HomeMy WebLinkAboutPINECONE PUD FORT COLLINS HIGH SCHOOL SITE PLAN ADVISORY REVIEW - 60 91B - REPORTS - RECOMMENDATION/REPORT W/ATTACHMENTS� ITEM NO. 22
MEETING DATE 4/27/92
STAFF Ted Shepard
PLANNING AND ZONING BOARD
STAFF REPORT
PROJECT.: New Fort Collins High School - Site Plan Advisory
Review, #60-91B
APPLICANT: Poudre R-1 School District
c/o Robert Sutter
Architectural Horizons
4730 South College Avenue
Fort Collins, CO. 80525
OWNER: Poudre R-1 School District
2407 LaPorte Avenue
Fort Collins, CO. 80521
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
This is a Site Plan Advisory Review. for the New Fort Collins High
School to be constructed on 68 acred adjacent to the Pine Cone
Overall Development Plan. The site is' located on the east side of
Timberline Road between Vermont Drive and Horsetooth.Road. The new
facility will be., approximately 285.000. square fee_k and serve a
maximum of 1,800q students. The campus includes a main school
building, theater complex, gymnasiums, cafeteria, athletic fields,
parking lots, bus loop, Transfort stop, and tower feature. The
facility is being designed in conjunction with the Pine Cone
overall Development Plan with special consideration for integration
with a City neighborhood park and private commercial center as
_adjacent uses. The property is zoned b-p, Planned Business, and R-
P, Planned Residential.
RECOMMENDATION: Approval
EXECUTIVE GUMNARY:
The City's right to advise the Board 'of Education on matters
relating to the New High School is found in the Colorado Revised
Statutes. A public high school is a permitted use in both the B-P,
Planned Business, and R-P, Planned Residential zone districts. The
campus is 68 acres and includes a 285,000 square foot building, 39
acres of athletic fields, three separate parking lots, and a 65
foot high tower. The elements that exceed 40 feet in height are
not intrusive upon future residential areas. A neighborhood
DEVELOPMENT SERVICES 300 I ePorte Ave. P.O. Flo: 580 Fort Collins. 00 80522-0580 (303) 221-6750
PUNNING DEPARTMENT
New Fort Collins High School - Site Plan Advisory Review, #60-91B'
April 27, 1992 P & 2 Meeting
Page 10
It is proposed that the amount of hard surface parking be phased in
as needed. This is accomplished by the temporary basketball courts
which can be converted to parking for special events or as the
enrollment increases.
a. Vehicular Circulation:,
The Site Access Study was performed for: the new high school in.
conjunction with the Pine Cone O.D.P. The objective is to provide
as direct access to the high school from the perimeter arterials as
possible, and restrict high school traffic from circulating back
into the residential neighborhood via the collector and local
street network.
Primary access to the north parking lots is gained from Vermont, a
collector street. Primary access to the southern parking lot is
from Horsetooth, an arterial street. Both of these access points
will allow full turning movements. Vermont is scheduled for a
traffic signal with the construction of the new fire station on -the
southwest corner of Timberline and Vermont.
.Secondary access will be allowed off Timberline at the alignment
with Danfield Court. This access will serve the bus loop and
approximately 40 visitor parking spaces at the front entry. This
access will have full turning movements without the benefit of a
traffic signal. Because the bus loop and visitor parking is
considered to generate a low number of ,trips (12 bus trips per
day), the intersection is anticipated to operate acceptably with
stop sign control. �£(',��C LAB BAck 7a YE,t/h /NT
The improvements to Timberline, Horsetooth, and Vermont will be
made as part of the construction of the New High School.
Timberline is classified as a major arterial (120 feet right-of-
way). The improvements, however, will be constructed to the
arterial standard (100 feet right-of-way) based on the lack of need
of the full major arterial section at this time. The full 120 feet
of right-of-way will be dedicated with this project.
The trip generation, traffic distribution, and street improvements
have been reviewed and evaluated by the Transportation Department.
The New High School .is considered feasible from a traffic
engineering standpoint.
RECOMMENDATION:
The request for New Fort Collins High School Site Development Plan
Advisory Review is found to be an appropriate land use in the b-p,
Planned Business, and R=P, Planned Residential zone districts. The
15 acre neighborhood park and 39 acre athletic field area provide
w
New Fort Collins High School - Site Plan Advisory Review, #60-91B
April 27, 1992 P & Z Meeting
Page it
a generous open space buffer to the proposed residential area to
the east and north.' The structural elements that exceed 40 feet in
height will not cause a loss of privacy, sunlight or views or
otherwiseintrude upon the future residential area. The non -
vehicular circulation network provides opportunities for
alternative modes of transportation. The vehicular system is
feasible from a traffic engineering standpoint.
It is recommended that the Planning and Zoning Board advise the
Poudre R-1 Board of Education that the location, character, and
extent of the New Fort Collins High School is appropriate and
conforms to the elements of the Comprehensive Plan of the City of
Fort Collins.
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ITEM: PINECONE PUD
Overall Development Plan & F.C.H.S.
NUMBER: 60-91 A, B
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NEIGHBORHOOD INFORMATION MEETING
PROJECT: New Fort Collins High School
DATE: April 1, 1992
ARCHITECT: Bob Sutter
SCHOOL DISTRICT: Keith Dixon
John Brzeinski
Kirk Douglas
CITY PLANNER: Ted Shepard
QUESTIONS, CONCERNS, COMMENTS,
1. Will there be enough parking for students and staff?
RESPONSE: The number of parking spaces is based on local data from
Rocky Mountain High School as well as national figures. The number
of spaces indicated on the plan are not final and could change as
more information is collected. There is as much concern about
providing too much parking as not providing enough parking.
2. I am concerned about the southerly parking lot and the
potential for students to drag race down Arctic Fox Drive. This
would-be an intrusion into the neighborhood. Since Arctic Fox
leads over to Caribou, it would be a natural short-cut to gain
access to 'Timberline and avoid the �.Horsetooth/Timberline
intersection. There are no stop signs on Arctic Fox, except at
Caribou. Lots of kids use Arctic Fox on their way home from Linton
Elementary School. Is there any way the parking lot access can be
shifted to the east so that it does not line up, with Arctic Fox?
RESPONSE: This is a good comment. The location of the access
point is shown to align with Arctic Fox because of the danger of
creating offset intersections. Offset intersections are a hazard
because .of left turns from opposite directions may "interlock" and
compete for.space in the center left turn lane. It is not clear
how many students will use Arctic Fox to gain access to Timberline
via Caribou in order to avoid the Horsetooth/Timberline
intersection. This concern will be forwarded to the Transportation
Department and the District's consulting traffic engineer for
analysis and comment.
3. If it is discovered that.the parking area is insufficient,
what will be done to remedy the shortage?
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RESPONSE: The school is not anticipated to reach capacity until
year 2000. This allows the school to monitor the situation as the
student population grows. The solution may.not necessarily be to
increase the parking capacity but to explore methods to reduce
parking demand by carpooling, buses, bikes, Transfort, etc. The
District Administration, high school students, and the high school
principals are working with the City Transportation Department on
reducing the reliance on ,the single -occupant vehicle. This task
force has just begun to look at the problem and solutions have not
surfaced yet.. With the opening of the school in the Fall of 1995,
there may be time to work on alternative forms of transportation.
If the need for additional parking arises, then there is adequate
fringe area on school property to build more parking.
4. Where is the visitor parking, and how many spaces are there?
RESPONSE: The visitor parking is located on the drive loop at the
front entry by the tower. As presently indicated, there are 40
spaces.
5. Will the athletic fields be like French Field with bleachers
and'illumination for night games?
RESPONSE: No. The fields are divided between baseball and
football/soccer with a track. The football and soccer fields will
be for practice only. Varsity football games will continue to be
played at .French Field. The baseball diamonds will be built for
varsity boys baseball and varsity girls softball but these fields
will not be illuminated.
6. What athletic facilities will be constructed in the City
Neighborhood Park?
RESPONSE: The City Parks and Recreation Department has a policy of
holding neighborhood meetings with surrounding residents before
committing to what will .be in the park. It is likely, however,
that the park will include a tot lot, picnic area, and some form of
athletic field. There will also probably be some parking for those
_who_drive_to_,the.park, and a pedestrian path that connects to the
high school facilities. In general, the surrounding residents have
a lot of. say as to what goes in the park.
7. Will the school's gymnasium be open for public use?
RESPONSE: To a certain extent, all school gyms are presently open
on any given evening for public events. The City Parks and
Recreation Department is one of the largest users. It is likely
that this.policy will continue at the new school. The term "open"
does not mean "drop -in" but that the facility is available to :the
public for organized activities by appointment with District's
Facility Rental department..
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8. How many gyms will there be?
RESPONSE: There are four gyms. One area will be about 2,000 square
feet for a weight room. One similar sized gym will be for aerobics
and wrestling. An auxiliary gym will be for basketball and be able
to seat 600. The main gym will be similar in size as the present
main gym at F.C.H.S. and seat between 2,800 and 3,000. The main
gym will feature skylighting and have aback wall that is 50 feet
in height.
9. Will there be handicap parking spaces?
RESPONSE: Yes. The campus will comply with the spirit and the
requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
10. Please describe the tower feature.
RESPONSE: The tower will be approximately 75 feet tall. It will be
a free-standing structure, not attached to the main building. It
will be wide at the base (12' x 301) and taper towards the top.
The top will serve as a mounting for communications and microwave
antennas. The exterior material will match the school building.
11. We are concerned about the open'campus philosophy. The campus
is near I-25 and could draw in unwanted students from Greeley and
Cheyenne. How is the District going to control drug dealing and
keeping non -students off campus?
RESPONSE: School officials will have more control over the campus
and its environs than it does now at the present location on
Remington. At the present location, the school does not have the
ability to enforce school rules on the park across the street or
Taco Bell (and formerly Burger King). Under the new proposal, the
school will have "governance" over the adjacent City park, and the
adjacent commercial center. This governance agreement has already
been secured by deed restriction.
