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HomeMy WebLinkAboutProject Narratives - 05/01/2017PLANNING OBJECTIVES for the WEST VINE STORAGE 1050 WEST VINE DRIVE This Document is prepared to evaluate how the property being considered for development within the City of Fort Collins conforms to the City Plan Principles and Policies that the City has established for the Community. These Principles and Policies will be used to judge the property with respect to the property's role on a community wide as well as on a neighborhood basis. PROJECT LOCATION The property is located on the northeast corner of Vine drive and Shields Street. The direct corner is controlled by the Smokers Friendly Fuel Station. The property extends to the east and north on the station along the respective streets. The property has The property has approximately 395 feet of frontage on Shields street and 350 feet of frontage on West Vine. The north property line follows the Arthur Ditch in an angled fashion. The property is approximately 4.18 acres. No wetlands are to be found on the property -The ditch is a seasonal source of water with the City of Fort Collins being the majority user of the water and majority owner of the ditch company. The property is fences for privacy and security. Currently the Owners operate their construction material business from the site. All of the property is annexed into the City. The current Zoning CL Limited Commercial. This same zoning bounds the property on the east and the west. To the southwest of the property across Vine Drive is a property with LMN Zoning, Low Density Mixed Use neighborhood District, consisting of a City owned multi -family subsidized housing property. Directly across from the property on Vine drive is NCL Zoning Neighborhood Conservation Low Density District. Across the Arthur Ditch is County property which is Zoned O — Open. To the east of this property is the City's Vehicle and Repair Center and further to the east at Wood Street is the City Engineering Facilities Center. Directly to the east is a property used as a mechanical contractor's facility and residence. This property is Zoned CL as well. The majority of the property, over two thirds is in the Snyder Subdivision. The balance is un-platted. The portion of the property that is currently within the Subdivision is used as a construction service type business. The un-platted property will be added to the Snyder Subdivision as a part of this development process with an amended plat. The property that is to be added to the Subdivision is currently used as a rental property. All of the property is within the same ownership. All of the property is Zoned CL. A portion of the property along the Arthur Ditch is within a City defined Flood Plain. This extends south of the Arthur Ditch in a curved pattern crossing Shields Street and crossing the property, returning to the line of the ditch and then again extending onto the property south of the ditch in a curved shape. No portion of the property is within a defined FEMA flood plain. The development planned for the property is for indoor storage only also commonly referred to as mini -storage. This Land Use falls within the allowed uses allowed in CL — Limited Commercial Zoning. This is the current zoning of the property and this zoning is consistent with the structure plan. The project is designed to meet the storage needs for residents and businesses that are within a four -mile radius of the facility. This storage is for interior storage of personal property as well as interior storage for recreational vehicles, travel trailers, and boats. The property will be secured by ringing the property with fencing and buildings. The project is designed to construct 50,960 square feet of interior storage, 2,560 square feet of support facilities, for a total of 53,520 square feet of construction. The existing metal building will be retained on the property and incorporated into the project. This building will be refinished to match the color scheme for the project. The existing cell phone tower approved under a previous application will remain. The support facilities will consist of office, maintenance office and work space, and a caretaker's apartment. The Project will be constructed as a single phases. PRINCIPLES AND POLICIES COMMUNITY -WIDE LAND USE POLICY LU-2.1 - CITY-WIDE STRUCTURE Regional plans for this area, being the Structure Plan limited commercial type uses on the property. These land uses are low impact and sensitive to the environmental features that are on and adjacent to the property. Development of this property will help provide services to a developed residential neighborhood and service the needs of commercial land uses in the region as well. The Structure Plan identifies the property to be developed as light commercial uses. The property Owner intends to develop the land in accordance to these standards, which will insure that the goals of a compact development occur. The property being adjacent to an existing major City arterials and the regional transportation spine allow for logical developed to compliment the driving force of the residential uses in the neighborhood. All means of transportation will be addressed by the project design so the project will link into the transportation networks existing and planned modes for the district. POLICY LU-2.2 — URBAN DESIGN The design and uses for this property will fit into the development fabric that has been generated by the City Plan and the existing development patterns of the region. This inclusion of design elements and features unique to the project in tune to the standards of the LUC will allow this new property to plug into the developing and existing fabric of the area