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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPOLESTAR VILLAGE - PDP220010 - SUBMITTAL DOCUMENTS - ROUND 1 - DESIGN NARRATIVEPolestar Village: June 29, 2022 Project Information & Design Narrative Site Vicinity Map & Project Location: The proposed Polestar Village development is generally located approximately ¼ mile east of South Overland Trail between West Elizabeth Street and Orchard Place. The proposed development is comprised four individual parcels of property totaling 20.5 + acres of land. Currently the subject property is vacant and undeveloped with the parcels located south of the proposed Orchard Place ROW being approximately 18.9 acres, are Zoned LMN – Low Density Mixed-Use Neighborhood and the parcel located north of the proposed Orchard Place ROW being approximately 1.6 + acres of land is Zoned RL – Low Density Residential. The property was originally home to Happy Heart Farms Community Supported Agricultural Farm (CSA). The existing Happy Heart Homestead, which is located just south of the proposed development fronts onto West Elizabeth Street will remain and is not part of the proposed Polestar development. Introduction: Polestar Gardens Inc. is an educational non-profit (501c3) founded in 2000, to support the Physical, Mental and Spiritual development of students of all ages. Polestar Village has been designed as an urban agricultural development with a central community farm and pocket gardens throughout the development. It is a walkable neighborhood with extensive active open space and parks. The development will also include a diverse offering of home ownership and rental opportunities. Also included is a community building and wellness center, a place of worship for meditation and yoga and a small neighborhood retail center. This diversity of housing types coupled with the abundance of community buildings and amenities will provide both those who share Polestar values and the overall Fort Collins community the opportunity to live, work and play within a fully sustainable urban agricultural community. Property & Development Ownership When approved Polestar Gardens, Inc. an educational 501c3 non-profit company will own the Polestar Village property. Polestar Gardens, Inc. will also own and maintain all of the community buildings and amenities throughout the development. The single-family homes, townhomes, duplex homes and condominiums when constructed will all be sold to individual homeowners while the multi-family apartments rentals will be owned and maintained be Polestar Gardens and/or their assigns. Polestar Village Community Design Values: The proposed Polestar Village has be designed to achieve several or the Key Core Goals and Values of the Polestar Gardens organization include the following: • Create a Neighborhood that is inviting and built around Community Gardens and Gathering Places • The design should be Pedestrian Focused minimizing reliance on carbon based vehicles and promoting the use of Electrical Car Share Vehicles and E-bikes • Create a Contemplative Space for Meditation & Yoga • Polestar Village should Build Upon the Legacy of Happy Heart Farm through the development of a central Urban Agriculture Farm, Pocket Gardens and a Community Farmers Market • Create a Community with Ample Open Space, Parks and Active Play areas • The Development should insure the Preservation of Existing Natural Environment along the Pleasant Valley Irrigation Canal • Polestar Village should be designed to meet the City’s Net Zero Goals by implementing Ground Breaking Construction Practices • Polestar Village should be designed with a broad Diversity in Housing Products for ownership and rent that is be Economically Attainable Proposed Uses: Polestar Village is proposing 146 Residential Housing Units representing six distinct and diverse housing types. This includes 19 Single Family Detached Homes with front access garages, 26 Duplex Homes with alley access, 10 Townhome with alley access garages, 4 cottage homes, 52 Condominiums with garage and/or surface parking and 35 Multi-Family Apartment Homes with surface parking. Also included in a small Neighborhood Retail/Commercial area a 2 story Community Center and Community Dinning Hall with 6 Bed & Breakfast Rental Units a 2 story Wellness Center with 8 Residence Beds, a Place of Worship and an Agricultural Support Building. Community Agriculture & Activities: A portion of the Polestar property, approximately 3+ acres will be retained for an Urban Agricultural Farm and Pocket Gardens located throughout the development. The Community Farm and Pocket Gardens will be owned and managed by the Polestar HOA and will provide fresh vegetables and fruit to the entire Polestar Village Community. The Community Center, Wellness Center and Place of Worship will also be owned and managed by the Polestar HOA and is intended for community events, meditation and yoga activities with some events being open to the public such as a Seasonal Farmers and Makers Popup Markets. Vehicular Access & Pedestrian Circulation: The Polestar Village community will be accessed with the extension of Orchard Place and Locust Drive on the north. Additionally West Plum will be extended from where it currently ends at the east boundary of the subject property and extent west and then north to intersect Orchard Place. A series of private drives and alleys will provide vehicular access to all of the proposed homes except for the single-family detached homes, which will have vehicle access directly from Orchard Place. Pedestrians will utilize the detached roadside sidewalks and tree lined streets along Orchard Place and West Plum as well as being able to access a network of on-site pedestrian walkways and trails that will extend throughout the site’s green streets and open space areas, connecting teach of the Polestar housing clusters to the various community facilities and the agricultural areas. Neighborhood Compatibility & Natural Features: Currently there are both single family and multi-family neighborhoods surrounding the proposed Polestar Village development. As such the building architecture throughout the Polestar community