In addition, school officials are constantly evaluating the open
campus system. One consideration is that open campus privileges be
modified for sophomores, and that the privilege be earned, not a
right. Finally, the present school is only 167,000 square feet.
The new school will be 285,000 square feet. Consequently, there
will be more attractions on -campus in terms of facilities..
12. What kinds of land uses or tenants will go in next door?
RESPONSE: The School District has obtained, .via deed restriction
and covenant agreement, the first right of refusal on 15,000 square
feet of commercial space. In addition, the covenants state that
there will be no liquor store, no smoke shop, no arcade, no
pornography, or other offensive land.uses. The grocery store will
M
also be prohibited from selling alcohol should State liquor laws be
amended to allow such sales.
The District is looking at a satellite medical service facility in
lieu of having to provide a school nurse on campus. Computer and
technology retail is being pursued. The students have expressed
interest in beauty and barber shops and record (C.D.Is) stores.
Also, it has been considered that some space be reserved for
student -run 'businesses as an educational tool. Finally, it is
anticipated that one or two.fast food restaurants will open up as
pad sites.
13. Will the District have architectural control over the shopping
center and the pad sites?
RESPONSE: Yes. There will be an architectural control committee.
The shopping center will have to develop in a sensitive fashion.
These controls are over and above what the City may require through
the planned unit development process. The development of the
shopping center will probably be preceded by a neighborhood
information meeting for additional citizen input.
14. What is meant by a "community learning center"?
RESPONSE: This concept is derived from the .Mission Statement
developed by the Board of Education. It means using the campus
during the evenings, during school holidays, during summer break
for educational opportunities for all citizens. An example may be
offering high school education or G.E.D.'s for employees of local
companies. Another example may be dispersing some programs from
Front Range Community College over to the new F.C.H.S., The concept
may evolve where there may be technology sharing with local high
tech companies. There are many variations on the theme but the
concept aims to make the most use out of the campus facility for a
wide range of citizens.
15. Will there be a swimming pool?
- - - RESPONSE: No. The present policy is that none of the high schools
will have a pool on campus. There is an area devoted to a future
pool in case the policy changes over the life of the building. The
two community pools are presently adequate to serve the three high
schools.
16. I'.m afraid the adjacent City neighborhood park will become an
attractive nuisance for kids wanting to hang-out.
RESPONSE: With, park located away from the front of the school and
the two main streets, it will not serve the same function as High
School Park on Remington. Remember, the District will have the
ability to enforce school rules on the park property.
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17. Will the building have the ability to expand?
RESPONSE: Yes. The music, art, and administrative areas are all
buiJ t on outside walls for future expansion. In addition, the
three .classroom wings could be expanded to the west due to the
generous setback from Timberline Road.
18. Besides the tower, how tall will the building be?
RESPONSE: The two highest points will be the back wall of the gym
and the "fly -loft" above the theater's stage. These points will be
50 feet tall.
19. What is the anticipated student capacity?
RESPONSE: The school is being planned for a capacity of 1,800
students. This capacity could be reached by year 2000.
20. Will the District be widening the arterial streets to handle
the increase in traffic?
RESPONSE: Yes. The District and Timberline Partners have agreed to
improve the frontage of both the school property and the commercial
property along both arterials at the time of high school
development.
21. The high school traffic will use Arctic Fox and Caribou Drive.
This will cause additional traffic in front of Linton School.
Yellow caution lights are needed to make drivers more aware that
there is a school zone on Caribou. Otherwise, there will be a
dangerous situation.
RESPONSE: The City Transportation Department and the School
District work together on the installation of yellow caution signs
and flashing yellow lights. Lots of elementary schools do not have
these safety provisions because they are not needed. The Linton
School Principal and the Parent Advisory Board should contact the
City Transportation Department to investigate the situation to see
if additional safety measures are needed.
22. How big will the school be compared to the existing school?
RESPONSE: The new school will be 285,000 square feet compared to
167,000 square feet at the existing facility.
2.3. Will students be forced to use outside walkways to get from
the gyms to the theater area?
RESPONSE: No. All activity areas are connected internally with a
hallway system that actually reduces travel distances compared to
the existing school. Outside walkways are available as short-cuts
but not the only way to get across the campus.
24. Will there be an elevator?
RESPONSE: Yes.
25. Is the spine feature attached to the commercial center?
RESPONSE: No. The spine leads to an open pedestrian plaza, it is
not connected directly to the commercial center.
26. Has the District considered putting outside vendors (fast food
operators) inside, the school building? C.S.U. has done this at the
Lory Student Center with great success. Could this work at the
high school level?
RESPONSE: The District recognizes that the school lunches are not
popular with the students. One idea used at a large suburban
Denver'high school is to provide a large open area in the cafeteria
where the fast food vendors bring in mobile facilities from 11:30
to 1:00. Then, the facilities are removed until the next' day. The
option of bringing in permanent facilities, like Hardee's in Lory
Center, is being investigated but may be more difficult at the high
school level than at the college level.
27. When the commercial center develops, will it be
architecturally compatible?
RESPONSE: Yes. The District has representation on the
architectural control committee that has been established by
covenant between PR-1 and Timberline Partners.
28. How will the public use of the commercial shopping center be
integrated with function of the high school? Is the public welcome
on the high school campus?
RESPONSE: The public is welcome to visit the high school and. to
enjoy mixing with the students on the campus. Like any high school
however, visitors within the building must check in at the front
before being allowed total internal access. The plaza between the
— --school and the commercial center is designed .to promote this--_.______.
integration. The concept is that the school is not an.island and
that the shopping center is not off-limits. The school belongs to
the community as well as the students. It is designed so that the
mixing will break down generational, barriers and promote
communication between adults and teenagers. The concept
anticipates that some of the leasable square footage in the center
will support .education in some form, and that a symbiotic
relationship will develop between the school and the commercial
center.
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NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING MINUTES
PROJECT: Pine Cone Farm- Amended Overall Development
Plan (includes New High School site)
DATE: January 29, 1992
LOCATION: Public Service Company
APPLICANT: Timberline Partners (G.T. Land Colorado, Inc.
and W.W. Reynolds Company)
REPRESENTATIVES: Eldon Ward, Cityscape Urban Design
Kirk Douglas, Consultant for PR-1 District
PROJECT PLANNER: Ted Shepard
QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, CONCERNS
1. The area designated as Parcel A is the commercial corner of
Timberline and Horsetooth. How does this affect the approved
neighborhood convenience shopping center across the street on
Mr. Tiley's ground?
Response: One does not preclude the other. The Fox Meadows
Business Park is planned for multi -family, convenience and gasoline
sales, support retail, and daycare. The northeast corner of
Timberline and Horsetooth, however, is planned to be a neighborhood
shopping center on 11 acres with about 100,000 square feet of
retail. (By way of example, Toddy's is located in a 12 acre
center.) This retail would be divided between about 70,000 square
feet for a grocery store anchor, and 30,,000 square feet for support
retail. Each corner is planned to stand on its own.
2. What are the°proposed collector streets into Pine Cone Farm?
Response: The proposed collector off Timberline would be an
extension of Vermont, and the collector off Horsetooth would be a
new street located at the midpoint between Arctic Fox and Caribou.
While not located within Pine Cone Farm, the likely collector off
Drake into the section would be a road that divides the C.S.U.
property from Spring Creek Farms. This road is located at the
midpoint of the section.
3. Besides the collectors, what are the other proposed access
points?
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New Fort Collins High School - Site Plan Advisory Review, #60-91B
April 27, 1992 P & Z Meeting
Page 2
information meeting revealed a consensus that the facility is
generally compatible with the surrounding area.
A non -vehicular circulation system is designed to complement a
network planned for the Pine Cone O.D.P. The vehicular system has
been reviewed and evaluated and is considered feasible from a
traffic engineering standpoint.
Response: The other access points would be classified as local
streets, not collectors. It is proposed that the commercial corner
have two access points, one off Timberline and one off Horsetooth.
It is proposed that the school's southerly parking lot take access
from an extension of Arctic Fox. The school's northerly parking
lot would take access off Vermont. In front of the school along
Timberline, there would be a separate access point for busses only
into a turn -around loop. Also along Timberline, there would be an
access point into boulevard that would lead to the building's
"front door" or "focal point" which would serve as visitor parking.
Finally, a new local street is planned between Custer and
Sagebrush.
It should be mentioned that all access points will be fully
analyzed in a traffic impact study and must be approved by the City
of Fort Collins. It is likely that some access points will have
restricted turn movements (right-in/right-out only).
4. What is a "focal point"?
Response: At this early stage, the discussion has centered around
a tower as a carry over tradition from the present school.
5. Will two collectors be sufficient for a high school and staff?
Response: It is believed that two collectors will be able to
handle the traffic and. feed the two adjacent arterials at
signalized intersections. The exact timing of the installation of
traffic signals, however, is not known at this stage.
6. Will Horsetooth Road be widened?
Response: Yes, Horsetooth Road will be widened to full arterial
standards in front of the school and commercial property.
7. Will Timberline Road be widened?
Response: Yes, Timberline Road will also be widened to —full - -
arterial standards, as an interim improvement. Since Timberline is
classified as a "major arterial" (Horsetooth is an "arterial") it
will not be widened to major arterial standards until it is
warranted by traffic volumes. This is not expected in the near
future as the arterial standard is considered sufficient.
8. Would the Horsetooth access into the commercial corner line up
with the access point on the Tiley property (Fox Meadows
Business Park)?
Response: Yes, offsetting streets within close proximity would not
be allowed.
K
9. Will the proposed neighborhood park east of Linton Elementary
be delayed due to the proposed neighborhood park next to high
school's athletic fields?
Response: No. Parks and -Rec is actively pursuing land acquisition
from two .landowners for the Linton/Sunstone neighborhood park.
10. I've heard a rumor that the high school is trying to acquire
raw water to irrigate the athletic fields versus using treated
City water. Is this true?