and at the same time provide its own identity. POLICY LU-3.1 — GENERAL AREA DESIGNATIONS The Structure Plan for the City has identified this property as being within the boundaries of the existing Urban Growth Area. The Structure Plan further defines this area as being proper for commercial land uses. This character and nature will allow the property to relate to the Community on a neighborhood service level. It is the intention of the Owner to develop the property consistent with these overall goals. POLICY LU-3.3 — DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS ESTABLISHED The Policies require that development be designed to meet specific standards for the land use. These controls the intensity of the uses, the character, and the detailing required to mesh properly into the Community. It is the Developers intention to meet or exceed these Policies with the design of this project. POLICY LU-4.1 — PLANNING WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF CITY PLAN The City has refined the requirements for development in this area with the adoption of the Land Use Code. The project will incorporate the requirements placed on the property by the LUC in the project design. TRANSPORTATION POLICY T-1.1 — LAND USE PATTERNS The property will be developed in accordance to the current standards for efforts to support mass transportation, alternative modes, and logical traffic patterns. The project is providing for all of these components of the Structure Plan by providing public right of ways and easements for streets and Arterial Streets. POLICY T-1.2 — MULTI -MODAL SREETS The design of this property will incorporate means of circulation that will make travel equally covenant for people no matter which means of transportation they choose. These design features will be provided for all modes of transportation in the construction provided with this project. POLICY T-1.3 — STREET DESIGN CRITERIA The streets within and adjoining the development will be designed to City Standards that will minimize conflict between transportation means. The design criteria of LCUASS will be met in the design of the transportation network for the project. POLICY T-1.4 — ADEQUATE FACILITIES The project provides for the continuity of arterial streets by providing R.O.W. and developing the local portion of adjacent arterial and local. POLICY T-1.10 — CONTEXT SENSITIVE DESIGN The design of the transportation systems for this property takes into consideration the sensitive areas adjacent to the Arthur Ditch that forms the northern boundary of the property. No additional streets will cross this or adjacent properties that may impact this environmental feature. Only existing and surround the property. The need for connectivity of streets is superceded by the need to preserve wetlands and the Cooper Slough in as native a setting as possible. Plenty of opportunities exist on the adjacent properties to street patterns will be maintained and increased as per demand for vehicle transportation increase. A coherent circulation system will be achieved without traveling through sensitive areas. POLICY T-5.1 — LAND USE This project promotes a mix of uses in an existing residential area that is lacking in services. The location of this project in proximity of the developing residential neighborhood allows support services to be located within walking distance of the existing population center. POLICY T-5.3 — CONTINUITY The project will promote pedestrian circulation by the construction of the sidewalks adjacent to the property along both Vine Drive and Shields Street. Pedestrian path ways will be separated from vehicular circulation means on Shields Street and Vine Drive. POLICY T-5.4 — SIDEWALKS The project provides detached walks for the public streets. We will provide paths to the facility from the public R.O.W. as well as from the vehicle parking provided. POLICY T-7.1 — PEDESTRIAN FACILITIES Buildings will incorporate design elements that appeal to the pedestrian scale. POLICY T-8.2 — SITE IMPROVEMENTS The design of the pedestrian system with this project will promote the safety of the individuals by avoiding construction of potentially dangerous facilities that will need to be corrected in the feature. POLICY T-9.1 — VEHICLE MILES TRAVELED The location of this project in a nodal neighborhood area will help reduce the VMT for people living in the area because services will be available in proximity to a neighborhood that currently has limited services available. COMMUNITY APPEARANCE AND DESIGN POLICY CAD-1.4 — STREET TREE DESIGN The streetscape along the property will follow a formalized pattern to reinforce the patterns of the site -specific design of the buildings and pedestrian ways. The pedestrian experience walking along the property will be enhanced by the placement of shade trees at regular intervals. The human scale to the project will be enhanced by the placement of full stocking of the street frontage and that of the buildings. POLICY CAD-1.5 — STREET LIGHTING Street lighting for the project will provide for the safety and well being of the pedestrian. The project will provide security level lighting properly spaced to limit the scatter of lighting off -site. Lights will be down directed to preserve dark sky conditions as best as possible. POLICY CAD-3.1 — MODIFICATION OF STANDARD ARCHITECTURE This project has upgraded its Architecture from the standard mini -storage project found through out the country. This standardized look has been modified to provide visual interest. The character of the project promotes the uniqueness of the Community. POLICY CAD-3.2 — COMPATIBLITY The massing, colors, and detailing used in the project will set the stage for other uses that will develop in the