Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutReports - Staff Report - 11/30/2017City of Fort Collins ITEM NO MEETING DATE STAFF 1 Nov. 301h, 2017 Clav Frickey ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING OFFICER PROJECT: Boardwalk Office, PDP170032 APPLICANT: Cathy Mathis The Birdsall Group 444 Mountain Ave. Berthoud, CO 80513 OWNERS: Michael Trinen JFK, LLC 3701 Ashmount Dr. Fort Collins, CO 80525 PROJECT DESCRIPTION: This is a consolidated Project Development Plan request to construct a 7,351 square foot office building on .54 acres. The building will be two stories and provide 19 parking spaces. This development will also share six parking spaces as indicated on the Landings Office Park PUD. The site is a part of the Landings Office Park PUD subdivision. This site is located in the Employment (E) zone district. RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends approval of Boardwalk Office, PDP170032. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Staff finds the proposed Boardwalk Office Project Development Plan complies with the applicable requirements of the City of Fort Collins Land Use Code (LUC), more specifically: • The Project Development Plan complies with the process located in Division 2.2 — Common Development Review Procedures for Development Applications of Article 2 — Administration. • The Project Development Plan/Final Plan complies with relevant standards of Article 3 — General Development Standards. • The Project Development Plan/Final Plan complies with relevant standards located in Division 4.27 Employment (E) of Article 4 — Districts. Planning Services 281 N College Ave - PO Box 580 - Fort Collins, CO 80522-0580 fcgov.com/developmentreview/ 970.221.6750 n Staff Report — Boardwalk Office, PDP170032 Administrative Hearing 11-30-2017 Page 2 COMMENTS: 1. Background The site annexed into the City of Fort Collins as part of the South College Properties Annex on December 4, 1979. The Planning & Zoning Board approved the Landings Office Park PUD on July 24, 1995, which included this site. The Landings Office Park PUD indicated this building site would be developed during Phase III of development. The surrounding zoning and land uses are as follows: Direction Zone District Existing Land Uses North Employment E Office South Employment (E) Office East Employment (E) Office West General Commercial (CG) Retail, restaurant A zoning and site vicinity map is presented on the following page. Staff Report —Boardwalk Office, PDP170032 Administrative Hearing 11-30-2017 Page 3 neap i : boarawatK unice coninq & wie vicin 1 inch = 417 feet Boardwalk Office Zoning & Vicinity Map -.— Staff Report —Boardwalk Office, PDP170032 Administrative Hearing 11-30-2017 Page 4 2. Compliance with Article 3 of the Land Use Code — General Development Standards: The project complies with all applicable General Development Standards as follows: A. Division 3.2.1(D)(1)(c) — Tree Planting Standards - Full Tree Stocking The proposed landscaping meets the minimum tree stocking standards. The proposed landscape plan shows groups of canopy, coniferous evergreen, and ornamental trees planted in closer proximity than the minimum requirements outlined in the code. B. Section 3.2.1(D)(2) - Tree Planting Standards - Street Trees The Land Use Code requires canopy shade trees to be planted at thirty to forty -foot spacing in the center of parkway areas where the sidewalk is detached from the street. The landscape plan shows three trees planted along Boardwalk Drive and two trees planted along JFK Parkway in accordance with this standard. The trees along JFK Parkway exceed the spacing required due to the provision of a bus stop and right -in, right -out access point. C. Section 3.2.1(D)(3) — Minimum Species Diversity Landscape plans showing 20-39 trees may not have one tree make up more than 33% of the overall total number of trees planted. The landscape plan shows 26 trees with no tree making up more than 27% of the overall total, in accordance with this standard. D. Section 3.2.1(E)(3)(b)(2) — Water Conservation The annual water use of a site may not exceed 15 gallons/square foot over the site. The proposed landscaping plan will use 13.1 gallons/square foot annually over the site. E. Section 3.2.1(E)(4) - Parking Lot Perimeter Landscaping Staff Report —Boardwalk Office, PDP170032 Administrative Hearing 11-30-2017 Page 5 The proposed parking lot perimeter landscaping meets this code requirement by screening parking areas from abutting uses, providing one tree every 25 feet along public streets and screening the parking lot from abutting uses and the street. The perimeter of the parking lot contains tall grasses, small shrubs and a mix of deciduous and evergreen trees. F. Section 3.2.1(E)(5) - Parking Lot Interior Landscaping The proposed parking lot interior landscaping meets this code requirement by providing areas of shading and landscaped islands. Each landscaped island will have at least one canopy tree with a complement of small shrubs and grasses. The parking lot exceeds the 6% minimum landscaping requirement by landscaping 7.3% of the interior parking lot area. G. Section 