Response: Yes. Negotiations are underway with local irrigation
companies to secure water rights and distribution facilities so
that treated City water would not have to be purchased.
11. What are the City's right to review a new school facility
versus an overall development plan?
Response: Since the School District is a political subdivision of
the state, and not a private developer, the City's right to review
is found in state statutes. These statutes allow for the Planning
and Zoning Board to conduct an advisory review on the "location,
character, and extent thereof" of new school facilities. This is
the same review process that has been used for the last several
elementary schools and Webber Junior High. Under these statutes,
any decision of the Planning and Zoning Board may be overturned by
the Board of Education by no less than a two-thirds vote.
Pine Cone Farm Amended Overall Development Plan', however, is
considered a private application and will be reviewed by the
criteria of the adopted Land Use Policy Plan under the full
authority of the Planning and Zoning Board.
12. What happened at last Monday's (January 27, 1992) Board of
Education meeting?
Response: At their regular meeting, the School Board voted to
enter into an option contract with Timberline Partners, for an area
of land not less than 62 acres and not more than 80 acres.
13. How was this particular site selected and was this the most
expensive site?
Response: A site selection committee investigated 18 sites east of
College Avenue and south of Drake Road., The list wa's narrowed down
to three for acquisition. This site was in the middle of the three
in price.
14. Will the commercial corner be reviewed as a P.U.D.?
Response: Yes.
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15. Will PR-1 own the corner?
Response: No, but PR-1 will, by covenant agreement with W.W.
Reynolds, have the ability to enforce school rules on the
commercial property. These covenants will run with the land in
case W.W. Reynolds sells the property.
16. How flexible are the plans on the New High School? Are the
plans locked -in?
Response: This is a good question. In terms of site planning, the
location of an existing sanitary sewer and storm drainage channel
determines, to a large extent, the building envelope. Within this
envelope, the architectural design and character of the building is
very flexible. Please be aware.that the schematic design of the
building has not yet been approved by the School Board.
17. Will there be additional public meetings on the design of the
new building?
Response: Yes, there will be meetings the week of February 3rd to
gather citizen input on the schematic design. These meetings will
be advertised in the Coloradoan.
18. Will there be a lighted football field like French Field?
Response: No, the football field will be for practice only. It
will not be a district -wide facility. There will be no lights.
19° I've heard rumors that the District and Timberline Partners
will be able to economize on capital construction costs by
doing this joint school/commercial venture. Is this true?
Response: Yes, preliminary estimates are that joint development
could save between $250,000 and $500,000 in la!-' development and
capital construction.
20. Does the Overall Development Plan contain any multi -family?
Response: Yes, Parcel D, north of Vermont, is about 15 acres and
is designated as a multi -family parcel. An estimate is that this
parcel could contain about 200 dwelling units.
21. Which residential areas will develop first and what is the
estimated time frame for development?
Response: The residential portion will develop from south to north
to take advantage of the existing sewer line in Horsetooth Road.
These residential areas will wrap around the school athletic
facilities and the potential City neighborhood park. An estimated
time frame is that it could take ten years to reach build -out.
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22. Who are the other owners in the section?
Response: Harold Webster owns the large parcel in the southeast
corner of the section. Spring Creek Farms owns the large parcel in
the northwest corner. C.S.U. owns the everything between Webster
and Spring Creek Farms that is not owned by Timberline Partners.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture owns the five acre parcel along
Timberline Road across from Sagebrush Drive.
23. What will be the impact on the property values of the homes
located on the cul-de-sacs that open up to Horsetooth Road in
Fox Meadows?
Response: This is difficult to predict given the number of
variables that determine a property's value. Recent experience is
that schools act as magnets to certain areas and neighborhoods but
cause and effect data on the relationship between new schools and
property values is not available.
24.. What is the likely future land use on the five acre U.S.D.A.
parcel?
Response: It is likely that with major arterial frontage that it
will .not be residential. Depending on market conditions, this
parcel could develop as multi -family or office.
25. What kind of housing will be built? Will there be modulars?
Response: It is premature to anticipate what kind of housing will
be built within Pine Cone Farm. It is also unknown if modulars
will be built.. It is not uncommon to lack these kinds of specifics
at the Overall Development Plan stage.
26. It is widely accepted that Fort Collins is growing to the
southeast. and that this area will continue to attract
residential construction. Will 11 acres be large enough to
accommodate a grocery store and support retail/services over
the long term?
Response: Recent history has shown that larger centers tend to
carry. vacancies. The trend now is toward smaller centers. Keep in
mind that Fox Meadows Business Park will provide retail and
services, and that Sunstone Village has commercial area at the
-orner of Timberline and Caribou. Also, there is retail and
commercial area that"has been approved, at the Overall Development
Plan level, at the corner of Timberline and Harmony Road.
Therefore, it appears the southeast area will be well served.
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27. When will the.New High School open?
Response: With a 21 month construction schedule, the opening is
planned for the Fall of 1995.
28. Will there be boundary changes or open enrollment throughout
the District?
Response: Boundary questions and enrollment policies are best
directed towards -the other District,officials. Mr. Carol Agee is
the District's school boundary specialist and he can be reached by
calling the Poudre R-1 School District.
6
Novelplan will put high.schoig
i1
n IO-acre shopping mall
By Dawn Capewell"We're trying to break the mold.
syscui to The Denver suet We absolutely will not build a con -
A novel plan by school officials
and developers may create a high
school heaven, where students
would have a 10-acre shopping
mall and 20-acre park beside their
new Fort Collins High School.
When Poudre R-1 School Dis-
trict officials began looking for a
! site fora new
high school,
they found that
W.W. Reynolds also had designs on
land at Timberline and Horsetooth
roads.
Timberline Partners, controlled
by W.W. Reynolds, owned the land
and planned to build a mall there.
Poudre R-1 wanted to build a
school on the site.
Now developers and school offi-
cials have decided to do both, cre-
ating one of the first developments
of its kind.
ventional school," said school
board member Jerry Dunn.
Students could work in the mall
and learn anything from how to or-
der napkins to how. to take a cus-
tomer's order, said John Brzeinsk
principal of Fort Collins Hlgh.
. If the school board approves the
partnership, the $30 million school
would be built ender the same roof
as the mall. The city is being asked
to sweeten the deal by creating a
20-acre park for students and resi-
dents.
School board members have
been asked to close the deal —
thus locking themselves into.tbe
partnership — Feb. 19. The 62.9-
acre site would cost $1.004 million.
Voters approved a bond issue last
November to finance the school,
which would open in September
1995.
Some school officials and par-
ents are baffled by the concept of
housing businesses and classrooms
under one roof, said school board
member John Drennen.
"We're flying by radar a little
bit," be acknowledged, but poten-
tial benefits to students justify the
experiment
Students and parents would lin-
ger a little longer at the complex,
be predicted. "A parent attending
an adult literacy class can stop off
rigid afterwards at King Soopers,
then pick up a kid who's at a tutor-
ing class or wherever. open your
mind up a little bit."
`We absolutely will not build a con*entional
school.' - - -
Educators aW Aced these
benefits:
■ Because the baeluaases wotdd
pay part of the tab, the scbooi dis-
trict would save $250,000 to
$750,000 on water pipes, sewer
lines and other essentials, said
Kirk Douglas of Harlan, Myles sir
Douglas, a Denver real estate firm'
consulting for the project
■ The school board would have
the right to control students
whether they're in the classroom
or McDonald's. Administrators
now can't control students when
they leave campus, Brzeinaki said.
Though it seems unusual to
Jerry Dunn, school board member
Place a school next to a burger
joint, Timberline isn t exactly do-
ingtraditiong badness either, mid
Jerry LtLReynolds' vicepresi-
dent.
Almost never would a company
let another group control land use
on a prise parcel, Lee acid. "It's
scary to have somebody else have
some control over property we al-
ready own."
But it could give businesses a.
chance to help students bone basic
work skills, said Rich Feller, pro-
fessor of career development at
Colorado State University.
He said companies interested
only in cheap student labor should
be avoided, however. "Companies
that want kids to chrome bumpers
orrssling burgers would not be
For the project to work, the dis-
trict would need to recruit busi-
nesses that want to invest in sta-
dents for years to come, not *
while prottb are high, Fella said.
A similar business -education
partnership has been launched Y
the Minneapolis area. SchooR
from five districts will have kids
in kindergarten through third
grade, plus llth and 12th graded,
take their classes in Suites in the
nation's biggest shopping center,
the Mall of America, after it opens
in August .
"Schools have.to get booked ap
to the real world," said Glnny
Pease, a research assistant with
the National Center for Research
in Vochtional Education at the
University of Minnesota.
When the mall opens in August;
parents who work there will bens,
tit, too, by having their children
nearby, said Arlene Bush, presi-
dent of the Bloomington (Minn.)
school board.
The rT Fort Cblifil.., tllgh
School — Brealting the Mold
By JOHN BRZEINSKI
that would contain a build.
Could city and county ser-
Over the past several
ing, parking, and assorted
vices be linked to this joint
weeks, the staff of Fort Col-
athletic fields. As we exa•
development and provide
lins High School and Pou•
mined this possibility, it
additional opportunities?
dre R-1 have been working
became evident that this
The list of questions, possi•
with community advisory
Island approach would not
bilities, and opportunities
groups to fashion a pro-
allow the school district,
to break the mold of tradi-
posal for the new Fort Col-
outside of routine zoning
tional school development
lies High School. Parame-
ters formed by the
requirements, o-ba_v_e_sig•
—on
is endless. These questions,
Central
nificant influence ttie?and
many others will be
Design Committee — a
surrounding_ -area_ As—dis-
thoroughly examined and
group of community.
cussions—with land owners
resolved prior, to finaliza-
alumni, parents, business
and developers in the tar•
tion of any site develop -
members, and Poudre R.1
geted area continued, dis.
ment or building plan.
staff members — were
cussions began to occur
Poudre R-1 currently
endorsed by the board of
around an exciting concept
holds a<i opiion to purchase
education. These parame.
of creating a community
60 acres of land at the
ters are listed below and
education plaza.
northeast corner of Horse.
have helped guide our Ini•
WHAT
tooth Road and Timberline
tial;jconceptual design work
Road. We have agreed, to
and site selection.
