HomeMy WebLinkAboutSTEELE'S MARKET AT HARMONY MARKET PUD, 3RD FILING - FINAL - 54-87E - CORRESPONDENCE - STAFF'S PROJECT COMMENTS Develoteent Services ® _
Planning Department
City of Fort Collins
August 21, 1990
Mr. Greg Fisher
Mr. Denny Meyer
The Neenan Company
2290 East Prospect Road
Fort Collins, CO. 80524
Dear Gentlemen:
Staff has reviewed the request for Steele's at Harmony Market P.U:D., Third
Filing, Final, and offers the following comments:
1. Site Plan:
1. Staff is concerned about the narrow setback of the service parking lot
from Oak Ridge Drive. Since Oak Ridge Drive will be collector and provide
access to the center, the southern edge of the Steele's site will be highly
visible. It is recommended that the need for parking along Oak Ridge Drive
be re-evaluated. Are 20 parking spaces really necessary in the service area?
Staff recommends that this parking be eliminated and replaced with additional
landscaped area. As proposed, the streetscape along Oak Ridge Drive does not
measure up to the treatment approved for Pace and Builders Square.
2. In addition to excess parking, Staff is concerned about the 45 foot wide
service drive. The standard collector street in Fort Collins is 50 feet from
flowline to flowline. Is it necessary to have such a wide service drive? Staff
recommends that this drive be reduced to 30 feet. With appropriate turning
radii, trucks and stepvans will still be able to make deliveries. The additional
area could be utilized for screening and buffering for Oak Ridge Drive.
3. Staff is concerned about the length of the parking lot bays without the
benefit of landscaped islands. Uninterrupted parking bays of 23 to 25 spaces
is tedious and boring. Rather than placing typical landscaped islands to break
up this length, Staff recommends that a reduced landscaped island be installed
just large enough for one tree. These abbreviated islands can be installed such
that half of the area encroaches into each space resulting in no loss of parking
spaces. This treatment has been used successfully at the new Phar-Mor, the
Marriott, and Poudre Valley Hospital. Perhaps these islands can be combined
with the proposed light fixtures.
4. Staff recommends that the north-south sidewalk connecting Steele's to the
perimeter pads be shifted to the west side of the landscaped island to simply
break up the long, straight path. This shifting could occur at about the
midpoint, with a transition, to add variety for the pedestrian.
281 N. College Avenue • P.O. Box 580 • Fort Collins, CO 80522-0580 • (303) 22"1-6750
5. All sidewalks along Harmony and Oak Ridge should be constructed with
this Third Filing. The three anchors represent 233,800 square feet of
commercial floor area. With this level of build out, the transportation system
should be fully installed.
6. Staff is concerned about the use of the L 1, 30 foot, light fixture on the
north end of the parking lot. The first L 1 fixture for Builders Square is ./
placed about 290 feet south of Harmony Road. The proposed L 1 fixtures for �,{�1
Steele's is only 257 feet from Harmony Road. Since there are homes across V
Harmony Road, Staff recommends that these fixtures be reduced to L 2, 15
feet.
7. Staff is concerned about the pedestrian amenities for the entire Harmony
Market P.U.D. The overall preliminary P.U.D. was approved with the
expectation that there would be a "major pedestrian promenade which links the
entrances of the anchors". In addition, the preliminary P.U.D. states:
"The pedestrian promenade will be of varied paving materials and patterns, and
will feature planter beds, landscaped islands, seat benches, and
ornamental lighting."
Staff is concerned that this expectation is being diluted. In order to promote
these pedestrian amenities, Staff recommends that the sidewalk in front of
Steele's be widened on the west side as it heads into the next filing. Also,
Staff does not see how this Preliminary condition is being met in terms of seat
benches and ornamental lighting.
8. Please provide more detail on the accented pedestrian crossings.
9. Please indicate the location of bicycle parking. Bike racks should be
placed in an area near the entry and yet not interfere with pedestrian
movements. The racks should be in a specific area, and not placed on a
sidewalk as an afterthought. Please add "B" to indicate the location and
reference in the legend. Any consideration towards protecting the bike racks
from weather would be supported.
10. Please indicate the height of the screen walls on the site plan.
11. The area of the trash compactor should also be designated as the area of
the electrical transformer and electrical and gas meters. These elements must
be screened from view. Please add "and utility meters" to note No. 10.
