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HomeMy WebLinkAboutLIVING OAKS - PDP - PDP170009 - SUBMITTAL DOCUMENTS - ROUND 2 - PLANNING OBJECTIVES1 Statement of Planning Objectives Living Oaks 221 E. Oak Street Fort Collins, CO 80524 March 29, 2017 UPDATES IN RED Project Overview Under the umbrella principles of New Urbanism and the International Living Future Institute (ILFI), we are energized to create a demonstration case building that will be a benchmark for sustainable development in Fort Collins. New Urbanism promotes the creation and restoration of sustainable, diverse, walkable, compact, vibrant, mixed-use communities The ILFI has raised the bar with the Living Building Challenge, the most advanced measure of sustainability in the built environment. This standard measures a project’s value based on seven areas of compliance; Place, Energy, Water, Materials, Health and Happiness, Equity, and Beauty. This project will be designed to be a Net Zero Energy Building and will seek certification under the International Living Future Institute’s NZEB standard. To reach this goal we have employed solar site design strategies, and developed a very efficient building envelope. In addition, we are using geothermal wells, photovoltaics, and highly efficient energy systems. 2 The proposed three (3) story, four (4) unit residential project is located on the northeast corner of Oak Street and Mathews Street. The lot is 92’ x 50’ yielding 4,600 SF. The site is vacant, having been formerly an auto garage some 40 years ago. It is in the Neighborhood Conservation Buffer (NCB), bordering the Downtown District. The site’s non-conforming size (less than 5,000sf) creates hardship in many ways and makes the lot difficult to improve to a maximized potential by the current parking, density and setback requirements established by the Land Use Code (LUC). It is our intent to outline our goals for the project and where we believe we need modifications to the LUC in order to accomplish this project. (i) Statement of appropriate City Plan Principles and Policies achieved by the proposed plan. From the Downtown Plan: Urban Design Policy UD 1a: Unique Character Subdistricts. Support the unique qualities within each Character subdistrict by defining which characteristics should be preserved and enhanced. Transportation and Parking Policy TP 1e: Mobility Sharing Programs. Incorporate and integrate mobility sharing programs (e.g., bike share, car share, ride share) into Downtown planning. Market and Economy Policy ME 1f: Housing. Increase the supply of housing in the Downtown area and encourage diverse housing types, including housing choices for a variety of income levels, demographics and lifestyles. Energy + Environment Policy EE-2a: Renewable Energy Production. Collaborate with business and institutional partners to lead the way in piloting and advancing renewable energy production, storage and use in the Downtown area. Policy EE-2c: Showcase Innovation. Demonstrate, showcase, measure, and engage the community around innovative approaches to environmental stewardship and energy management. Policy EE-2d: Green Building. Encourage and support above-code green building practices for all Downtown construction and development. 3 Policy EE-2f: Environmental Quality. Support programs and initiatives to improve indoor and outdoor health Downtown. Policy EE-2g: Electric Vehicles: Provide infrastructure and policy support for electric vehicles in the Downtown area. From the City Plan: Economic Health and Sustainability ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT EH 4: The City will encourage the redevelopment of strategic areas within the community as defined in the Community and Neighborhood Livability and Neighborhood Principles and Policies. EH 4.1 Prioritize Targeted Redevelopment Areas EH 4.2 Reduce Barriers to Infill Development and Redevelopment Environmental Health ENERGY ENV 5: To reduce net community energy use for new construction from conventional fossil fuel sources, the City will expand on current efforts and develop new strategies for increased energy efficiency and use of renewable energy. ENV 5.2-Utilize Solar Access ENV 5.4-Support Renewable Energy in New Development ENV 5.8-Participate in Research, Development and Demonstrations AIR QUALITY ENV 9: The City will reduce total mobile source emissions by focusing on both technology and behavior. ENV 9.1-Promote Alternative and Efficient Transportation Fuels and Vehicles CLIMATE CHANGE ENV 11: To help engender a more economically efficient, successful, and resilient community, and to reduce the impact of the Fort Collins community on global climate change, the Fort Collins community on global climate change, the Fort Collins 4 community will reduce greenhouse gas emissions 20% below 2005 levels by 2020 and 80% by 2050. ENV 11.1-Implement and Update the Climate Action Plan ENV 11.4-Lead by Example and Reduce Municipal Greenhouse Gas Emissions Community and Neighborhood Livability INFILL AND REDEVELOPMENT LIV 5: The City will promote redevelopment and infill areas identified on the Targeted Infill and Redevelopment Areas Map. LIV 5.1-Encourage Targeted Redevelopment and Infill HOUSING LIV 9: The City shall promote resource conservation and efficiency in construction of new houses as well as upgrades to existing houses. LIV 9.1-Increase Efficiency and Resource Conservation STREETSCAPES LIV 10: The City’s streetscapes will be designed with consideration to the visual character and the experience of users and adjacent properties. Together, the layout of the street network and the streets themselves will contribute to the character, form, and scale of the city. LIV 10.1-Design Safe, Functional, and Visually Appealing Streets NEIGHBORHOOD DESIGN AND CHARACTER LIV 22: The design of residential neighborhoods should emphasize creativity, diversity, and individuality, be responsive to its context, and contribute to a comfortable, interesting community. LIV 22.2-Provide Creative Multi-Family Housing Design LIV 22.4-Orient Buildings to Public Streets or Spaces LIV 22.5-Create Visually Interesting Streetscapes LIV 22.8-Reduce the Visual Prominence of Garages and Driveways Safety and Wellness COMMUNITY WELLNESS SW 2: The City will provide opportunities for residents to lead healthy and active lifestyles. 