As the developer,
explore the concept of a
■ Promote community
Timberline Partnership,
and Poudre R-1 met, our
joint planned development
Interaction through shared
use of the facility.
discussiops focused on the
for the general area with
Partnersh'
Tim>�lin_will-6-on-
0 Create a social atmos-
opportunity to create an
educational environment
,
This exploratlo
phere with students, staff,
that would. continue Fort
sider educational advan-
parents and -business in one
Collins High School's prom-
tages and impacts, eco-
location.
inence as a community cen-
nomic advantages and
■ Preserve the view and
ter while establishing it as
impacts,
p governance of
landmark status of Fort
a place where the educa-
joint development and use,
Collins High School.
tional, social, and commer-
and architectural and cove-
■ Preserve the culture
rtal_needs of the students
nant agreements with sur-
and character of the old
could be'met.
rounding neighborhoods.
We anticipate that negotia-
Fort Collins High School in
What if we could create a
tions will occur throughout
a futuristic design = not a
linkage with commercial
November.
traditional high school.
development in the form of
The Central Design Com-
a Use modern office and
a shopping area that pro•
mittee and the board of
shopping center technology
vided for community as
education will monitor our
in the design of ,the new
building.
well as the students while
bringing both together?
progress and approve--any---
■ Promote the develop.
Would there be a benefit to
final agreements. As soon
as agreements are reached,
ment of new partnerships
having a school and a busi-
a meeting will be scheduled
with the community
ness linked by a pedestrian
so we can share this excit-
through the design process.
plaza? What if Fort Collins
ing concept with the com•
As the district began to
High School established a
munity.
examine site options, it
relationship with local busi-
Our
became evident that a vari-
nesses that provided the
assurance to our
sty of locations and con-
opportunity for on -site
community i9 that the new
cepts were available. Our
application of what -was
Fort Collins. High School
choices ranged from
taught in class. Are there
µ illbe built incorporating
approaching the site acqui•
opportunities to link the
the many fine traditions
sition in a very traditional
school experience to com-
from the past century, but
manner to approaching it In
mercial endeavors, such as
also with a vision that will
a new and. very different
child care and food prepa.
provide superior education
manner. The triiditlonal
ration? Would the school
for the next century.
process would have the dis-
provide a natural draw that
John Brzelnskl Is principal
trfet purchase a 60-acre site,,.would
help businoeaca?
of Fort Collins High School.
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Continued from Page Al
1,000 vehicles. a 30-acre athletic
complex, and 20 acres for the
new high school, which will
accommodate about 1,800 stu-
dents.
The school is scheduled to open
in the fall of 1995 and replace the
existing high school, which is at
its 1.200-student capacity. Cost of
the new school is expected to be
about $30 million.
Committees of district employ-
ees and, community volunteers
have been looking at possible
ideas for the new high school for
the past'several months. The dis-
trict also is working with the city
to incorporate a possible branch
library, neighborhood park and
recreation center into the school
plan.
But district officials said
Wednesday that they now also
are looking at ways to bring com-
mercial development into a mas-
ter plan for the area that would
benefit both the district and busi-
ness.
"With more master planning
we can have more control over
adjacent development," Dixon
said. "It's really looking at the
big picture rather than the.tradi•
tional island approach."
Businesses would benefit by
locating near a ready supply of
customers from the high school.
Restaurants. music stores and
other businesses frequented by
teens would be especially inter.
ested.
"This almost goes back to the
old concept of, the school as the
center of the community,"
Brzeinski said.
Those who attended Wednes-
clay's meeting saw several possi-
ble design ideas from other high
schools across the nation. Eliza-
beth Case, a member of Fort Col.
lins' 50-year club, said she
wanted to be sure the new school
included aspects of the old
school, including its bell tower.
"I've been in contact with a lot
of the school's graduates, and
they're very concerned that they
keep some of the traditions," she
said.
Dixon assured that would be
the case.
"I think we are going to cap-
ture all those things that make
the school different," he said.
Dixon said the district wants to
hear ideas on the new school dur-
ing the next month. More public
meetings will be announced in
coming weeks.
Dixon said he hoped district
residents get excited about help-
ing to create the new high school.
"This is the kind of concept
we've dreamed about for a long
time," he said.
February 26, 1992
Pondre R-1 School District
Sally Weisser
3525 Juanita Road
Fort r`ollins, CO 80524
Dear ?Is. Weisser:
The Citizen Planners land use planning committee would like to respond
to the recent decision made by the Poudre R-1 School District regarding
the Fort Collins High School.
Members of Citizen Planners have attended numerous public meetings
since it became evident that the school board was ready to present
options to the public for review and discussion. What we found was a
single proposal for land acquisition that needed an immediate response and
was Clouded with many important and unresolved issues.
Citizen Planners believes that the public input process on this
projt!ct. has been very poorly handled. It' is our understanding that many
meetings have occurred with educators to determine the present and
future needs of the building and that committees have ins ested nutch time
in site selection studies. However, the open campus community- education
and commercial .shopping center concept has just recently been introdue, :l
t.o the Public and has obviously- been given very little consideration
beyond the possible development and economic benefits. This proj,!rt; a
city high school, is being funded with capitol construction money allotted
1)y :l hond issue voted on In 1988. Tax payers c'ertairly k,ere Ilia, pt','p:lr,'d
for t:hi� novel approach to education when they voted their approval. It
would seem that a more comprehensiveeffort should have be,.n ma,ie r.o
hell, the Fort Collins community better understand what the intent of this
projvrt. is and how our tax dollars are tieing spent before movirr4 ahead!
While Lhr land uses in this project. are innovative rand we r:ui support
many of Lh,• concepts_ being proposed, Citizen Planners questions whr_=-_Lhor -_--
t-her,: is a -consensus that. this makes sense educationally or whether this
decision was driven primarily from a business perspective. We. find, it
very .worrisome when school officials talk more of helping business and the
,::ommercial needs of students than whether this is a sound educational
plan for the future of our children. The education/commercial plaza plan
may initially help defray the high costs of building the high school but
what price do we place on the values which we instill in our young people'.
This plan has been presented as the future, yet no attention has
been given to the transportation issues of this project. As proposed
this plan will create more congestion and further decrease the quality of
our air at a time when the future is in looking for alternatives. It is
yet to be proven that providing more traffic lanes and parking places
solves traffic problems. This approach does nothing to encourage people
ro change and sets a very poor example for our Youth. The area wid
trransportation plan has as a goal decreasing automobile miles driven in
1•'r.n•t Collins and encouraging alternative:.modes of tranpo: taf_ion. tizen
1'lanrwrs strongly encourages the school (fist.rict. to arldrr ss Olesf• issues
for our futru•e now,
One of the most intriguing and problematic argu'ements useri
perswid�, the public that this project will work for our children is that of
"rights of governance". This concept ;as presented takes the form
covenrarnt r:r:reement to regulate the location, maintenance, and
compatit,ility of buildings which will be built later and could easily •c,t,
handlf;d under the PUD process by the city of Fort *Collins. Adtfitionrril}
reatrir.t.ions might be placed on certain land uses descrihed :is nt.tr:u•ti.,-
nuisances and the school district would share the responsibility for
overning [hestudents outside of the school. We would forosee chat Lhei
businesses that would be most interested in locating near a built in
market would be of the'attractive fruisance variety. Most. trouhiesome
t.horrL,�h is the question of whether the school district should be *in%olved
in Ov. "brrsirless" of these matters 'It rill. We dcnrhtt, that most. t;ry 1,:r}ers
:rn,l ours :xpeci. that Lh„ job description for our teachers rind br.,ard of
dui ;'Lion should inl:lude governing commercial deceloiSment, rifles.
Perhaps many of 'the plans and concepts as delineated by the school
board :are workable and in the best interests of educating our .;hildren,
but it :appears that we have only just begun to visit the hardest
tuest.ions. In the spirit of open communication and public: discussion,
Citizen Planners hopes that the school board will step back for a moment
Ind onsider the ramificationsof moving for%%rd or, this proj t, t. w it.hc,ut :r
t'irm hase of public understanding and consensus on this verb impurtan',
r:ommyniL� proje( t.
Sincerely,
Wp1vJ
Land Use Planning Commi!.ceo
Citizen Planner
" : John Drennen
>1acor Susan Kirkpatrick and City Council
City of Fort Collins Planning and Zoning Hoard
r
New Fort Collins High School - Site Plan Advisory Review, 060-91B
April 27, 1992 P & Z Meeting
Page 3
COMMENTS:
1. Backaround•
The surrounding zoning and land uses are as follows:
N: b-p, R-P; Vacant (Pine Cone O.D.P.)
S-: b-p; Vacant (Pine Cone O.D.P.)
E: R-P; Vacant (Pine Cone O.D.P.)
W: I-P, R-H, R-L-P; Existing industrial, office, and residential
The 68 acre parcel is being planned as part of the Pine Cone
O.D.P., which is a consolidation of the Timberline - Horsetooth
Second Annexation (1979) and .the Blue Spruce Annexation (1987).
Due to a technicality, however, the campus is not included in'the
Pine Cone O.D.P. because of a legal issue regarding ownership.
The southerly portion of the campus was, at one point, part of the
Greenfield Village Master Plan, approved in 1981. Two P.U.D.'s
received preliminary approval within Greenfield Village but have
since expired. Greenfield Village Master Plan is proposed to be
superceeded by the new Pine Cone Overall Development Plan, being
considered concurrently with the New High School Site Plan Advisory
Review.