3.2.2(C)(4)(b) - Bicycle Parking Space Requirements The Land Use Code requires one bicycle parking space per 4,000 square feet with 20% provided in an enclosure and 80% provided via fixed racks. Since the proposed office is less than 16,000 square feet, the office must provide a minimum of four bicycle parking spaces. The site plan shows three bicycle parking spaces via fixed racks and one enclosed space near the entrance to the building, which meets this standard. H. Section 3.2.2(C)(5) - Walkways Walkways must be provided to link sidewalks with building entries through parking lots. These walkways must also provide direct connections to off - site pedestrian and bicycle destinations. The proposed walkways connect the main entrance to JFK Parkway and Boardwalk Drive. All of the walkways tie into the walkways of the adjacent Landings Office Park PUD and Landings Bay development, which meet this standard. Section 3.2.2(C)(6) - Direct On -Site Access to Pedestrian and Bicycle Destinations The on -site pedestrian and bicycle circulation system must allow for connections to major pedestrian and bicycle destinations. As shown, the site provides direct sidewalk connections to both JFK Parkway and Boardwalk Drive, which facilitates pedestrians reaching destinations Staff Report — Boardwalk Office, PDP170032 Administrative Hearing 11-30-2017 Page 6 nearby. The site also directly ties into the bike lane along JFK Parkway, which allows cyclists to reach nearby destinations as well. J. Section 3.2.2(D)(1) — Access and Parking Lot Requirements - Pedestrian/Vehicle Separation To the maximum extent feasible, pedestrians and vehicles shall be separated through provisions of a sidewalk or walkway. The site complies with this standard by providing an extensive sidewalk network around the building. The sidewalk is separated from vehicle use areas by a curb. K. Section 3.2.2(E) - Parking Lot Layout The proposed parking lot layout is consistent with requirements of the Land Use Code in regards to circulation routes, orientation, landscaped islands, and points of conflict. L. Section 3.2.2(J) - Setbacks Parking lots must be setback more than 15 feet on average from arterial streets with the parking lot no closer than 5 feet at any point. One portion of the parking lot is 14 feet away from Boardwalk Drive, but is nearly 30 feet away from the street on the east end of the parking lot. The average setback of the parking lot along Boardwalk Drive exceeds 15 feet, which meets this standard. On the JFK Parkway side, the parking area is setback 24 feet at its closest from the street. M. Section 3.2.2(K)(2) - Nonresidential Parking Requirements The minimum, maximum and proposed parking are contained in the table below. The proposed parking is within the range of required parking and thus meets the requirements of the Land Use Code. Please note that this site will also share six parking spaces as shown on the Landings Office Park PUD. These spaces do not count towards the parking counts since they are shared with the adjacent development and not wholly part of this development. Table 1: Proposed Parkinq Use Min. Parking Max. Parking Parking Provided Office 7,351 1/1,000 s uare 3/1,000 s uare 19 spaces Staff Report —Boardwalk Office, PDP170032 Administrative Hearing 11-30-2017 Page 7 square feet) feet = 8 parking feet = 22 parking spaces spaces N. Section 3.2.2(K)(5) - Handicap Parking Parking lots with less than 25 parking spaces are required to provide one handicap accessible space with that space being van accessible with an 8-foot wide access aisle. The parking lot has one van accessible handicap parking space in accordance with this standard. O. Section 3.2.3 -Solar Access, Orientation, Shading All developments must be designed to accommodate active and/or passive solar installations and must not deny adjacent properties access to sunshine. The proposed building is designed and located to minimize the casting of shadows on adjacent properties and could accommodate future active and/or passive solar installations. P. Section 3.2.4 - Site Lighting The proposed lighting plan is consistent with the requirements of the Land Use Code in regards to the general standard, lighting levels and design standards. Q. Section 3.2.5 - Trash and Recycling Enclosures Trash and recycling enclosures must be provided in locations abutting refuse collection or storage areas, shall be designed to allow walk-in access without having to open the main service gate, shall be screened from public view and shall be constructed on a concrete pad. The proposed trash and recycling enclosure abuts a storage area, allows walk- in access without having to open the main service gate, is screened from public view and is built on a concrete pad. R. Section 3.5.1 - Building and Project Compatibility The proposed plan is consistent with the requirements of the Land Use Code in regards to building and project compatibility including building size, height, bulk, mass, scale, mechanical equipment screening and operational/physical compatibility. Staff Report — Boardwalk Office, PDP170032 Administrative Hearing 11-30-2017 Page 8 Size, Height, Bulk, Mass and