HomeMy WebLinkAboutHARMONY MARKET PUD - PRELIMINARY - 54-87B - CORRESPONDENCE - ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT eveloi ent Services •
D
Natural Resources Division
laillilliM
(111Th
City of Fort Collins
MEMORANDUM
DATE: April 19, 1989
TO : Planning and Zoning Board Members
I)
FROM: Brian Woodruff, Natural Resources Administrator ,!'
RE Harmony Market -- Air Quality Study
I have reviewed the Air Quality Study prepared for Pace Membership
Warehouse, dated April 1989. In my opinion the Board can consider the
study and its conclusions acceptable for the purposes of clarifying the air
quality impact of the project.
Methods used in the study were discussed with the preparer in advance. The
methods are relatively simple, yet consistent with the limited time
available for the study and its limited objectives. The study represents
an outstanding effort by the applicant, as there is no current requirement
to review the air quality impact of traffic generated by the development.
The study shows that carbon monoxide (CO) emissions will increase in the
area whether or not Harmony Market is built. This is due to the expected
increase in traffic in the area, partly offset by improvements in the
emissions of new cars entering the vehicle fleet. With Harmony Market,
emissions in 1990 would be about 10% higher than if the parcel was left
undeveloped. In 2010, CO emissions would be about 14% higher than if the
parcel was developed as commercial/residential land use.
With regard to CO concentrations in the air, the study shows that traffic
near the development would produce about 4% of the maximum levels recently
measured in Fort Collins.
These conclusions serve to place the air quality impact of Harmony Market
in perspective, by indicating the relative contribution of traffic induced
by the development compared to the traffic that is expected to exist in the
area in any case.
The Board will note that we have at present no standards by which such
incremental increases in air pollution may be judged. Such standards need
to be established in the context of the long-range planning processes for
land use, transportation, and air quality. Still, we may conclude that the
Harmony Market traffic is by no means the dominant source of traffic-
related pollution, contributing on the order of 10% to levels that would
otherwise exist.
112 N. Howes • P.O. Box 580 • Fort Collins, CO 80522-0580 • (303) 221-6600