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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTHE STANDARD AT FORT COLLINS - PDP - PDP160035 - SUBMITTAL DOCUMENTS - ROUND 2 - BUILDING EXTERIORland planning  landscape architecture  urban design  entitlement Thinking outside of the box for over two decades. 419 Canyon Ave. Suite 200  Fort Collins, CO 80521  tel. 970.224.5828  fax 970.224.1662 www.ripleydesigninc.com November 30, 2016 The Standard at Fort Collins PDP Height Analysis The Standard at Fort Collins is proposing a two-building student-oriented housing development on 4.23 acres that faces both Lake Street and Prospect Road. Building A of The Standard faces Prospect Road and is located between the Plymouth Congregational Church at 916 W. Prospect and The Slab, another multi-family project recently approved by the LPC and the Planning and Zoning Board, at 803 W. Prospect. Building A is proposed to be a maximum of 5-stories that steps down to 3-stories at the street frontage and includes three south-facing courtyards. Building B faces Lake Street and is located immediately east of the Lake Street Apartments, a multi-family development also recently approved by the Planning and Zoning Board, and across Lake Street from the new CSU stadium. Building B will also be a maximum 5-story building stepped down to 3-story at street level and includes a structured parking deck that is concealed by the residential units that face Lake Street. The height of the proposed development in accordance with the criteria listed in the Land Use Code Section 3.5.1(G). 1. Light and Shadow. Buildings or structures greater than forty (40) feet in height shall be designed so as not to have a substantial adverse impact on the distribution of natural and artificial light on adjacent public and private property. Adverse impacts include, but are not limited to, casting shadows on adjacent property sufficient to preclude the functional use of solar energy technology, creating glare such as reflecting sunlight or artificial lighting at night, contributing to the accumulation of snow and ice during the winter on adjacent property and shading of windows or gardens for more than three (3) months of the year. Techniques to reduce the shadow impacts of a building may include, but are not limited to, repositioning of a structure on the lot, increasing the setbacks, reducing building mass or redesigning a building shape. The attached shadow analysis was done at the following times of the year: June 21st at 9am, 12pm and 3pm September 21st at 9am, 12pm and 3pm December 21st at 9am, 12pm and 3pm Thinking outside of the box for over two decades. 419 Canyon Ave. Suite 200  Fort Collins, CO 80521  tel. 970.224.5828  fax 970.224.1662 www.ripleydesigninc.com March 21st at 9am, 12pm and 3 pm The impact of the proposed building for light and shadows onto the adjacent properties will be minimal for most of the year. As shown on the attached shadow study for June 21, September 21, and March 21, impacts are mostly limited to adjacent parking lots and do not encroach onto courtyards areas within the adjacent Stadium Apartments development, formerly known as the Lake Street Apartments. On December 21, 2016, shadows will be cast onto the adjacent parking lot of Plymouth Congregational Church at 9 am, onto the Stadium Apartments parking lot for most of the day, and onto the northwestern corner of The Slab’s parking lot around 3 pm. The Developer has discussed the impact of shadows in the parking lot with the Church and will continue to have discussions with the adjacent properties regarding possible mitigation measures for additional snow accumulation that may occur. The courtyard area of Stadium Apartments will be shadowed by The Standard’s proposed Building A in the morning and afternoon, but will receive sunlight around 12 pm. Note that some of the shadowing in these courtyard are cast by the Stadium Apartment’s southern building wings. Even during the short period of shadowing, ambient light will still be coming through the affected windows providing natural lighting. 2. Privacy. Development plans with buildings or structures greater than forty (40) feet in height shall be designed to address privacy impacts on adjacent property by providing landscaping, fencing, open space, window size, window height and window placement, orientation of balconies, and orientation of buildings away from adjacent residential development, or other effective techniques. Most if not all building projects have windows and/ or balconies that overlook adjacent uses. The applicant is proposing to mitigate privacy concerns with the height of the building through setbacks, site design and landscape, softening direct views to adjacent properties. The Land Use Code section 3.5.2(E)(3) states that the minimum rear and side setback for a residential building shall be 8’ and 5’, respectively. The development is designed to provide additional separation between the proposed buildings and the side and rear property lines above the required 5’ minimum which allows additional space for ground level privacy measures such as fencing and landscaping. Along the western border of the property we are proposing a combination of fencing and landscape as a visual buffer between the existing Church and the proposed development. Building A is located 28-38 feet from the western property line. This additional setback over the required minimum provides an additional buffer between the two properties. The parking garage behind Building B mitigates any direct views between the building and The Slab development. The north-south alley through the site provides a buffer between Thinking outside of the box for over two decades. 419 Canyon Ave. Suite 200  Fort Collins, CO 80521  tel. 970.224.5828  fax 970.224.1662 www.ripleydesigninc.com Building A and The Slab as well as for Building B and the Stadium Apartments. The landscape buffer and parking lot on the Stadium Apartment site also mitigates privacy concerns between that development and Building A. 3. Neighborhood Scale. Buildings or structures greater than forty (40) feet in height shall be compatible with the scale of the neighborhoods in which they are situated in terms of relative height, height to mass, length to mass and building or structure scale to human scale. Building A and Building B are larger than some other buildings on the same block face, adjacent to the project or on the opposing block face, however, they are also similar in size to those proposed for The Slab and the Stadium Apartments, and much smaller than the new CSU stadium located across Lake Street from the proposed development. The design team has incorporated articulation and subdivision of the building mass to be proportional to other structures within the neighborhood. The buildings are designed in accordance with Section 3.5.1(C) of the Land Use Code as well as the design strategies contained in the West Central Area Plan which were crafted specifically for redevelopment of multi- parcel lot consolidations in the HMN zone adjacent to W. Prospect Road and W. Lake Street. The scale of Building A and Building B provides a transition between the Sheely neighborhood, proposed developments in the neighborhood, and the CSU Campus, as envisioned by the West Central Area Plan. The 3-story step back along the south façade of Building A is similar in height to The Slab which is directly to the east of the project. Both buildings are a maximum of 5 stories and provides a transition to the 5-story Stadium Apartments located north of Building A and west of Building B. The north façade of Building B is stepped down to 3- stories along the street frontage and provides another transition to the pedestrian scale of Lake Street and the adjacent neighborhood.