Scale The project is adjacent to two office developments featuring two story buildings, an office development featuring one story buildings, and a strip mall featuring one and two-story buildings. The proposed building will be of a similar height and scale to the majority of the developments in its immediate surroundings. The building has pitched roofs that mirror those of the office developments to the north and east. The building contains projections and recesses to further break down the mass of the building. All of these features contribute to the proposed building meeting this code standard. Materials The proposed building uses materials of equal or better quality than those used on surrounding projects. The proposed building uses brick, concrete masonry units, and lap siding to meet this standard. Outdoor Storage Areas/Mechanical Equipment The proposed plan is consistent with the requirements of the Land Use Code in regards to the location of outdoor storage, screening of storage areas, and screening of rooftop mechanical equipment from public view. Operational/Physical Compatibility The proposed plan is consistent with the requirements of the Land Use Code in regards to hours of operation, placement of trash receptacles and location and number of off-street parking spaces. S. Section 3.5.3(C)(1) — Orientation to a Connecting Walkway At least one main entrance of any commercial or mixed -use building shall face and open directly onto a connecting walkway with pedestrian frontage. The proposed building opens onto a connecting walkway that connects to both JFK Parkway and Boardwalk Drive. T. Section 3.5.3(C)(2) — Orientation to Build -to Lines for Streetfront Buildings Buildings abutting an arterial street shall be located 10-25 feet behind the street right-of-way. Buildings may also use a contextual build -to line that may fall at any point between the required build -to line and the build -to line that exists on a lot that abuts, and is oriented to, the same street as the Staff Report — Boardwalk Office, PDP170032 Administrative Hearing 11-30-2017 Page 9 subject lot. The proposed building has a setback that ranges from 10 feet to 27 feet. This is similar to the setbacks seen on the buildings in the Landings Bay office development immediately to the north. Those buildings are setback 10 feet at their closest and 36 feet at their farthest. U. Section 3.5.3(D) - Variation in Massing The proposed building is consistent with the requirements of the Land Use Code in regards to horizontal massing and changes in massing being related to entrances, the integral structure and interior spaces of the building. No horizontal plane exceeds a 1:3 height -width ratio. The changes in massing also relate to building features such as doors and windows, which are integral to the interior spaces of the building. V. Section 3.5.3(E) - Character and Image The proposed building is consistent with the relevant requirements of this Land Use Code section including facade treatments, entrances, and base and top treatments. All walls break up their mass with windows, change in materials and fenestration pattern to provide a human scale. Each entrance to the building is clearly defined by canopies. Extruded bays with a pre -cast concrete sill on top of masonry define a clear base of the building. Sloped roofs and lap siding define the top of the building. W . Section 3.6.6 — Emergency Access An emergency access easement is proposed that runs through the large parking lot on the north side of the site. The emergency access easement ensures emergency vehicles can gain proper access and maneuvering to reach all portions of the proposed building. 3. Compliance with Article 4 of the Land Use Code — Employment (E), Division 4.27: The project complies with all applicable Article 4 standards as follows: A. Section 4.28(B)(2)(c) — Permitted Uses The proposed use, office, is permitted in the Employment zone district and is consistent with the district's intent to provide a variety of workplaces throughout the community. Staff Report —Boardwalk Office, PDP170032 Administrative Hearing 11-30-2017 Page 10 B. Section 4.27(D)(4)(a) — Dimensional Standards - Maximum Building Height The proposed building complies with the 4-story maximum building height requirement. 5. Findings of Fact/Conclusion: In evaluating the request for the Boardwalk Office Project Development Plan, Staff makes the following findings of fact: A. The Project Development Plan complies with process located in Division 2.2 — Common Development Review Procedures for Development Applications of Article 2 — Administration. B. The Project Development Plan complies with relevant standards located in Article 3 — General Development Standards, C. The Project Development Plan complies with relevant standards located in Division 4.27 Employment (E) of Article 4 — Districts. RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends approval of the Boardwalk Office, PDP170032. ATTACHMENTS: 1. Zoning & Site Vicinity Map 2. Applicant's Statement of Planning Objectives 3. Boardwalk Office Planning Document Set (Site Plan, Landscape Plan, Elevations & Photometric Plan)