future in this area. This project's attention to detail will require other projects to contribute to the distinctive quality of the neighborhood. POLICY CAD-4.1 — CRIME PREVENTION AND SECURITY The design of the project will promote crime prevention. The project will limit access to a controlled point that limits the opportunity for criminal mischief. The project will have a caretaker on -site 24/7 that will deter criminals from attacking the property. The fencing and placement of buildings reduce the opportunity for criminals to enter the property. The design orientation of the project limits the view of the function of the project reducing the criminal observance of property that they may want to steal. POLICY CAD-4.2 — LIGHTING AND LANDSCAPING Lighting levels for the project will be kept low and even maintaining the current dark sky found in the area. Landscaping is placed so not to create dangerous enclaves that could harm Community members. ECONOMIC POLICY ECON-1.1 — BALANCE OF EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY This is a new business opportunity that can provide minimal skilled workers for a stable long-term opportunity. POLICY ECON-1.2 — ECONIMIC DEVELOPMENT The project meets the goals set by the City by increasing private investment in the community, by providing primary employment opportunities and by creating a positive environment for businesses to locate. POLICY ECON-1.3 — INFRASTRUCTURE The property allows for easy access to arterial streets through the existing and established transportation grid system. The property fills into the existing grid and does not cause the grid to be expanded. POLICY ECON-2.2 — ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY The project meets the goal of the City to provide development within the existing Urban Growth Area. ENVIRONMENT POLICY ENV- 1.1 — AIR QUALITY OBJECTIVES The property is so located to serve an existing residential district that has limited access to essential and support services. The project is located so that residents and businesses can take advantage of the services provided. Currently people need to travel great distances to obtain the services that will now be locally available. This location will allow for the reduction of vehicle -miles traveled to and from the site over other sites that offer the same commercial opportunities. Because the property is part of the neighborhood, reduction of travel time will mean reduction in emissions from burning fossil fuels. The site development will enhance pedestrian and bicycle travel helping people reduce their dependence on fossil fuels. POLICY ENV-3.2 — REDUCE GREENHOUSE EMMISSIONS No new sources of fossil fuel consumption will be provided with this project. This project has a very small carbon footprint. There will be one residential unit on the four acre parcel. This residence with attached office and the maintenance office are the only spaces to be environmentally controlled. Lighting will be kept to a minimum to what is needed for security. The individual storage units will only have interior lighting for units thirty foot long and larger. This will aid the City in achieving its goal of reducing emissions by 30%. POLICY ENV-4.3 — WATER DEMAND The total property is a little over four acres. The majority of the landscaping will be of low maintenance native grasses on the north and east sides of the property. The street frontages will be of a more manicured style with the majority of the area designed with low water requiring trees and shrubs and organic mulch. The fescue grass areas, which are a moderate water consuming ground cover, will be used to provide a continuous green element along the street frontages to blend with the neighborhood norm for front yard landscaping. These landscape treatments will provide a low demand for water in the irrigation season. The density of one residential unit for four acres, the small office, and small maintenance office / shop will provide for a low need for water resources for the amount of land. POLICY ENV-6.1 — PROTECTION AND ENHANSMENT The project is designed to provide a native turf cove setback from the existing irrigation ditch and the property development area. POLICY ENV-6.2 — FLOODPLAINS There is a City defined flood plain that exists adjacent to the Arthur Ditch. This is respected with the development setback from the irrigation ditch and any development in the flood plain area will be elevated above the flood plain level as per federal standards. POLICY ENV-7.1 — COMMUNITY NOISE The nature of a storage facility is a low to very low intensity land use from the standpoint of vehicle and human activity. The noise generated from the property is less than what would be generated by residential uses developed over the equivalent area of ground. Noise pollution is not an issue of concern for this project POLICY ENV-8.1 — BALANCE OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECONOMIC CONCERNS The development of this property is a balance between environmental concerns and economic rights. The low intensity of the land use provides a buffer between the sensitive areas and the more intense uses that the Zoning allows this property and adjacent properties to provide. The development allows a business to operate and utilize the property with the understanding that the environmentally sensitive areas will be protected. Generous setbacks from these features provide the balance. NATURAL AREAS AND OPEN LANDS POLICY OL-2.1 CONSERVATION TOOLS The Land use Code requirements for setbacks from irrigation facilities provides the proper balance between man make low level environmental land uses and this particular land use development. This treatment will provide adequate space for wild live