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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTHE HUB ON CAMPUS - PDP - PDP160038 - SUBMITTAL DOCUMENTS - ROUND 2 - MODIFICATION REQUESTland planning g lands cape architecture g urban design g entitlem ent February 22, 2017 The Hub - Modification Request - Parking Land Use Code Requirements 3.2.2 Access, Circulation and Parking (K) Parking Lot - Required Number of Off-Street Spaces for type of Use (1) Residential and Institutional Parking Requirements. Residential and institutional uses shall provide a minimum number of parking spaces as defined by the standards below. (a) Attached Dwellings: For each two-family and multi-family dwelling there shall be parking spaces provided as indicated by the following table: Number of Bedrooms/Dwelling Unit Parking Spaces Per Dwelling Unit * One or less 1.5 Two 1.75 Three 2.0 Four and above 3.0 LUC 3.2.2(K)(1)(a) requires that multi-family projects provide a minimum number of parking spaces based on the number of bedrooms per dwelling unit. In order to comply with this standard, The Hub would need to include a total of 407 residential parking spaces as calculated below, resulting in an average ration of 1.03 parking spaces per bedroom: The Hub Unit Mix Off Street Parking Spaces required per Dwelling Unit Total Off Street Parking Spaces Required – < 1 bedroom units 1.5 112 – 1 bedroom units 1.5 78 – 2 bedroom units 1.75 109 0 – 3 bedroom units 2.0 0 36 – 4 bedroom units 3.0 108 225 total units 407 total Request for Modification The Applicant proposes to provide 298 residential parking spaces (.75 spaces per bedroom) all in structured parking. This number is less than the 407 spaces (1.03 spaces per bedroom) required by the LUC sections cited above but exceeds the 297 spaces (.75 spaces per bedroom) that would be required for rent-by-the-bedroom multi- family projects in the Transit-oriented Development (TOD) overlay district. Reason for the Request The HUB is located on West Elizabeth Street approximately 388 feet east of the TOD boundary in a high density mixed use area very similar to the TOD. It is also located in the CC zone where high density mixed-use is encouraged and directly adjacent to the West Elizabeth Enhanced Travel Corridor. The parking requirements applicable to The Hub are designed for more suburban areas where reliance on ownership, storage and automobile travel is more pronounced. Parking requirements for the same kind of project in the TOD are lower however because higher density mixed-use areas focusing on multi-modal transportation are less automobile oriented. Although the TOD originally did not require any parking, the City has updated the TOD parking requirements to insure that new student-oriented multi-family housing projects provide adequate parking to avoid impacting adjacent neighborhoods. The result of that study concluded that providing .75 parking spaces per bedroom for rent-by-the- bedroom projects was appropriate, and that standard was adopted by the City. In addition, the LUC provides options for developers of rent-by-the-bedroom TOD projects to utilize demand mitigation strategies that further promote the use of alternate modes of travel in order to reduce the number of cars and ultimately the amount of parking required to below the .75 spaces per bedroom standard. The Applicant is requesting a modification that would allow it to provide less residential parking than what is required by LUC 3.2.2(K)(1)(a), i.e. 407 residential spaces, but parking that exceeds the number of spaces required for the same kind of project in nearly identical circumstances. Justifications In support of its request, the Applicant asserts that this modification request complies with two of the four alternate standards: (1) the plan promotes the purpose of the standard equally well or better than a plan that meets the standard, and (4) the plan as submitted will not diverge from the standards of the LUC except in a nominal, inconsequential way and will continue to advance the purposes of the LUC. (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; The purpose of all of the City’s parking standards is to ensure that development is well designed with regard to safety, efficiency and convenience for vehicles, bicycles, pedestrians and transit. As already stated, the City has changed its TOD parking standards from requiring no parking to requiring .75 spaces per bedroom for rent-by-the- bedroom multi-family housing. It is logical to conclude that rent-by-the-bedroom developments in the TOD that meets this new standard is considered to be in compliance with the standard’s purpose. The Applicant believes that the location of The Hub is so similar to the TOD that meeting the TOD parking standards results in a project that promotes the purpose of the standard. Kimley Horn analyzed TOD parking needs and recommended appropriate parking ratios to the City when it was developing the new standards. Useful information gleaned from Kimley Horn’s analysis includes the following: • The purpose of the TOD is to encourage transit-supported, compact, walkable infill and redevelopment projects. • Transit Oriented Development includes four foundational elements: o Development around transit that is dense and compact, at least relative to its surroundings o A rich mix of land uses—housing, work, and other destinations, creating a lively place and balancing peak transit flows o A great public realm—sidewalks, plazas, bike paths, a street grid that fits, and buildings that address the street at ground level o A new deal on parking—less of it; shared wherever possible; energy efficient and designed properly. • Market driven parking requirements could allow Fort Collins to achieve its density vision as outlined in City Plan The Hub is technically located outside of the hard boundary of the TOD (i.e. 388 feet west), however, its location shares the foundational characteristics of the TOD: the area is