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HomeMy WebLinkAbout607 COWAN STREET - PDP - 35-99A - DECISION - MINUTES/NOTESPlanning and Zoning Board Minutes September 4, 2003 Page 9 with respect to how many people will live in each apartment. The partial pavement of the alley should help the traffic problems. The motion was approved 6-0. Project: Rigden Farm, 8th Filing, The Shops at Rigden (King Soopers), Project Development Plan Project Description: Request for a neighborhood service (shopping) center on 10.5 acres. There will be a total of 114,338 square feet of supermarket, retail and commercial uses in 7 buildings. A total of 453 parking spaces will be provided on the shopping center site. The property is located at the southeast corner of East Drake Road and south Timberline Road and is zoned NC, Neighborhood Commercial. Staff Recommendation: Approval Hearing Testimony, Written Comments and Other Evidence: City Planner Steve Olt gave the staff presentation, recommending approval. Planner Olt stated that the site is at the Southeast corner of Timberline Road and East Drake Road. The site takes up about 10 acres in a 23-acre neighborhood center parcel. King Soopers is the base of this project, it is a 66,000 square foot supermarket with 12,000 square feet of attached retail. As part of Phase One, there will also be other retail and a bank building. The entire parking lot, 453 spaces, will also be built in Phase One. The project is in compliance with Section 3 and Section 4.19, being the Neighborhood Commercial Center portion of the Land Use Code. The supermarket is subject to the City's Large Retail Establishment Section of the Code and it does meet the requirements. Architecturally, the supermarket will match the other retail buildings in Phase One. John Kozlowski, a developer of the project, stated that the project has been in the process for about two years. Jeff Anderson, the architect representative for Wyatt and Associates Architects, gave a presentation. Along Drake Road, two curb cuts are designed to get semi trucks in and out of the site. These cuts will preserve the existing cottonwood Planning and Zoning Board Minutes September 4, 2003 Page 8 comment on whether the structure has historic significance and if necessary, they will take it to the Land Preservation Committee for review and comment. Member Carpenter asked if this project did go to the Preservation Office. Director Gloss stated that it was referred to them. Member Carpenter stated that they usually provide a letter and it was odd in this case that they didn't. Member Colton moved for approval of the 607 Cowan Street Project Development Plan, File #35-99A citing the findings of fact and conclusions, as amended, in the staff report. Member Schmidt seconded the motion. Member Carpenter asked if an amendment could be made to the motion requiring a letter from the Preservation Office. Mr. Schlang stated that although there was no letter, the Preservation Office returned comments on the project indicating that the structure was not historically significant. Deputy City Attorney Eckman replied to Member Carpenter that the approval of the project could be conditioned upon the Planning Director receiving a letter from the Preservation Office. Member Carpenter replied that the letter would not need to come back to the Board as long as Director Gloss and staff did receive the letter. Member Colton stated that he would accept the amendment to the motion. Vice -Chairman Gavaldon stated that he was hesitant on the information given to make a decision on this development. He stated concern over the basements and the process required to get them finished, problems with parking if people do not go through the permit process to finish them, and problems with unrelated people living together. He also wanted to make sure an HOA was in place for architectural review. Member Schmidt stated that the applicants have done a good job getting the project to fit in with the neighborhood. There is not much that the Board can do Planning and Zoning Board Minutes September 4, 2003 Page 7 Member Craig asked about the pedestrian level of service and how it is determined. She asked if sidewalk access to the area school and Albertson's shopping center would fit into these criteria. Mr. Stanford replied that much of the pedestrian level of service criteria works for newly developing areas but that directness, connectivity, and ease of access standards to apply. Sidewalk improvements to current standards are required. A radius of approximately 1000 to 1320 feet around the project is considered with respect to connectivity. Director Gloss added that we have had some projects in the last few years where off -site sidewalk improvements have been required. There is always a value judgment on what appropriate requirements are for the Old Town area. Member Carpenter asked if the house planned to be raised is not considered historical on either the national or state levels as well as local, and why is it not considered historical. Director Gloss replied that he was unsure. Member Carpenter asked Mr. Schlang if he knew the age of the house. Mr. Schlang replied that he did not know the age but that the structure did not meet the historical age threshold for local, state, or federal. The home had no designation or history that was deemed significant. Member Gavaldon stated that the home would be considered historic if it were 50 years old or older. Member Carpenter replied that there is no age standard locally, historical significance is all that applies. Member Gavaldon asked if there was a process for that. Member Carpenter stated that she believed that the project would have to go to the Historic Preservation Department if the house were 50 years old or older. There is usually a letter to indicate the age of the property. Director Gloss stated that when a project application is submitted containing a structure that is 50 years old or older, the application is referred to the Preservation Office