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Home My WebLink AboutALPINE BANK - PDP200020 - - MODIFICATION REQUEST 6162 S. Willow Drive, Suite 320 Greenwood Village, CO 80111 303.770.8884 • GallowayUS.com December 2, 2020 Jason Holland City Planner City of Fort Collins, Planning & Development Services 281 N. College Avenue Fort Collins, CO 80524 RE: Alpine Bank at SEC of S. College & E. Prospect 1608, 1610, and 1618 S. College Avenue Fort Collins, Colorado Request for Modification of Standard to Section 3.2.2.(J) – Access, Circulation and Parking, Setbacks of the Fort Collins Land Use Code (DRAFT) Background Information Alpine Bank is currently under contract to lease approximately .96 Acres at the Southeast corner of S. College Avenue * E. Prospect Road in Fort Collins. Colorado. Property is more commonly identified as 1608, 1610, and 1618 S. College Avenue. Property consists of multiple lots which include three existing buildings. All three buildings either have been or are currently being used for commercial purposes. Two of the three buildings appear to have been designed for commercial purposes and are believed to have been constructed in the mid-1960s. The remaining building is a residential design and believed to have been constructed in 1928. All three properties are currently zoned General Commercial District (C-G) which allows for a variety of retail and commercial uses including “Offices, Financial Services & Clinics” as defined in the Zoning District Matrix of the City of Fort Collins Land Use Code. The proposed development would be subject to a Preliminary Development Plan (PDP), subsequent Type 1 Review and Public Hearing, and eventually a Final Development Plan (FDP). In order to facilitate the proposed project, we anticipate the demolition of two of the three buildings and on-site relocation of the third building which has been identified as being ‘Architecturally Significant’ as the result of a Colorado Cultural Resource Survey completed in January 2020. The two buildings to be demolished are located at 1608 and 1618 S. College Avenue. The building to be relocated on-site is currently located at 1610 S. College Avenue and would be relocated to the South end of the site to better facilitate redevelopment of the northern portion of the property into a branch office for Alpine Bank. In addition to demolition of existing buildings and relocation of one building on site, the proposed development will also be required to dedicate 12’ of right-of way to facilitate the construction of a new deceleration/right-hand turn lane from north bound College Avenue to east bound Prospect Road. Right-of-way dedication will also include 8’ for a tree lawn as well as an additional 10’ easement to accommodate a new sidewalk and potential future utilities. The reduction in the overall width of the site in the east-west direction has necessitated the consideration of alternative parking, circulation, and access scenarios. Primarily orienting parking on the eastern edge of the property so that it is accessible from the alley vs. the interior of the site. By doing so we can reduce the area needed for vehicular circulation on site and consolidate access/curb-cuts to Prospect Road into a single access from the existing alley. Alpine Bank S. College & E. Prospect December 2, 2020 Galloway & Company, Inc. Page 2 of 4 Modification of Standards Requested We are requesting a Modification of Standard to Section 3.2.2.(J) – Access, Circulation and Parking, Setbacks of the Fort Collins Land Use Code which would allow for on-site parking and vehicular circulation directly adjacent to the eastern property line vs meeting the minim um 5’ setback required. Justifications 1. Proposed deceleration/right-hand turn lane significantly reduces developable area of Site – Proposed redevelopment will require the addition of a deceleration/right-hand turn lane to north bound College Avenue to Prospect Road. Proposed decel eration lane will require a right-of-way dedication on behalf of the property owner as well as the addition of a detached sidewalk and tree lawn to the College Avenue frontage. These improvements result in approximately 30’ of encroachment into the property vs. existing conditions. These encroachments diminish our ability develop a functional site plan that meets the program requirements of Alpine Bank. Primarily the ability to develop a functional building footprint that allows for three drive-through lanes oriented away from adjacent right-of ways. By eliminating the need for a 5’ setback from eastern property line we can use the alley effectively for on-site circulation to parking stalls without creating another or duplicative drive aisle on site. See proposed Site Plan below for additional details. Alpine Bank S. College & E. Prospect December 2, 2020 Galloway & Company, Inc. Page 3 of 4 2. Integration of alley into overall development in a way that allows for a functional and efficient site plan – Using the alley for vehicular circulation and parking access allows for a more efficient site plan by not creating duplicate or side by side circulation routes. This will allow Alpine Bank to reduce the need for a duplicative drive-aisle on site and subsequently the need to reuse the existing curb-cut to Prospect Road immediately west of the alley. By eliminating the need for this curb-cut, access to Prospect can be consolidated into a single existing access to and from the existing alley. 3. Consolidate Access to Prospect Road – as previously noted, relief from the parking set- back allows for the alley to essentially function as an internal drive-aisle for the site and gains access to parking along the eastern property line. By eliminating the need for this additional drive aisle internal to the site we can eliminate existing access to Prospect Road and consolidate access into a single existing curb-cut from the alley. Section 2.8.2(H) of the Fort Collins Land Use Code(LUC) provides 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.” Even more than not being detrimental to the public good, the requested modification would benefit the public for the following reasons: (i) allow for the redevelopment of this quadrant of this prominent intersection with a first class community oriented banking service not currently present in the community; and (ii) consolidate two existing access points along Prospect Road into a single existing access point (Alley) and (iii) allow for improvements along S. College Avenue in a manner that will enhance traffic safety in a manner consistent with the other three quadrants of this intersection. In addition to not being detrimental to the public good, the decision maker must a lso find, pursuant to Section 2.8.2(H) of the LUC, that the modification meets one of four criteria. Within this modification request we believe we have substantiated that we meet the following criteria. Criteria 2 of 4 – “the granting of a 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” The plan as submitted will benefit the city by allowing for the efficient redevelopment and subsequent off-site improvements at the southeast quadrant of the int ersection of S. College & E. Prospect. The proposed improvements along College Avenue will not only be consistent with recent improvements at the other three quadrants on the intersection but also address an overall community need of improving traffic safety at the intersection through improved design and traffic movement. Consolidation of access along Prospect will also improve traffic safety at this already busy intersection. Criteria 3 of 4 – “by reason of exceptional physical conditions or other extraordinary and exceptional situations, unique to such property, including, but not limited to, physica l 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” Alpine Bank S. College & E. Prospect December 2, 2020 Galloway & Company, Inc. Page 4 of 4 We believe the requirement for the ROW dedication and subsequent improvements along College Avenue create an exceptional physical condition by narrowing the property such that full compliance with the LUC becomes difficult while working to develop a functional site plan that will lead to the long term success of this redevelopment. Relief from this set-back requirement along a portion of the property line will allow for a functional solution within the context of both existing an imposed contextual site conditions. Please review the accompanying materials and let us know if you have any questions or require additional information. Thank you in advance for your consideration. Sincerely, GALLOWAY Zell O. Cantrell Site Development Project Manager Zell Cantrell@GallowayUS.com