transit-supported, walkable, dense and compact; there is a rich mix of diverse land uses; the West Elizabeth corridor is active and lively; there is an abundance of pedestrians, bicycles and bus usage; and the corridor is redeveloping with great public places, plazas and pedestrian-oriented buildings. The project itself is in many respects identical to multi-family projects located within the TOD: • The project is located on a busy arterial street surrounded by student-oriented housing businesses. • The project provides higher density housing with student-oriented amenities. • The project rents by the bedroom. • The project provides mixed-use. • Students living here can easily ride their bike or walk to the CSU campus. • Students living here can also easily walk or ride bikes to shopping, employment, entertainment, recreational opportunities and other services. Furthermore, West Elizabeth Street is designated as an Enhanced Travel Corridor which is to share many of the qualities seen in the TOD: protected bike lanes, numerous public transit stops, and enhanced pedestrian improvements. The combination of this area’s close proximity to CSU and its direct adjacency to the Enhanced Travel Corridor also make it very similar to areas within the TOD. Utilizing the City’s parking requirement for multi-family located inside the TOD (.75 spaces per bedroom), The Hub would need to provide 297 parking spaces, while outside of the TOD, and for the exact unit mix, The Hub is required to provide 407 spaces or 37% more parking. We struggle to understand what is different about the The Hub’s location that would require 110 more parking spaces than if it were located just 388 feet to the east inside the boundary of the TOD. Based on its square footage and the approximate mix of uses, the commercial portion of the project must provide 29 parking spaces. The Applicant will provide all 29 required spaces and is not seeking a reduction to TOD standards, even though this location is likely to have a significant number of customers arriving on foot or by bicycle. It is also reasonable to assume that the residents of The Hub will make up a portion of the commercial patrons because of the convenience of having the commercial uses on-site. Since residential parking is already being provided for these patrons, there would likely be less demand for the commercial spaces, resulting in those spaces being available for resident parking also. In summary, we feel confident that if The Hub meets the TOD parking standard, with an additional space, it will promote the purpose of the parking standard (safety, efficiency and convenience) equally or better than a project with 407 parking spaces. Locating all of the spaces in an onsite parking structure is safe and convenient for the residents, and providing the amount of parking determined to be sufficient for a similarly located rent-by-the-bedroom project eliminates the inefficiency of excess parking not likely to be utilized. (4) the plan as submitted will not diverge from the standards of the Land Use Code that are authorized by this Division to be modified except in a nominal, inconsequential way when considered from the perspective of the entire development plan, and will continue to advance the purposes of the Land Use Code as contained in Section 1.2.2. Other rent-by-the-bedroom student housing projects located just inside the TOD boundary, and only three or four blocks from The Hub, provide less than .75 parking spaces per bedroom. The District (located at 1308 W. Plum Street) is parked at .71 spaces per bedroom and Lokal (located at 1201 W. Plum Street) is parked at .54 spaces per bedroom. At the City’s request, the Applicant investigated how much parking at The District was being utilized. This analysis is contained in the attached Parking Generation Letter prepared by Kimley Horn on February 21, 2017 reports that The District contains 658 bedrooms and 467 parking spaces (.71 spaces per bedroom), and that that ratio provides more parking than needed by the residents; the peak parking demand was determined to be 366 spaces, which is equal to .56 spaces per occupied bed. Based on this research, Kimley Horn concluded that the provision of .75 spaces per bedroom at The Hub would adequately serve the parking needs of its residents. The Applicant believes that the location of The Hub, compared to the location of The District and Lokal, is inconsequential and that it does not affect parking demand in any way that would require The Hub to provide suburban-level parking (407 spaces) for its residents. In addition to already providing adequate parking, the Hub will incorporate elements into its plan that will encourage other modes of transportation and discourage students from bringing automobiles to the project including bike parking inside every bedroom, 22 bike parking spaces located directly on the West Elizabeth Street frontage and an additional 40 ground floor bike parking spaces on the side of the residential building. Also note that the project as submitted will continue to advance the following purposes of the LUC: Land Use Code Section 1.2.2 – Purpose The purpose of this Code is to improve and protect the public health, safety and welfare by: (A) ensuring that all growth and development which occurs is consistent with this Code, City Plan and its adopted components, including, but not limited to, the Structure Plan, Principles and Policies and associated sub-area plans. High density, mixed use buildings in the CC District are specifically outlined in City Plan in the policies listed below. (B) encouraging innovations in land development and renewal. This infill development is renewing a prominent piece of property along a major arterial road and enhanced travel corridor. (C) fostering the safe, efficient and economic use of the land, the city's transportation infrastructure, and other public facilities and services. This project exemplifies efficient and economic use of this land by creating