within the Advance Planning Department. They then provide Planning and Zoning Board Minutes September 4, 2003 Page 6 Vice -Chairman Gavaldon asked Director Gloss how assurance could be provided that the basements would not be finished and rented out as bedrooms. Director Gloss replied that all parking assumptions have been made on upper level bedroom calculations. Member Craig asked why the basements were put in at all, was if for storage? Mr. Schlang replied that in Colorado, it is a typical means of construction because of the climate. Member Craig asked if the parking issues would be revisited should someone apply for a building permit to finish the basement. Director Gloss replied that parking would be reviewed. Member Craig asked where the parking would go. Director Gloss replied that there are not many options for providing additional long-term parking. Member Craig asked what the mitigation was going to be for the tree removal. Director Gloss replied that five of the trees were considered significant by the City Forester and that mitigation trees would be provided as per the standards in Article 3. That mitigation number could be anywhere from 5 to 6 trees depending on the significance of the tree that is being lost. Director Gloss stated that he did not know exactly where the mitigation trees were going to be provided but that City Planner Bob Barkeen had gone through the landscape plan to assure that the mitigation trees were there. Member Craig asked if the trees could be smaller in number but each larger in size. Director Gloss replied that the Code standards state that appropriate mitigation is left to staff discretion with advice from the City Forester. There are minimum sizes for trees in the Code. Member Craig asked if the option of getting larger trees could be explored. Planning and Zoning Board Minutes September 4, 2003 Page 5 Vice -Chairperson Gavaldon asked Ward Stanford, with the Traffic Operations Department, to address the speeding concerns. Mr. Stanford replied that the neighbors could contact the Neighborhood Traffic Safety Program to do some possible mitigation. Primarily the issue is one of enforcement and the neighbors can contact the police department to ask them to police the roads and alleys occasionally. Member Craig asked if the mitigation could be done in the alley as well as the street — could a speed bump be put in the alley? Mr. Stanford replied that speed bumps would not be placed in alleys and that their narrow width is designed to keep speeds low. Speed bumps have not been found to reduce speeds as drivers slow down to approach them and then speed up faster. Speed bumps also add to noise. Member Craig reiterated that mitigation measures could only be taken in the streets, not the alleys. Member Craig asked if the alley was currently dirt and if paving the alley would worsen the traffic and speeding situation. Director Gloss replied that the alley is currently gravel and that only the north end of the alley abutting the property would be paved. Arguments in support of paving the alley include a reduction in mud and spread gravel. Conversely, paving may promote high traffic speeds and more use. Paving the north end of the alley should help concentrate the trips there rather than all the way through the block. There is no way to control the exact traffic pattern however. Vice -Chairman Gavaldon asked the applicant why the single-family house is being razed rather than being relocated to a vacant lot. Mr. Schlang replied that it was the developers choice, likely related to cost- effectiveness. The house did not fall within any historic guidelines. Vice -Chairman Gavaldon asked if a Homeowners Association had been set up. Mr. Schlang replied that he did not believe so and that the project had been started with another developer and was recently sold to another party. Vice -Chairman Gavaldon asked how the building exterior would be maintained and how the basements would be prevented from being used as bedrooms. Mr. Schlang replied that the prior developer did have an association whose covenants controlled those issues. Planning and Zoning Board Minutes September 4, 2003 Page 4 provided with those and whether or not the basements are being counted as bedrooms. With respect to spill -over parking, there is about 350 feet of frontage available for on -street parking on the two street sides of the corner lot, excluding the no parking zones at the corners. Vice -Chairman Gavaldon asked the applicant to respond to the question regarding basements. Mr. Schlang replied that the basements are unfinished and that part of the review criteria was that the basements not be finished or used as bedrooms. If the basements were to be finished, a building permit would have to be pulled. There is not enough parking to accommodate an increase in bedrooms, thus any application for a permit to finish the basements would likely be denied by the City. There are windows in the basements, however a specific size has not been determined. Vice -Chairman Gavaldon asked if the windows would be designed as egress. Mr. Schlang replied that if the City required that they not be egress windows, they would not be designed that way. Vice -Chairman Gavaldon asked Mr. Schlang to comment on the alley access and traffic issues. Mr. Schlang replied that the drive aisle between the southern two buildings continues all the way through the site, thus providing access to Cowan Street. Circulation could therefore occur from Cowan Street for those 8 units. That access was required by the fire department. Additionally, each unit has a single - car garage making 16 of the parking spaces within the building. The buildings are for sale units at this time, not for rent. It would be possible for them to be rented at a later date, however. There are improvements required by the City for the alley. Director Gloss stated that the alley would be required to be improved to City standards including undergrounding any utility service lines, addressing any