HomeMy WebLinkAboutREIDER DUPLEX, 720 WEST MYRTLE - MODIFICATION OF STANDARD - 13-02 - REPORTS - SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATIONUD-8. The provision of bike lanes involves safety
(separating two -wheeled vehicles at 12 m.p.h., from
4-wheeled vehicles at 30 m.p.h., and from people at 2
m.p.h.). Bike paths at the side of streets are not
ideal, but methods to mitigate conflicts have been
devised. At least one set of bikeways north and
south, and one east and west, should be, provided
--that is, separated both from autos and from pedes-
trians. The provision of street furniture, lighting,
etc., which is appropriate to the special needs of
bicyclists should be addressed.
UD-9. The planning and construction of a new Vine
Parkway offers the opportunity to create separation
from vehicles for both pedestrians and bicycles.
Special attention to both parallel and intersecting
traffic intersections needs can encourage . pedestrian
and bicycle access from the neighborhood to the Lee
Martinez Park. (See Figures 8 and 9.)
Implementation 1. Work with Canyon Avenue property owners to estab-
Actions lish a Property -owners Association and Local
Improvement District to define, unify and
improve the image and quality of the area and to
protect and buffer the residential streets to the
west.
2. Work with the Campus Commercial Area owners
and merchants to establish a more unified univer-
sity related retail area.
3. Study, identify, and implement the development of
one set of bikeways north and south and one east
and west which separate the bike paths from
autos and pedestrians.
4. Plan the new Vine Parkway with special attention
to environmental and design issues.
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linkage between the Lincoln Center, as the cultural
and recreation center for the community, and the
City Hall and County Office complex. It could pro-
vide restaurants serving the daytime offices and
evening Lincoln Center activities. As such, it could
become a pedestrian -oriented linkage, with public art
providing a series of public activity nodes, such as
benches, throughout its length.
UD-4. Careful consideration should be given to
public and street furniture to provide consistent
organizing elements within the public space, as well
as careful application of building identification and
signage respectful of that public space/usage. (See
Figures 4, 5 and 6.)
UD-5. Measures to protect the adjacent neighborhood
to the west of Canyon Avenue should be incorporated
in design guidelines. The quiet nature of the residen-
tial streets can be preserved by a program of lands-
caped berms with an unbroken line of street trees.
(See Figure 7).
UD-6. The residential character should be preserved,
and combined with the liveliness of retail activity, to
provide a counterpoint to the residential nature of
the adjacent neighborhood along Canyon Avenue.
UD-7. Commercial design guidelines should be estab-
lished, addressing issues such as:
o Profile and scale of shops to preserve pedestrian
scale;
o Encouraging of more pedestrian amenities through
the development of public landscaping/street
furniture, lighting, seating, and public spaces for
activities; I
o Encouraging high quality private development,
including signage, lighting, color, and texture,
storefronts with visible merchandise;
o Providing for handicapped access; f
o Reducing impact of autos by controlled access,
screening, and internal landscaping within larger
lots. t
i o Screening of parking, loading, trash containers, E
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transformers, and utilities. E
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Such design guidelines can encourage the coexistence
of both residential and commercial activities in
harmony.
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its extension along the abandoned railroad ROW into
College Avenue, and/or the Mason/Howes Streets, pair
offers a realistic alternative. However, there are
concerns for that roadway access becoming a barrier
to pedestrian and bike access to the Lee Martinez
Park. If developed as a parkway, with an appropriat-
ely scaled landscaped divider, and provided with
appropriate pedestrian crosswalks it could facilitate
expanded access to the park.
URBAN DESIGN PLAN
Goal Statement In public and private development, rehabilitation, and
maintenance of the WSN, every effort should be made
to establish an image and identity and enforce stan-
dards which characterize the WSN as a unique his-
toric, Fort Collins neighborhood.
Policies UD-1. Residential Design standards should be
developed and maintained into the future. Consider-
ations should include:
o Width and material of sidewalk;
o Sidewalk location (detached or attached to curb);
o Standardized handicap curb section/safe cross-
walks --provide color/texture change;
o Consistency in signage and street furniture;
o Public and private landscaping standards --encour-
age use of the Fort Collins Landscape Guide;
o Protection of yards from vehicle intrusion;
o Establishment and encouragement of common
design framework:
- scale;
- texture;
- color;
- signage;
- street furniture;
- setbacks/landscaping.
UD-2. Signage, street furniture, and crosswalks
should strengthen neighborhood edges and provide a
sense of entry. (See Figures 1, 2, 3 and 7.)
