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Home My WebLink AboutSEVEN GENERATIONS MULTIFAMILY - FDP230008 - SUBMITTAL DOCUMENTS - ROUND 1 - MODIFICATION REQUEST MINIMAL RISK. PAINLESS PROCESS. BEAUTIFUL SPACES. o: 970.224.5828 | w: ripleydesigninc.com RIPLEY DESIGN, INC. | 419 Canyon Avenue, Suite 200 | Fort Collins, CO 80521 Seven Generations Multifamily Modification Request – 4.27(D)(2) Secondary Uses March 1, 2023 Land Use Code 4.27(D) Employment District (E) – Land Use Standards (2) Secondary Uses. All secondary uses shall be integrated in function and appearance into a larger employment district development plan that emphasizes primary uses. A secondary use shall be subject to administrative review or Planning and Zoning Board review as required for such use in Section 4.27(B). The following permitted uses shall be considered secondary uses in this zone district and together shall occupy no more than twenty-five (25) percent of the total gross area of the development plan. (d) Residential uses (except mixed-use dwellings when the residential units are stacked above a primary use which occupies the ground floor). Introduction The Seven Generations Multifamily Major Amendment (MJA) is a residential project that emphasizes cohesive community connections and vibrant design. The proposed Major Amendment would utilize the existing infrastructure of the site to create an infill multifamily project that introduces seventy-three (73) dwelling units near existing employment opportunities (office, medical clinics, etc.). Additionally, residential uses such as single-family detached units and other multifamily buildings are located within the vicinity (1/4 mile) of the development – as is Fort Collins High School, public trails, and the Timberline Church to the west, east, and north respectively. Reason for the Request A modification is required to develop a residential use on this property because the Employment district limits the gross percentage of secondary uses allowed per each development plan within the district to 25%. The application proposes a secondary use that consists of 80% of the development plan. The following exhibits illustrate the existing development plan and degree to which the request of modification from the standards is made. MINIMAL RISK. PAINLESS PROCESS. BEAUTIFUL SPACES. o: 970.224.5828 | w: ripleydesigninc.com RIPLEY DESIGN, INC. | 419 Canyon Avenue, Suite 200 | Fort Collins, CO 80521 Exhibit One: Existing Development Plan (Seven Generations Office Park) The existing development plan, entitled in 2007, consists of three office buildings totaling 56,000 square feet of office space – a primary use (identified above in orange). This existing plan offers one hundred (100) percent primary uses as described in today’s Land Use Code. Please note that in the fifteen years since the Seven Generations Office Park was entitled, only office Building A (10,000 SF) was constructed with the drive aisles, parking areas, drainage improvements, and natural habitat buffer. All site elements described were completed in 2007 and the interior of the site has remained vacant without application to construct the remaining two office buildings. MINIMAL RISK. PAINLESS PROCESS. BEAUTIFUL SPACES. o: 970.224.5828 | w: ripleydesigninc.com RIPLEY DESIGN, INC. | 419 Canyon Avenue, Suite 200 | Fort Collins, CO 80521 Exhibit Two: Proposed Major Amendment (Multifamily) In Exhibit Two, the orange color indicates primary uses of the overall development plan, and the green color indicates proposed secondary use area. Because all residential uses are considered a secondary use in the employment district, the major amendment proposes twenty (20) percent primary uses and eighty (80) percent secondary uses when considering the existing development plan. The intent of this memo is to prove that allowing for the secondary use to deviate from the district standard is not detrimental to the public good and the proposed plan promotes the general purpose of the standard equally well or better than a plan which complies with the standard. Justification The Land Use Code states that the decision-maker may grant a modification of standards only if it finds that the granting of the modification would not be detrimental to the public good; and the decision-maker must also find that the Modification meets one of the following four criteria described in the LUC. (1) the plan as submitted will promote the general purpose of the standard for which the modification is requested equally well or better than would a plan which complies with the standard for which a modification is requested; MINIMAL RISK. PAINLESS PROCESS. BEAUTIFUL SPACES. o: 970.224.5828 | w: ripleydesigninc.com RIPLEY DESIGN, INC. | 419 Canyon Avenue, Suite 200 | Fort Collins, CO 80521 (2) the granting of the modification from the strict application of any standard would, without impairing the intent and purpose of this Land Use Code, substantially alleviate an existing, defined and described problem of city-wide concern or would result in a substantial benefit to the city by reason of the fact that the proposed project would substantially address an important community need specifically and expressly defined and described in the city's Comprehensive Plan or in an adopted policy, ordinance or resolution of the City Council, and the strict application of such a standard would render the project practically infeasible; (3) by reason of exception physical conditions or other extraordinary and exceptional situations, unique to such property, including, but not limited to, physical conditions such as exceptional narrowness, shallowness or topography, or physical conditions which hinder the owner's ability to install a solar energy system, the strict application of the standard sought to be modified would result in unusual and exceptional practical difficulties, or exceptional or undue hardship upon the owner of such property, provided that such difficulties or hardship are not caused by the act or omission of the applicant; or (4) the plan as submitted will not diverge from the standards of the Land Use Code