible with the surrounding neighborhood.
300 LaPorte Avenue • PO. Box 580 • Fort Collins, CO 80522-0580 • (970) 221-6505 • FAX (970) 224-6107 • TDD (970) 224-6001
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