2. Context Within the Section:
The new Fort Collins High School lies within a section bounded by
Drake, Timberline, Horsetooth, and County Road #9. This section is
unique with its adjacency to the urbanized portion of the City yet
with no existing development to constrain the planning of land
uses, streets,parks, and utilities. Still another unique feature
is- that "there ---are only four major land owners creating an .
opportunity for joint discussion over master plan issues. (The 91
acre Webster Farm, adjacent to the east, has been through
Conceptual Review.) The northern and eastern portions of the
section are characterized by agriculture, agronomy research, and
significant slopes of the Poudre River valley. The section is
bounded on the west and south with employment uses (South Collins
Tech Center and Horsetooth Business Park), future business service
uses (Fox Meadows Business Park), and residential neighborhoods
(Fox Meadows, Sunstone.Village, English Ranch, and Meadows East).
3. Right of Advisory Review:
A. Section 22-32-124, C.R.S., as amended, addresses the right of
the School District to construct schools within a municipality and
location or manner of construction of such schools. The statute
specifically limits the municipalities,- participation in the.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Pinecone PUD is a proposed commercial/residential development
which also includes the new Fort Collins High School. It is
located east of Timberline Road and north of Horsetooth Road in
Fort Collins, Colorado. This site access study involved the steps
of trip generation, trip distribution, trip assignment, capacity
analysis, traffic signal warrant analysis, and accident analysis.
This study assessed the impacts* of Pinecone PUD on the long
range (2010) street system in the vicinity of the proposed devel-
opment. As a result of this analysis, the following is concluded:
- The development of Pinecone PUD is feasible from a traffic
engineering- standpoint. At full development as proposed,
approximately 25,640 trip ends will be generated at this site. Not
all of these will be new trips. Some will be pass. -by trips on the
area;streets as part of the background traffic. The, high school
tripgeneration was based upon data collected at Rocky Mountain
HighiSchooil in Fort Collins. The trip generation rates developed
from this data were significantly higher than those shown in Trip
Generation, 4th Edition. This local data source was deemed to be
more appropriate.
Based upon current traffic volumes and existing geometrics,
the Timberline/Horsetooth signalized intersection operates
acceptably.
- As Pinecone PUD develops and traffic increases, a signal -
will be warranted at the Timberline/Vermont intersection. Vermont
is a major street serving the business park development west of
Timberline, and will be designated as a collector street serving
Pinecone PUD.
- - With full development of all the proposed uses in Pinecone
PUD, the. Timber line/Horsetooth and Timberline/Vermont signalized
intersections will operate acceptably. Selected movements at some
stop sign controlled intersectfons will not operate acceptably.
This operation will be due to the background traffic on Tmberl-i'n`e -"-
Road and Horsetooth Road. There is little that can be done to
improve this operation. There are alternative means of. egress
where this does occur. Selective accesses should be restricted to
limited turns as shown in .Figure 7. This recommendation is made
assuming the build out future traffic volumes. The limited turn
accesses can initially be implemented as full turn intersections
and changed as traffic operation and safety dictates.
- Streets and intersections internal to Pinecone PUD will
operate acceptably.
- With proper traffic control and the recommended geometrics,
the accident rate should be' minimal for typical urban conditions.
Adlk
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SITE LOCATION Figure
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VERMONT I
Plnecone P.U.D.
DANFIELD
71
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PRIMARY STREETS Figure 2
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SITE PLAN
Figure 4
TABLE 2
Trip Generation
Daily A.M. Peak P.M. Peak
Land Use Trips Trips Trips Tri"ps Trips
° Parcel A in out in out
Neighborhood Retail 7430 122 53 305 3.18
Center - 100 KSF
Parcel B
High School - 1800 students 5250 655 355 112 169
Parcel ,C
Neighborhood Park & 200 77 55 93 93
H.S. Athletic Fields
Day Care - 100 students 700 63 56 62 67
Parcel D
C-store/gas & retail - 6KSF 3000 85 80 95 100
Multi -Family - 200 D.U. •1170 14 75 75 37
Parcel E
Business Services - 4.3 Ac 2620 44 19 106 110
Parcel F
Single Family - 22 D:U. 220 5 12 14 8
Parcel G
Single Family - 60'D.U. 600 13 33 38 22
Parcel H
Single Family - 40 D.U. 400 8 22 25 15
Parcel J
Single Family - 30.1D.U. 300 6 17 19 11
Parcel K
iSingle Family - 36 D.U. 360 8 20 23 13
Parcel L
Single Family - 22 D.U. 220 5 12 14 8
�. Parcel M
Single Family - 72 D.U. 720 15 40 45 27
Parcel N
Single Family - 85 D.U.' 850 18 47 54 31
Parcel F
Single Family - 1(0 D.U. 1600 34 88 101 59
P
n
® Land Use
The square mile containing the Pinecone PUD is currently in
agricultural use. There is currently sparse development east of
Timberline Road in Fort Collins. However, a major employer
(Hewlett Packard) is located approximately one mile to the
southeast of Pinecone PUD. The center of Fort Collins lies to the
northwest of the Pinecone PUD.
The adjacent land uses near Pinecone PUD are as follows: 1)
® to the west are light industrial/office across Timberline Road; 2)
to the north, there are currently agricultural uses; 3) to the
east, terrain drops off into the valley of the Cache La Poudre
River; and 4) to the south are residential uses. It is expected
that there will be commercial development along Timberline Road to
the south of Horsetooth Road. The topography in the area is
essentially flat.
Roads '
The primary streets near Pinecone PUD are shown in Figure 2.
Timberline Road borders Pinecone PUD on .the west. It is a north -
south street designated as a major arterial on the Fort Collins
Master Street Plan. Its existing cross section has one 12 foot
lane in each direction. The posted speed limit is 45 mph on
Timberline Road in this area. Sight distance is generally not a
problem. Currently, intersections along Timberline Road are
signalized at Harmony Road, Horsetooth Road, Drake Road, and
Prospect Road. These signals are -all one mile apart. It is
expected that in the future, signals may be warranted at the
Timberline/Vermont and Timberline/Caribou intersections. Signal
warrants at Timberline/Vermont intersection will be addressed later
in this report. In the future, Timberline Road is expected to be
a six lane street according to the Fort Collins Master Street Plan.
When Timberline Road is connected to SH 14 across the Cache La
Poudre River, it •is expected that traffic volumes will increase
dramatically on Timberline Road. This is expected to occur before
the year 2000.
Horsetooth Road borders Pinecone PUD on the south. It is an
east -west street designated as an arterial on the Fort Collins
Master Street Plan. Horsetooth Road is currently a two lane street
east of Timberline Road. It is widened near the Timberline Road
intersection.
' Existing Traffic
® Daily traffic flow is shown in Figure 3. These are machine
counted volumes conducted by the City of Fort Collins in.1991.
1 2 1
1
In addition to the daily count data, morning and' afternoon
peak hour traffic data were obtained in February 1992 at the
e Timberline/Horsetooth intersection. The peak hour turning
movements are also shown in Figure 3. All raw traffic data are
presented in Appendix A. .
Existing Operation
Using the traffic volumes shown in Figure 3 and the existing
geometrics and control, the Timber line/Horsetooth intersection
operates as indicated in Table 1. Calculation forms for these
analyses are provided in Appendix B. Appendix C describes level
of "service for signalized and unsignalized intersections as
provided in the 1985 Highway Capacity Manual. During the peak
hours, ' the Timberline/Horsetooth intersection operates at
acceptable levels of service. Acceptable level of service is
definedias leve•1 of service D or better.
i
III. PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT
Pinecone PUD is a proposed mixed -use development located north
of Horsetooth Road and east of Timberline Road in Fort Collins.
It will include residential, commercial, and high school uses.
Figure 4 shows a schematic of the site plan of Pinecone PUD,
indicating parcels which relate to the uses indicated in Table 2,
Trip Generation. As indicated earlier, one level of analysis was
performed which assumed build out of this development with a year
2010 level of traffic. Access locations to Pinecone PUD are also
shown in Figure 4. Operation, geometrics, and turn limitations on
the various accesses will be discussed later in this report.
Volumes on streets internal to Pinecone PUD are expected to be
typical for residential development. Therefore, internal
intersections were not analyzed. The accesses are numbered for
easy reference later in this report.
Trip Generation
Trip generation is important in considering the impact of a
development such as this uponthe existing and proposed street
system. A compilation of trip generation information was prepared
by the Institute of Transportation Engineers and is presented in
Trip Generation, 4th Edition. This document was used to project
trips that would be generated by the proposed uses at this site.
Table 2 shows the expected trip generation on a daily and peak hour
basis.
Since the new Fort Collins High School is such an, integral
part of the Pinecone PUD, special studies were conducted to
3
LE
' determine the trip generation characteristics of a high school,
particularly a Fort Collins high school. Appendix D contains a
memorandum discussing the relationship between the ITE trip
generation rates for high schools and data collected at Rocky
Mountain High School in Fort Collins.
A shopping center use was used for the proposed retail uses
in the neighborhood shopping center. This was used rather than the
trip generation for the individual users such as, grocery store,
hardware store, drug store, etc. Trip generation characteristics
at multi -use centers have, for many years, been a concern to the
Trip Generation Committees at the Institute of Transportation
Engineers. Specifically, questions have been raised about whether
the trip generation characteristics of multi -use centers are -the
same as for the individual components of the center. It appears
reasonable to assume that multi -use centers would potentially
generate: less external vehicular trips because of internal matching
of trip ends within the center. In addition, one trip to a multi-
use! center could satisfy a number of trip purposes at the same
time. In an effort to gain some insight to multi -use center trip
generation characteristics, the Colorado/ Wyoming Section Technical
Committee collected data at;nine multi -use centers. It was found
that the trip generation estimate using the individual components
of the various centers predicted travel that was higher than the
actual driveway counts. The daily counts were approximately 7
percent higher. The morning peak hour was approximately 28 percent
' higher. The afternoon peak hour was approximately 24 percent
higher.
In addition to the above, the proximity of the high school to
the neighborhood center is expected to reduce the number of noon
high school vehicle trips significantly. The data collected at
Rocky Mountain High School indicated that the 1.5-2 hour period
around noon is the highest travel period of the day.
Trip Distribution
Directional distributions were determined for Pinecone PUD.
