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Home My WebLink AboutSPRING CREEK FARMS NORTH, FOURTH FILING - PDP - PDP130014 - REPORTS - MODIFICATION REQUESTSpring Creek Farms Fourth Filing Modiﬁcation of Standards Request Requested Modiﬁcations of Standards for: 4.27(D)(2) Secondary Uses in E zone 4.27(D)(5) Density/Intensity in E zone 4.27(B)(3)(a)(1) Single-family detached dwellings located on lots containing no more than six thousand (6,000) square feet. Standards 4.27(D)(2) Secondary Uses in E zone Secondary Uses. All secondary uses shall be integrated both in function and appearance into a larger employment district development plan that emphasizes primary uses. A secondary use shall be subject to administrative review or Planning and Zoning Board review as required for such use in Section 4.27(B). The following permitted uses shall be considered secondary uses in this zone district and together shall occupy no more than twenty-ﬁve (25) percent of the total gross area of the development plan. 4.27(D)(5) Density/Intensity in E zone Density/Intensity. All residential development in the E Employment District shall have an overall minimum average density of seven (7) dwelling units per net acre of residential land. 4.27(B)(3)(a)(1) Single-family detached dwellings located on lots containing no more than six thousand (6,000) square feet. The following uses are permitted in the E District, subject to review by the Planning and Zoning Board: (a) Residential Uses: 1. Single-family detached dwellings located on lots containing no more than six thousand (6,000) square feet. Discussion These three modiﬁcation requests are centered on the desire to extend the single family detached residential development proposed on the LMN portion of the Spring Creek Farms North ODP (parcel A1) into a portion of the E employment zone district (parcel C on the ODP). The E zone district on the Spring Creek Farms ODP is a narrow zoning district sandwiched between the LMN and MMN portions of Spring Creek Farms North and I industrial zoning to the north. Per the ODP, the gross area of this E zone district is 6.2 acres. The portion of this that is under consideration is a 2.18 acre piece (shaded in gray on the graphic below) that is directly north of Parcel A1, and is separated from the rest of the Parcel C by the extension of Joseph Allen Drive to the North. Spring Creek Farms North Forth Filing Modiﬁcation of Standards 1 Existing ODP with the Subject Site Highlighted By the extension of Joseph Allen Drive, the E zone area has been divided into two parcels, making it virtually impossible to get a single employer use onto the site. The extension of Joseph Allen Drive was requested and paid for by the CIty of Fort Colins to satisfy conditions for the project to the north of Spring Creek Farms. As such, the landowner has been forced to market the sites independently. The site under consideration is removed from the visibility of Timberline Drive making it even less desirable for primary uses, and is further constrained by the existing irrigation easement along the southern portion of the site. This creates a useable area of about 1.85 acres for a primary use. While this is certainly large enough for an ofﬁce building, due to its location and lack of visibility, ﬁnding a user for an ofﬁce building is unlikely. The site also isn’t big enough for an industrial user, which could just as easily ﬁnd a larger site just to the north of this site. Due to this, and with the desire to create a cohesive community, and with a builder identiﬁed for the LMN portion of Spring Creek Farms North, it is desirable to simply extend that project into the subject site as is shown in the Spring Creek Farms North Forth Filing PDP Spring Creek Farms North Forth Filing Modiﬁcation of Standards 2 Subject Parcel with Existing Conditions 4.27(D)(2) Secondary Uses in E zone The ﬁrst part of the modiﬁcation request is to increase the allowable secondary uses to 35% of the overall E zone district. With the overall E zone area on the ODP of 6.2 acres, we are allowed to have 25% of that area, or 1.5 acres be secondary uses. However, the total area in consideration is 2.18 acres net, or 35% of the total E zone district. To stay in compliance with the standards, we would be able to place residential uses on 1.5 acres of the subject parcel, with the rest, 0.68 acres staying as a primary use, which would actually be even smaller taking into account the actual useable area of the parcel. This is unfeasible for both uses. JUSTIFICATION The increase in secondary uses for the parcel in question makes the proposed project feasible from a use standpoint, does not substantially detract from the intent of the E zone district, and is equal too or better than what would be required under the Land Use Code. 4.27(D)(5) Density/Intensity in E zone The second part is to decrease the required density in the E zone from 7 units per acre to 3.21 units per acre. With the relatively small size of this parcel, it is desirable to simply continue the single family use and lotting pattern of the LMN site. While we would like to have more density in this area, the location of the existing underground irrigation ditch also impacts the layout for the single family units. As proposed, we have 7 lots on the subject property for 3.21 units per acre. If the irrigation ditch did not exist, we could easily gain an additional 3 lots. At 7 units per acre, the required density on this site would be 16 units. We have prepared an alternate plan showing how 16 units would look on the proposed