HomeMy WebLinkAboutCAMERA CORNER INC PUD PRELIMINARY AND FINAL - 34 92, A - MINUTES/NOTES - CORRESPONDENCE-NEIGHBORHOOD MEETINGSUNS ARY
The following are QUESTIONS, CONCERNS, and RESPONSES expressed at
a Neighborhood Meeting for Colorado Camera Repair PUD. The
applicant currently operates a home occupation camera repair
business in an existing house located at the northwest corner of
Shields Street and Prospect Road. The applicant is proposing to
vacate the residence and would like to continue the camera repair
business at the site. The property is zoned RL, Low Density
Residential. Business uses are not a "use by right" in this zone.
The proposal would therefore be reviewed as a Planned Unit
Development, and must meet the criteria of the Land Development
Guidance System.
MEETING PLACE: Bennett Elementary School
MEETING DATE: May 19, 1992
MEETING TIME: 7:00 p.m.
CITY PLANNER: Kirsten Whetstone
COMMENTS, QUESTIONS, CONCERNS
1. What are the legal requirements that are filed with a PUD?
What would a use description look like? What is the document
which restricts the uses that would be allowed in a PUD?' Is
it an actual physical document or is it the record of the
Planning and Zoning Board meeting?
A 24" by 36" mylar "PUD plan" is filed with the County and
the City Clerk after a PUD is approved by the Planning and
Zoning Board. This "PUD plan" is made up of a site and
landscape plan; a vicinity map; a legal description; land use
information; specific notes related to parking, number of
employees, and number of dwelling units; a list of uses
allowed; a list of uses specifically not allowed; information
on signage and exterior lighting; etc.
The minutes of the Planning and Zoning Board hearing record
the official vote and spell out any special conditions which
the Board has placed on the approval. This information is
transferred to the mylar "PUD plan" before it is officially
filed. Anything that is in the file, such as the staff
report, also becomes part of the official record.
In addition to the "PUD plan" there are often Utility plans,
a subdivision plat, site and landscape covenants, development
agreements between the City and the developer concerning
public improvements, and any other documents which complete
the PUD, such as traffic studies, drainage reports and soils
reports. These are all legal requirements of the PUD.
2. Why even have a business use in this location, when the
property is, zoned for residential uses.
The existing business use is categorized as a home occupation
because it meets the specifications of a home occupation. We
feel that the street widening projects will impact our
residence. We feel it is not going to be a place for our
family to live in the future. If we move out, then the
business is no longer considered a home occupation. In order
to continue to operate the business from this location, we
have been told by the City that we have to submit a PUD. A
business use can be allowed in a residential zone, provided it
is part of a PUD, and provided that the PUD resolves conflicts
with neighboring uses. We' feel that we can resolve the
conflicts and therefore we are proposing a PUD to allow us to
continue to operate the Camera Repair Business at this site.
3. What about finding another location for the in -home business?
We feel that this location really works for us. It takes time
to get established at any location. We have been here a
number of years and people associate us with this corner.
Also, we like the location and.we would like to stay there.
We have an interest in the neighborhood too, we don't want to
see a commercial interest take over the corner, if we have to
leave.
We think if we are forced to sell, it is unlikely that someone
would buy the house to live in, especially after Prospect and
Shields .are fully widened. It is more likely that someone
would turn it into a rental unit and it would go downhill,
like the properties across the street. By having our business
there, we would have a direct interest in maintaining the
property, because we would be there every day.
4. Do you.plan to change the focus of the business?
Any business evolves over time. I do mostly repairs now with
some retail, as much as the home occupation law allows.
Mostly, the business occupies the basement now. There is a
small area on the main floor for a service counter. What we
plan to do is move the business up to the main floor and have
the option of creating a two bedroom apartment in the
basement. I envision doing more retail sales than we do now,
but I couldn't really say how much more. The amount of floor
area is limited, maybe 1000 square feet or less. Also we will
always be limited by the amount of parking. If a potential
customer can't find a place to park, they will drive on by.
We want to be honest and up front on the PUD. We have been
advised by the City to ask for approval for what we think we
would realistically be doing on the property in the near
future. .
5. Has parking been a problem with this home occupation business?
No, not really.
6. That is a difficult and busy intersection. Will your proposal
effect the operation of the intersection?
I don't think so. We don't really see the business being that
much busier, and we wouldn't be living there so some of our
trips to and from the house would be eliminated. We would
have to provide enough parking for the customers, employees;
and possible tenants. The City has certain requirements for
parking based on the square footage of the business and we
would have to meet that. We don't propose to change the
current access point, that would stay as is, until the City
widening project comes along.
7. I think that the PUD opens the door to other business uses in
this area, an area that is currently residential. Even if the
Donaldsons' don't change the use, the PUD would, because it
would allow business uses there.
8. It is important to us to maintain the residential character of
the neighborhood. We want to prevent commercial uses from
marching down Shields Street creating a strip of commercial
development from Prospect to Elizabeth., or Laurel Street.
It is important for us as well to maintain the residential
character, we don't propose any changes to the exterior, or to
any of the property. The City will be making the changes to
the landscaping with the widening project. We propose to keep
the residential character of the site and to continue to
operate our business at the same time.
9. Willyou have enough parking or will customers be parking
along Prospect?
We will have enough parking for the amount of retail floor
area that we would have. But, we will check with the City's
requirements to be sure. We would provide all of the parking
on site, not along Prospect Road.
10. If this PUD is allowed, it would set a precedent for other
people to get PUD's. The Planning Department would look more
favorably on future PUD's because the neighboring properties
would be PUD's and they would say they are compatible. This
one PUD could unzip the neighborhood.
But a PUD is much more restrictive than a zoning change. We
would be on a short leash as far as what we could do. I
assume it would all be spelled out on the PUD, including, the
amount of floor area for retail, the number of employees, the
number of residential units, and maybe even what color the
house would be. It isn't just a change in the Zone. Every
other PUD would have restrictions as well. It seems to me
that there would be a lot of control with these PUD's as to
keeping the residential character while recognizing that home
occupation type businesses could be compatible.
11. Our experience with violations to the requirements of the
PUD's is that it is up to the neighborhood to file a
complaint. The City doesn't go around checking for
violations. Therefore, if this PUD is approved; we would have
to keep track of what goes on there to make sure that the
requirements aren't violated. It becomes the neighborhoods
responsibility and that can really burden the neighborhood.
12. That seems unfair to the neighborhood.
13. There are violations to the Landmark PUD which the City has
never corrected. Some landscaping that was supposed to be put
in, never did get planted.
We can check into that. Normally, before an owner is issued
a certificate of occupancy (C.O.), the project planner and
building inspector take a copy of the site and landscape plan
out to the site and check to make sure that everything is done
as shown on the plans. We do count bushes, shrubs, trees, and
parking spaces among other things. If something is missing,
we hold onto the C.O. until it is corrected. If a tree or
shrub dies or is removed later, it is more difficult, but if
it is called to our attention, we will look into it.
14. I don't have much confidence in the City's ability to police
these PUD's that get approved all over town.
15. Would it be possible for the Donaldsons' to file a legal
statement saying that they would agree to dissolve the PUD if
they ever sold it?
I suppose so, that is a legal matter between two private
parties and the City would not be involved.
16. Can a PUD be dissolved with the sale of the property?
The PUD is approved for the site. PUD approval goes with the
property, it is not granted to individuals. PUD approval is
not based on who owns the property. It is based on the
criteria of the Land Development Guidance System. The
assumption is that if the requirements of the PUD are
sufficient to meet the criteria and to mitigate impacts on
surrounding properties, then the PUD is allowed at that
location, regardless of ownership.
17. The City has a moral responsibility for what is happening to
innocent property owners. This is piece -meal development with
no overall plan for the results. The Choices 95 projects were
voted on by the people of Fort Collins, but there should be an
overall plan in place for the consequences of those projects.
Individuals should not have to go through this process when it
is something the City (meaning the people of Fort Collins)
have voted for.
18. I think there should be an overall plan for this neighborhood.
Maybe the plan would show that this intersection project
shouldn't happen at all. The improvement project still needs
action by Council, it is not set in stone. Maybe this is the
solution to the Donaldsons' dilemma. If the intersection were
not being widened, then they wouldn't be asking for this PUD.
19. Can we check with the Zoning Department to see if there is
some other way that the Donaldsons' can continue operating the
home occupation business, but not live there?
We can check into it, but the Zoning Board of Appeals does not
grant variances to land use. That is why the PUD is being
requested. It is the only way, except to ask for a rezoning,
to permit this use at this location.
20. I don't want a PUD there.
21. I don't want a PUD that goes with the property. If it was
just for the Donaldsons', then that would be fine. I have no
objections to them continuing to operate their camera repair
business there. I just don't want them to be able to sell the
PUD to someone else who we don't know, who might not operate
the place the same way.
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TYPE OF MEETING: A1916 ddu- e) jiJfp�nR7/U/,i
DATE: NWA:-� 19, 199Z
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