to flow in and out of the urban area GROWTH MANAGEMENT POLICY GM-1.2 — MANAGEMENT AREA BOUNDARY The property is within the boundaries of the Urban Growth Area. From a long- term growth management plan the City has recognized that this land should be developed as an area for Light Commercial Uses. This is due to its location in proximity of an arterial street and its proximity to major City commercial level land uses. The property will serve a residential district that the City has established some time ago before planning options were developed and prior to evaluation of development of services for a particular subarea was thought of. This infill project provides services to an existing area that does not currently have these options available. This development enhances the district concept as defined by the City Plan. POLICY GM-4.1 - CAPITAL FACILITIES Transportation patterns for the property are established. Vine Drive provides safe and covenant access from the site to local street fabric. Currently this section is used heavily by City vehicles to provide essential services to the as a whole. The traffic addition to this current level of use will be of a minimal impact. The development being adjacent to Shields Street, an arterial street, will allow transportation to and from the site to impact the neighborhood on a minimal level. Essential services of water, sanitary, natural gas, communications, and power are all present on site to a level to support the project. No major infrastructure cost to the City is required to develop the property. POLICY GM-5.1 PHASING OF DEVELOPMENT All essential services are provided to this district and the site by previous development. This project does not extend services beyond current capabilities. POLICY GM-6.1 — FEES AND DEVELOPMENT REQUIREMENTS The property will be paying its fair share of development cost through development related fee. These fees will be paid by the project at the time of Planning Department review through the filing fees for the project. More importantly the project will be accessed fees for street over sizing, electrical fees, building permit fees, and sales tax as part of the development process. In addition the project will provide the infrastructure of streets, sidewalks, bicycle paths, water lines, and sanitary lines that are programmed to be completed in accordance to the Development Agreement that will be drafted for this development. INDUSTRIAL DISTRICTS POLICY ID- L I — LAND USE The mini -storage concept is a use that are intended to be located in this district. This project is the right fit for the location. POLICY ID-1.3 — LAND USE TRANSITION This land use is a low intensity, low traffic generator, and a quiet business. This land use allows the long-term storage of personal property both large and small items. Typically the users of the property visit three to four times a year. This intensity provides a great buffer for the residential uses located to the south and west of the property. POLICY ID-11.4 — DESIGN CHARACTER AND IMAGE This project has a rather simple design in form and function. The buildings are small in stature according to the needs of the users. Though the buildings are simple in form, variety of shapes and individual detailing of buildings visible to the public allows a low intensity character to be developed for the project. LAND USE ❑ The project will be scaled to the neighborhood to be a service component of the existing residential and commercial uses. The project adds to the diversity of the area. ❑ The centralized location of the project will serve the needs of current commercial developments, current residential uses, and future residential uses that will develop in this District. TRANSPORTATION ❑ The property will offer a multi -modal transportation network. A combination of City streets and private drives will provide a safe circulation route for all vehicles using the property. The system will be safe and efficient. It will meet all design standards applied by the City currently. ❑ Pedestrian and bicycle travel will be supported with detached walks and defined bicycle paths on both adjacent streets PROJECT SUMMARY The Owners are committed to working to achieve the goals and policies of the City's Structure Plan. Our intentions are to have a high quality development that is functional, economically feasible and visually pleasing to the public. They understand that it is a commitment to excellence that they are taking and are willing to take these steps for the project and the Community. WEST VINE STORAGE PROJECT NARRATIVE PRELIMINARY DEVELOPMENT PLAN The intention of this report is to substantiate our request for development of this property consistent with the current CL Zoning, Limited Commercial, of the property. The property consists of three parcels of land which will be combined for the development of this property. Two of the lots are within the Snyder Subdivision and the third is contiguous to the east and is un-platted annexed property within the City of Fort Collins. The property is on the northeast corner of the intersection of Shields Street and West Vine Drive. All of the property is within the CL Zoning District and owned by different groups of the Rein family. The property has frontage on both Shields Street and West Vine Drive and is separated from the corner by the convenience store that controls the corner. The development of this property will pay for the installation of urban level amenities for the neighborhood. The property will pay for the cost of curb, gutter, detached sidewalks, and local portion of the adjacent streets on both West Vine Drive and North Shields Street. In addition bike lanes will be provided and demarked within the right of