5 SW 2.3-Support Active Transportation SW 2.4-Design for Active Living Transportation INCREASE AWARENESS T 30: Programs that establish awareness of the environmental and energy use impacts of transportation choices and affect travel choices and behavior will be promoted. T 30.1-Energy Efficient and Environmentally Sensitive Transportation (ii) Description of proposed open space, wetlands, natural habitats and features, landscaping, circulation, transition areas, and associated buffering on site and in the general vicinity of the project. The site is a small, previously developed site in Old Town Neighborhood Commercial Buffer (N-C-B) district that was home to an automobile tire store. Three orphan tanks, which will be remediated, are buried on the site. (these will be removed under a separate permit) Since it is an urban site, it does not contain any open space, wetlands, or natural habitats. The north edge faces Oak Street, the west and south edges are bound by adjacent properties, the east edge faces Mathews Street. There is 36’ wide curb cut on Oak Street that we propose to close and plant a new tree in the ROW. There is one existing tree on Oak Street and one on Mathews Street, which will be removed and replaced with a new tree 20’ to the north, based on the City Forester’s recommendation. (iii) Statement of proposed ownership and maintenance of public and private open space areas; applicant's intentions with regard to future ownership of all or portions of the project development plan. The property owner’s HOA will maintain the developed property and the Oak and Mathews streetscape areas. (iv) Estimate of number of employees for business, commercial, and industrial uses. There are no commercial uses, so there will be no employees. (v) Description of rationale behind the assumptions and choices made by the applicant. Located within the Neighborhood Conservation Buffer (N-C-B) district, this project exemplifies the purpose and standards envisioned for this district in the Land Use Code. The owner and the design team used the zone district standards as the key resource in guiding the site and building design for Living Oaks. The purpose of the N-C-B district is stated as follows: 6 Purpose. The Neighborhood Conservation Buffer (N-C-B) district is intended for areas that are a transition between residential neighborhoods and more intensive commercial-use areas or high traffic zones that have been given this designation in accordance with an adopted subarea plan. The corner site at Oak and Mathews where the Living Oaks project is located, is on the southern boundary, and 48’ from the western boundary of the Downtown district and Transit Overlay Development district (TOD). As appropriate to a transition zone, the project is in response to the context of both the commercial downtown district and the medium density residential district. Relevant Land Use and Design Standards from the N-C-B district include: Div. 4.9 (B)(2) Permitted Uses. The following uses are permitted in the N-C-B District, subject to administrative review: (a) Residential uses: 3. Multi-family dwellings up to four (4) units which propose structural additions or exterior alterations to the existing building, or the dwellings are to be constructed on a lot or parcel which contained a structure on October 25, 1991, provided that such multi-family dwelling is located within a street-fronting principal building. 7 (D) Land Use Standards. (1) Density . Minimum lot area shall be equivalent to the total floor area of the building(s), but not less than five thousand (5,000) square feet. For the purposes of calculating density, "total floor area" shall mean the total gross floor area of all principal buildings as measured along the outside walls of such buildings, including each finished or unfinished floor level, plus the total gross floor area of the ground floor of any accessory building larger than one hundred twenty (120) square feet, plus that portion of the floor area of any second story having a ceiling height of at least seven and one-half (7½) feet located within any such accessory building located on the lot. (Open balconies and basements shall not be counted as floor area for purposes of calculating density). The proposed total gross area for the building is 9,200 SF on a 4,600 SF lot thus the proposed building exceeds the standard by 4,600 SF. We are requesting a 2:1 FAR instead of 1:1 FAR. We feel this is a reasonable request for which there are precedents in this zone. Also, from an urban design viewpoint, encouraging density at the core is a way to combat sprawl and maintain a thriving commercial center and is supported in the Downtown Plan. (5) Allowable Floor Area on Rear Half of Lots. The allowable floor area on the rear half of a lot shall not exceed thirty-three (33) percent of the area of the rear fifty (50) percent of the lot. The configuration and size of this lot, when all other setbacks are acknowledged, allows only 759 SF on the rear half of the lot, as shown in the diagram below (area of orange that overlaps yellow area). We are asking for a Modification of Standards to allow efficient development of this site to 2,304 SF on the rear half of this lot. This diagram also shows the other constraints that this zone’s setbacks require which will be discussed in (6) Dimensional Standards, below. 