HomeMy WebLinkAboutCAPSTONE COTTAGES - PDP - PDP140004 - CORRESPONDENCE - WETLANDS DOCUMENTSThe City's Land Code in 3.4.1- Natural Habitats and Features provides the opportunity for applicants to
replace resource value lost to the community (see below).
3.4.1(C) General Standard. To the maximum extent feasible, the development plan shall be
designed and arranged to be compatible with and to protect natural habitats and features and the
plants and animals that inhabit them and integrate them within the developed landscape of the
community by: (1) directing development away from sensitive resources, (2) minimizing impacts and
disturbance through the use of buffer zones, (3) enhancing existing conditions, or (4) restoring or
replacing the resource value lost to the community (either on -site or off -site) when a development
proposal will result in the disturbance of natural habitats or features.
The Applicant proposes to replace the resource value lost to the community in the following ways:
• Evergreen and deciduous trees along with a variety of shrubs will be planted in the 30-foot wide
buffer along the east edge of the proposed parking area. The plantings will be selected
specifically for their habitat value.
• The .04 acres of wetland will be mitigated in the storm water detention pond area at the
southeast corner of the site. Steve Long's letter to the City (Stephanie Blochowiak) dated March
11, 2015 indicates that "The potential for creating a successful compensatory wetland site
appears reasonable given calculated surface water contribution and the potential for an
accessible groundwater table."
• In addition to replacing the wetland in a 1:1 ratio, the southeast detention pond area will be
planted with native plants providing structural diversity and habitat value above what currently
exists anywhere on the site.
Preserving the .04 acres of isolated wetlands and providing a 50-foot buffer around them would result in
a dead-end parking lot and the loss of approximately two thirds of the parking proposed in this location.
The Applicant is open to other suggestions and/or ideas regarding replacement value and mitigation.
Regards,
RIPLEY DESIGN INC.
Linda Ripley
Principal
Thinking outside of the box for over two decades.
419 Canyon Ave. Suite 200 ■ Fort Collins, CO 80521 ■ tel. 970.224.5828 ■ fax 970.224.1662
www.ripleydesigninc.com
land planning * landscape architecture - urban design = entitlement
September 30, 2015
Pete Wray
Project Planner
City of Fort Collins
Re: Capstone Cottages Wetland Mitigation
The Applicant, Capstone Collegiate Communities, is requesting City staff support for a site plan that
results in filling .04 acres of existing isolated wetlands located near the east edge of the property north
of the extension of Webster Avenue (Wetlands 2 and 3 in the ECS).
The Applicant is proposing to build a parking lot on this portion of the site plan that will provide 81
parking spaces in addition to the 658 spaces provided elsewhere on the site plan, for a total of 739
spaces to serve a project with 888 individually rented bedrooms. The resulting parking ratio is .83.
Please consider the following:
• Capstone Collegiate Communities has developed similar projects in other communities. In their
experience, they have found that students are likely to own a car even if they do not drive it on
a daily basis.
• Competing student housing projects like The Grove provide a parking space for every bedroom
and most upscale projects strive to provide parking ratios of .9 to 1 per bedroom.
• The result of inadequate parking is that students park their cars in surrounding neighborhoods,
fire lanes, "no parking" zones, spaces reserved for the handicapped, etc. resulting in policing
issues for the project and for the City.
• The proposed ratio does not take into account guest parking.
• The adjacent neighborhood has concerns about the project being under -parked as it is.
The .04 acres of isolated wetland has minimal value as a natural resource:
• The wetlands do not have a hydrologic connection to groundwater.
• Their existence is most likely due to storm water run-off from adjacent sites and the fact that
the area they exist in does not drain properly. With development directing storm water to the
detention area; these wetlands could cease to exist altogether.
• The habitat value is minimal with only a few trees and shrubs proving habitat for birds. This
habitat value would be more than compensated for by the proposed landscape plan.
Thinking outside of the box for over two docades.
419 Canyon Ave. Suite 200 ■ Fort Collins, CO 80521 ■ tel. 970.224.5828 ■ fax 970.224.1662
www.ripleydesigninc.com