Three distributions were developed using the number of dwelling
units and the number of employees in each traffic analysis zone as
variables in the gravity models used. The data used was obtained
from the Fort Collins Transportation Department. The trip
distributions are shown in Fjgure 5.
Several land use generators such as shopping centers, drive-
in (fast food) restaurants, service stations, convenience markets,
and other support services (banks, etc.) capture trips from the
normal traffic passing -by the site. For many of these trips, the
stop at the site is a secondary part of a linked trip such as from
work to shopping center to home. In all of these cases, the
driveway volumes at the site are higher than the actual amount of
1 4
1
traffic added to the adjacent street system, since some of the site
generated traffic was already counted in the adjacent street
traffic. The pass -by assumption was 40% for retail. '
The procedure used to account for both pass -by traffic and
primary destination traffic is as follows:
a- Estimate the trip generation rate as is currently done and
determine the total number of trips forecast to occur, based
- on the size of the development.
Estimate the percentage of pass -by trips, and split the total
number of trips into two components, one for pass -by trips and
one for new trips.
- Estimate the trip distributions for the two individual
components. The distribution of pass -by trips -must- reflect, ---
the predominant commuting directions on adjacent and nearby
roadway facilities. Most peak period pass -by trips are an
intermediate link in a work trip.
Conduct two separate trip assignments, one for pass -by trips
and one for new trips. The distribution for pass -by trips
will require that trips be subtracted from some intersection
approaches and added back to others. Typically, this will
involve reducing through -roadway volumes and increasing
certain turning movements.
Combine the assigned trips to yield the -total link loadings,
and.proceed with capacity analysis as normally done.
Trip Assignment
Trip assignment is how the generated and distributed trips are .
expected to be loaded on the street system. The assigned trips are
the resultant of the trip distribution process. Figure 6 shows the
morning and afternoon peak hour assignments of the Pinecone PUD
generated traffic at full build out of Pinecone PUD and other
nearby land parcels. Background traffic for the year 2010 was
determined following conversations with the Fort Collins _
Transportation Department staff. Recent traffic assignments done _
-------- by the City indicated year 2010 traffic volumes on Timberline Road
at 27,300 vehicles per day, and on Horsetooth Road at 13,200
'This pass -by factor was obtained using the following sources:
1. Transportation Engineering Design Standards, City of Lakewood,
June 1985.
2. Development and Application of Trip Generation Rates, FHWA/
USDOT, January 1985.
3. "A Methodology for Consideration of Pass -by Trips in Traffic
' Impact Analyses for Shopping Centers," Smith, S., ITE Journal,
August 1986, Pg.37.
4. Trip Generation, 4th Edition, ITE, 1987.
5
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vehicles per day. These daily volumes were used as guides to
determine the long range future peak hour volumes.
IV. TRAFFIC IMPACTS AND ANALYSIS
Signal Warrants
As a matter of policy, traffic signals are not installed at
any location unless warrants are met according to the Manual on
Uniform Traffic Control Devices. However, it is possible to
determine whether traffic signal warrants are likely to be met
based upon projected traffic and utilizing -the _chart shown in
Appendix E. Using the peak hour traffic volumes shown in Figure
6, it is likely that a new traffic signal will be warranted at the
Timberline/Vermont (#2) intersection. Even though unacceptable
operation may occur -during the peak hours at stop, sign controlled
Intersections, traffic signals will not be warranted. It is
important that alternative means of access be provided so that
users of an intersection that operates unacceptably with stop sign
control are given travel options to. avoid the movements that
operate unacceptably.
Operation Analysis
Capacity analyses were performed on the key intersections
which provide access to Pinecone PUD and the Timber line/Horsetooth
intersection for the long range (2010) traffic conditions. From
these analyses, geometric requirements on the adjacent. streets can,
be determined.
Using the traffic volumes shown in Figure 6, the intersections
operate in the long range condition time period as indicated in
Table 3. Calculation forms for these analyses are provided in
Appendix F. The signalized intersections operate acceptably'at
both Timberline/Horsetooth and Timberline/Vermont during the peak
hours. The stop sign controlled intersection (#1) will operate
acceptably except for left -turn exits in both peak hours and left -
turn entrances during the afternoon peak hour. Based upon recent
research (provided in Appendix G), the measured delay to the left -
turn exits would be on the order of 27-37 seconds per approach
vehicle in the morning peak hour and 40+ seconds per approach
vehicle in the afternoon peak hour. Based upon delay, the level
' of service in the morning peak hour would be in the D/E category
and would be in the E/F category in the afternoon peak hour.
Recent research indicates that the capacity technique for stop sign
controlled intersections gives an overstatement of the level of
service. At the stop sign controlled intersections in Table 3, a
second level of service is shown for various turning movements.
6
7
New Fort Collins High School - Site Plan Advisory Review, #60-91B
April 27, 1992 P & Z Meeting
Page 4
process .to a limited right of review and appeal to the Board of
Education.
In addition, Section 22-32-124, C.R.S., calls for the Planning and
Zoning board to review and comment upon the site development plan
for the proposed school site and, if it desires, "...request a
public hearing before the Board of Education relating to the
proposed site location or site development plan" prior to any
construction of structures or buildings. Also, the Planning and
Zoning Board may review the details of the site development plan
itself.
B. Section 31-23-209,, C.R.S. provides that no public building
shall be constructed or authorized in a city until the
" ..location, character, and extent thereof" has been submitted for
approval by the Planning and Zoning Board. In the case of
disapproval, the Planning and Zoning Board shall communicate its
finding to the School District. The disapproval of the Planning
and Zoning Board may be overruled by the School Board by a vote of
not less than two-thirds of its membership.
Under Section 31-23-209, C.R.S., the Planning and Zoning Board
should make a finding as to the location, character, and extent of
the public building and structures relative to the adopted Master
Plan of the City. Such findings help ensure that the proposed
structures conform to the adopted plan of the community.
4. Land Use:
A. Zoning .
Both the b-p, Planned Business, and R-P, Planned Residential allow
public high'schools as permitted uses. The proposed land use,
therefore, complies with the Zoning Code.
B. Location
The location of the New High School is two miles south of Prospect
Road, two miles east of .College Avenue, and one mile north of
Harmony Road. It is adjacent to urban development on both the west
and south. If the southeast quadrant of the City could be defined
by College ,,,yenue, Prospect. Road, and the limits of the Urban
Growth Area,fthen.the location=is.central to the quadrant.,' while
this location may _,not, presently, be central to the ..existing
population, it- has- there potential to be central ' to ,the. future
population.-f
As the quadrant fills in over time, this central character will be
advantageous. Residential developments that are approved or in the
review process that are south and east of this location include
TABLE 3
2010 Peak Hour Operation
Level of Service (")
' Intersection AM GPM
Intersection #1
WB LT F (D/E) F (E/F-)
WB RT A A
SB LT D (C) E (C/D)
' Int,ersection #2 (signal) C C
Intersection #3
EB RT 'A A
WB RT A A
SW LT D (C) D (c/D)
NBILT E (C/D) E (C/D)
Intersection #4
WB RT A A
SB LT D (C/D) E (C/-D)
Intersection #5 (signal) C C
Intersection #6
SB RT A A
Intersection #7
NB LT F (D/E) F (D)-
NB RT/T E D
SB LT F (D/E) F (D)
• SB RT/T B _ B
EB LT C C
WB LT A A' _
— — — -Intersection #BSB LT
SB RT A (C/.D) E (D)
A
EB LT A D
(") Level of service considering vehicle delay based upon recent
research.
I
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D
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This operation, in parentheses, 1:9 based upon the research
mentioned above. At intersection #1 the we tb
continue to operate
little that can be
connections to Drake
signalized should be
s ound left turns
unacceptably during the peak hours. There is
done to improve this. If possible, street
Road and/or streets that are expected to be
made. Merowr
The Timberline/Danfield intersection (#3) was analyzed with
full movements and with .limited turn movements. With full
movements at this stop sign controlled intersection, minor street
throughs and left turns will operate unacceptably. The business
park on the west side of Timberline Road will have alternative
access via the signalized intersection at Vermont. An access to
Vermont from the high school circular -driveway should be provided
through the north parking lots.. Intersection_#3_will be the bus
access to/from the high school. In the -short range future, this
access could be a full movement intersection. However, as -traffic
increases on Timberline, the minor street Left turns, especially
the slower accelerating buses, will find it very difficult to make
left turns to enter Timberline Road.
Intersection #4 is proposed to be a right-in/right-out/left-
in access to the commercial center. 'All allowed movements will
operate acceptably. Intersection #6 will operate acceptably with
right-in/right-out access. Intersection #7 (Hors etooth/Arctic Fox)
is intended to be a full turn stop sign controlled intersection.
During 1-2 hours a day, some movements will operate unacceptably.
This is typical of arterial/local street intersections. There is
little short of signalization that can be done to improve the
operation. However, signals are not warranted. Left turns from
Arctic Fox do have an alternative route via Big Horn Road.
Intersection #8 will operate acceptably during the peak hours. The
street/street intersections within Pinecone PUD will operate
acceptably. Volumes on the interior st-reets will be typical of
local and collector streets in Fort Collins.
Figure 7 shows the recommended long rang geometrics at the
intersections along Timberline Road and along Horsetooth Road.
Intersections which are shown with turn restrictions can initially
be implemented as full movement intersections. As traffic volumes
increase, .particularly on Timberline Road, evaluations should be
conducted to determine when turn limitations should be implemented
at various intersections. The double left -turn lanes at the
Timberline/Horsetooth intersection are based on traffic projections
made in this and other traffic studies performed in this area of
Fort Collins. The absolute need for double left -turn lanes will
be determined as volumes increase at this intersection. They are
suggested in this report so that the. City of Fort Collins can plan
for the right-of-way or easements in order that they can be
implemented, if necessary.
7
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I RECOMME►VDED LONG RANGE GEOMETRICS Figure 7
CAccident Analysis
c
The recommended control devices and geometrics should minimize
vehicular conflicts and maximize vehicle separation. Therefore,
the accident rate should be at its minimum for a typical urban
condition.
