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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWHITHAM PROPERTY - REZONE - 24-02A - SUBMITTAL DOCUMENTS - ROUND 1 - REZONING RELATED DOCUMENT"Employment " uses located immediately north of Vine Street. Employment uses and residential uses are complimentary uses that allow residents to live and work in the same area. South: The land located immediately south of the Whitham Property is currently used as cropland. The East Mulberry Corridor Plan designates the property in the area as Low and Medium Density Mixed -Use Neighborhood. East: A developed small industrial site abuts the northeast corner of the Whitham property. The rest of the east property line is bordered by the Cooper Slough Natural Buffer area. West: The parcel located west of the Whitham Property is currently used as cropland. The East Mulberry Corridor Plan designates this property as Low Density Mixed -Use Neighborhood. (b) Development plans for the Whitham Property would involve the conversion of most of the property to residential development, a neighborhood center and a neighborhood park. All development would be within row cropland, non-native grassland, and disturbed habitat areas. Therefore, there would be no direct impacts to important wildlife habitats or special habitat features with the Whitham Property. The proposed development would also have no indirect effect on Cooper Slough as long as best management practices are employed during construction to preclude untreated runoff and sedimentation impacts into the slough. Because Cooper Slough has been identified as a waterfowl concentration area, a 300 foot development setback from Cooper Slough has been established by the City of Fort Collins. A 300 foot buffer would encroach into the eastern edge of the project area. As long as an average of 80 percent of a 300 foot development setback is maintained from the slough, project development approval should not need to request of variance from this requirement. Native shrubs and trees as well as herbaceous species will be planted in the buffer zone between the development and Cooper Slough to enhance this portion of the Cooper Slough corridor. Plantings of shrubs and trees will create visual screening between the creek and proposed development sites and improve existing habitat conditions along the slough. There is one existing mature and very large cottonwood adjacent to the railroad right-of-way is partially decadent with about half of the lower trunk consisting of deadwood This tree could pose a health and safety risk to people or structures in the near future and may need to be removed prior to development. Because of its isolated location, this large cottonwood tree would also provide little wildlife habitat value if the Whitham Property is developed. (c) The development of this parcel will contribute to the logical and orderly development of this part of town by: 1) allowing the extension of the arterial and collector street network through the property to serve the residents and employees in this area. 2) supplying a corridor for the extension of the Cooper Slough regional which will provide an alternative mode of transportation for residents and employees in the area. 3) using the existing utility infrastructure (Fort Collins Light & Power, Box Elder Sanitation and ELCO Water Dist) , which is located in close proximity to or within the Whitham Property. Justification for Rezoning Page 2 of 2 Justification of Rezoning June 3, 2003 Whitham Property Section 2.9.4(II)(2): Mandatory Requirements for Quasi-judicial Rezonings. Any amendment to the Zoning Map involving the zoning or rezoning of six hundred forty (640) acres of land or less (a quasi- judicial rezoning) shall be recommended for approval by the Planning Zoning Board or approved by the City Council only if the proposed amendment is: (a) consistent with the City's Comprehensive Plan; and/or - Applicable (b) wan -anted by changed conditions within the neighborhood surrounding and including the subject property. — Not Applicable Justification: The subject property was incorporated into the City of Fort Collins under two separate annexations. The 1" and 2nd Buderns Annexations were adopted on May 21, 1992, and the Whitham Farms LLC Annexation was adopted on August 20, 2002. At the time of annexation there were no specific and immediate plans for development so the properties were zoned Transition (T). Recently, the property owners decided that they would like to rezone the property in order to develop. The proposed rezoning of the Whitham Property, from the Transition Zone District (T) to the Low Density Mixed -Use Neighborhood District (LMN), is consistent with the City's Comprehensive Plan. Specifically, this site is located within the East Mulberry Corridor Plan, which designates this property as "Low Density Residential". Section 2.9.4(I))(3): Additional Considerations for Quasi -Judicial Rezonings. In detemuning whether to recommend approval of any such proposed amendment, the Planning and Zoning Board and City Council may consider the following additional factors: (a) whether and the extent to which the proposed amendment is compatible with existing and proposed uses surrounding the subject land, and is the appropriate zone district for the land; - Applicable (b) whether and the extent to which the proposed amendment would result in significantly adverse impacts on the natural environment, including, but not limited to, water, air, noise, stormwater management, wildlife, vegetation, wetlands and the natural functioning of the environment; - Applicable (c) whether and the extent to which the proposed amendment would result in a logical and orderly development pattern. - Applicable Justification: (a) The proposed amendment is compatible with existing and proposed uses surrounding the subject property, and is the appropriate zone district for the land. The following is a list of the existing and proposed uses for the area surrounding the Whitham Property: North: Vine Drive abuts the northern boundary of the site. Currently the land north of Vine Drive is farmed and undeveloped. The Mountain Vista Sub Area Framework Plan illustrates Justification for Rezoning Page 1 of 2