UD-3. Canyon Avenue should be developed as a ser-
vice commercial area, encouraging mixed -use office
and residential development with some retail commer-
cial at ground level which can relate well as a
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Mobile Home Parks There is a widely expressed concern for the mainte-
nance of properties and property values, particularly
around the two mobile home parks at the western
edge of the neighborhood. Neighbors perceive them
as a negative intrusion as a result of their higher
density lot coverage, a lower quality of yards, and
streetscape and poor property upkeep.
FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS
Residential
Neighborhoods
Within several sub -neighborhood areas there is a strong
sense of integrity. The Mantz Subdivision, around
Dunn Elementary School for instance, has a unified
design pattern, but is unrelated to the adjacent
Westlawn Addition, which has its own kind of inter-
nal design integrity.
Canyon Avenue
Canyon Avenue is a special design issue, offering
opportunities for landscaping, which can break the
street pattern in a dramatic way. As it is now,
however, Canyon Avenue
creates confusing and dan-
gerous intersections and has the potential for encour-
aging damaging commercial encroachment into the
WSN. The drama of the diagonal vista has been lost
as it focuses to the northeast on the relatively
undistinguished blind corner . of the County Office
Building. The adjacent residential areas, particularly
the east and south face blocks along the adjacent grid
streets to the west of Canyon Avenue, will be
impacted by increasing new office and financial
development of the downtown area. Street design
involving landscaping and other techniques can be
used to mitigate these impacts.
Campus Commercial
Along the Mason and Howes Streets one-way couplet,
the traffic and economic pressures have changed the
residential use to CSU student -oriented retail and
service shopping. Fortunately, for the most part, the
residential character of the buildings has not been
destroyed and the pedestrian scale of the neighbor-
hood retains its people -oriented facade and flavor.
Mountain Avenue
Neighborhood
Mountain Avenue, because of its termination at the
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Parkway
cemetery, has not developed to its full traffic
potential. However, it has a boulevard characteristic
which makes it a desirable place along which to live,
drive, and walk. It is important to maintain this
character and it is suggested that it be used by
bicyclists (see Chapter 5).
Vine Parkway
There is a need for better present, and future, access
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to downtown Fort Collins from the city's potential
expansion areas to the west and north. The develop-
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ment of a new major arterial along Vine Drive and
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CHAPTER 7. URBAN DESIGN
EXISTING CONDITIONS
Introduction The WSN of the City of Fort Collins has developed
over the past 100 years as a series of subdivision,
annexations, and additions to the originally chartered
and planned city, with little regard to maintaining
the continuity of the original plan. Street offsets and
discontinuities create the perception of disunity,
causing traffic and orientation problems, and some
confusion in spatial relationships, particularly for
newcomers to the community. However, at the same
time, they reduce the scale of the community fabric,
offering the opportunity to develop and define sub -
neighborhoods, and humanizing the scale of the city.
Overall, the WSN offers a relatively consistent and
healthy mix of residential, residentially -scaled
commercial, and institutional buildings. There have
been few encroachments of buildings that are out of
character with the rest of the neighborhood, in terms
of building size or scale. On the other hand, there is
nothing providing an alternative scale or drama that
acts as a visual or spatial focus to the neighborhood.
Also, there is little recognition of the distinctions of
time and character of the various subdivisions within
the neighborhood.
University Area South of Mulberry Street there is increasing pressure
for that portion of the neighborhood to change char-
acter as a result of its proximity to the CSU campus.
CSU's continuing development and the effect of grow-
ing numbers of students on the adjacent residential
neighborhood are constant forces of change, both in
order to respond to the desire for less -restrictive
and/or lower cost housing for students, and as the
result of inadequate on -campus parking.
Downtown Edge Well -maintained housing stock in the residential
neighborhoods, and the residents': strong commitment
to maintain their quality of life, is demonstrated by
the resident -initiated down -zoning of a significant
portion of the area along LaPorte and Mountain Ave-
nues. The original subdivision of land into single-
family residential lots, typical west of Whitcomb
Street, has been a fairly effective barrier to commer-
cial encroachment into the neighborhood. The assem-
blage of land for commercial use is more difficult in
fully developed and maintained neighborhoods. At
the same time, there appears to have been pressure on
land use changes adjacent to downtown, particularly
on the most eastern blocks.
WEST SIDE
NEIGHBORHOOD
PLAN
An Element of
the Comprehensive Plan
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Citv of Fort Collins