VI. CONCLUSIONS
This study assessed the impacts of Pinecone PUD on the long
range (2010) street system in the vicinity of the proposed
development. As a_ result of _this analysis, the following is
concluded:
- The development of-Pinecone PUD is feasible from a traffic
C engineering standpoint. . At full' development as proposed,
approximately 25,640 trip ends will be generated at this site. Not
all of these will be new trips. Some will be pass -by trips on the
. area streets as part of the background traffic. The high school
trip generation was based upon data collected at Rocky Mountain
High School in Fort Collins. The trip generation rates developed
from this data were significantly higher than those shown in Trip
Generation, 4th Edition. This local data source was deemed to be
more appropriate.
- Based upon current traffic volumes and existing geometrics,
the Timberline/Horsetooth signalized intersection operates
acceptably.
- As Pinecone PUD develops and traffic increases, a signal
t will be warranted at the Timberline/Vermont intersection. Vermont
is a major street. serving the business park development west of
Timberline, and will be designated as a collector street serving
rPinecone PUD.
- With full development of all the proposed uses in Pinecone
PUD, the Timber line /Horsetooth and Timberline/Vermont signalized
intersections will operate acceptably. Selected movements at some
stop sign controlled intersections will_ not operate acceptably.
This operation will be due to the background traffic on Timberline
Road and Horsetooth Road. There is little that can be done to
improve this operation. There are alternative means of egress
where this does occur. Selective accesses should be restricted to
limited turns as shown in Figure 7. This recommendation is made
assuming the build out future traffic volumes. The limited turn
accesses can initially be implemented as full turn intersections
and changed as traffic operation and safety dictates.
- Streets and intersections internal to Pinecone PUD will
operate acceptably.
00
MEMORANDUM
0
00 e
o To: Rick Ensdorff,.Director of Transportation
a o
0 o From: Matt Delich ���•
U o
0
Date: April 2, 1992
z
5 Subject: High school trip data (File:' 9203MEM1)•
>
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w As you are aware, extensive traffic counts were taken at
z the Rocky Mountain High School (RMHS) parking lots and on area
> streets during the week of February 24,- 1992.. This --data is
a intended to be used to represent an existing Fort Collins high
a school's travel patterns in order to predict what might occur-
z at the proposed Fort Collins High School (FCHS). The data
m collection -involved hourly machine counts at numerous
M locations and observations regarding drop-offs/pick-ups on
Swallow Road in front of RMHS. There were 260 drop-off/pick-
up vehicles observed during the peak periods. Some of these
vehicles had more than one student in them. I also obtained
the following informat-ion from various school district staff
about RMHS:
1180 students
90 faculty/staff
724 parking stalls
6 buses
50 students use buses (average)
250 faculty/staff trips/day
- 695 students drive to/from school/day (average)
Z Parking lot driveway counts yielded 4628 vehicles in and
w out of the parking lots. Inbound vehicles nulnbered.1574 and
w ,outbound vehicles numbered 3054. Obviously, the number of
inbound vehicles should equal the number of outbound vehicles.
W w It was observed that students did not necessarily adhere to
designated directional traffic flow. Also, - two_o•fthe—
' accesses to the Southwest Lot have a markedly higher outbound
= Z count compared to the inbound 'count. Due to the narrow
g accesses, it is my judgment that entering vehicles probably-
a tripped both the inbound and outbound tubes. Therefore, the
UJ o daily count is high and, in particular, the outbound count is
CD
N high.
Z
If it is assumed that the inbound count is correct
3 • (1574), that would allow each driving student and staff (695
w LL + 90 = 785) two inbound trips per day. This would appear to
= arr be reasonable allowing an inbound trip in the morning -and an
►— �- inbound trip after lunch. It is reasonable to assume that
Q the outbound vehicles trips should equal the inbound trips.
This would result in a total of 3150 vehicle trips into/out
of the parking lots on an average day. To this total, it is
necessary to add the number of drop-off/pick-up vehicles and
the buses (260 + 24 = 28'4). This results in a total trip
generation of approximately 3440 for RMHS. If the number of
students is used as the trip generation rate variable, then
the trip rate/student is 2.915.
NTrip Generation, 4th Edition indicates a daily rate of
1.385 trips/student. The range of rates is 0.706-2.490.
Table 1 shows the trip generation rate comparison between the
RMHS data (adjusted) and the ITE data (27 sources). The RMHS
rate is more than double the ITE rate. While we both agree
that the ITE rate probably does not reflect Fort Collins
characteristics, a doubling of the rate will not underestimate
the existing and future conditions at Fort Collins high
schools. - --
The peak hour data also indicates that the RMHS trip
rates are higher than the ITE trip rates. It is interesting
to note that the proportion in and out is almost identical
during the peak hours. These rates (daily and peak hour) are
for all trips with one trip end at RMHS. They include student
trips; staff trips, bus trips, drop-off/pick-up trips, and
visitor trips.
Once I have your comments on these trip rates, I will
continue with my analyses. My preliminary analysis volumes
are not significantly different than that
which would result
using these rates. Actually, some of the peak hour volumes
that I used were higher.
In my judgment, the access desired by both the high
school and the commercial interests can be achieved without
sacrificing the operational and safety integrity of Timberline
Road as a major arterial. With the commercial area on the
corner, there is an opportunity to provide the necessary
geometry on the north leg. Based upon traffic projections,
it is important that provision for some double left -turn lanes
be made.
Other Issues
From the FCHS site, plan, there are 1050 parking spaces
allocated for staff, and students. There are 724 parking
spaces at RMHS for staff and students. Assuming staff at FCHS
will be at the same proportion as at RMHS, the parking/student
ratio is 0.614. Applying this
ratio to the expected 1800
students at the new FCHS would indicate the need for 1105
parking spaces. It, would appear that the plan is about 50
spaces short. This does not bother me so much as the fact
that the site plan indicates that there are 250 spaces
+
allocated to staff. This appears to be high. Given the
travel characteristics of the students and the probable number
of staff, more spaces should be given to student parking.
E
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I
This would at, least allow a similar parking ratio as exists
at RMHS. If use of alternative modes by both students and
staff occurs and is sustained over a period of time, then
perhaps parking lot reductions can be considered.
There are currently six buses serving an average of 50
students per day. On some adverse weather days, ridership
does increase. This level of ridership seems low to me.
However, the school district is committed to providing
transportation to "remote"- students.-- Perhaps- the school
district, in conjunction with the City can better utilize the
Transfort system for some of this service.
Based upon my preliminary analyses and the new site plan
provided by Cityscape (Marsh 24,_1992), the geometry discussed
at our last meeting will work well. While I will refine my
analyses, I would recommend that the access- shown
schematically on the attached graphic be pursued. I realize
that there may have been right-of-way decisions made in the
pat which will make double left -turn lanes on some legs
difficult to accomplish. However, it, is important that all
parties be aware of the potential need for these.
Table 1
Trip Generation Rate Comparison
Source
RMHS Data
(trips/students)
ITE (code 530)
_(_trips/students)
Daily
AM
Trips
In
2.915
0.364
1.385
0.257
(7-9)
Out
0.197
0.139
PM (4-6)
In Out
0.062 0.094
0.015 0.026
PINECONE OVERALL
���M: DEVELOPMENT PLAN'
Includes New High School Site
Utility Services -
Streets Department
City of Fort Collins
MEMORANDUM
DATE: July 7, 1993
TO: Ted Shepard, Planning
FROM: Jon Ruiz, Streets Supervisor%
RE: Trail Maintenance by the New Fort Collins High School
Several weeks ago, we discussed maintenance responsibilities for the future bike
trail planned adjacent to the new Fort Collins High School. We've given it a lot
of thought, and. offer the following:
o We are not ready to assume responsibility for maintenance.
o In the future, developers will more and more be required to build trails
such as this one. Unfortunately, the history with trails and similar
development is that they are required by the planners to be built, yet
little thought is given to the on -going maintenance of them. The problem
is that money for the maintenance is not identified, but it is assumed
that a department will absorb the costs. In other words, somebody can
require a new trail while somebody else figures out how to reprioritize
other services to meet the new maintenance demand. Unfortunately, the
reprioritized services may in fact have provided higher value to the
customer than another trail.
o Conversely, when a new street is built, maintenance dollars follow.
Specifically, the increased number of street miles and vehicle
registrations are figured into the formula for the distribution of monies
to—mun-i-ei-pal-ities from the State and County. So,_ -as th.e_cjty-_gtows, so _
does the amount of maintenance dollars we receive.
I think this issue of unfunded liabilities needs to be addressed. The problem
will only get worse in the future. Good luck!
cc: Larry Schneider, Streets
Mike Herzig, Planning
700 VVood Street • P.O. Box 580 • Fort Collins, CO 80;22-0580 (303) 22"1-6615
City Cc cil
A
City of Fort Collins
June 10, 1992
Bruce and Anne Macdonald
4125 Sunstone Drive
Fort Collins, CO 80525
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Macdonald:
@[Eovi
JUL 101992
Thank you for expressing your concerns about the new Fort Collins High School.
Your letter was shared with the other City Council members and staff from our
Planning Department. I, too, was disturbed with some aspects of the site plan
and appreciate knowing other citizens felt these issues needed to be addressed.
In April, the Planning and Zoning Board voted to advise the Board of Education
that the location, character, and extent of the new Fort Collins High School is
appropriate for the Comprehensive Plan of the City of Fort Collins. They also
suggested to the School District that several ideas be incorporated in the final
design.
At the City Council meeting on June 2, we heard an appeal on the Planning and
Zoning Board's decision regarding the proposed site for the new Fort Collins High
School. Staff from Poudre R-1 School District involved with the construction of
the new school were on hand to answer questions of the Council and members of the
public. City Council affirmed the Planning and Zoning Board's decision to
recommend approval of the site, on the condition that the School District
encourage student use of alternative forms of transportation, in order to reduce
air pollution and improve the City's overall air quality.
