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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRIGDEN FARM 5TH FILING, LOT 1 REPLAT, RIGDEN LOFTS AT SETTLER'S GREEN - PDP - 56-98AT - CORRESPONDENCE - RESPONSE TO CITIZENSincerely, 2863 Sitting Bull Way Jeremy and Mary Siemers 2851 Sitting Bull Way Matt and Jennifer Siwicke 2839 Sitting Bull Way Shane and Sharon Basinger 2827 Sitting Bull Way Joe and Dolores Daniels 2815 Sitting Bull Way Jim and Susan Riphahn 2803 Sitting Bull Way Rick and Karen Ellerby Please contact me if you have additional comments or concerns to express or would like more information on the development review process. At such time an Administrative Public Hearing is scheduled for the Rigden Lofts at Settler's Green, Project Development Plan - (Planning & Zoning Department file #56-98AT) you will be notified by letter from this office, which will be mailed at least 2 weeks prior to the date of the public hearing. Sincerely, -- G%,V� Steve Olt, Project Planner Phone: (970)221-6341 E-mail: solt(a)fcgov.com cc: Cameron Gloss, Director of Planning & Zoning Dana McBride, McBride Homes Inc. Planning & Zoning file #56-98AT 31 The Rigden Farm Filing 5, Settler's Green PDP, as approved and recorded, allows 5 multi family dwelling units on Lot 1 adjacent to Rigden Parkway and Custer Drive. Whether the multi family units of the proposed single-family detached units are constructed, the access to the on -site garages and/or surface parking must be from the alley behind the units. Replacement and setbacks for the proposed garages are presently being evaluated with the Rigden Lofts at Settler's Green - Project Development Plan, being a Replat of Lot 1 of Rigden Farm Filing 5, Settler's Green PDP. In the event of another heavy winter, snow removal will also be problematic. Since public alleys are not plowed by the city, the height and density of the proposed structures will block the sun for melting, and there are not any open areas available to push snow to, it is difficult to imagine what can happen to insure the eleven residents and emergency vehicles have access to the homes. Is there any assistance the city can provide? The height and density of the proposed single-family detached dwellings would not create any more of an adverse impact on potential snow melt in and along the alley than would a 5 plex multi family building that is already approved and could be constructed. Another question we share is that of street parking. Our neighborhood has limited street parking as it is. Sitting Bull Way is narrow (45') and parking is allowed on only one side. None of the eleven residences have driveways that accommodate parking, and there is only one extra parking space existing. There are not auxiliary lots for parking in the neighborhood other than the barn lot, which is only available for short-term parking and if the barn is not reserved for a function. Again contrast this to the other alley which although the same width has 15 extra off alley and driveway parking spaces. All of which provide extra room to maneuver. The proposed 5 single-family detached dwellings, each to contain 3 bedrooms, must provide at least 2 parking spaces for each unit on -site. They will be doing this in the 2-car garages for each unit. Public street parking in any neighborhood in the City of Fort Collins is intended for additional or guest parking for residential uses and is provided on a first come -first serve basis. We do appreciate the fact that Mr. McBride has purchased the subject lot with the desire to design something new and innovative and exciting for our neighborhood. We would welcome the opportunity to work with him to resolve the issues we have outlined in this letter. There are many possible designs that could be both compatible and innovative. We thank the planning department for the opportunity to express our thoughts and questions. We are looking forward to leaning more about our questions and concerns. 5 The project proposes five 2.5 story houses. Placing five such tall, narrow structures so close together would seem to have a dwarfing effect on the existing structures and open space presently surrounding the project. The project (as you face it with your back to Timberline) is located directly behind the round -about, to the left of the historic farm house, barn and open space, to the right of the existing one story and two story La Grange project and it's open space, and directly in front of our 2 story houses. The applicant, Dana McBride, is proposing 5 single-family detached houses on 5 separate lots. The houses are proposed to be 2.5 stories, or 33 ; in height, with steeply pitched roofs from their eaves at 18' to 24' above grade (depending on the side of the house) up to the peaks of the roofs at 33'. The permitted S plex multi- family building could be up to 2.5 stories in height and could equal or slightly exceed the 33' as proposed by this developer. Also, it could be one