way making for a safer environment for all users of the multi -model transportation system in the area. New R.O.W. will be provided from this property to provide these amenities. The property is Lots 1 and 2 of the Snyder Minor Subdivision and the un-platted parcel adjacent to the east. These parcels have been owned by various combinations of the Rein family and have had one previous owner since the time of the subdivision of the property. The portion of the property that faces West Vine Drive has an ongoing commercial business on it that predates the current ownership and predates the City Plan and Land Use Code. The parcel to the east not controlled by the Rein's which is annexed to the City has also had an ongoing commercial business operating on the land continuous and prior to the annexation of this property to the City. The Reins have operated Apex Gutter Company since they purchased the property, which predates the City Plan to the present date. The property was acquired in 1996. The County records note and have taxed the properties as commercial property since purchased by the Rein's There is no public or private open space planned with this application since the site uses are transenent and temporary in nature. There are no existing significant natural features, vegetation, geologic formations, or individual or stands of trees to be found on the property. There are no known wetlands on the property. There is an existing irrigation ditch, Arthur Ditch, for which there is a natural setback area provided for. There is a likelihood that urban type wildlife use this irrigation ditch as a transportation corridor. The setback provided is ample for urban type wildlife to cross by the property. There is a `natural area' buffer yard of fifty feet from the bank edge of Arthur Ditch which is provided as a transition from the agricultural type use of the irrigation ditch to the urban development of the storage facility. This setback is greater than has been provided at this site for at least the last fifty years since fencing has been in place at the edge of the irrigation ditch for at least this time frame. The setback will improve this transition space and enhance it with the use of native grasses as the major turf cover in this natural area setback. The history of this property is that it has been used as commercial property for more than twenty years and with the current zoning can continue to operate as a commercial operation with little additional impact to the neighborhood. The entire property is currently fenced with the west property line being screened with a solid wood fence. The new development will continue to screen the parameter of the property with buildings, fencing and landscaping to continue to screen the property from adjacent land uses with enhanced screening. All of the storage building will be single store in nature. The only two story building will be the residential caretakers unit that contains the managing office. This building will be residential in size, scale and materials to be similar to other residential buildings in the neighborhood. The storage buildings that are along West Vine Drive are small units and the buildings are small in length so there is visual separation similar to residential uses. These building are setback from the curb line by thirty-six feet of landscaped buffer. This treatment reflects the nature of front yards that are to be found in the neighborhood. This landscape treatment consist of a continuous row of street trees that shade the pedestrian walkway, ornamental trees that provide variety of color and accent on a seasonal basis, and evergreen trees that provide year round screening that human scale to the buildings. In addition at the base of the buildings a garden of deciduous and conifer type shrubs are used to provide interest and soften the form of the buildings. In addition to the landscaping buffer the storage buildings that face West Vine Drive are articulated with residential scale building materials and patterns. The materials used for these buildings are a combination of stucco, wood siding, and masonry. The wood siding is used in both a horizontal and vertical fashion. This variation in pattern is dramatized by the use of opposing gables, windows, trim accents, course banding, corbels, varied roof overhangs, and window box -out features. These features all being residential scale character that are to be found on homes within the neighborhood soften the transition from one land use to the other. The buildings have a residential quality with roof pitches that are found on homes in the neighborhood. The typical storage facility has very low pitched roof forms that easily identify a property as a storage facility. Using a higher, more residential sloped roof form collection the project is not immediately identified as a storage facility. Only one curb cut is provided on West Vine Drive to control access and provide security for the facility and the neighbors since this is located where traffic can be observed by the caretaker at all times. Parking is limited to one location. The need for parking is low for this type of facility. The parking is setback fifty feet from the curb line and is screened by trees and shrubs reducing the visual impact of parked cars. There is interior parking provided for the caretakers vehicles so that there will be cars in front of the office area at all times. Decretive fencing is used between the buildings and the access point to provide visual relief and variation to the front yard appeal. Climbing type shrubs are used to enhance the screening and provide season interest as the leaves change colors and blossoms occur in the spring. The treatment of the North Shields Street