drainage issues, and paving the alley to width standards. The project would generate about 120 trips per day, based on traffic counts. Given the performance of existing intersections in the area, staff did not find any problem meeting the level of service standards in the area, both for vehicle and pedestrian/bicycle traffic. Planning and Zoning Board Minutes September 4, 2003 Page 3 9 of the staff report in which the zone district is referred to as E, Employment. The zone district should be NCM — Neighborhood Conservation Medium Density. Mark Schlang with Thomas Lang Architects offered to answer any questions as the applicant. He did not have an additional presentation. Public Input Kathy Norris, 624 Stover Street, gave her testimony to the Board. She stated that she was excited to see the property being redeveloped; however, she expressed concern regarding alley access for the primary parking at the location. She stated that there are a few existing parking spaces across the alley from the site and that those cars tend to travel at a high rate of speed down the alley. The proposed site is designed such that all the parking will be accessed via the alley and Ms. Norris would like to see the site reversed so that the parking access would be from the street instead of the alley. Carl George, 612 Cowan Street, gave his testimony to the Board. He also expressed concern over the high use of the alleys as well as the on -street parking situation given the high number of apartments, visitors, and renters in the area. Sarah Dentom, 601 Colorado, gave her testimony to the Board. She stated that she was present at the May 2002 neighborhood meeting and understood that the units were 2-bedroom with full basements. Her concern was whether or not the plan allowed for enough parking spaces for the actual number of bedrooms which will eventually occupy the property. Karen Balog, 521 Stover Street, gave her testimony to the Board. She stated that she was pleased with the exterior of the building but that she was also concerned with traffic and speeding on the streets in the area and stated that the proposed complex would add 32 to 48 cars to the neighborhood. Public Input Closed Vice -Chairperson Gavaldon asked Director Gloss and the applicant to address the parking and traffic issues brought up during Public Input. Director Gloss stated that 28 parking spaces are required and provided in the plan, based on the bedroom count of the units. One citizen was concerned about the basements potentially being bedrooms. As there are emergency egress requirements, the architect will need to be asked if the basements are being Planning and Zoning Board Minutes September 4, 2003 Page 2 parcels that have been purchased with Open Space money. The POL zone was a carry-over from years ago. Member Craig requested that a draft of the minutes be provided at the Friday worksession prior to presenting City Council with the recommendation. Director Gloss replied that could be done. The motion was approved 6-0. Project: 607 Cowan Street — Project Development Plan, #35-99A Project Description: Request for a 16 unit multi -family complex located at the southwest corner of Cowan Street and Myrtle Street. The multi -family buildings will be arranged into four 4-unit buildings, two stories in height. Off street parking will be provided in both surface parking stalls and in attached garage units. The currently located single family home will be razed. The property is zoned NCM — Neighborhood Conservation Medium Density District. Staff Recommendation: Approval Hearing Testimony, Written Comments and Other Evidence: Director Gloss gave the staff presentation, recommending approval. Director Gloss stated that the building elevations on the south will be similar in size to that of a single-family home. The elevations on the west and east will be larger in mass. Parking will be provided at the back of the lots abutting the alley. There is also a substantial amount of on -street parking. Contextually, there are single- family houses to the east, apartments to the south, north, and west. A neighborhood meeting was conducted on May 20, 2002 with 4 neighbors in attendance. The main issues were related to building compatibility and on -street parking influences. Water pressure issues and alley and street improvements were also questioned at the meeting. Director Gloss pointed out an error on page Council Liaison: Karen Weitkunat Chairperson: Mikal Torgerson Vice Chair: Jerry Gavaldon Staff Liaison: Cameron Gloss Phone: (W) 416-7435 Phone:(H) 484-2034 Chairperson Torgerson called the meeting to order at 6:32 p.m. Roll Call: Schmidt, Colton, Meyer, Carpenter, Craig, and Gavaldon. Staff Present: Gloss, Eckman, Stanford, Jones, Olt, Deines. Director of Current Planning Cameron Gloss reviewed the Consent and Discussion Agendas: Consent Agenda: 1. Minutes of the April 10, 2003 Planning and Zoning Board Hearing. (Continued) 2. #23-03 City of Fort Collins Vehicle Storage and Operations Service Maintenance Facility Rezoning Discussion Agenda: 3. #35-99A 607 Cowan Street Project Development Plan 4. #56-98R Rigden Farm, 81h Filing, The Shops at Rigden (King Soopers) Project Development Plan 5. #56-98U Rigden Farm, 10th Filing, Pioneer Charter School Site Plan Advisory Review 6. #29-03 325 Cherry Street Modification of Standards Planning Director Gloss stated that the August 21, 2003 meeting minutes would be completed in the next week in preparation for a City Council Report regarding the Vine Drive and 1-25 Rezoning. Member Schmidt moved for approval of Consent Item 2. Member Craig seconded the motion. Member Colton stated that he had been concerned about the City of Fort Collins Vehicle Storage and Operations Service Maintenance Facility Rezoning given that the site had originally been zoned Public Open Lands. Doug Moore, with the City Natural Resources Department, informed Member Colton prior to the hearing, that the property had not been purchased with Open Space money as the City does not rezone POL