Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutPINECONE PUD FORT COLLINS HIGH SCHOOL SITE PLAN ADVISORY REVIEW - 60 91B - SUBMITTAL DOCUMENTS - ROUND 1 - PLANNING OBJECTIVESt S TATEMENT OF PLANKING OB.TEC T T VE S 3F012T C OLL T N S H T GH S C HOOL Site Plan Review April 27, 1992 HISTORY: The accompanying site plan represents the plan by the Poudre School District R-1 for the replacement of the current Fort Collins High School. The existing school was constructed in 1935 and has been added to and remodeled many times over the years to its current size of approximately 167,060 s.f. and student capacity of 1,250 to 1,300 students. The school currently operates at, or over, capacity reflecting a long anticipated projected growth in student body size to reach 1,800 students about the year 2000. Examination of the current structure and its surrounding environment over the past 5 or 6 years has lead the School District to the conclusion that it would not be economically feasible to remain at the existing site. To meet the pressures imposed by the demands of a growing student population and a rapidly evolving, highly technical, educational work place/teaching environment, a move would be required. The new Fort Collins High School would be designed around the following "vision": The design of the new Fort Collins High School must be "futuristic" in its style, character, and building systems. The design must be innovative in its representation of the educational process to take place therein. The ---- new Fort-Col-lins High School must be a flexible place where technology ---- will be allowed to evolve in an effective and non -threatening manner. Fort Collins High School must provide a setting where the community can come together in "life-long learning" and openly share experience and ideas. It must be a warm and comfortable environment, lighted in the brilliance of the day and reflective of purpose at night. The new Fort Collins High School must provide a foundation for the future while being respectful of its past. The size of the new high school has been established at 285,000+ s.f. to house approximately 180 to 200 staff members and an ultimate enrollment of 1,800 students. On site parking capacity will be planned for 1,100+ automobiles based on national averages and standards as well as studies conducted at the existing Rocky Mountain and Poudre High Schools in the school district. The existing Fort Collins High School currently provides approximately 200 on -site parking stalls with all student parking being accommodated on the streets around the school building. Community involvement and sharing with the new Fort Collins High School has been a part of design discussions since building programming began in April of 1991 and continues on going. Both public and private sectors of the Poudre R-1 community are involved in these discussions. The detail of the involvement of other entities in the participation of a sharing with the school district in the iiaw high school will not be known for some time. The approved building program for the new Fort Collins High School establishes that it will be designed to accommodate consideration to a community -use facility. Areas specifically noted in the building program to be examined during the design phase of the project are: School Media Center / Community Branch Library; Rough -in plumbing for a future swimming pool; Accommodations for adding cooling to the mechanical system; Accommodations for the future up -graded theatrical systems in the Performing Arts Center; Joint use with a city park; and Joint development of a botanical garden with Colorado State University and others Demographically, the new school's location was driven to the southeast area of Fort Collins in order to preserve the existing school's current enrollment base. Nineteen sites were initially presented to the School District for consideration. Important considerations in evaluating site locations were: 1. Site size and configuration (a minimum of 60 net acres were needed) 2. Location on or near an arterial for traffic control and access 3. Demographics of the school district 4. Availability of infrastructure support existing in place utilities to the site . existing roadways adjacent to the site 5. On -site easements, right-of-ways, vegetation, structures and other elements that could impose constraints 6. Soils conditions and water table topography 7. Availability of water 8. Costs Land purchase Development costs - 2 - Based on review of all sites submitted under the criteria listed on the previous page, the sites were narrowed to three sites on the section of land bordered by Drake Road on the north, Timberline Road on the west, and Horsetooth Road on the sc,uth. From these three sites, the existing site was chosen of approximately 67.7 gross acres (63 to 64 net acres). Initial direction taken by the School District was to purchase 60 acres on the northeast corner of Horsetooth Road and Timberline Road. This direction was taken to "omit" any commercial development near the school. Cost for the site was significantly higher on this prime location at the intersection of two arterials in a rapidly growing area of town with the approved PUD on the corner allowing for a 16 acre commercial development. Further examination revealed that paying this premium for the site did not "omit" the presence of commercial development near the school site. Property currently zoned across Horsetooth, south and southwest from the school, would both accommodate commercial development of significant scale. These developments would encourage students to cross arterials to get to services that they may need or want.. Studies of deaths resulting from accidents with students crossing arterials to commercial developments near high schools in Denver indicated to the School District that another approach to planning their schools should be examined. Other commercial development that would be planned adjacent to the proposed school site at Horsetooth and Timberline on its north property as well as additional vacant commercial ground across Timberline to the northeast prompted the School District to examine an approach that would address these issues as well as mitigate the negative issues of having commercial development as a neighbor. PLANNING OPPORTUNITIES: The developer was asked to consider a Master Planning process with the School District that would examine the following potential benefits: 1. Educational opportunities to students _ 2. Could the District have influence on the Aesthetics of _an. -.entire. ----- development? 3. How would students be controlled and isolated from possible negative influences on commercial area and city park? 4. Cost advantages : Land . Shared infrastructure 5. Could there be.a positive benefit by keeping students on campus? As negotiated, the resultant agreement completed between the developer and owners of the property considered by the School District includes many advantages to all parties not normally experienced in a school construction project. mm The School District has first right of refusal on 15,000 s.f. of the commercial complex. This provides space for the School District as a tenant or for tenants the School District may want to encourage to come to the site such as: emergency medical care, social services, job services, dental/orthodontists and other such uses that would support the welfare of students and staff. Day-care in support of the teen parent program is another very important consideration. The 15,000 s.f. could also be used as a school store or a teen center, both of which could be operated by students providing an excellent educational opportunity. Owners of businesses in the complex will be encouraged to participate in student educational end employment programs. Food service on the site and within the school is also being explored as a way in which business and education can come together in imaginative ways to provide a quality service in a quality environment that would encourage kids to stay on the campus. Under the governance agreements, the School District has the absolute right to enforce its rules on commercial, park, and neighborhood properties as if they were campus grounds. This means that the School District can remove kids when they are being pesty or if they are exposed to undesirable elements. This is authority allowed the Poudre R-1 School District that is not available to any other district in the state of Colorado at this time. Protective covenants establishing aesthetic expectations are also in place on the land. Design review involves two participants from the School District and two from the property owner with ties being decided in arbitration. Expectations have been established around the aesthetics that will be established by the school. Maintenance of property is also an important aesthetic issue handled by the protective covenants requiring each property ownership entity to properly keep their properties maintained and in good condition. The potential for shared infrastructure on site is also discussed and provided for in the land purchase agreements. This potentially provides cost benefits to all property owners under the Master Plan. PROJECT GOALS: The Fort bollins High School Development Plan is being developed with not only the primary goal of providing the highest quality high school education possible to students in the District but also with the goal of returning the community to the educational process. It is hoped that with the creation of this educational and commercial plaza and with the combination of a city park and its surrounding neighborhood that a linkage will be developed that will bring both students and community together in an environment of cooperation and mutual respect of all participants based on new understanding formulated by their active interaction in a common environment. If these goals can be met, then Fort Collins High School will continue in its prominence as a community center while establishing itself as a place where students, educational, social, and commercial needs can be met. or-= I. Establish a Neighborhood Compatible Environment The development, as proposed, goes farther than any other school project in the District has gone in meeting this goal. Schools are traditionally designed as "islands" with very little concern for their neighbors and little, if no, control over what develops around them. Through the protective covenants established in the land purchase agreements, this is not the case with the Fort Collins High School project. The school is massed with the commercial development along Timberline Road where both will be compatible with their neighbors across the street to the west. I.arge acres of open green space and play fields have been arranged as buffers between school and smaller residential neighbors. Where parking abuts residential development, significant separation has been provided to allow landscape mitigation. All parking exits directly on to arterials or collectors and is directed away from lower density residential traffic. II. Traffic mitigation, Services and Safety Traffic studies show that one access directly off of Timberline onto the school site will be allowed. For the near future, this access point will work as a full turning intersection. This access point will service school buses and visitor traffic to the school and consequently will generate relatively low volumes of traffic during the day. In the future, access for left turning buses will be provided through the parking lot to the north when Timberline becomes too busy for safe left-hand turning movements from and onto Timberline. This access point aligns with Danfield to the west. one access point will also be provided to the south parking lot off of Horsetooth Road. This will be a shared access with the commercial development. Since Horsetooth Road is not projected to be a major traffic carrier on this segment in the future, it is anticipated that full turning movements will be allowed to and from this access for the foreseeable future. This access has been located to align with Arctic Fox to the south. Two access points to the north parking lot have been provided off of"Vermont. - These access points will be designed as possible to discourage traffic into the subdivision by high school students not living there. These accesses have been aligned with anticipated access to commercial and multi -family developments planned across the street. Approximately 1,100 on -site parking stalls have been designed on the site. This number has been derived from national averages for high school parking and from studies completed at the other two high schools in the district. It is anticipated that the entire parking amount of 1,100 stalls will be phased into use in some format as it is needed by an expanding school population after opening in 1995. This is in an effort to discourage unnecessary student and staff driving to school. Additionally, studies and discussions are currently ongoing between the City and the School District as to how to mitigate traffic demands to and around schools all over the school district. Bike parking has been provided in two places at the school; one at the east entry to the Performing Arts section of the building; and one at the east entrance to the building near the gymnasium and locker rooms. - 5 - Bike and pedestrian circulation ties will be provided at several key access points at the north, east, west and south sides of the site. These ties will be coordinated through the overall development plan to ties with the City's planned bike paths for this area of town. Utility Services is adequate to the sight for the school project. Storm drainage and detention is being coordinated with the other developers on the site with the School District detaining all waters required on their site. A joint irrigation pond with some free board for detention is being planned with the City Parks Department. A Transfort bus stop will be provided somewhere on the schoo.l, commercial or a joint site between them. Emergency access will be provided on surfaces acceptable to the Poudre Fire Authority on all sides of the building. Discussions are currently ongoing with the Fire Authority in meeting all of their requirements for fire protection and emergency access on the site. Security lighting - perhaps tied to motion detection - will be provided in all court yards, nooks, and crannies of the school for ease of monitoring by the police department. Adequate lighting will be provided at parking lots and building entries for safety consideration Glare off -site from parking lot lighting will be considered in the design of these elements. III. Environment The project will conform to all state and local, as well as federal standards, for air and water quality. Site lighting design will be accomplished in such a ae_y as not to impose discomfort to those on or off the site. The building's orientation and environmental systems will be designed to maximize as much as possible within economic constraints. The east/west orientation of classroom wings will minimize the negative effects of excessive solar gain on the _ facility. Additionally, natural light is being maximized in the facility which will capitalize on the positive effect of day lighting techniques. Computerized energy management systems are also being studied. Storm water detention will be accomplished in a series of stepped, over lot ponds through grassy areas to enhance percolation of storm water as much as possible. IV. Site Design Goals An earlier area of this statement addressed the arrangement of buildings and the interrelationships with the surrounding neighborhood. A grid pattern of circulation and spacial arrangements have been imposed on the overall site layout to bring organization to the plan and provide ease of access and travel across the land to users. Walkways will be increased in width as much as economics will allow at major pedestrian access points to provide a welcoming environment to users that will encourage them to use the on -site circulation system without intimidation. The natural fall of the land from west to east will be used to plateau the development into play areas which will accentuate the visual order of the site. Some of these plateaus can then be used in the stepped detention system which will mitigate the need for unusually deep storm drainage detention ponds. It is anticipated that the irrigation pond will be of such a size that it will be useable as a significant site aesthetic amenity. Maximum height of the building will be as follows: 1. A 74 foots tower at the entry of the structure 2. 50 foot+ high east wall of the gymnasium tapering to 16' high at the west wall of the administration area 3. 50 foot+ high fly loft over the auditorium stage 4. Two-story height at the classroom wings and the central circulation spine All spaces are located such that they will not cast adverse shadows on any neighboring properties. Parking .lots will be buffered from streets and adjacent properties with landscaping and earth berms within the constraints of budget. Since the site is relatively flat, it is not anticipated at this time that extensive excess fill material will be generated on site to provide for the extensive use of earth berms. It is the desire of the District to develop a botanical garden at the entry to the school with an outside partner such as CSU. Space in the oval located there has been provided for such an endeavor. Landscaping will be used at the building perimeter to enhance the building as appropriate. Utility boxes, meters, etc. will be contained in utility yards screened by walls as much as possible. Where this is not possible, landscape elements will be used to screen utility elements. _ Signage will be, designed within conformance guidelines of the City--of-Fort `^ Collins. CONCLUSION: In times gone past, when communities were smaller out of necessity for long travel times by horse or foot, all activities took place in one center, usually focused on the commercial activities of the community. The school house and the church could usually be found on the fringe of the "downtown" of the village or small town. With the advent of the internal combustion engine, the need for closeness was no longer governed by "travel time." The automobile allowed us to spread out, clustering commerce in the large central areas and allowed schools and churches to be dispersed throughout the community. This not only allowed but encouraged the segregation of our communities into discipline groups (i.e. schools, business, church, commerce, residential, industry, etc.).. What's worse, this separation has separated society into societal groups, old from young, races, religious groups, socioeconomic groups. - 7 - - As a consequence, we no longer interact as a society as effectively as we once did. This has bread misunderstanding, mistrust and in the extreme, hatred. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could break down the barriers we have created and once again learn to appreciate one another for who we "really" are and what we think we are. W^ might find out that the teenage student with purple spiked hair carries a 4.0 grade point and is actually quite polite, likeable and only making a statement in a personal way in trying out his new found freedoms. Conversely, we may find that the angry adult is just lonely, would like some attention, and given their self worth back in the recognition of others, is also quite likeable. Wouldn't it be wonderful if this project, in some small way, was successful in just beginning to break down these barriers of social segregation. Worse case scenario is that it won't, and we'll have business as'usual. Fact is, we won't know unless we at least try. - 8 -