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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPROSPECT STATION II - PDP - PDP150021 - SUBMITTAL DOCUMENTS - ROUND 2 - MODIFICATION REQUESTFebruary 1, 2016 City of Fort Collins Current Planning Department 281 North College Ave. Fort Collins, CO 80524 Re: Prospect Station II 303 West Prospect Road Please accept this request for a Modification of Standards to Division 4.27 Employment District of the Land Use Code. Background The Prospect Station II PDP is located at 303 West Prospect Road. The project consists of a three story multi-family building containing 36 units and 54 bedrooms. The proposed project would replace the existing office building and asphalt parking area with a three-story 100% residential building with a surface parking lot. The 1.04-acre site is bounded by Prospect Road to the north and CSURF-owned land to the south. The existing Prospect Station apartment building is directly to the east. Overall density 34.6 dwelling units per acre. Modification to Section 4.27(D)(2) Code Language: Section 4.27(D)(2) Secondary Uses states the following: 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. (d) Residential uses (except mixed-use dwellings when the residential units are stacked above a primary use which occupies the ground floor). Requested Modification: The Prospect Station II project is requesting to have 100% of the development plan be a residential use. Modification Criteria The request of approval for this modification complies with the standards per Review Criteria 2.8.2 (H)(1) and (2) in the following ways: 2 1. The plan as submitted will promote the general purpose of the standard for which the modification is requested equally well or better than would a plan which complies with the standard for which a modification is requested. 2. Further, we feel that the granting of the modification would not be detrimental to the public good. Justification We feel that the plan as submitted will promote the general purpose of the standard for which the modification is requested equally well or better than would a plan which complies with the standard for which a modification is requested for the following reasons: • The proposed plan is in a location that is desirable for housing due to its proximity to CSU and the nearby new CSU medical center. Although not specifically targeted towards the student population, there is a housing need for CSU faculty, staff and other employees in the adjacent neighborhood. This project will provide opportunities for affordable living for this demographic. • Further, the site lacks the qualities that employment-based users are typically seeking due to its small 1-acre size. • The proposed alternative plan continues to improve the design, quality and character of new development by exceeding the building standards set forth in Section 3.5. The use of high quality residential building materials, building articulation, projections and recesses, along with pitched roof elements ensures sensitivity to and compatibility with the surrounding neighborhood. • We feel that the proposed alternative plan ensures sensitivity to the surrounding neighborhood by building an attractive, desirable product in an infill site with a price point that the market desires and that the community can be proud of. • We believe that the granting of a Modification by allowing 100% of the 1.04-acre site to be developed as a secondary land use is inconsequential when considered from the perspective of the entire Employment district. The intent of employment in this area was primarily intended for the CSURF-owned land to the south in the Centre for Advanced Technology. By allowing a small, 1-acre lot to develop as residential is nominal and inconsequential when considered from the perspective of the entire zone district. Total Employment Zone = +/- 211.3 acres Primary Uses 72.9 acres 34.5% Secondary Uses 46.6 acres 22.1% Vacant/Other 91.8 acres 43.5% With Prospect Station II being built as housing, the total of the Secondary Uses goes up to 22.5%, representing an increase of .4% • The addition of residential units only in this current Employment District will aid current businesses in the neighborhood of Prospect and College Avenue, some of which are struggling financially, with increased patronage and sales volume. Several businesses 3 have closed their doors in the past few months due to lack of sales (El Monte and 900 Degree Pizza to name a few). • Residential use, by those both living and working in the same neighborhood, rather than employment uses will limit increased vehicular traffic along the Prospect Road corridor. Allowing this project to be built as 100% residential in the Employment Zone will substantially reduce the number of Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT).