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Home My WebLink AboutKECHTER TOWNHOMES - FDP210002 - - PROJECT NARRATIVE 4383 Tennyson Street, #1D • Denver, Colorado 80212 • Phone: 720.465.4320 www.mccooldevelopment.com March 3, 2021 City of Fort Collins – Community Development & Neighborhood Services Attn: Ms. Tenae Beane, Development Review Coordinator 280 North College Avenue Fort Collins, CO 80524 Re: Kechter Townhomes; Final Development Plan and Subdivision Plat Applications 3620 Kechter Road, Fort Collins, Colorado 80528 Dear Ms. Beane, On behalf of the owner, the City of Fort Collins, we are pleased to submit the attached Final Development Plan and Subdivision Plat for approval of a 54-unit affordable housing infill project. The following information provides additional details to assist City staff in the review of the Final Development Plan and Subdivision Plat applications. Project Title: Kechter Townhomes Final Development Plan and Subdivision Plat Past Meeting Dates: • PDP Preapplication meeting was held on June 5, 2019 • Neighborhood Meeting held on July 27, 2020 • Meetings with Observatory Village HOA held on January 19 and January 27, 2021 (ongoing) • PDP Administrative Hearing held on February 4, 2021 (Approved with Conditions) General Information: This is a request for a Final Development Plan and Subdivision Plat approval to develop a 4.66 acre City of Fort Collins Land Bank parcel to construct 100% permanently affordable, for- sale homes consisting of 54 townhomes in 11 buildings comprising of 4-, 5-, and 6 plexes. Large mature cottonwood trees on the site are retained. Primary vehicular access is from Kechter Road with a new street west of Jupiter Drive and from extension of the Quasar Way street stub. The new Eclipse Lane street stub is not extended, but a walkway connection is provided at that location. A total of 102 parking spaces are provided with 54 single family attached garage spaces and 48 on street spaces that exceed the approved modification of standard for the minimum number of parking spaces (99 spaces) through the PDP review process. A linear green space provides additional off-street circulation for pedestrians and north-south connectivity through the development. The property is zoned LMN and secured Project Development Plan approval with conditions on February 4, 2021. The associated Subdivision Plat has been prepared in accordance with Code requirements. Existing and Proposed Owners/Funding Structure: Elevation Community Land Trust (Elevation CLT or ECLT) secured a grant from the Colorado Department of Housing to assist with the acquisition of subject property. Indiana-based affordable housing developer, TWG Development, LLC (TWG), is the developer Page 2 of 4 and has formed a limited partnership (Kechter Homes LP) with Housing Catalyst, the City of Fort Collins’ Housing Authority, to allow the project to benefit from tax exemptions and property tax abatement through the construction period to time of sale to ECLT. TWG’s related entity TWG Construction, LLC , will serve as the General Contractor. TWG and ECLT will enter into a purchase and sale agreement through which ECLT will acquire the subdivided parcels and finished townhomes at an agreed-upon price point. ECLT will then sell the improvements to qualified households earning less than 80% area median income (AMI), with prices set around 70% AMI to ensure long term affordability and to serve a broader range of incomes. The difference between the acquisition sales price and the homeowner sales price will be subsidized with additional philanthropic capital from ELCT. ECLT will maintain ownership of underlying land and will ensure affordability and owner-occupancy using a 99-year renewable land lease. ECLT will also establish a homeowners association that they will monitor. Transportation Improvements: A Traffic Impact Study was updated and finalized on December 21, 2020. Based on the analysis contained in the study, the proposed Kechter townhomes project demonstrates compliance with the standards in the Larimer County Urban Area Street Standards for traffic at the time of development. It is recommended that the proposed site access to Kechter Road be constructed as a full movement access without an eastbound left-turn lane. As referenced above, in lieu of extending the Eclipse Lane street stub, walkway/bike connection is provided. Neighborhood Outreach: An initial neighborhood meeting was conducted on July 27, 2020, while continual outreach efforts continue. Feedback and input from the neighbors have been infused into this Final Development Plan, including preserving the existing trees on site, bald eagle habitat (if found), eliminating the vehicular connection to Eclipse, and providing a pedestrian/bike connection instead of vehicular connectivity to Observatory Village to the east. The eagle roosting survey is ongoing and will be completed this month. Pursuant to the PDP condition of approval, discussions with th e abutting homeowners through the Observatory Village Master Association (HOA) is underway to confirm if desired and agreed by the parties to plant up to six additional trees in the abutting buffer yards, with adjustment of the HOA irrigation system to irrigate the new trees. Site Design: The site’s design includes an internal street system with sidewalks and tree lawns on each site. Buildings are set back to provide additional front lawn space. The center of the neighborhood is anchored with a number of townhomes, a walking path that provides the neighborhood with a north -south pedestrian connection, and a linear park that connects the homes in the east -west direction and provides a visual connection to the adjacent open space to the west. Transition Techniques: The adjacent land uses include single-family residential (east and north), school (west), and park (south). Planting Beds are provided along the western perimeter to softening the buildings. Open space and storm water facilities provide a buffer from