HomeMy WebLinkAboutUPTOWN PLAZA - PDP - PDP130025 - DECISION - FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS & DECISIONCITY OF FORT COLLINS
TYPE 1 ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING
FINDINGS AND DECISION
HEARING DATE: March 26, 2014
PROJECT NAME: Uptown Plaza Project Development Plan/Final Plan
CASE NUMBER: PDP130025
APPLICANT/OWNER: Jim Hillhouse
Hillhouse Architects, Inc.
8897 Gander Valley Lane
Windsor, CO 80550
HEARING OFFICER: Kendra L. Carberry
PROJECT DESCRIPTION: This is a request for approval of a Project Development Plan
("PDP") for Uptown Plaza. The project proposes to construct a one-story, 15,234 square foot
commercial building on a 1.46 acre lot located at 1501 West Elizabeth Street in Campus West.
The building proposes six individual units divided between retail (4), restaurant (1), and financial
uses (1), and provides 50 parking spaces to serve the site.
SUMMARY OF DECISION: Approved
ZONE DISTRICT: Community Commercial (C-C)
HEARING: The Hearing Officer opened the hearing at approximately 5:30 p.m. on March 26,
2014, in the CIC Room of City Hall, located at 300 LaPorte Avenue, Fort Collins, Colorado.
EVIDENCE: During the hearing, the Hearing Officer accepted the following evidence:
(1) Planning Department Staff Report; (2) application, plans, maps and other supporting
documents submitted by the applicant; and (3) a copy of the public notice (the formally
promulgated polices of the City are all considered part of the record considered by the Hearing
Officer).
TESTIMONY: The following persons testified at the hearing:
From the City: Seth Lorson
From the Applicant: Jim Hillhouse, Sapan Kapoor
From the Public: John Musa
FINDINGS
1. Evidence presented to the Hearing Officer established the fact that the hearing was
properly posted, legal notices mailed and notice published.
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2. The PDP complies with the applicable General Development Standards contained in
Article 3 of the Code.
a. The PDP complies with Section 3.2.1(D)(2), Street Trees, because 3 mature trees
will remain and 4 more trees will be added.
b. The PDP complies with Section 3.2.2(K)(2), Nonresidential Parking Requirements,
because the project proposes 50 parking spaces, which is below the maximum of 82.
c. The PDP complies with Section 3.3.2(C)(4), Bicycle Facilities, because 13 bike
spaces will be provided, which is more than minimum of 5.
d. The PDP complies with Section 3.5.1, Building and Project Compatibility, because
the proposed architectural character, building materials, colors and heights of the proposed
development are compatible with the surrounding area.
e. The PDP complies with Section 3.5.2(B), Relationship of Buildings to Streets,
Walkways, and Parking, because: the entrances for all uses along Elizabeth Street open to
the plaza and then onto the public sidewalk; and the parking is entirely behind the
building, to the south, with a connecting walkway to secondary entrances through the
building.
f. The PDP complies with Section 3.5.2(C), Variation in Massing, because: the store
fronts are broken into modules according to size and accented with a variety of roof
planes, cornices, materials, awnings, and windows; and the roof plane variety provides for
vertical articulation of the structure and each module shifts forward or back for horizontal
articulation.
4. The PDP complies with the applicable standards contained in Article 4 of the Code for the
Community Commercial (C-C) zone district.
a. The PDP complies with Section 4.18(A), Purpose, because the PDP is consistent
with the stated purpose of the zone district.
b. The PDP complies with Section 4.18(E)(1)(a), Building Orientation, because the
building entrances front on Elizabeth Street and there will be a plaza area for outdoor
dining and gathering for patrons of the commercial uses.
c. The PDP complies with Section 4.18(E)(1)(b), Central Feature or Gathering Place,
because the plaza is a slightly-elevated extension of the public sidewalk that will serve as a
gathering place.
d. The PDP complies with Section 4.18(E)(1)(c), Integration of the Transit Stop,
because 3 existing Transfort bus routes use this section of West Elizabeth, with the closest
transit stops at the intersections with City Park Avenue and Constitution Avenue, which
are both approximately 1/8 of a mile from the property.
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e. The PDP complies with Section 4.18(E)(2)(d), Building Height, because the
proposed building is a single story, but utilizes architectural cornices and a variety of roof
pitches to accomplish a minimum height of 20'.
DECISION
Based on the foregoing findings, the Hearing Officer hereby enters the following rulings:
1. The PDP is approved with the following condition:
a. The existing street trees marked #2, #3 and #4 on the Landscape Plan shall remain
in place, rather than being removed, and the final Landscape Plan for the PDP shall be
updated accordingly.
DATED this 7th day of April, 2014.
_____________________________________
Kendra L. Carberry
Hearing Officer
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