elevations of the project are similar to what is found on the West Vine Drive elevations. These building are single store but taller then those found on Vine but since Shields is an arterial street the additional height is appropriate due to the higher planned volume of Shields Street and the lack of significant vistas looking to the east onto the property. Variation in material, placement of materials provides visual interest to the buildings. The use of windows, opposing gables, residential scaled roof pitches and the separation of buildings from each other provide a human scale to this view of the property. The use of decorative fencing unifies the project and provides relief between the buildings. The landscaping on Shields Street is as intense as what is found on Vine Drive with multiple levels of plantings that provide visual relief and softening of the built environment. The north and east boundaries of the project provide visual variation and visual relief by the use of landscaping, variation of building materials, orientation of building materials and the positioning of individual buildings as well as providing off -sets in long building elevations. This variation is provided in both horizontal and vertical plans providing a more human scale to the longer buildings. Buildings interior to the site are all single story in nature and have low roof profiles so as not to break the plain of the roof line of the building on the parameter of the project. In this fashion the image of the project is portrayed by the parameter of the project which is greatly enhances for visual variation and impact. Residential uses on this property have proven to not be feasible for this property. The prime evidence to this is the lack of any contracts from developers to purchase the property. The owners have received no offers in the last ten years that equal the purchase price of the property. The size of the parcels is one factor that limits the ability for a residential development to occur on the property. A developer needs a larger ratio of cost to profit ratio that typically needs a minimum of ten to fifteen acres to financially work. An addition restrictive factor to residential development of the property is the current utility infrastructure. The existing sanitary service is rather shallow and the topography of the property slopes from Vine Drive to the north making only a small portion of the property accessible to the sanitary system. A substantial cost would be incurred to replace the existing utility to make the property accessible to the utility. For these reasons residential uses on this parcel are not feasible. The existence of the C-Store adjacent to the property is a deterrent to residential or more intense commercial uses. The impact of the C-Store is immediately evident upon a visit to the site. The C-Store uses above ground storage of its fuel. The tanks are placed in near proximity to the east property line of the C-Store and are not screened from adjacent property, this property. The more serious concern is the location of the systems venting which is located nearly on the east property line. Prevailing winds draw the odor and vapors from the fuel dispensing system onto the Rein Property. The odors from these vents make the air intolerable to breath within 100 feet of the property line for any length of time. The carcinogenic nature of gasoline vapors has been studied and found to be true. This would be a liability to a developer of residential uses as well as a deterrent to sales of homes having this obnoxious feature to deal with. In fact no commercial use that would require people to work in proximity to these vents would be a liability to property owners. In addition to the hazardous fumes; you have the constant 24/7 traffic and light pollution that makes any higher intensity use other than what is planned infeasible. This project is not the generator of a change in the nature of this neighborhood. An inventory the property within a half -mile radius, the area that is typically considered a neighborhood, finds that the City owns up to 25 percent of the developed property. In addition the City owns an additional 25 acres of undeveloped land that will be used to meet future needs of the City. This is enough of the concentration of property owned by one entity to dominate the character of the neighborhood. The existing City facilities at Vine Drive and Woods Street and the facilities along Vine Drive are over 20 acres. This area is always active and being updated and enlarged to serve the growing needs for services by the City as a whole. This property on its own is a major employment center in the neighborhood. The low intensity uses of the storage facility provides relief to the neighborhood from this intense land use and provides a buffer zone between the City facilities and the residential areas in the area. It reduces the future impact of City improvements since as a developed parcel of storage, a low intensity land use the neighborhood can be secure that higher commercial uses will not completely control the north side of Vine Drive. The character of the neighborhood currently is both commercial and residential in nature. Travel along Wood Street and Vine Drive reveals an image of more commercial than residential uses. We believe that our low impact storage facility provides a buffer between the more intense existing commercial land uses and the residential uses in the neighborhood which is needed. These existing conditions of the City facilities have a significant impact in creating the character of the neighborhood. Our project has a residential image and visual impact which provides a bridge for the neighborhood that softens the existing commercial trend