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HomeMy WebLinkAbout612 E. PITKIN, CARRIAGE HOUSE - PDP - PDP150023 - DECISION - VARIANCE REQUESTr1 NORTHERN E N G I N E E R I N G 612 E. Pitkin St. — Carriage House I LCUASS Variance Request 1 12.21.2015 This property is unique in that there are four (4) parking spaces provided in garages; two (2) spaces in the garage attached to the main house and two (2) in the proposed detached garage underneath the carriage house accessed from the alley. The proposed carriage house also has a large dedicated parking area east of the structure. The spaces mentioned above do not account for additional parking that may occur in the driveway off Pitkin Street. Given the sufficiency of parking provided and the intended use and management of the property, it is unlikely that the area in front of the garage door between the fence and alley will be utilized for parking. Since additional parking is not needed or desired in this location, the Owner would prefer to maximize the backyard space and place the new fence at a 3' setback from the alley. Additionally, this property lies at the terminus of a dead-end alley, where the only access would be from either the owners of the property to the north or the owners of the subject property at 612 E. Pitkin Street. Cars are not expected to park between the garage and the alley, thus the concern of vehicles extending into the public right-of-way is all but eliminated. Furthermore, since vehicle parking, ingress, and egress is not expected to be a frequent occurrence, the sight distance concern is moot. Sight distance for the vehicles parked east of the garage would be a consideration; however, since this occurs at the dead-end section of the alley, it too is a non -issue. For these reasons, it is believed that placing the garage door 8' from the alley with a fence located 3' from the right-of-way will promote the general purpose of the standard for which the variance is requested equally well or better than would a proposal which complies with the standard in question. The requested variance is not expected to pose any detriment to public health, safety or welfare. This variance will not reduce the design life of any public improvements or increase future City maintenance costs. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. Sincerely, sz.zs.�s Nicholas W. Haws, PE, LEED AP Vice President — Northern Engineering CC: Heidi Shuff — Studio S Architecture, LLC Page 2 of 2 a NORTHERN ENGINEERING Administrative Engineering Variance Request Letter Date: December 21, 2015 Project: 612 E. Pitkin — Carriage House Fort Collins, Colorado Attn: Ms. Katie Sexton Engineering Development Review City of Fort Collins 281 North College Avenue Fort Collins, Colorado 80524 Dear Katie: Project No. 1199-001 Public safety and convenience, maintaining public use, and optimizing the use of limited physical capacity of right-of-way are among the objectives of the Larimer County Urban Area Street Standards (LCUASS) — Repealed and Reenacted April 1, 2007. It is with those considerations in mind that this variance request letter has been prepared. This letter is provided pursuant to Section 1.9.4 of LCUASS to document a proposed site condition that does not comply with the current standards. The criteria in question are the garage door setback and fencing location from the property line along an alley. Specifically, LCUASS Figure 7-11F states: Garaee Door Setback: *Option 1: 8' for fences placed with a setback equal to 8' or more. Option 2: 20' minimum for fences placed less than 8' from the edge of the alley. Fences: Fences may be placed as close as 3' from the right-of-way line on private property when the garage door is set back at least 20' from the right-of-way. Minimum setback is 8' for garage door setback less than 20' from the right-of-way. *Building setbacks shall be in accordance with the Land Use Code. The proposed design places the fence 3' from the edge of the alley with the garage door setback 8' from the right-of-way. As such, the alternate design would not diverge from the standards except in a nominal and inconsequential way when considered in the context of the neighborhood. Underlying objectives of these alley setback standards are to minimize parked cars from extending into the alley right-of-way, and to provide safe sight distance for garage ingress/egress and cars passing in the alley. Therefore, if the proposed design can mitigate these concerns, it is reasonable to conclude that the intent of the standards are met in an alternate way. 301 N. Howes Street, Suite 100, Fort Collins, CO 80521 970.221.4158 1 www.northernengineering.com F&tc'ollins December 22, 2015 Nicholas W. Haws, PE, LEED AP Northern Engineering 301 N. Howes Street, Suite 100 Fort Collins, CO 80521 Re: Administrative Engineering Variance Request Letter Mr. Haws: Planning, Development & Transportation Engineering Department 281 North College Avenue P.O. Box 580 Fort Collins. CO 80522.0580 970.221.6605 970.221.6378 - fax fcgov.com/engineering In response to the letter sent December 21". 2015, addressed to Ms. Katie Sexton, Development Review Engineer, regarding a variance request to Figure 7-11(F) of the Larimer County Urban Area Street Standards, requesting a reduction of the required garage door setback distance from the alley on the northern edge of the property: Although the required garage door setback distance from an alley is 20 feet in order to accommodate the proposed 3- foot fence setback, your request to reduce the setback to 8 feet is granted. This request does not set precedent or change the application of our design standards in any way. If you have any questions, please contact me at 221-6573. ri-mor M-21�- Sheri L. Langenberger, P.E.