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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTRAILHEAD ANNEXATION & ZONING - 43-02 - CORRESPONDENCE - (3)Lack of demonstrated need to change the Mountain Vista Sub -Area Plan As we understand it, the criteria for changing the Mountain Vista Sub -Area Plan is to 1) demonstrate that the Plan is in need of amendment; and, 2) demonstrate that the Plan Amendment will promote the public welfare, and be consistent with City Plan Principles and Policies. We believe the Trailhead project can meet these criteria in the following ways: 1) Demonstrate the need for changing .......... We suggest that the Plan needs to be changed because at least one of the assumptions that governed the original land use designations is no longer valid. We are referring to the decision to not designate Vine Drive as a truck route. Without the truck route being a consideration, it seems illogical that this section of land would have been given an E District designation for two reasons. It is surrounded by LMN designated land and there is already a large amount of E District land located to the north. 2) Demonstrate that the Plan Amendment will promote the public welfare ................. The proposed Trailhead project is not only an attractively designed project meeting all the requirements of residential projects in City Plan, it will also provide needed affordable housing. The existing Waterglen project demonstrated both the need for and acceptance of affordable housing in this area. Homes sales have exceeded the City average by a ratio of 2:1. Habitat for Humanity has built a number of houses in Waterglen and is interested in providing more housing units in the Trailhead development. The need for affordable housing is well documented and clearly the development of additional affordable housing would promote the public welfare and be consistent with City Plan Principles and Policies. While we were disappointed to hear the initial response from the Growth Management Lead Team, we are prepared to go forward to the Planning and Zoning Board and City Council whether or not the staff recommends approval of our Structure Plan Amendment request. However, we very much want to continue a positive dialogue with the staff on these issues, so that ultimately the decision -makers will have the benefit of a clear, well thought out, and unbiased evaluation of the pros and cons of approving this change. Sincerely, VF RIPLEY ASSOCIATES Linda Ripley Principal C6 : -�7e b P,.-A �- k_e Y While we agree that having a railroad track in your backyard is not the most desirable situation, we disagree that the proximity of this project to this railroad track represents a substantial negative impact to residents. Unfortunately at this time we don't have precise data about train operations at the site. however, it appears at the present time that the volume of trains is relatively low, and the speed of travel is also low, making the noise factor substantially less than it might be at other locations. Secondly, the tracks are below the grade at which future homes would be built, allowing the grade differential to serve as sound abatement. Lastly, the railroad tracks are separated from future residential development by a 140-foot wide Larimer Weld Canal right of way, as well as by an intervening open space located between the canal and the tracks, such that the separation between the tracks and future backyards varies from 210 to 240 feet, a distance considerably wider than many locations in Ft. Collins where residential development is located adjacent to railroad tracks. We would also point out that land south of Vine Drive in this location also has a railroad track through it and yet is designated LMN. The remnant E designated parcel to the west The City of Fort Collins has an incredible history of mixed -use development demonstrating time and again how different land uses can develop adjacent to each other without detrimental impacts. Existing projects such as Woodward Governor at Prospect and Lemay, demonstrate that the integration that mixed -use development provides, can not only be attractive, but can also have positive consequences, such as creating opportunities for residents to walk or ride their bike to work. Designating the Trailhead Property LMN would in fact keep the Waterglen residential development from being surrounding by the E District and separated from other residential projects. From the standpoint of ''remnant" zoning parcels, it would seem worse to have an isolated residential development when we put so much emphasis on encouraging social interaction and connectivity between neighborhoods. The further decrease of E designated parcels with in the City Our understanding is that whether or not the City has an adequate supply of E- designated property is a question that staff hopes to answer as part of the Land Use Code evaluation process currently underway. We were not aware that any conclusions had been drawn at this time. One thing seems clear. If there is a need for more E- Zoned land in the future, the City will receive requests for land use changes in that direction. We suggest that it would be better to analyze each proposed change to the Structure Plan on it's own merits and not in response to some undetermined and undefined shortage of E District land. Certainly there is no shortage of E District land in this northeast corner of our City. If anything, this corner of the City is out of balance, too heavily weighted with E District land. If one of our primary goals is to allow residents to live close to where they work in order to encourage alternative modes of transportation, then isn't it logical to include a larger proportion of residential land area in this northeast corner? November 12, 2002 Mr. Cameron Gloss Director of Planning City of Fort Collins 281 North College Avenue Ft. Collins, CO 80521 Dear Cameron, Bob Barkeen sent the attached E-mail last Friday letting us know that the proposed Structure Plan Amendment for the Trailhead Annexation was discussed at the Growth Management Lead Team last week. He indicated that the Lead Team recommended that the Structure Plan not be amended as requested, listing reasons for not supporting the change. Before the staff makes a final/official decision on this matter we wanted you and other staff members to have the benefit of our response to the reasons listed in the E-mail. The future interchange with Vine Drive and 1-25 As far as we know, the schedule for interchange improvements at Vine Drive and 1-25 isn't known at this time. These improvements could be 20 or 30 years out. Given that the City of Fort Collins determined that Vine Drive was not suitable as.a truck route, we are uncertain whether CDOT would ever invest the funds to improve the interchange. The Trailhead Property is located west of the existing Waqterglen residential development, such that the project would not be affected by the interchange improvements if they did occur in the future. The undeniable success of the Waterglen development demonstrates that proximity to an Interstate Highway is not a deterrent to homebuyers. In fact many homeowners in Waterglen selected the location because of easy access to 1-25. For a commuter, living close to interstate access is a plus. The proximity to the Burlington Northern rail line If the site were to develop with an industrial land use, right of way limitations and physical constraints make accessing the railroad tracks unlikely. Therefore the tracks do not represent an asset for the proposed Employment District.