HomeMy WebLinkAboutWOODLAND STATION PUD - PRELIMINARY - 18-94B - MEDIA - (3)Rural Fort Collins homeowners see development creeping in
LAND
ISSUES: Lec
Thomas walk
to the bam to
feed his ani-
mals on a re-
cent foggy
morning. Tho-
mas, like mar
of his rural
neighbors, is
unhappy aboL
a proposed
housing devel
opment adja-
cent to his
property that
would accom-
modate 70
homes on 35
acres. The pro-
posal, a com-
promise from
the original
plan of nearly
100 homes,
goes before
the Fort Collinr
Planning and
Zoning Board
tonight.
Michael Madrid
The Coloradoan
IP&Z
N faces a ' ough calf
By x LEwANDOWsw
The Coloradoan
For 27 years, Sandy and Lee
Thomas have lived on what they
considered the edge of town. ,
Now their 15-acre spread' is
part of an' isolated wedge of
semi -rural property east of
County Road 9 and north of the..
Hewlett-Packard plant. It soon
could be surrounded by subdivi-
sions.
Predictably, the Thomases
and the 13 other horneownerELHn
the area aren't happy about i "
The homeowners and the de-
veloper of a nearby 35-acre par-
cel will ask the Fort Collins
Planning and Zoning Board to-
night to approve a subdivision
with far fewer homes than city
rules might allow otherwise. .
The request isn't a new one,
and it certainly won't be the last,
as city subdivisions push into
undeveloped areas.
Growth
What's next
The Fort Collins Planning
and Zoning Board will meet at
6:30 p.m. today at City Hall,
300 LaPorte Ave.
But it does counter a City
Council directive to make those
new subdivisions more compact,
with three or more homes an
acre, which would mean plant-
ing nearly 100 homes in the re-
gion.
Once again, the Planning and
Zoning Board will be forced to
make a decision that probably
won't please the homeowners or
City Council.
We need to get creative. We
need to work this parcel of land
so it works for everyone," said
Rene Clements, chairwoman of
the city's planning board.
Initially, the developer pro-
posed 98 homes in a standard
subdivision configuration on the
35-acre plot. Neighbors pro-
tested, saying their area was
unique.
To the east and north is the
flood plain of the Poudre River,
where development is unlikely
to occur. On the south, a farm
field owned by Hewlett-Packard
buffers the subdivision from the
1 million square foot, high-tech
complex.
"It's still very rural out here,"
Sandy Thomas said. "None of us
is against growth, but we'd like
to see more of what we consider
responsible growth."
The 14 houses in the area sit
on lots ranging in size from
three acres to 15 acres.
Two weeks ago, the planning
board asked Eldon Ward, land -
Proposed Woodland
Station development
dORSETOOTii ROAD i
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HARMON1V ROAD
Hewlett
' N Packard 11
coloradoan star
scape architect and developer
representative for the Woodlant
Station proposal, to meet witl
the homeowners to develop
compromise.
Last week, Ward and the
homeowners reached an agree
ment to ask the city to approve
subdivision of 70 homes.
"It's not what we'd like ideally
Density
contiln+ed fwm Page Al
could be set up as transition
area," she said.
But it's a good compromise," Tho-
Ted Shepard, city planner on
mas said
the project, said he knows the
Herb Murphy, who lives on
plan steers away from policies.
However, in this case, the devel-
three acres, said the subdivision
the best of both worlds:
oper and neighbors have worked
provides
rural living close to city services.
out an agreement, and the plan -
ning bow will view that favor -
"We want something that's
ably.
compatible to the neighborhood,"
"Phis seems to result in a com-
Murphy said.
Yet that's exactly what the
proms that will take the adver-
of the
Planning and Zoning Board will
sanal nature out public
meeting," Shepard said.
wrestle with tonight. City Council
.
wants more houses in subdivi-
sions because that discourages
sprawl and will aid development
of public transit.
Clements declined to comment
on the new plan because she has
yet to see it.
However, she said the area re-
ally can't be considered rural with
Hewlett-Packard nearby and new
development proposed west of
County Road 9 and in the Har-
mony Road corridor.
"This is a unique situation be-
cause the city is meeting the
county, and there's also a major
employer in the back yard. But
the area will become an activity
center, and that's where its best
to encourage higher density,"
I
Clements said.
Still, the area "is sensitive and
See DENSITY, Page At