will be residential in scale and character and will seek to enhance the existing surrounding neighborhoods with added interest, diverse housing types, extensive landscape and high quality architectural details. The large stand of existing trees located along the west property boundary and the Pleasant Valley & Lake Canal will be protected and incorporated into a 50’ wide Natural Area Buffer that will extend along the canal and continue north along the existing Saddle Ridge Condominiums and its retention pond. Site Infrastructure & Public Improvement Development Schedule: Development of Polestar Gardens is expected to begin in the 2nd quarter of 2023. Polestar Gardens will be constructed as two sequences of development. Sequence 1 will beginning in the 2nd Quarter of 2023 and Sequence 2 beginning in the second half of 2024. Each of the sequences of construction shall include the following: The First Sequence of Construction will include of extending Orchard Place and its associated utilities from the eastern terminus of Orchard Place to the western boundary of the subject property. Also included will be the extension of Locust Grove Drive to intersect Orchard Place, overlot grading of the entire 20.5 acres site area, pedestrian sidewalks, tree lawn and street tree plantings, as well as the construction of the on-site Detention and Water Quality Pond. The development of this critical first sequence of infrastructure construction will allow for the development of 19 Single Family Detached Homes that will front onto Orchard Place. The Second Sequence of Construction will likely begin in late 2023 or early 2024 and will include the extension of West Plum Street and its associated utilities from the eastern boundary of the property to the intersection of Orchard Place. Also included will be pedestrian sidewalks, tree lawns and street tree plantings, as well as the construction of several private drives and alley’s, storm drainage infrastructure, Low Impact Design (LID) water quality features, reclamation and landscape construction of the 50’ wide Natural Area Habitat Buffer and soft trail and the landscape of the common area open space tracts. The completion of this sequence of construction will allowing for the development of all other proposed housing products, neighborhood activity center and other community buildings and amenities. Site & Landscape Design: Site Design - Polestar Village with its diversity of housing types will satisfy a much-needed opportunity in Fort Collins for both home ownership and rental housing. Open Space areas throughout the proposed development and the agricultural farm and pocket garden areas will be owned and maintained by the Polestar HOA. Open space areas will be fully landscaped per the City’s Landscape Development Standards with Orchard Place and West Plum Street including detached sidewalks with 8’ wide tree lawns planted with street trees at approximately 40’ on center. Native grasses and plant species will be used to reestablish the floodplain and Detention pond areas. The remainder of the community open space areas will be landscaped with “water-wise” shade/ornamental trees, shrubs, perennials, grasses and drought tolerant turf. Within the individual housing clusters, permaculture gardens or “Kitchen Gardens” will be integrated into the green courtyards allowing nearby residents to grow their own food in close proximity to their front door. In addition to the public improvements mentioned above, the proposed on-site construction will include paved private drives and parking areas with curb and gutter, water and sewer services, storm drainage infrastructure, stormwater and LID water quality improvements, and site landscape/irrigation. The Polestar Village community will also include an abundance of Enclosed and Fixed Bike Parking Spaces and 14 Electric Vehicle Charging Stations distributed throughout the property. Additionally Polestar Village will also include robust Bike-Share and Car-Share programs that can be accessible to all of the Polestar residents. Tree Planting Standard - The project will provide streetscaping along West Orchard Place and West Plum Street as well as in and around on-site private drives, alleys and parking areas, open space and around the individual duplex, townhomes and multi-family units. The builder of the single-family homes will landscape the front yard for each unit with the rear yards being the responsibility of the individual homeowners. Tree planting as per city standards shall be met in order to add to the urban tree canopy of the immediate area. The tree planting will be interspersed throughout all of the open space areas, and within LID storm drainage areas and designated Detention Pond areas as is feasible. Landscape Standards - The Polestar Village landscape shall meet or exceed the City’s standards for “tree stocking” for all community buildings, open space, streetscape and parking lot landscaping. All areas that are landscaped shall be irrigated with a permanent automatic underground irrigation. Any areas identified on the Landscape Plan to be non-irrigated shall be irrigated with a temporary above or belowground irrigation system and irrigated until such time that proper establishment of seeded areas has been achieved, a minimum of two growing season. Trash and Recycling - Fully enclosed and gated outdoor Trash and Recycling enclosures shall be provided in close proximity to all condominium homes, multi-family apartments, and community buildings to accommodate the collection, separation, storage, loading and pickup of trash and recyclable materials. Trash and Recycling containers shall be provided to each single- family homes, duplex homes and townhomes and shall be stored inside the garages and unit put outside for pickup and removal on the designated trash collection day. Site Drainage & Water Quality: Existing Drainage Basin - The site is located in the Canal Importation Basin, specifically north of West Elizabeth Street, east of South Overland Trail and directly East of the Scenic Views Subdivision. The site generally drains west to east at a 2.5% to 1% slope. The entire site currently drains into a drainage swale located within