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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSWIFT ADDITION TO FOSSIL LAKE P.U.D. - COUNTY REFERRAL - 33-01(I) - CORRESPONDENCE - (5)Management Area. The whole intent of the Resource Management Area is to provide an area for wildlife undisturbed from human activity. Have the applicant talk to Doug Moore about this issue. A substantial fence that is extremely difficult (or impossible) for a person to cross needs to be located between tract H and the Resource Recovery Area with this proposed configuration. It would help if tract H was designed in such a way that a solid row of lots were provided in a configuration that wouldn't physically give any opportunities for pedestrians to get into the tract. 11. Park Planning - Show the trail on the site plan. 12. Park Planning - When the trail approaches Lake Ranch Road from the west, it should not cross at mid block, but rather cross at the intersection of Shallow Pond Drive and Lake Ranch Road. Otherwise if the trail goes through the open space tracts along the western edge of the property, the design looks fine. See the purple line on the redlined plans. 13. Please see the attached comment sheets from Traffic Operations, Engineering, and Transportation Planning. 14. I have not received any comments from 5tormwater or Natural Resources. If and when I do, I'll forward them on. I recommend that the applicant call Basil Hamdan and Doug Moore directly to discuss. I forwarded the redlines directly to the applicant. If you have any questions regarding these comments, please contact me or any of the departments listed above. nce�elyl, tl,� cc: - Applicant File 4 the two stubs at the southeast corner of the project can be eliminated. Otherwise, the connections must remain. 7. Current/Advance Planning - Fossil Creek Reservoir Sub -area Supplemental Regulations I.F.5.a.(2) states that "if any block face is over 700 feet long, then walkways connecting to other streets shall be provided at approximately mid -block or at intervals of at least every 650 feet, whichever is less." The northern block face of Green Spring Drive is required to have an additional mid -block pedestrian connection to satisfy this requirement. It looks like the most appropriate location for this would be along the west side of lot 8, connecting all the way down to Shallow Pond Drive. 8. Current/Advance Planning - Fossil Creek Reservoir Sub -area Supplemental Regulations I.F.4.f. requires that 90% of the dwellings in this project be located within a maximum of one-third mile of a one acre public or privately owned park. Such park must meet the design criteria required in I.F.4.f (1)-(5). The most recent approved preliminary layout shows a 1.6 acre park at the northeast corner of Lake Ranch Road and Shallow Pond Drive. This park is necessary in order to satisfy this standard, and must not be removed. It does not appear that the neighborhood center west of this site has any component that would satisfy this "small neighborhood park" criteria specified in I.F.4.f (1), which states the following: "Location. Such parks shall be highly visible, secure settings formed by the street layout and pattern of lots and easily observed from streets. Rear facades and rear yards of dwellings shall not abut more than two (2) sides or more than fifty (50) percent of the perimeter frontage of the park." The neighborhood center's garden area to the southeast of the pool complex is not formed by the street layout, is not easily observed from streets, and is abutted by rear facades and rear yards on more than 2 sides and more than 50% of the perimeter frontage of the park. If my memory serves me correct, there is an area across the street to the west of the neighborhood center in the Fossil Lake PUD that may possibly qualify as this small neighborhood park. If so, it still does not satisfy this requirement for the Swift Addition because this park is too far away to satisfy the requirement that 90% of the units be within a third of a mile from the "small neighborhood park." 9. Current/Advance Planning -For clarification, the Fort Collins Land Use Code defines "lot width" as follows: "Lot width shall mean the horizontal (plan view) distance between the side lot lines as measured along a straight line parallel to the front lot line or the chord thereof. The minimum lot width shall be measured between the side lot lines along a line that is parallel to the front lot line and located at the minimum front setback distance from the front lot line. In the case of cul-de-sac lots, the minimum lot width may be measured between the side lot lines along a line that is parallel to the front lot line and located at the actual front building line." Please use this definition when reviewing the minimum lot width of 100 feet that is required in the Urban Estate Area. On wedge shaped lots, this will require the building to be set back quite a ways from the street. 