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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPLATTE RIVER POWER AUTHORITY CAMPUS - PDP - PDP170040 - SUBMITTAL DOCUMENTS - ROUND 1 - PLANNING OBJECTIVES1 11/15/2017 Statement of Planning Objectives Platte River Power Authority Project Development Plan November 15, 2017 We are pleased to submit the following Project Development Plan (PDP) for the expansions at the Platte River Power Authority (PRPA) headquarters site. The documents enclosed reflect the future plans for PRPA in an overall PDP that meets the criteria for approval as set forth in the Land Use Code. For nearly 45 years, Platte River Power Authority has supplied reliable, low‐cost and environmentally responsible energy to each municipal owner – Estes Park, Fort Collins, Loveland and Longmont. During this time, they have served our communities from their headquarters campus located at Horsetooth and Timberline. To better manage the complex technologies behind a 21st Century electrical grid and the critical infrastructure necessary to power and protect the communities we serve, they need a more modern, highly secure campus. PRPA also wants to provide the community with a structure that offers better access to our region’s energy experts and the policy leaders who will guide our cleaner and more diverse energy future. To accomplish these objectives, they plan to use their current location and build a new headquarters campus. (i) Statement of appropriate City Plan Principles and Policies achieved by the proposed overall Development Plan. Principle EH 3: The City will support local, unique, and creative businesses The redevelopment of the PRPA headquarters site ensures that this key regional employer can remain in Fort Collins and grow their operations and energy innovation in our community. Policy ENV 5.1 – Demonstrate Leadership in Public Buildings PRPA has partnered with the Institute for Built Environment and the City of Fort Collins’ Integrated Design Assistance Program to help to develop and benchmark a highly sustainable campus. The IBE and PRPA have developed building and construction sustainability measures for the new campus to result in an energy efficient and sustainable campus. They have developed five key guiding principles to guide the design: • Active & Accessible Site • Energy Efficiency & Resiliency • Quality of Interior Spaces • Community Leadership & Stewardship • Long‐Range, Ambitious, & Innovative Goals • Flexible, Collaborative, & Supportive Design The new facility will be an example of leadership in innovation and sustainable design that will be shared with and offer education the utility customers and the public. 2 11/15/2017 Principle LIV 6: Infill and redevelopment within residential areas will be compatible with the established character of the neighborhood. The PDP helps to achieve the policies for infill development and compatibility. The expansion and redevelopment of the PRPA site in its current location, while more complicated than building a new headquarters and services on an undeveloped site, will allow PRPA to remain in their current location in Fort Collins. The physical features of the site that have provided a compatible setting in southeast Fort Collins (landscaping, irrigation pond) will continue with the new campus plan. Principle LIV 14: Require quality and ecologically sound landscape design practices for all public and private development projects throughout the community. The redeveloped PRPA campus will shift slightly from its current character dominated by manicured, irrigated turf to a more water‐wise landscape with native and adapted plants species requiring reduced irrigation needs. (ii) Description of existing and proposed, open space, buffering, landscaping, circulation, transition areas, wetlands and natural areas. The redeveloped PRPA campus will continue to have a significantly open landscaped frontage along Horsetooth and Timberline to allow for a campus of connected buildings and uses to be established in the campus core. The new headquarters building will be constructed immediately west of the existing building allowing an improved stormwater conveyance system west to east along Horsetooth Road and an open detention pond area along Timberline Drive. The irrigation pond will be reconstructed to be near the intersection of Horsetooth and Timberline providing a natural and pleasing foreground to the campus from this primary intersection and public view. Visitor entry and parking will be located on the south side of the new headquarters accessed from Horsetooth Road. A separate service entrance will be provided from the north from Danfield Court to directly access the secured service portions of the campus without mixing with visitor access. Staff parking is located in the secured portion of the site just north of the headquarters building and can be accessed from either entrance. (iii) Estimate of number of employees for commercial and industrial uses. The current number of employees is at 144. This includes office and field workers. (iv) Description of rationale behind the assumptions and choices made by the applicant. The PRPA campus redevelopment will be a high‐quality and meaningful addition to the neighborhood and community allowing them to continue as a key employer in the City for decades ahead. The plans are designed to meet the intent and requirements of the Land Use Code and the Larimer County Urban Area Street Standards with no known variances or modifications requested at this time. (v) Written narrative addressing each issue raised at the neighborhood meetings(s), if a 3 11/15/2017 meeting was held. The City provided written minutes summarizing comments received during the PDP neighborhood meeting. There were few attendees and no significant comments were raised. The primary questions were on the topics of traffic impacts and landscape buffering from the adjacent neighborhood to the west. These issues have been addressed in the design of the plans included with this PDP submittal. (vi) Name of the project as well as any previous name(s) the project may have been known by. None (vii) A narrative description of how conflicts between land uses are being avoided or mitigated. The PDP has been developed in a collaborative effort involving City Staff, and several adjacent landowners in the area. This process was useful because it brought together key participants early in the process and enabled the group to identify issues and conflicts and quickly make decisions to address each item.