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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPOUDRE DEVELOPMENT REZONE - 1-01 - CORRESPONDENCE - CITY COUNCIL;ed Shepard - Oxbow Rezoning.doc _ Page 5 Neighborhood with a Neighborhood Commercial Center at its core." Staff s review of the City's Structure Plan map concludes that there is no neighborhood commercial center nor a medium density mixed -use neighborhood in the vicinity of the subject property to justify the placement of a LMN District. Staff also believes that it would be quite a stretch to interpret the downtown area as being the needed neighborhood commercial center and medium density mixed -use neighborhood district to justify the LMN Zone. In addition, the LMN Zone does not include the development standards to protect the river. Floodplain Issues The subject property is currently in the floodplain of the Poudre River and this causes several issues for development of the property as well as for developments located farther to the east, regardless of the manner in which it is zoned. The City's current floodplain regulations prohibit the development of new residential housing in the Poudre River floodplain. The draft Poudre River Drainageway Master Plan recommends construction of a levee on the subject property with the actual location to be determined. The City's interest in the levee is to protect the existing developments in Buckingham and along Lincoln Avenue farther to the east. The location of the levee is flexible and will be determined with the ultimate use of the subject property as long as it protects the developments to the east. The implications are as follows: If the property stays in the floodplain, then new development would only be allowed outside of the floodway and product corridor. Residential development and critical facilities would not be allowed. Except for a small portion in the northwest corner of the property the property is in the 100-year floodplain of the Poudre River. A large majority of the floodplain portion of the property is outside of the product corridor and floodway. The floodway and product corridor is located adjacent to the river channel on the west side. If the property is removed from the floodplain, it will be necessary to revise the FEMA maps through the CLOMR and LOMR process. When completed, new residential development would be allowed. The Conditional Letter of Map Revision (CLOMR) means the proposed project conditionally meets FEMA criteria provided it is built according to the submitted materials. The Letter of Map Revision (LOMR) means that after the review of the as -built plans the project meets FEMA criteria and the official FEMA maps are revised for the project. led Shepard -Oxbow Rezoning.doc district may contain a use, or several uses, which if allowed to develop on a parcel could create negative impacts on surrounding properties. It is almost a given by definition that permitted uses in a zoning district are inherently compatible with other permitted uses in the district and that permitted uses would have similar impacts on surrounding properties. However, a mixed -use zoning district may contain a series of uses that in 95%-99% of potential situations the permitted uses would be compatible with each other and could locate adjacent to other uses without significant negative impacts. It is in those special, almost unique, situations where a permitted use in a district would not fit into an area. Prior to the adoption of the Land Development Guidance System in 1981, the City operated under a zoning ordinance similar to the current Land Use Code. In rezoning cases between 1965 and 1980, when some of the permitted uses in a proposed district were questionable from a negative impact perspective, the City used a "conditional" zoning technique to limit the number of permitted uses for a subject property. For example, if a district permitted residential, office, and retail uses and, yet, for whatever reason the retail uses were deemed inappropriate for the area, then the property would be rezoned into the proposed zone with a zoning condition limiting the uses to residential and office development only and precluding retail uses. Conditional zoning has some positive and negative aspects. On the positive side, conditional zoning allows for the tailoring an existing zoning district into a "better fit"' for an area without the need to develop a new district for special circumstances. On the negative side, zonings conditions can become difficult to monitor and the process can be abused to the point of "spot zoning" properties. Staff s proposal for a conditional zoning approach on the subject property would be to place the property into the CCR District, with a zoning condition dealing with residential development as follows: Development of the property must be of a mixed -use nature as the term is defined in the City's Land Use Code, and must contain a substantial amount of residential development as one of the uses. Planning and Zoning Board's Recommendation: Rezone the Property to the LMN, Low Density Mixed -Use Neighborhood District This option is to rezone the subject property into the LMN, Low Density Mixed -Use Neighborhood, District, as recommended by the Planning and Zoning Board. Staff understands why the Planning and Zoning Board made this recommendation as a means to implement the "H" and "River Corridor" housing map designations and policies from the Downtown Plan. Staff believes the Board was looking for a district that was more "residential" in nature than the CCR District. Unfortunately, staff sees no City Plan policy position for justification of the LMN District for the subject property. According to the Land Use Code's "Purpose" statement for the LMN District, "Low Density Neighborhoods will be clustered around a Medium Density Mixed -Use Ted Shepard.