that are authorized by this Division to be modified except in a nominal, inconsequential way when considered from the perspective of the entire development plan, and will continue to advance the purposes of the Land Use Code as contained in Section 1.2.2. No Detriment to the Public Good Of the 56,000 square feet of office space originally proposed with the Seven Generations Office Park, only 10,000 square feet has been built. It is reasonable to conclude that the lack of development on this property in the past fifteen years indicates the market does not demand more employment use on the property. This conclusion should be considered when contemplating detriment to the public good. Approval of the modification will not remove employment opportunity within the district and from the public; that opportunity has existed on the property for fifteen years. Rather, the proposed application promotes a secondary use which supports the existing primary uses of the district. This support comes in the form of seventy-three (73) additional dwelling units near existing employment opportunities. The approval of this modification would be more beneficial to the City and public than no employment nor housing on this land and therefore not be a detriment to the public good. Justification Criterion 1 The proposed plan promotes the general purpose of the district’s standard, especially when considering the immediate district uses and the purpose of the overall district. The purpose of the Employment District is laid out in Land Use Code section 4.27(A) and states: “The Employment District is intended to provide locations for a variety of workplaces including light industrial uses, research and development activities, offices, and institutions. This District also is MINIMAL RISK. PAINLESS PROCESS. BEAUTIFUL SPACES. o: 970.224.5828 | w: ripleydesigninc.com RIPLEY DESIGN, INC. | 419 Canyon Avenue, Suite 200 | Fort Collins, CO 80521 intended to accommodate secondary uses that complement or support the primary workplace uses, such as hotels, restaurants, convenience shopping, childcare and housing. It is the understanding of the applicant that the intent of 4.27(D)(2) is to ensure that the Employment District maintains its name as an employment hub within the City of Fort Collins. For the district to uphold this intent, secondary uses need to be provided within the district. This is because of a symbiotic relationship between places of employment and residential housing – people want to live near the places they work, and employers want people local to their business. This is why the Employment District allows for secondary uses, like residential housing, to complement and support primary uses as allowed within the development code. To utilize the vacant infill lot, the applicant requests a modification of Land Use Code Section 4.27(D)(2) to allow for eighty (80) percent secondary use in the individual development plan of the Seven Generations development. This request is made having considered the implications of the modification to the surrounding Employment District, which comprises many separate development plans. When measuring each secondary use on an individual development plan by development plan basis, the twenty-five (25) percent cap of secondary uses severely limits infill projects such as smaller development plans (like Seven Generations – a 3.67-acre existing development). If the intent of Sec. 4.27(D)(2) is to promote primary uses (employment) through complementary and symbiotic uses (residential housing), the immediate surroundings and district should be considered for impact to function holistically and comply as a Mixed-Employment District as identified in the Fort Collins City Plan. The exhibit below details a breakdown of the immediate district, north of East Horsetooth Road. Exhibit Three: Employment District Use Study – North of Horsetooth MINIMAL RISK. PAINLESS PROCESS. BEAUTIFUL SPACES. o: 970.224.5828 | w: ripleydesigninc.com RIPLEY DESIGN, INC. | 419 Canyon Avenue, Suite 200 | Fort Collins, CO 80521 When considering the surrounding District, the intent of LUC Sec. 4.27(D)(2) is maintained with the modification taken into consideration – as 87.4% of the district north of Horsetooth would be a primary use and 12.5% of the district would be considered a secondary use (please refer to Appendix A for calculation). This secondary use percentage is significantly less than the twenty-five percent maximum allowed in Sec. 4.27(D)(2) and the district could benefit from additional secondary uses. When considering the entirety of the contiguous District, the intent of standard is met as 78.13% of the district would be considered a primary use and 21.8% of the district would be a secondary use. Please see Exhibit Four, below, for the District’s extent and Appendix B for a calculation of the entire district. Exhibit Four: Employment District Use Study – Overall District In summary, when reviewing the use standards of the immediate and overall district, the intent of Land Use Code Section 4.27(D)(2) is maintained as the sum of secondary uses is well below the twenty-five percent maximum threshold allowed within the district. Despite the modification requesting eighty (80) percent secondary use allowance on the Seven Generations development plan, the intent of the code section is promoted equally well or better than a plan which complies with the standard throughout the district and granting the modification will not be a detriment to the public. The provided residential use, particularly in an edge area of the district offers a complementary use for the adjacent neighborhoods and existing employment of the district. MINIMAL RISK. PAINLESS PROCESS. BEAUTIFUL SPACES. o: 970.224.5828 | w: ripleydesigninc.com RIPLEY DESIGN, INC. | 419 Canyon Avenue, Suite 200 | Fort Collins, CO 80521 Appendix A: Employment District Use Study – North of Horsetooth MINIMAL RISK. PAINLESS PROCESS. BEAUTIFUL SPACES. o: 970.224.5828 | w: ripleydesigninc.com RIPLEY DESIGN, INC. | 419 Canyon Avenue, Suite 200 | Fort Collins, CO 80521 Appendix B: Employment District Use Study – Overall District