Kechter Road to the south. There is an existing 6’ privacy fence along the east and northern boundaries of the site. Per neighborhood input, this fence will remain. Only the portions of the fence will be removed three feet from either side of the walk/bike pedestrian access on the east and on either side of the Quasar Way connection. Page 3 of 4 The site has been designed to further the City’s affordable housing goals by integrating and distributing affordable housing as part of individual neighborhoods and the larger community. More specifically, the site and building design complement and enhance the positive qualities of existing adjacent neighborhoods by continuing on-street parking, detached sidewalks, tree lawns, individual front yards, and front-accessed garages. Lastly, the design aligns with the anticipated evolution, built form, mix of housing types, and mobility described in Mixed Neighborhood. Architectural Design: Community architecture consists of four different building types with a number or exterior color options that mimic the architecture of the adjacent neighborhoods with pitched asphalt roofs, two-story and single-story massing, walk-up front porches, vinyl windows, residential window proportions, cement board siding and trim, and earth-toned colors. The combination of two- and three-bedroom townhomes creates buildings with varied massing and rooflines to provide visual interest and variation between the building types. Garage doors are recessed from the fronts of the dwellings and comprise no more than 50% of building frontage. There is one instance wherein the same buildings with the same plan are located next to each other pursuant to the approved modification of standard for building variation. Tree Plantings One of the key elements of the Kechter Townhomes project is the preservation of the grove of mature cottonwoods in the southeast corner of the site along Kechter Road and the larger cottonwood in the northwest corner of the site. The plan provides street trees as required by Code. An alternative Compliance request from tree plantings around buildings was approved through the PDP review process. As noted above, discussions with the abutting homeowners through the HOA is ongoing to confirm if desired and agreed by the parties to plant up to six additiona l trees in the abutting buffer yards, with adjustment of the HOA irrigation system to irrigate the new trees. Utilities: Water – Water will be provided to the project by the Fort Collins-Loveland Water District via existing water mains located adjacent to the project site. No upgrades to the existing system are anticipated. Sewer – Sewer will be provided by the South Fort Collins Sanitation District via existing sewer mains adjacent to the project site. No upgrades or off-site improvements to the existing system are anticipated. Stormwater – Stormwater will be conveyed via a system of swales and storm drains to stormwater treatment and detention facilities located at the southern end of the site. All City of Fort Collins Stormwater requirements will be met by the project, including Low Impact Development (LID) treatment. Development Phasing Schedule: At this time, the entire Kechter Townhome project is anticipated to be developed in a single phase with construction to begin in early May 2021. PDP Comment Response Letter: Attached. Signed Letters of Intent from Impacted off-site property owners(s): The Project Team in conjunction with the City of Fort Collins worked with the Observatory Village Homeowners Association to vacate the existing 30’ access easement that currently encumbers the western edge of the subject property. The easement has been vacated and noted on the subdivision plat (30' access easement book 1761, page 55 to be vacated per rec. no. 202000074047). Page 4 of 4 Lighting: With such little lighting proposed, Staff granted a waiver from the Photometric Plan submittal requirement. During the PDP review and approval process, it was agreed that a Photometric Plan would only be required if the trees are shown to be a roost which would create a Natural Habitat Buffer under the trees. Since there is not currently a NHBZ this submittal does not include a Photometric Plan. The eagle roosting survey is ongoing and will be completed this month. If the study started to show eagles, we will work with staff to provide required lighting information. All proposed lighting is depicted within the Plan Set (See Sheet A1.5) and will meet City of Fort Collins requirements. Ecological Characterization Memo: Since this site is not within the 500 feet of defined natural habitats and features, the ECS was initially waived. On July 15, 2020, the City shared a comment from a community member on a potential Bald Eagle foraging site immediately adjacent to the Kechter parcel. Given this information, the City required a ECS memo that focuses on the trees serving as a potential foraging site for American Eagles. The Project Team engaged Cedar Creek Associates, Inc., to evaluate the subject property and nearby vicinity for bald eagle activity and potential habitat to satisfy City of Fort Collins requirements under Article 3, Section 3.4.1 of the City’s Land Use Code (LUC 3.4.1). The roosting survey was initiated in mid-December. The survey will be completed in March 2021, and if a winter night roost and/or communal roost is determined to exist, temporal buffering and all other mitigation measures detailed in the Bald Eagle Roost Mitigation Measures document dated January 28, 2021 , will be implemented. To date, no bald eagles use has been observed in the survey area and only incidental use from other raptors. We are thrilled with the opportunity to bring this project to the City of Fort Collins and look forward to working with you and the City through the development review process. Please feel free to reach out to me at 303.378.4540 or carrie@mccooldevelopment.com with any questions or comments. Sincerely, McCOOL DEVELOPMENT SOLUTIONS Carrie McCool, Principal