HomeMy WebLinkAboutHARMONY RIDGE, 2ND FILING - PDP - 49-95F - CORRESPONDENCE - LUC REQUIREMENTSSteve Olt
September 17, 2004
Page 3 of 3
After actual home construction, however, the off -site observer will see more variability in home design
and individual home architectural features. Nonetheless, any home to be built will have to adhere to lot
setback standards and architectural guideline restrictions.
The computer simulation of View A shows that the proposed homes blend with the existing skyline
established with previous residential neighborhood construction and that this existing view across the
Prairie is preserved. Moreover, the natural colors fit within the visual context of the Prairie, and the use
of the proposed landscaping helps to soften the transition from the natural environment to the built
environment to provide screening for the off -site observer and such that the proposed homes blend with
the natural visual character of the Prairie. Additionally, use of single-family structures helps to break up
the structural mass that would be created with larger multi -family buildings.
The computer simulation of View B shows that building massing is broken, not only through the use of
smaller -scale, single-family residences, but also through providing a planned gap in the line of homes,
with the gap to align with the proposed Prairie Ridge Drive as it intersects with the Prairie Vista Drive.
Use of natural colors and architectural elements such as low stone walls, stone on a portion of the face of
the structures, decks and patios, and vegetation for screening and for visual transition meet the intent of
the LUC language requiring complementing of the visual context and blending with the natural visual
character.
We believe that, with architectural guidelines prepared as part of the Development Agreement and drafted
to require homes that will be built to meet the intent of the site design as visually depicted in the attached
computer simulations, the intent of LUC Section 3.4.1(I) of context, character and blending has been
achieved.
Thank you for your consideration in this matter. Please do not hesitate to contact me for any reason.
Sincerely,
JIM SELL DESIGN, INC.
Kent Bruxvoort, P.E.
Project Manager
cc: Jim Newcomb, Global Holdings of Colorado, LLC
E TROJECT FlLESILWDU350 He ny Ridge MDOCS\Vie l SimWenom-09.17.04.doc
Steve Olt
September 17, 2004
Page 2 of 3
Pertinent Proiect Plan Description
The PDP submitted under the current Land Use Code proposes a total of 59 residential dwelling units. Of
these, 22 units are single-family dwellings that will back to the Prairie. The site plan proposes a much
smaller footprint than proposed in the plan approved in late 2001: encroachment on a small wetland has
been eliminated, and the home footprints have been shifted on the plan northward to provide a larger
buffer between development and the Prairie. Although no buffer zone is required, this site plan proposes
a minimum of 88 feet between the rear of a lot and the boundary of the property with the Prairie.
Each of the 22 lots will be limited to a single -story structure, as viewed from the street, with a walk -out
basement afforded by lot grading. No grading beyond the lot lines is proposed so that the buffer zone
provided may be retained in a natural state. Retaining walls will be used infrequently; it appears from
preliminary grading that about 60 feet of landscape retaining walls will be required.
Code Requirements Are Achieved
Attached to this letter are preliminary architectural guidelines that address the "techniques such as"
wording of Section 3.4.l(I). These guidelines demonstrate the controls that will be placed on
architectural design to achieve broader LUC architectural design requirements and with the specific intent
of complementing the visual context and blending with the natural visual character of the prairie. Key
elements of the preliminary guidelines include stipulations as to the use of natural colors, natural and/or
natural looking materials, use of exterior treatments to break the mass of individual planes, building
projections that fit in an architectural sense, use of non -glare window glass, and restrictions in building
height. The Applicant will prepare with the City a Development Agreement for the project during the
Final Compliance phase of site entitlement and will submit final architectural guidelines during that
process.
Also attached are visual simulations of the proposed project. For consistency with the prior project plan
approval, the same View A and View B were simulated for this project. The attached Sheet 1 is from
View A (Taft Hill Road) looking northward toward existing homes north of Fromme Prairie Way, and
depicts pre -project conditions. Similarly, Sheet 3 depicts a pre -project photograph from View B (Cathy
Fromme Prairie trail). Sheets 2 and 4 depict proposed project conditions.
The computer simulations were prepared by overlaying on the digital photograph a to -scale three-
dimensional depiction of the proposed site grading grid. Upon this grid was laid the to -scale computer
models of the homes in the correct horizontal and vertical location and the proposed vegetation as
prepared in the submitted landscape plan for the site.
It is important to note that the homes to be actually built on these 22 single-family lots have not been
designed by an architect. Each lot will be sold either to an individual buyer who will custom -build on the
lot, or will be sold to an as -yet -undetermined builder. In either case, the actual architectural design of the
structures is not known at this time. We have selected a single representative floor plan that allows a to -
scale computer simulation. Each is correct in three-dimensional depiction, both in scale and in location.
E.TROJECT FILES\LAND\2350 Ha y Ridge IRDOCS\Vie l Simulatiow_09.7.04.doc
September 17, 2004
Mr. Steve Olt
Current Planning Department
281 N. College Avenue
P.O. BOX 580
Fort Collins, CO 80522
RE: Harmony Ridge Filing 2 Project Development Plan
Response to Comment, LUC Section 3.4.1(1)
Dear Steve:
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE
PLANNING
ENGINEERING
GRAPHIC DESIGN
Jim Sell Design has submitted on behalf of the applicant, Global Holdings of Colorado, LLC, a Project
Development Plan (PDP) for Harmony Ridge Filing 2, a 14.1-acre project with L-M-N zoning located
west of Seneca Street and south of Fromme Prairie Way (Old Harmony Road). The Natural Resources
Department provided an oral comment on the PDP relative to Section 3.4.1(I) of the Fort Collins Land
Use Code, which addresses Design and Aesthetics elements for projects adjacent to Natural Habitats and
Features. The Harmony Ridge Filing 2 project is adjacent to the Cathy Fromme Prairie Natural Area.
The intent of the Design and Aesthetics section is to ensure that "projects in the vicinity of ... natural
habitats ... shall be designed to complement the visual context of the natural habitat" and that "techniques
such as architectural design... shall be utilized in such a manner that scenic views across or through the
site are protected" ... and that the single family patio homes proposed for the project to back to the Prairie
are "screened from off -site observers and blend with the natural character of the area."
Proiect History
In September 1996 the Planning and Zoning Board approved the 186.87-acre Harmony Ridge ODP.
Shortly thereafter the City purchased 141.4 acres of the property as an addition to the Cathy Fromme
Prairie Natural Area, leaving 45.47 acres for development. The first "filing, consisting of 130 dwelling
units on approximately 31.4 acres was approved in 1998, leaving 14.1 acres for this second filing.
The second filing was originally submitted for approval under the Land Development Guidance System,
and received Planning and Zoning Board approval in late 2001. Approval was granted in part based on
visual simulations of the project as proposed at that time, which depicted from two points of view what
the project may look like to the off -site observer. Simulations were based on superimposition on digital
photographs of to -scale three-dimensional computer depictions of the proposed site buildings, grading,
and landscaping. Two camera views were selected: View A taken from Taft Hill Road very near the site
looking to the northeast; and View B taken from the Cathy Fromme Prairie trail also looking to the
northeast. Despite approval, the owner/developer of the project was unable to obtain necessary off -site
easements required for the proposed development, and the plat was never recorded nor the project
constructed.
153 WEST MOUNTAIN AVENUE FORT COLLINS, COLORADO Bo S, ),C w4 '. 112: "n.'st _.•ri3 116 !),:i3LDESIGN.COM