single mass building with a consistent roofline at whatever height might be proposed. City staff and the developer are currently in the City's development review process, which contains Project and Compatibility standards, as well as Residential Building standards that are being evaluated with this development request. Ultimately staff will take a recommendation to an Administrative Hearing Officer, based on the requirements set forth in the City's Land Use Code, for a decision on the proposal. In addition to the density and height of the proposed project there is the question of architectural compatibility. The design is basically five tall narrow buildings with the P floor roof line cut diagonally to produce 2.5 story contemporary loft residences. No basements are planned so the entire 1700 square feet of living space for each home is above the ground. The applicant, Dana McBride, is proposing 5 single-family detached houses on 5 separate lots. The houses are proposed to be 2.5 stories, or 33 , in height. The houses are approximately 48' in length and 22' wide. The entire 1, 734 square feet of living space is proposed to be in the 2.5 stories above grade. The 6 existing homes on Sitting Bull Way are 2 stories in height, with the height in feet being 28' to 30'. The amount of living space above grade in these 6 houses ranges from 1,453 to 1,914 square feet (based on City Building Permit records). As previously stated, this request is currently in the development review process, with the site planning and houses being evaluated against the Project and Compatibility standards, as well as Residential Building standards of the Land Use Code. Each house is also to have a 2-car garage in the back accessing the public alley. The public alley is also of concern to us. What is the code requirement for turning radius on driveways? This project will place eleven 2-car garages on an alley that is 17.5 feet wide, 240 feet long and crescent shaped. Compare this to the other public alley behind the even numbered side of Sitting Bull Way which is also 17.5 feet wide, 650 feet long and has nineteen 2-car and eight 1-car garages on it, and is not crescent shaped. Accessing the garages will be tricky at best. 0 The project proposed by Mr. McBride would construct 5 individual houses of 1700 sq' each on the subject lot which is .27 acre in total. Mr. McBride refers to these structures as "small houses." In fact they are larger in square footage than some of our homes on Sitting Bull Way. In order to accomplish his design the buildings each need to be 2.5 stories tall and placed very close together side -to -side. They will also stretch from back to front covering almost the entire land space. The only green space left will be a small yard on the front side of the structures. Because of the crescent shape of the lot the buildings will fan out from the back to the front. Although there is a minimal space between the buildings it will be visually lost because of the fan shape It is correct that Mr. McBride is proposing 5 individual houses containing 1, 734 square feet each on lots ranging from 2,093 square feet to 3,122 square feet in size. The size of these proposed houses are less than the 2,198 square feet to 3,007 square feet in the houses (including basements, based on City Building Permit records) that exist on Sitting Bull Way, across the alley, and are located on lots ranging from 3,893 square feet to 4,734 square feet in size. The house sizes referenced in both cases do not include garages. The 5 new houses will be 6' apart at the fronts and fan out to 11 ' apart at the backs, near the alley. They will be set back 20' to 35' from the front property lines/back of sidewalk along the street and they will be set back 6' to 10' from the edge of the alley (because they are not square to the alley). The existing houses on Sitting Bull Way appear to be set back 9' to 15' from the back of sidewalk along the street and 6' to 10' from the alley (based on aerial photography available on the Larimer County Assessor's website). Several of the existing homes have detached garages, thus creating small interior yards between the houses and the garages. Also, they would appear to be 10' to 15' apart. All dwelling units in Settler's Green are permitted to have 6' garage door setbacks from alleys. We understand that our filing was designed for urban density. Looking at the subject lot we question if there is space available for five separate utility taps. What is the density ruling and is there a possibility that we have already met the requirements? Currently in our filing there are two 5 units, 24 houses, and 10 carriage houses making a total of 44 residences. Not all of the carriage houses have been permitted as separate residences at this time, however they were built with the understanding that they could be permitted. The current development review process will help City staff and the applicant determine if space is available for 5 separate utility taps and how they would be provided, if able. The current "density ruling"for Rigden Farm Filing 5, Settler's Green PDP, as stated on the recorded Site Plan for the development, is a "Total of 39 to 54 Units (Depends on # of Lofts) ". This allowance is for all Lots 1 through 27 of the recorded development plan. It would appear, therefore, that at least 10 additional dwelling units can be constructed in Settler's Green. The allowance, up to 54 units, will occur on a first come -first serve basis. 