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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBALZERS SUBDIVISION, 624 S. LOOMIS - REPLAT - 51-02 - CORRESPONDENCE - CITY HALL (3)No Text r JL �oZl RECEIVED MAY 2 31003 . City of Fort Collins, Sal AAA J�/ � ��L� � .{I �L/� (/NT/.V`��✓A �'T� ,\:. � rIv01 .� V &;Iwq hoo C GGlla It afT rt� / b/ate 107�+ d� w^� �/ 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 infill/redevelopment 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.fcgov.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 inf ll/redevelopment 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, John F. 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 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. E City Mai.ager's Office City of Fort Collins May 30, 2003 Meegan Flennika 617 Wets Myrtle Street Fort Collins, CO 80521 Dear Ms. Flennika: 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. Alley. House Regulations- 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 www.fcgov.com