a 20’ Mountaire Subdivision drainage easement near the northeast corner of the site. The existing site is currently used for Agricultural purposes and has an existing house, green house, field purposed for crops and native grass. The existing irrigation ditch; i.e. the Pleasant Valley and Lake Canal is within the site and borders the western boundary. The site is located in the City of Fort Collins Pleasant Valley and Lake Canal Floodplain. Proposed Drainage Concept - The 2020 Canal Importation Basin – Selected Plan Update plan by Jacobs Engineering preliminary report specifies that the Polestar site will have a regional detention facility. Unfortunately, the regional detention facility will not be constructed until the planned outfall pipe in Orchard Place is constructed several years from now. The proposed improvements to the Polestar Village site will result in the planned development being treated and detained in an interim full spectrum detention pond, which will gravity, drain to the existing outfall swale near the northeast corner of the site. The interim full spectrum detention pond will be constructed in an area, which will be sufficient for the future regional pond. All the offsite flows will be conveyed through the site and directly released at a rate in continuity with the existing condition. The proposed improvements will have no additional adverse impacts on the flow rate, character, or quality of runoff leaving the site. The proposed improvements will have no adverse impacts on adjacent properties and the existing flood plain will be in continuity with the current condition. Low Impact Development treatment - A minimum of 75 percent of new impervious surface area is treated by a Low-Impact Development (LID) best management practice (BMP) in accordance with City criteria Low-impact development best management practices are proposed to improve the quality of runoff and aid in reducing peak flows. Rain gardens are proposed near the central and eastern portions of the site to treat and provide LID water quality for the majority of the development. The majority of the water quality is treated within these onsite rain gardens. The LID rain gardens will need to be cleaned and maintained to allow for long-term protection of the receiving waters. The proposed LID BMPs will have the effect of slowing runoff through the site lot and increasing infiltration and rainfall interception by encouraging infiltration and careful selection of vegetative cover. The improvements will decrease the runoff coefficient from the site and are expected to have no adverse impact on the timing, quantity, or quality of stormwater runoff. Architectural Design: Building and Project Compatibility - Section 3.5.1 of the City’s Land Use Code requires that the physical and operational characteristics of the proposed buildings and their uses be compatible with the context of the surrounding area. The proposed development is located within a residential community developed in the mid-twentieth century, consisting of modest single- family residences of one and two stories. While the Polestar Village includes small residential units, it also includes multi-story apartments, townhouses and community buildings at a scale larger than typical residential homes. The proposed building types are permitted by zoning regulations and we believe the development can be determined to be compatible based upon the proposed architectural character of the building and the careful siting of the larger scale buildings, set at a distance from the adjacent neighborhoods. In addition, the scale of building elements, forms and materials are compatible with the existing residential structures in close proximity to Polestar Village. Architectural Character - The architecture of Polestar Village will be compatible with and enhance the existing standards of quality of the current neighborhoods. The proposed residential structures will employ durable materials and design elements to reflect a high quality of construction and an uplifting environment, to the raise the standard for the entire area. Community buildings will be of similar materials and elements to help create a community of integrated design and high ideals. Building Size, Height, Bulk, Mass and Scale - The proposed residential building size, height, bulk, mass, and scale are intended to be compatible with the existing neighborhood’s character. Polestar Village will include smaller single-family residences as well as apartment buildings and townhomes up to three stories, but all building types will be composed of smaller human scale elements to help reduce the scale and mass of the structures. The use of elements such as hip roofs, balconies, porches and covered entries reduce the impact of the larger buildings and creates compatible character and scale. All larger scale buildings are intentionally located in the interior the development, while placing smaller scale residences adjacent to the existing neighborhoods, thereby easing the transition of scale and mass. Landscape buffer zones on all borders also help to decrease the impact of the Polestar Village on the surrounding area. Building Materials - Polestar Village will established a distinct architectural theme, building style, use of materials and colors, to fit within the existing neighborhood. Similar building forms, architectural detailing, color and texture, shall be utilized throughout the entire Polestar Village in order to enhance the overall architectural experience of the neighborhood and to insure continuity throughout the entire development. Building Height - The height of all proposed residential structures shall be consistent with what is permitted by City’s Land Use Code in the LMN and RL Zoning District. Maximum height of all eaves is to be below 30’ to ensure that the Fire Department will not require ladder truck access and staging areas to service the buildings in the event of an emergency. Access to sunlight and desirable views have been considered in the overall site design and the proposed design creates minimal to no undesirable affects by the building heights or placement of the buildings within the proposed development.