3 ************************************************************************ Steve Olt: City Planner City of Ft Collins Planning and Zoning Board 281 N. College Ft Collins, CO 80525 July 1, 2007 Dear Mr. Olt: This letter comes to you in regard to the proposed plat change for Lot 1 located in Rigden Farm Settlers' Green Filing and bordered by Custer Drive, Rigden Drive and the public alley behind the odd numbered side of Sitting Bull Way. The six residents who currently own and reside in the houses also bordering the public alley have met with Mr. Mc Bride and viewed his proposed plans for development of the lot. We have also met as a group to discuss our thoughts regarding his proposal. As a result of these discussions we would like to share with the planning department some of our concerns and questions. We want to begin by saying that all of us were informed at the time we built our homes that the subject lot had been zoned for a multi -family 5 unit structure and was to be "something like" the one already built on the corner of DesMoines and Rigden by Bob Hand, our developer. The exact plan had not been approved because the structure needed to be modified for the unusual shape of the subject lot. The change that is being proposed is significantly different from the communicated design in both density and style. It is correct that Lot 1 of Rigden Farm Filing 5, Settler's Green PDP is currently approved for a 5-unit multi family residential building. The recorded Site Plan document that City staff is charged with enforcing does state: Lot 1 - 5 Plex ...No building permit will be granted for construction on any multi family lot until the architectural elevations, site, landscape & utility plans for such construction have been approved by the Director. To date, no exact plan for a 5 plex multi family building on Lot 1 has been submitted for review by City staff. Recently an architect/developer has submitted a Site Plan and Subdivision Plat for the purpose of subdividing Lot 1 into 5 individual lots containing single-family detached dwellings. It is unclear to City staff what the previously communicated design and style for the approved 5 plex multi family building would look like because none has been reviewed; however, the residential density on Lot 1, or Lots I - 5 if approved with the replat, would be identical because the size of the 'parcel of land" containing 5 dwelling units would not change. The parcel is 0.27 acres (11, 778 square feet) in size, resulting in a residential density of 18.5 dwelling units per acre, whether there are 5 single- family detached units or 5 multi family units. 2 Community Planning and Environmental . _rvices Current Planning City of Fort Collins July 24, 2007 Rick and Karen Ellerby 2803 Sitting Bull Way Jim and Susan Riphahn 2815 Sitting Bull Way Joe and Dolores Daniels 2827 Sitting Bull Way Shane and Sharon Basinger 2839 Sitting Bull Way Matt and Jennifer Siwicke 2851 Sitting Bull Way Jeremy and Mary Siemers 2863 Sitting Bull Way Dear Residents of Sitting Bull Way, Following are City staff responses (in italics) to the letter received from the 6 residences south and west of Sitting Bull Way regarding the Replat of Lot 1 of Rigden Farm Filing 5, Settler's Green PDP, now known as Rigden Lofts at Settler's Green, Project Development Plan - (Planning & Zoning Department file #56-98AT). The applicant, Dana McBride, has submitted a Project Development Plan to the City that contains a request to replat Lot 1 of Rigden Farm Filing 5, Settler's Green into 5 individual lots for the purpose of constructing 5 single-family detached houses instead of the previously approved (and recorded) 5-plex multi -family building. The proposed Project Development Plan is a pending application (submitted on June 5, 2007), subject to an Administrative (Type 1) Review by City staff and affected outside service agencies. It has been through one round of City staff review. Staff comments have been forwarded to the applicant. An Administrative Public Hearing could likely be scheduled for sometime in late August or early September, 2007. The request is a quasi-judicial review, subject to the requirements set forth in the City's Land Use Code, with an assigned Hearing Officer being the decision maker. Any decision by the Hearing Officer may be appealed to City Council. 281 North College Avenue • P.O. Box 580 • Fort Collins, CO 80522-0580 • (970) 221-6750 • FAX (970) 416-2020