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HomeMy WebLinkAboutLONGSTEIN SINGLE-UNIT DWELLING WITH ADU - FDP240014 - SUBMITTAL DOCUMENTS - ROUND 2 - Modification RequestNovember 6, 2024 FROM: Kirk Longstein Cherry Street Rentals LLC 728 Cherry Street TO: City Planning Department Fort Collins, Planning 281 N. College Ave. RE: Longstein Subdivision: LOT B Single Unit Dwelling with an attached Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Request Pursuant to the Fort Collins Land Use Code Division 6.8 - Modification of Standards Review Criteria Bottomline: The Applicant seeks five modifications to the OT-B zoning standards: 1. Modification to allow an attached ADU 2. Modification to allow an attached ADU Height to be taller than the primary dwelling 3. Modification to allow an attached ADU to be located within the 15-feet rear yard setback 4. Modification to allow 51% Rear Yard Floor Area Ratio for the purposes of an ADU 5. Modification to the Old Town District Bulk Plane Standards for north facing walls, when alongside-interior lot line with an adjoining property for the purposes of an ADU Project Overview The applicant proposes to develop a multigenerational home within the Fort Collins Martinez Park neighborhood. The 2,000 SF home focuses on energy performance with an all-electric utility service, solar panels and state of the art amenities to accommodate remote work. A stand-out feature is the fully self-contained ADU located above the garage and behind the principal home. With its own private entrance, this 412 square foot ADU includes a modest bedroom, a modern bathroom, a comfortable living room, a full kitchen, sound proofing, and dedicated heating and cooling system for guests, or family members. The proposed modifications to the standards are due to a unique hardship given the fact that the current standards go beyond the state’s statute (Colorado House Bill 24-1152) on ADUs which will be updated before the plan is built. Related Code Provisions ● Division 2.1.6 Old Town District ACCESSORY BUILDING - Detached (attached not allowed) ● Division 3.1.9 Building Types - ACCESSORY DWELLING UNIT, ATTACHED. Building Height no taller than the primary dwelling. ● Division 2.1.6 - Old Town District Development Standards - Residential Building Setbacks: Rear setback, no ally - 15’ min. ● Division 2.1.6 Old Town - B District Floor Area - Rear Lot Area. 33% max. of rear 50% lot area ● Division 2.1.6 Old Town District Bulk Plane - North facing walls, when along side-interior lot line with an adjoining property. Building shall be setback an additional 1’ for every 1’ of height above 14’ Modification 1. Attached ADU The plan as submitted deviates from the standards in a nominal, inconsequential way when considered from the perspective of the entire development plan, and within the context of the neighborhood’s characteristics. Attached and Detached ADU is a design standard that is also a permitted use for the Old Town Zone district. Although the use type is allowed; the design standard of the OT-B zone prevents it from being “attached”. Without modification, the Land Use Code does not preclude the applicant from pursuing a duplex. In the context of the neighborhood characteristics, the above grade detached house is indistinguishable as it relates to the old town neighborhood design guidelines for either a duplex or a single unit dwelling with an attached ADU. If the application changed from a single unit attached dwelling development plan to a Duplex application, the allowable building area would decrease to 1,540 SF (from 1,984 SF) and the building footprint would expand towards the interior side yard setbacks, however, the perceived density would not change between the two use types other than the differences between FAR for the two use types. When proposing a development plan, there is a very thin difference between a single unit detached dwelling with an attached accessory dwelling unit, and duplex which is foundational in determining the modification’s nominal and inconsequential impact. Modification 2. ADU height to be taller than the primary dwelling The plan as submitted deviates from the standards in a nominal, inconsequential way when considered from the perspective of the entire development plan, and within the context of the neighborhood’s characteristics. The building mass associated with the ADU is located above the garage and is oriented to the rear lot area to align the front of the building with the neighboring buildings and to conform with the street facing neighborhood characteristics along Cherry street. Land Use Code Section 3.1.6 Building types describes an urban detached house as a small to medium sized 1-2 story home on a single lot located in established neighborhoods. Most have one main entrance and often attached or detached garages. Urban detached houses are distinct in that they are usually on smaller lots, and within walking distance to key amenities and services. Consistent with HB24-1152, design and dimensional standards cannot be more stringent than those that apply to single family homes. Prohibiting attached ADU to one-story would be more restrictive than the single unit building types allowed within the same zone district. The Old Town Neighborhood Design Guidelines encourages new construction to consider locating additional square footage to the rear of a lot and below grade to respect the character defining features of the surrounding historic context of the neighborhood. Furthermore , the Old Town Neighborhood Design Guidelines suggest new construction minimize the visual appearance of driveways and other paved surfaces. Adding the occupiable SF above the garage space and within the rear yard setback aligns with the neighborhood characteristics and goes further than the suggested standards by preserving visual characteristics of the adjacent rear yards. In relationship to recently approved building permit applications at 416 Grant (B2308593), and 510 Wood Street (B2208866), the single unit dwelling with an attached dwelling provides an alternative housing choice to the larger single family options that the new developments offer. In this way, the application aligns with the public good and advances the City’s intent to help Fort Collins achieve goals related to infill development and redevelopment, increasing the diversity of the housing stock and opportunities for home ownership, and creating more affordable housing. Example homes located within the neighborhood have been provided to depict the intent of the submitted plan to align with existing homes within the neighborhood. 