8 (6) Dimensional Standards . (a) Minimum lot width shall be forty (40) feet for each single-family and two-family dwelling and fifty (50) feet for each other use. The minimum lot width for lands located within the West Central Neighborhood Plan Subarea and south of University Avenue shall be eighty-five (85) feet. If more than one (1) principal building is proposed to be constructed side-by-side on the same lot, then each such principal building must have at least forty (40) feet of street frontage for single-family and two-family dwellings, and at least fifty (50) feet of street frontage for each other use. Project complies with this standard. (b) Minimum front yard setback shall be fifteen (15) feet. Setbacks from garage doors to the backs of public walks shall not be less than twenty (20) feet, except that the minimum front and side yard setbacks for lands located within the West Central Neighborhood Plan Subarea and south of University Avenue and abutting Shields Street shall be sixty (60) feet, and the minimum setback from garage doors to the backs of public walks shall be sixty-five (65) feet. The project’s front yard is the street frontage on Oak Street. On the same block, just west of the alley, the block is in the Downtown district which is a zero lot line setback. Therefore, for the street to be consistent, we are requesting a modification to the Standards to build to zero lot line on Oak Street. (See diagram at end of this section addressing all setbacks pertaining to the site.) (c) Minimum rear yard setback shall be five (5) feet from existing alley and fifteen (15) feet 9 in all other conditions. There is no alley directly attached to this site, but our rear setback is at twenty (20) feet on first floor and ten (10) feet at the second and third floors. (d) Minimum side yard width shall be five (5) feet for all interior side yards. Whenever any portion of a wall or building exceeds eighteen (18) feet in height, such portion of the wall or building shall be set back from the interior side lot line an additional one (1) foot, beyond the minimum required, for each two (2) feet or fraction thereof of wall or building height that exceeds eighteen (18) feet in height. Minimum side yard width shall be fifteen (15) feet on the street side of any corner lot. Notwithstanding the foregoing, minimum side yard width for school and place of worship uses shall be twenty-five (25) feet (for both interior and street sides). The interior side lot to the west is five (5) feet, so the project complies with this standard. However, as we have stated before; this site is non-conforming (less than 5,000 SF) and nearly impossible to make it economically feasible to build on without maximizing and economizing the building envelope. Therefore, we are asking for a Modification to the Standard to build a consistent vertical façade on the interior west setback. In addition, for the setback on the corner at Mathews Street, we are requesting a Modification to the Standard to be zero lot line setback. The rational for this is that from a well-documented urban design standpoint, corners should always anchor the block face. This becomes especially important when across Mathews is the openness of Library Park. There are other precedents for this idea found in The Townhomes at Library Park at the south end of Mathews at Olive, and the future MAVD at the north end of Mathews at Mountain. (see diagrams that follow) 10 11 (e)Maximum building height shall be three (3) stories, except for carriage houses and accessory buildings containing habitable space, which shall be limited to one and one-half (1½) stories. The project complies with this Standard. (vi) The applicant shall submit as evidence of successful completion of the applicable criteria, the completed documents pursuant to these regulations for each proposed use. The Planning Director may require, or the applicant may choose to submit, evidence that is beyond what is required in that section. Any variance from the criteria shall be described. The submittal includes all items required for Project Development Plan submittal including a letter from Engineering granting a variance to a 9’ utility easement on Oak and Mathews and a granted Stand Alone Modification request per Planning and Zoning Board for on-site parking requirements. (A new request for a Parking Modification is included with this re-submittal as the building scope was reduced from 6 units to 4 units) (vii) Narrative description of how conflicts between land uses or disturbances to wetlands, natural habitats and features and or wildlife are being avoided to the maximum extent feasible or are mitigated. The property is previously developed. There are no conflicts between land uses, and there are no wetlands to disturb. As noted in section (ii), one tree will be relocated if feasible, and two more planted in addition to one tree on Oak Street which will be maintained. (viii) Written narrative addressing each concern/issue raised at the neighborhood meeting(s), if a meeting has been held. As four residential units, we are a Type 1, Administrative Review so no neighborhood meeting is required. (ix) Name of the project as well as any previous name the project may have had during Conceptual Review. The project has been called 221 E. Oak Street and Living Oaks. (x) Parking narrative describing the parking demand generated with consideration of: the number of employees, tenants, and/or patrons; the amount and location of parking provided; where anticipated spill-over parking will occur; and, any other considerations regarding vehicle parking. 12 This building is going to be Net Zero Energy certified through the Living Building Challenge. It is the most stringent certification in built environment for delivering sustainable buildings. One of the many metrics we must satisfy for LBC NZE is supporting Human Powered Living. The intent is to “reduce transportation-related environmental impacts and encourage compact, connected communities that support a productive and rich lifestyle without the need for a car.”1 With this in mind, we requested a Stand Alone Modification for alternative parking compliance which was granted on December 15, 2016. As an outcome of that decision, the HOA will lease one space in the Old Town Garage and provide one transit pass per townhome. (An updated request for parking modification is included with this resubmittal as the Stand Alone Modification was for 6 units/spaces in garage. We will be requesting 4 spaces to be reserved by and paid for by the HOA in the Old Town Garage and two transit passes per unit) 1 Living Building Challenge 3.0, Place Petal Handbook, International Living Future Institute, 2014.