12. Will there be ground mounted of roof mounted cooling equipment? As
you are aware, Pace has substantial outdoor, ground mounted mechanical
equipment that is located on their east elevation, and will be screened by
Builders Square. Since Steele's will likely have a heavy cooling load, where
will the equipment be located? Will it be adequately screened? Please indicate
on the plans.
13. The P.U.D. site plan should indicate adjacent zoning and land uses to a
distance of 150 off the site. This information is for reference only and does
not have to be surveyed.
14. The site plan should indicate that the internal drive aisle in front of the
store will be improved all the way to Boardwalk Drive.
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15. Please update the Vicinity Map with a proper location and make the street
names legible.
16. A "revision" block should be added so we can keep track the latest dates
of any revised set of plans. . (See landscape plan for good example)
II. Landscape Plan:
17. Enclosed please find a copy of the landscape sheet with the location
of Light and Power streetlights along Lemay and Oak Ridge. Street trees
should be kept 40 feet from either side of the streetlight (15 feet for
ornamental trees). Also, street trees should be specified to be planted
7.5 feet from back of curb.
18. There is an existing 10 foot wide Public Service Company easement
that adjoins the west line of Lemay Avenue that may interfere with pro-
posed street trees along Lemay. Please coordinate with Mr. Gary Huett of
the Public Service Company in order to avoid any utility conflicts.
19. As stated in comment No. 3, the parking lot would benefit from increased
landscaping in the form of "mini-islands".
20. The east building wall should be softened with a shrub bed, even if it is
only for ten years, or until the building expands.
21. Similarly, the screen walls on the southern elevation should be treated
with shrub beds to break up the mass of the building.
III. Architectural Elevations:
22. Staff is concerned about the overall theme of the Harmony Market
Shopping Center being carried through to the third major anchor. Both Pace
and Builders Square make very good use of the brick column and steel beam
treatment as accents to the long building fronts. It is Staff's feeling that this
treatment ought to be continued on the Steele's building. It is extremely
important that the shopping center promote an architectural unity among the
anchor tenants. As the pad sites develop, this architectural unity will be more
difficult to promote due to the smaller size and scale of the pad tenants.
Therefore, it is the anchors that must demonstrate design unity.
Staff recommends that the brick column and steel beam treatment be added to
the building to promote the architectural theme of the largest and most
important shopping center in the City that is located off College Avenue.
Please consider the northwest corner, the two entries, and/or the southwest
corner as possible areas for this treatment.
Please be reminded that the preliminary P.U.D. was approved with the
expectation that:
"Focal entries to the stores will create variety and individuality within a
comprehensive and unifying design framework."
23. The southern elevation would benefit from more variety. Since this
elevation faces a collector street, it will be important that it not appear to be
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the "service end" of the building. Have you considered adding the 48 inch
high brick treatment in strategic areas to add variety? Perhaps the use of
fluted concrete (Pace) between horizontal bands would add more interest in this
area: The elevation sheet does not indicate that the southern wall will be
painted concrete. Please add more detail and consider upgrading this elevation.
, 24. Please add more details on the material of the screen walls.
25. The loading door on the south elevation does not occur on the site plan.
If this is to be a loading door, must it be so high? Could the upper portion
be painted to match the dark banding?
26. Please indicate the height and color of the letters. It would seem logical
that the color would be blue to carry through the theme of the center.
27. Please add a scale for the elevation drawings.
Plat:
28. The "access & drainage easement" in Lot 1 should be dedicated as "access,
drainage, & utility easement by the final plat. A utility easement adjoining
the north line of Oak Ridge Drive across the unplatted parcel between Lemay
Avenue and Lot 1 will have to be provided in . order to install a natural gas
main from Lemay Avenue. This main will serve Lot 1.
29. The 10 foot wide Public Service easement along Lemay should be shown
on the plat. This easement is recorded in Book 2251, Page 1032 of the
Larimer County Clerk and Recorder's office.
30. Comments from the Stormwater Utility will be mailed under separate
cover.
This concludes Staff comments at this time. In order to remain on schedule
for the September 24, 1990 Planning and Zoning Board hearing, please note the
following deadlines:
Plan revisions are due September 5, 1990.
P.M.T.'s, 10 prints, colored renderings are due September 17, 1990.
Final documents, mylars, development agreement are due September 20, 1990.
Planning and Zoning Board worksession is September 21, 1990.
Please call our office at your earliest convenience to discuss these comments or
to arrange a meeting to discuss in full detail.
Sincerely:
7:ek
Ted Shepard
Project Planner
cc: Mike Herzig, Development Engineer
Sherry Albertson-Clark, Senior Planner
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