more density in a District that is appropriate. City Plan says “density fosters efficient land use, increases efficiency of public utilities, streets, facilities, and services and accommodates multiple modes of travel.” (D) facilitating and ensuring the provision of adequate public facilities and services such as transportation (streets, bicycle routes, sidewalks and mass transit), water, wastewater, storm drainage, fire and emergency services, police, electricity, open space, recreation, and public parks. The Hub on Campus provides access to bicycle, pedestrian, mass transit and vehicular connections and will be enhanced by the newly adopted West Elizabeth Enhanced Travel Corridor Plan. All utilities and storm drainage meet local codes and are consistent with the needs of the development. Emergency access for fire and emergency services is acceptable to PFA. The project also provides over 22,000 square feet of open plazas and courtyard space, fitness center, clubhouse and rooftop amenity area. (E) avoiding the inappropriate development of lands and providing for adequate drainage and reduction of flood damage. This project is providing water quality treatment on site and is meeting all local drainage codes. (F) encouraging patterns of land use which decrease trip length of automobile travel and encourage trip consolidation. In addition to its proximity to CSU’s main campus one block to the east, The Hub is located in the Campus West shopping center which provides a myriad of employment, shopping entertainment and recreation opportunities suited for the student population. (G) increasing public access to mass transit, sidewalks, trails, bicycle routes and other alternative modes of transportation. The City recently approved the West Elizabeth Enhanced Travel Corridor Plan, an ambitious plan for West Elizabeth Street improvements. These improvements are directed at enhancing the corridor for pedestrians, bicycles, public transportation and private vehicles. The City’s Street Oversizing (SOS) funds are utilized to help pay for such improvements. The Hub will add a substantial amount of revenue to the SOS funds. (H) reducing energy consumption and demand. Data obtained from Conservice, a nationwide utility billing service that analyzes information from many properties and thousands of units, indicates that electricity usage is an average of 21.25% more efficient when comparing a 4-bedroom unit to two 2-bedroom units. By providing 4- bedroom units, The Hub reduces energy consumption and demand as compared to a project that solely consists of one and two bedroom units. (I) minimizing the adverse environmental impacts of development. The project as a whole minimizes environmental impacts that can result from a high density housing because of its proximity to the university. This allows students to walk, bike or bus to CSU and have minimal need for their personal vehicles, reducing pollution, congestion and minimizing impact on public facilities. The Hub also provides on-site water quality treatment facilities. (J) improving the design, quality and character of new development. The Applicant is committed to providing a quality project with innovative and attractive design that appeals to the younger student population. This is exemplified through the enhanced West Elizabeth Street streetscape, pedestrian plazas, rooftop amenities, fitness center, clubhouse and courtyards provided at The Hub. (K) fostering a more rational pattern of relationship among residential, business and industrial uses for the mutual benefit of all. The site is within the Campus West commercial shopping area that includes many retail and personal service shops as well as a variety of restaurants and entertainment venues that are geared towards the student population. Providing residential units on West Elizabeth Street will continue to increase the economic viability for commercial and retail uses in the area by providing more foot traffic and potential customers. (L) encouraging the development of vacant properties within established areas. While this site is not currently vacant, infill redevelopment can promote the continued improvement and upgrading o f t h e adjacent established areas. (M) ensuring that development proposals are sensitive to the character of existing neighborhoods. The Hub fits in with the surrounding high density mixed-use neighborhood and will utilize a design that is sensitive to and complements the character of neighboring uses. (O) encouraging a wide variety of housing opportunities at various densities that are well-served by public transportation for people of all ages and abilities. The Hub adds housing opportunities for students to the greater context of the Campus West area. It is part of the WEETCP and encourages multimodal transportation for its residents and customers. Finally, approval of this modification will not be detrimental to the public good. The Hub provides at least as much parking per bedroom as other, very similarly situated student-oriented multi-family projects recently approved by the City and provides the amount of parking that has been determined by the City to be sufficient for projects located in higher density, mixed use areas like the TOD. In addition, the neighborhoods surrounding The Hub are identified in the West Elizabeth Enhanced Travel Corridor Plan (WEETCP) as Parking Management District Focus Areas and Residential Parking Permit Programs Focus Areas in order to “help discourage undesired park-n-ride activity.” These measures are anticipated to be effective in addressing the possibility of overflow parking however unlikely. The Applicant also believes that providing well-managed higher density housing for students close to CSU and all of the necessary services will reduce the number single-family homes in residential neighborhoods that are converted to student housing, thus increasing the number of homes available for families, which is a definite benefit to the community.