10. Current/Advance Planning - The configuration of Tract H seems to encourage pedestrian access between the backs of the residential lots and the Resource 3 4. Current/Advance Planning - Fossil Creek Reservoir Sub -area Supplemental Regulations II.B.2 requires that "the local street system shall provide multiple direct connections to and between local destinations such as parks, schools, shopping." The approved Preliminary PUD has a configuration of it's local street system in a manner that does in fact have streets and blocks that provide multiple direct connections between the lots in the neighborhood and the two streets that connect to the north of the site, where the future school and public park sites. These connections (from the approved Preliminary PUD) qualify as direct connections as a result of a grid -like network of streets that channel traffic toward either of the two connections. The grid street pattern typifies the ideal system of directness where one can go north or south, east or west to easily get to one's destination. The problem we see with curvilinear residential configurations with a predominance of cul-de-sacs is that the local street connections are forced to follow a circuitous route, which is the opposite of directness. The proposed new configuration of Green Spring Drive and North Shore Lane changes the approved grid -like nature of the layout so that the local street network provides a circuitous connection rather than the required direct connection between the lots in the neighborhood and the two streets that connect to the future school and park north of the site. Such a deviation of the requirements would require either a Modification of Standards in accordance with the process spelled out in Section 4.2.1.1-1 of the Larimer County Land Use Code or Alternative Compliance as specified in the Fossil Creek Reservoir Sub -area Supplemental Regulations II.B.8. 5. Current/Advance Planning - Fossil Creek Reservoir Sub -area Supplemental Regulations II.B.2 goes on to state the following: "Local streets must provide for both intra- and inter -neighborhood connections to knit developments together, rather than forming barriers between them. The street configuration within each parcel must contribute to the street system of the neighborhood." The proposed new configuration does not provide adequate intra-neighborhood connections that allow the neighborhood to knit together,, but rather proposes a local street system that forms barriers in the connectivity within the neighborhood itself. The cul-de-sac at the southern end of Green Spring Drive unnecessarily dead -ends when it could easily be connected with Rocky Stream Drive, therefore creating an unnecessary barrier to the connectivity of the local street network within the neighborhood. The design of the two cul-de-sacs that are part of Southview Court limit the street connectivity of lots 3 thru 18 to one point of connection with the remainder of the neighborhood, thereby creating another unnecessary barrier rather than the required intra-neighborhood local street connections. We would like to reiterate that the approved Preliminary PUD is fine with regard to this standard, however the proposed reconfiguration of the PUD does not satisfy the standards. Such a deviation of the requirements would require either a Modification of Standards in accordance with the process spelled out in Section 4.2.1.1-1 of the Larimer County Land Use Code or Alternative Compliance as specified in the Fossil Creek Reservoir Sub -area Supplemental Regulations II.B.8. 6. Current/Advance Planning - If the land to the east and south of this property gets restricted from development through the provision of a conservation easement, then F1 COmmc y Planning and Environmental Current Planning City of Fort Collins September 28, 2001 Matt Lafferty Lorimer County Planning Department P.O. Box 1190 Fort Collins, CO 80522-90 -vices City staff has reviewed the proposed changes to the approved preliminary layout of the Fossil Lake P.U.D. - Swift Addition that has been informally submitted by the applicant for comment, and we offer the following comments. DEPARTMENTAL CONTACTS: Current Planning - Advance Planning - Engineering Department- 5tormwater Utilities - Natural Resources Development Planner Transportation Planning Traffic Engineering COMMENTS: Troy Jones 221-6750 Pete Wray 221-6376 Sheri Womhoff 221-6605 Basil Hamden 221-6681 Doug Moore 221-6750 Tom Reiff 416-2040 Ward Stanford 221-6820 Current/Advance Planning - We strongly feel that the proposed change in the configuration to the approved Preliminary Fossil Lake PUD - Swift Addition is a substantial change to the approved plans and should be treated as a new project with full review and a full schedule of hearings. We feel the new configuration does not meet the Fossil Creek Reservoir Sub -area Supplemental Regulations in several fundamental ways, and therefore needs revisions bringing it up to standards or Alternative Compliance requests and/or Modifications to the standards. We would like to reiterate that this project will be annexed very soon after approval, so we feel very strongly that our interpretations of the language in the Fossil Creek Sub -area Supplemental Regulations be enforced during the review of this project. 2. Current/Advance Planning Please clarify where the trails and pedestrian paths are on the site plan. 3. Current/Advance Planning - Fossil Creek Reservoir Sub -area Supplemental Regulations II.B.1 defines "local street system" as "the interconnected system of collector, connector, and local streets providing access to development from an arterial street." This term is used in many of the following comments. 281 North College Avenue • P.O. Box 580 • Fort Collins, CO 80522-0580 • (970) 221-6750 • FAX (970) 416-2020