site. For this, we assumed single family attached units, placing as many units as possible fronting on adjacent Spring Creek Farms North Forth Filing Modiﬁcation of Standards 3 public ROW. This in itself would likely require some level of modiﬁcations of standards. While this concept may be feasible, it would require a different builder to come in to build these, and this type of unit is still difﬁcult to ﬁnance for the smaller builder in the current lending environment. JUSTIFICATION If both the LMN and E parcels are taken into consideration, the decrease in density becomes nominal and inconsequential. As shown in the table below, if both parcels were to be developed at the minimum densities, then a total of 55 units would be required. However, since we are proposing on developing the LMN portion at a higher density than required, overall we are providing a total of 76 units, This is 21 more units than the minimum density would require. ! Parcel! Min Density ! Min Units! Density Shown! Units ! LMN! 3! 39! 5.29! 69 ! E! 7! 16! 3.2! 7 ! Total! ! 55! ! 76 As can be seen, the reduction in density in the E zone becomes nominal and inconsequential if the project is looked at as a whole. Therefor, the proposed use would be equal to or better than what would be required under the Land Use Code. Preferred Plan Spring Creek Farms North Forth Filing Modiﬁcation of Standards 4 Alternate Plan 4.27(B)(3)(a)(1) Single-family detached dwellings located on lots containing no more than six thousand (6,000) square feet. The ﬁnal part of the modiﬁcation request is to allow one lot (Lot 2 Block 2) to be slightly larger than 6,000 square feet. This is due to the conﬁguration of the site rather than any speciﬁc desire to have the lot be larger than allowed. It is also desirable to continue the lot mix in the LMN parcel with a variety of lot widths to accommodate different products. Lot 2, Block 2: The typical lot size for this type C lot is 60 feet wide by 100 feet deep, for a 6,000 square foot lot. However, as is true in many locations, the public street is not 100% parallel with the rear lot line, therefore this particular lot is about 103 feet deep, for a lot area of 6,255 square feet. The average lot size for the seven lots is 5,874 square feet. JUSTIFICATION The increase in lot area for the one lot is fairly minor, and would not be noticeable by the general public, therefor the proposed modiﬁcation would be equal to or better than what would be required by code. Spring Creek Farms North Forth Filing Modiﬁcation of Standards 5 Spring Creek Farms Fourth Filing Modiﬁcation of Standards Request Requested Modiﬁcations of Standards for: 3.2.3(C) Solar Oriented Residential Lots Standards 3.2.3(C) Solar Oriented Residential Lots At least sixty-ﬁve (65) percent of the lots less than ﬁfteen thousand (15,000) square feet in area in single- and two-family residential developments must conform to the deﬁnition of a "solar-oriented lot" in order to preserve the potential for solar energy usage. Discussion This particular parcel of land that is the proposed Spring Creek Farms Fourth Filing is unique in that it is relatively narrow (360+’ feet east to west) and long (1940+- feet north to south). With this shape,there is limited ability for lot and street placement within the parcel to create a functional and economical development, taking into consideration all the dynamics of development, including, but not limited to solar orientation, utilities, drainage patterns, and the existing park (Spring Creek Farms Third Filing). While various layout options were considered, the current site plan was determined to be the best solution to meet all the various criteria. This site plan has one north south street (Adobe Drive) towards the west side, with three east - west streets for connectivity to Joseph Allen Drive. With this, lots were oriented to these east - west streets to provide as many solar oriented lots as possible. In addition, the lots on the Southern cul-de-sac of Adobe Drive were also oriented as much as possible to meet the solar orientation standards. Justification In Spring Creek Farms Fourth Filing, there are a total of 25 lots total that meet the intent of the solar orientation standard, or 33% of the 76 total lots. It is our interpretation that the granting of the Modiﬁcations would not be detrimental to the public good and by satisfying Criteria 3 of 2.8.2(H)(3) which reads: By reason of exceptional physical conditions or other extraordinary and exceptional situations, unique to such property, including, but not limited to, physical conditions such as exceptional narrowness, shallowness or topography, or physical conditions which hinder the owner's ability to install a solar energy system, the strict application of the standard sought to be modiﬁed would result in unusual and exceptional practical difﬁculties, or exceptional or undue hardship upon the owner of such property, provided that such difﬁculties or hardship are not caused by the act or omission of the applicant. Due to the unique property shape, being relative thin and long, it is not practical to meet the strict interpretation of the solar orientation standards. We have included as many solar oriented lots as Spring Creek Farms North Forth Filing Modiﬁcation of Standards Solar 1 reasonably practical with the property shape, with 33% of the lots meeting the solar orientation requirement. Below is a graphic of the site plan, with the lots that meet the solar orientation requirement shaded in grey. Spring Creek Farms North Forth Filing Modiﬁcation of Standards 2