Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutHARMONY COTTAGES (AFFORDABLE HOUSING) - PDP - PDP150030 - SUBMITTAL DOCUMENTS - ROUND 1 - PLANNING OBJECTIVESland planning g landscape architecture g urban design g entitlement Thinking outside of the box for over two decades. 419 Canyon Ave. Suite 200 g Fort Collins, CO 80521 g tel. 970.224.5828 g fax 970.224.1662 www.ripleydesigninc.com December 15, 2015 Planning Objectives Harmony Cottages PDP The Applicant, Habitat for Humanity, is proposing to construct 44 single-family and 4 two-family dwelling units on 4.45 acres located southeast of the intersection of Harmony Road and Taft Hill Road. The property is zoned Low Density Mixed Use Neighborhood District (LMN). There is a small parcel of land located on the corner that is owned by the South Fort Collins Loveland Water District that is not part of the project. A County residential development known as Westfield is located to the north and Woodridge Subdivision is immediately adjacent to the property on the south. In 2005 Habitat for Humanity proposed a project called Innovation Island, a multi-family and commercial development located on this site. The project was approved by the Planning and Zoning Board and the City Council upheld the approval in a subsequent Appeal process, however, the project as proposed turned out to be financially infeasible. Additional dwelling units were required to make the project work financially. The LMN zoning allows twelve dwelling units per gross acre of land for affordable housing projects. Habitat seeks to provide housing for people whose income is between 35% and 60% of the Fort Collins average median income (AMI) and therefore qualifies as an affordable housing project. With 48 total dwelling units, the proposed density is 10.79 dwelling units per acre. Access is from Harmony Road via a street-like private drive located approximately 581 feet east of Taft Hill Road with an emergency access located 201 feet east of Taft Hill Road. All the dwelling units are alley-loaded and most of them face on to green courts or park space. Four buildings face Harmony Road and four buildings face Taft Hill Road. In both cases additional landscaping has been provided to insure that these units are adequately buffered from the arterial streets. On-street parking is proposed along the south side of the street-like private drive and the alley courts provide access to single car garages. The alley courts also include an additional parking space for each unit. Trash collection will be provided for individual units accessed from the alleys. There are existing public street sidewalks along both Taft Hill Road and Harmony Road. Since the units along Taft Hill Road are setback approximately 60 feet from the public Thinking outside of the box for over two decades. 419 Canyon Ave. Suite 200 g Fort Collins, CO 80521 g tel. 970.224.5828 g fax 970.224.1662 www.ripleydesigninc.com sidewalk, an additional sidewalk is proposed in front of the dwelling units. This private walk in turn connects to the public street sidewalk at both the north and south edges of the property. There are several connections to the public street sidewalk along Harmony Road as well. The green courts are defined by sidewalks making them attractive and readily accessible for residents and visitors. The project is defined by picket fencing along both Harmony and Taft Hill Road street frontages. Additional picket fencing is located internal to the site partially enclosing green courts. A bus stop is located at the main entrance to the project and community mail boxes are located nearby the entrance as well. A private park space with a small playground is centrally located and shared by all residents. The site drains to the south with storm water collected in a swale that parallels the south property line. The drainage swale and associated landscaping provide water quality treatment for the storm water before it leaves the site at the southeast corner and enters the City’s storm water system. The area will be seeded with native grasses and provides a 15-25 foot average buffer area between the Harmony Cottages project and Woodridge Subdivision to the south. Although a neighborhood meeting was not required, a neighborhood Open House was held December 3rd to give existing neighborhood residents an opportunity to see the proposed plan and provide comment. The comments and questions along with responses were recorded and submitted to the City. The project as designed meets all the performance standards in the LMN District. The General Development Standards in Chapter 3 of the Land Use Code are also met with one exception. The Applicant is requesting a Modification to the 30-foot setback along Harmony Road. The request and justification is included in the submittal package. City Plan Principles and Policies achieved by the project include the following: • Community and neighborhood livability policies having to do with compact urban development, safe attractive neighborhoods, creating housing options for all household types and income levels, and creating an attractive community image. • Safety and Wellness policies having to do with providing opportunities to lead active and healthy lifestyles, and providing a safe place to live, learn and play. • Transportation policies having to do with providing access to alternative modes of transportation.