503 and 512 Grant Street provide direct examples of building mass oriented above the main floor area and towards the rear of the building footprint. Modification 3. ADU to be located within the 15-feet rear yard setback The development plan proposes a 13-feet rear yard setback as opposed to a 15-feet rear yard setback. The plan as submitted deviates from the standards in a nominal, inconsequential way when considered from the perspective of the entire development plan, and within the context of the neighborhood’s characteristics. The northern lot line acts as a de facto side yard within the context of the neighborhood. The side yard characteristics are evidenced by the Zoning Board of Appeals’ approval of a variance request to allow the building located on LOT A of the Longstein Subdivision to encroach into the 15-feet rear yard setback. The Zoning Board of appeal (ZBA180042) approved the encroachment into the setback for the following reasons: the variance is not detrimental to the public good, the abutting property has a 5 foot setback from the shared property line, the proposed addition is setback 9 feet, which is four additional feet than the setback of the abutting property, and the length of the proposed encroachment is 15 feet. Therefore, the variance request will not diverge from the standard but in a nominal, inconsequential way, when considered in the context of the neighborhood, and will continue to advance the purpose of the Land Use Code contained in Section 1.2.2 The ZBA board members say that orientation is the key, if the front was towards Grant it would not be a problem. Being addressed on Cherry instead of Grant is what throws it out of compliance. This determination establishes precedence for a de facto side yard setback adjacent to the properties addressed along Grant Street. Although the orientation of the lot aligns with the neighboring property characteristics along Cherry street, its rear yard characteristics do align with the orientation of backyards along Grant Street. If the property frontage was located along Grant Street, the rear yard would be located to the east of the lot adjacent to the alley. If this were the case the northern lot line would be subject to a 5’ side yard setback. In its current configuration, fronting Cherry street, the northern lot line is subject to a 15’ rear yard setback. When the neighboring property builds a detached garage ADU, their lot orientation and dimensional standards allows for the structure to be built within 5’ of the property line. The modification will allow the single unit dwelling to be located within 15’ of the LOT property line to the north. Modification 4. ADU impact on the Rear Yard Floor Area Ratio The development plan proposes a building footprint within 51% of the rear 50% of the property. This proposal does not impair the intent of the Code and would substantially alleviate an existing, defined and described problem of city-wide concern. The current standards go beyond the Colorado House Bill 24-1152 requirements that preempts the rear yard floor area ratio from a standard for prohibiting ADUs after June 2025. In this way the standard prevents a unique hardship to a standard that will not be in place at the time that the development plan is built. Prior to HB1152, the Zoning Board of Appeals approved a variance (ZBA160007) request for the adjacent property at 814 Cherry Street to allow the structures located on the lot to exceed the allowable floor area in the rear-half of the lot. The floor area of the proposed attached ADU is 412 SF and is located in the rear half of the lot. The total Building area of the development plan is 990 SF above grade without the ADU. The proposed attached ADU is 41% of the primary dwelling unit. Above grade detached ADUs are currently allowed so long that it is less than 45% of the primary dwelling Unit SF in the Old Town Zone District. While the modification seeks to encroach the rear yard FAR and setback dimensions, it is important to acknowledge that the front yard orientation is compatible with historic development patterns along Cherry Street which will help retain the character of the neighborhood. Based on the old town design guidelines: Location of a new building should fit within the established front and side setbacks seen in the neighborhoods. The design guidelines do not specifically cite the rear yard FAR as a critical element of the neighborhood characteristics. Modification 5. Bulk Plane Standards The top plate of the attached ADU is 18’ along the north facing walls, side-interior lot line. This proposal does not impair the intent of the Code and would substantially alleviate an existing, defined and described problem of city-wide concern. The purpose of the standards is to regulate gradual height restrictions. The City’s bulk plane standards require buildings to have lower heights near property boundaries, with allowable height increasing as the building moves farther back. The standard establishes a maximum height (18-feet or 14-feet) at the setback line (15 feet or 5-feet) with a permitted increase of 1:1 in height per horizontal distance moving inward from the property line. The development plan proposes a building that is oriented to the rear lot area to align the front of the building with the neighboring buildings and to conform with the street facing neighborhood characteristics along Cherry street. Cherry Street is a collector street with higher traffic counts relative to collector streets within the old town west sub area. Given the higher traffic counts, it is preferable to setback the building mass as far as possible from Cherry, not closer. This is an intrinsic trade-off with the Code’s bulk plane standards and a potential reason why the standards are applied inconsistently throughout the neighborhood. 420 & 416 Grant as well as 510 Wood are examples where an 18' top plate applied. The building plate height for the purposes of an ADU above the garage along the northern property line is 18-feet. This distance is equal to the standard for all buildings within the old-town zone districts. The development plan deviates from the standards as it relates to the interior lot line where city staff and the ZBA have established a de facto side yard lot line. OT-B Neighborhood Characteristics 503 N Grant Street - Single Unit 512 N Grant Street - Single Unit 610 Cherry Street - Two Unit Dwelling 617 & 617a Wood Street - Two Unit Dwelling 516 West Street - Two Unit Dwelling 814 Cherry Street - Single Family - 5’ setback from Cherry Street & high rear floor area 510 Wood Street - Rear Yard FAR and Rear Yard Setback non- conformity