-_O_xbow Rezoning_doc Page 3 Staff recommends the property be rezoned from the T, Transition, District to the CCR, Community Commercial — Poudre River, District. The major justification for the rezoning is the same now as it was in 1996 when the property was rezoned from IG to RC and proposed for placement into the CCR Zone in 1997 as part of the City Plan comprehensive citywide rezoning effort. That justification is from the Downtown Plan that contains the following implementation strategy with regards to properties in the Poudre River corridor: Comprehensively rezone all annexed properties within the Downtown corridor of the Poudre River to the CCR, Community Commercial — Poudre River, District. - The Downtown Plan contains the following Major Policy regarding land use: Cluster basic land use activities in distinct and compact district located to promote the movement of pedestrians between areas and to efficiently use public services and facilities. A mix of complimentary and supportive uses will be encouraged in each of these districts. Staff believes the above major policy indicates that the Downtown Plan intended all of its sub- district areas to be mixed -use areas and not be devoted to a single type of land use. The Downtown Plan also contains two maps, one called a Concept Plan and the other Special Opportunities map, that placed an "H" for housing on the subject property. A third map, a Housing Plan, designates the property as "Poudre River" housing which is a designation for "mixed density, all residential types." These map designations are supported by a series of policy statements encouraging development of various housing types and densities in the Downtown area. Yet, in spite of the map designations and policy statements, the Downtown Plan directs that the subject property be placed into the CCR Zone. Staff, therefore, concludes, that while the maps indicate that housing would be the preferred land use for the subject property, the Downtown Plan did not intend for housing to be the only land use allowed on the subject property. Staff s recommendation for a consistent decision by the City for the zoning of the subject property into the CCR Zone is also supported by the example of the zoning applied to the Link- N-Greens property located south of Lincoln Avenue and west of Lemay Avenue. The Link-N- Greens property has the same Downtown Plan "H" and "Poudre River" housing map designations as the subject property. The Link-N-Greens property was placed into the CCR Zone as a result of the City Plan rezoning process. Rezoning Option #1: CCR District, with Land Use Conditions This option proposes rezoning the subject property into the CCR District, but adding zoning condition to require residential development on the property. It is a classic problem with zoning ordinances that in a rezoning process, the proposed zoning 'Ted Shepard -Oxbow Rezoning.docPage 2 family or multi -family dwellings." The IG Zone contained some landscaping and screening requirements to buffer non-residential development from adjacent residentially zoned properties, but did not contain any specific development requirements for dealing with the Poudre River corridor environment. In 1986, the City adopted the Poudre River Trust — Land Use Policy Plan to provide public policy guidance for development within the Poudre River corridor. And, in 1987, the City developed a new zoning district, the RC, River Corridor, District, to be specifically applied to "areas developing within the Downtown River Corridor "of the Poudre River. The RC Zone was a mixed -use zoning district permitting residential, commercial, office, and light industrial uses. The RC Zone also contained specific development standards for dealing with the Poudre River environment. In June 1989, the City adopted the Downtown Plan as an element of the City's Comprehensive Plan. And, in 1996 the property was rezoned (downzoned) from IG to the RC Zone as a method of helping to implement the Poudre River Trust — Land Use Policy Plan and the Downtown Plan. The IG to RC rezoning was opposed by the property -owner. In 1997, as City Plan was nearing completion and the new Land Use Code was being prepared for adoption, a new zoning district, the CCR, Community Commercial — Poudre River, District, was designed to replace the former RC Zone. Like its predecessor the RC Zone, the CCR Zone is a mixed -use zone allowing a wide range of residential and non-residential uses. The CCR Zone also includes development standards to protect the scenic and natural features of the river corridor. As part of the comprehensive citywide rezoning effort of City Plan, staff proposed the subject property be rezoned from the RC Zone to CCR Zone. Also, at that time, the City was planning on embarking on a more detailed land use planning effort with Larimer County for the Poudre River corridor. This proposed planning effort could have resulted in yet another proposed rezoning of the subject property. The property -owner was presented with only two options for the zoning of the property at the time of the City Plan citywide rezoning effort: 1) accept the CCR Zone as the replacement for the RC Zone on the property, or 2) place the property into the T, Transition, District pending the outcome of the City/County river corridor land use planning effort. The property -owner opted for the T Zone. The property -owner is now requesting the property be removed from the T Zone and placed into the CCR Zone, essentially asking the City to complete the City Plan rezoning it had proposed in 1997. Staffs Recommendation: Approval of the requested CCR District Note: The CCR Zone was developed as a substitute for the former RC Zone. The Downtown Plan was prepared before the development of the CCR Zone and, thus, only contains references to the RC Zone. In order to avoid confusion, from this point on this memorandum will substitute the CCR Zone for all references from the Downtown Plan to the former RC Zone and will do so by showing the wording in italics. 1 ed Shepard Oxbow Rezoning.doc Page 1 April 24, 2001 MEMORANDUM TO: Mayor Martinez and Members of the City Council TH: John Fischbach, City Manager Greg Byrne, Director of Community Planning and Environmental Services FM: Joe Frank, Advance Planning Department Director RE: Poudre Development Parcel Rezoning The purpose of this memorandum is to present the Advance Planning Department's recommendation on the proposed rezoning of 21.7 acres of land located north of Lincoln Avenue, east of Linden Street, south of Buckingham Street, and west of First Street, known as the Poudre Development Parcel Rezoning. The memorandum will also present staff's justifications for its recommendation, as well as present some zoning options the City Council may wish to consider. Staff Recommendation: Approval of the request to rezone the property into the CCR, Community Commercial -Poudre River, District. Options: The following are options for the Council to consider if the staff s recommendation for rezoning is not adopted: 1. Rezone the property into with the CCR District, with land use conditions. 2. Planning and Zoning Board's Recommendation: Rezone the property into the LMN, Low Density Mixed -Use Neighborhood District. Brief Zoning and Planning Policy History of the Subject Property: The property was placed into the IG, General Industrial, District during a comprehensive rezoning of the entire city in 1965. The IG Zone permitted, "Any use other than one -family, two-