1 want to thank -you again for providing me your -insights -and offering
..suggestions. Through cooperation, the City and the Board of Education will be
able to satisfy all interested parties.
Since ly,
u�
Bob Wino ur
Councilmember
/,] w
cc: City Council
[Planning -Department
:1 !(1 L,1X1vtr V%unlIU • F.O. Box ;SO • Fort Colhnt,, Cv 80522-0580 . (_03) 271_6;('1i
New Fort Collins High School - Site Plan Advisory Review, #60-91B
April 21, 1992 P & Z Meeting
Page 5
English Ranch"dSubdivision, Brittany Knolls P.U.D., Paragon .Point
P.U.D., Cottonwood Farmi O.D.P., Pine Cone '0.D.P.I Webster Farm
O.D.P., Oak Ridge! Village O.D.P., and Timberline Farm
O.D.P./Sunstone Village P.U.D. The proposed site will be
strategically located to serve these developing areas.
An important locatonal attribute is the proximity to Parcel A,
Neighborhood Service Center, of the Pine Cone O.D.P. being reviewed
concurrently with the New High School Advisory. _Review. This non-
traditional. placement provides opportunities to integrate land uses
which are normally dispersed and divided by arterial streets. By
adjoining a public high. school..with a mixed -use, Neighborhood.
Service Center, land:use.opportunities are -maximized The concept
reinforces the functional, role of an activity'..centerJ that will
become a community focal point for southeast Fort Collins.
5. Design:
A. Site Plan Elements
The New High School will feature a 285,000 square foot building.
The campus will include separate student and staff parking lots on
the north, and one student parking lot on the south. The main
entry faces Timberline Road and is dominated by a separate 65 foot,
high tower feature. There are approximately 39 acres of athletic
fields on the east side of the structure which include a track,_
football practice field, baseball and softball diamonds. The main,:.
internal hallway acts asa "spine" that connects to external paths
that terminate at the neighborhood park on the north and the
commercial center on the south.
B. Main Building
The -three -classroom -wings will be two stories connected on the west
by a two story, internal hallway. Each wing is separated -by a
courtyard. The north end of the building is anchored by. the
theater and performing arts facilities., The south end is anchored
by the gymnasiums,. locker rooms, and cafeteria. These two anchors
are connected by a two-story spine which serves the administration
area, main entry, technology- labs, media center, multi -purpose
rooms, art studios, and the three classroom wings.
C. Building Height
The north end of the theater and the east end of the gymnasium have
exterior walls that reach a height of 50 feet. As mentioned, the
towerelement is proposed for a height of 65 feet. The City of
Fort Collins precludes buildings of a height greater than 40 feet
unless they are reviewed and accepted by the Planning and Zoning
Board based on criteria found in the City of Fort Collins
JUN 011992
Bob Winokur
City Council Member
Fort Collins, CC
Dear Mr. Winokur:
Macdonald
4125 Sunstone Dr.
Fort Collins, CO e0525
1 June 1992
Since neither of us can attend Tuesday's City Council meeting about
the new high school, we are sending this letter to you and each Council
member. We hope that the City Council can address some of the legitimate
concerns we, and a large portion of the community, have concerning the
new high school. Thank you for providing this discussion. Many of us
attended every forum on the new h":gh school and, though PR-1 has
addressed some of our concerns (wall attachment to a strip mall;
completely open building and grounds; considering fast food places on
campus, instead of in the mall, etc.), the major issues not been
adequately addressed by either the school board nor the administration.
By the way, we are not opposed to the new high school in our
neighborhood. We simply think that the process has been flawed and.we
wish to bring up, again, several legitmate concerns that the
administration and, now the planning board, have not and will not
address.
1) The size of the high school. We have received no response to our
questions as to why the new high school has to be on such a massive scale
housing 1800 students. Why are we not building two smaller high schools,
each housing 600 or 700 students. Why are we not rennovating the old
high school and building a smaller one on the east side for the targeted
$10" million? We do not buy the idea that the old high school cannot be
rennovated and down -sized, and on a smaller scale, address the handicap
and parking needs of the students and teachers. Educational philosophy
is moving toward smaller -scale schools. Why is Fort Collins moving in
the opposite direction?
2) Strip Mall concept. We realize that the developer gave the
school district a good deal on the land so, in return, the developer
could more e'L393`ly rent out strip mall space. An engineering firm or an
office compUetkWould simply not bring in the potential revenue of a strip.
mall. However, if the ten acres next to the high school has to be
commercial, why must it be a King Scopers and a strip mail? Wouldn't a
small engineering firm, office complex or'recreational center provide
better -quality jobs and teach the students the value of work more than a
T-shirt shop? The idea that the owners of the mall will concentrate on
renting to educationally -acceptable retail businesses is simply
ludicrous. They will be renting to businesses that appeal -to high school
students. This will confirm to students the need for more in -pocket cash
flow and menial jobs to provide the cash. It all simply interfers with
educational goals.
1
I
3) City Park. We think it is great that the high school will have a
city park behind it. At the risk of sounding alarmist though (which we
are not), the administration and school board have not addressed the
potential problems associated with non -students coming from Cheyenne,
Greeley, and Loveland. Since the high school is so close to I-25 and
will probably be an open campus, it will be a logical draw for non-
students from the surrounding areas just "hanging out."
Too, drug dealing should not be dismissed. The administration has
not addressed this potential problem, except to say they know it will be
a problem and they plan to start a "buddy system" for police patrol. Why
not _ust reduce the risk by reducing the size of the school, making it a
completely closed campus and just teach? If they think they have a
problem with the present high school and the park across the street, they
have not seen a thing yet. The administration counters that they will
gave control of their students in the area. However, they will have no
control over the non -students. The cost of hiring more police and
teachers to monitor the park and mall will add unnecessarily to the cost
of education.
Finally, if this is to be neighborhood park, what concerned mother
with preschoolers will want to go there during the day and what family
will want their kids riding their bikes there after school?
I
n all, there is no indication that either the school board nor -the
administration has done any long range planning nor in-depth studies on
these Sssues. I would think they would have, at least, a set of goals
and objectives or back-up studies to present to the community in response
to their concerns. On this large a scale the questions of size;
neighborhood traffic; drug dealing; non -students from the surrounding
area and the values and standards associated with a strip mall and
grocery store should not so easily be dismissed.
Concerned community members who attended each forum presented
legitimate, articulate and intelligent arguments for scaling back on this
project. They sincerely addressed these potential problems of drugs and
mail shopping interfering with education and they questioned the open
c.ampu.s,con.c.e.pt,.: T_he_administration and the school board packed the
audience with teachers and staff who spoke in favor of this project.
T�zey pretended these employees represented the community and then
dismissed the concerns of the rest of us.
ALi we want is a good education for our children. That's all. We
don't need massive buildings. We do not care what Minneapolis does with
the biggest mall in the world. We do not need huge parks behind the
school and strip malls in front of them. We want small classrooms, small
schools, good teachers, a few traditions, and partipation from parents.
This high school provides none of these, simply none of them.
Sincerely,
�� p
Bruce and Anne Macdonald
225-1772
FORT COLLINS, COLORA00 80521.2297
(303) 482.7420
May 21, 1992
Mr. Ted Shepard, Senior Planner
City of Fort Collins
281 North College Avenue, P. O. Box 580
Fort Collins, CO 80522-0580
Dear Mr. Shepard:
Thank you for your letter summarizing the April 27th Fort Collins Planning and Zoning Board
meeting results. At the Planning and Zoning meeting we identified three major areas of focus
that correspond to the eight items outlined in your summarized notes. For your information, I
wanted to share with you the actions we have implemented either through our previous
discussion or as a result of the Planning and Zoning meeting.
First, we identified the whole area of student driving management. The area of student driving
management focuses on the development of a systematic driving system for students that
includes a variety of management strategies that encourages alternative forms of transportation
while discouraging reliance on single -occupant vehicles. In cooperation with members of the
city Transportation Department and members of the City of Fort Collins Air Quality Task Force,
we have formed a working committee including administration, teachers and students from Fort
Collins High School, Poudre High School and Rocky Mountain High School. We appreciate
the ideas shared in items #1 and #3 of your summarized list and have forwarded this
information to our working committee. We have also forwarded the memorandum we received
from the City of Fort Collins Air Quality Task Force to this committee for their further
consideration.
The second major area we identified could be titled education/scheduling. One of the
components you listed in item #1 was educating students about the relationship between vehicle
miles traveled and air pollution. We have shared this information with our environmental
education specialist and asked that consideration be given to this area as part of our curriculum
development process. In addition, we have asked our environmental education specialist to join
the working committee relating air quality to transportation.
In item #4 you encouraged us to explore methods of reducing mid -day vehicular traffic trips off
campus. All of the principals are exploring a variety of scheduling techniques that block student
schedules so that they are in class continuously during the school day. In addition, discussions
are under way at all three high schools to examine a variety of techniques to add more structure
for sophomore students to make the transition from junior high to high school more successful.
We are also exploring a variety of creative, new ideas in our high school lunch programs to
encourage students to remain on campus. We have formed another advisory committee made
up of members of the Fort Collins community food service deliverers to include Colorado State
University, Foothills Fashion Mall Food Court managers, along with fast food and restaurant
managers.
The remaining items were all in the area of construction. Items #2, #5, #6 and #7 that deal with
parking spaces, energy conservation, tower construction and symbolic entry into the building
are all items that have been under continuous review during the design development phase. As
you are aware, in all of our new school designs we have utilized a variety. of daylighting
techniques designed to replace artificial lighting as well as energy efficient construction to
reduce both electric and gas consumption. These areas continue to be a high priority in the
design development phase.
Ted, on behalf of Poudre R-1, I want to thank you for your commitment to the new Fort Collins
High School project and the many hours you have spent as senior planner for this development `
period. Your leadership in the combined City and Poudre R-1 staff meetings, along with your
leadership in the town meetings you conducted, helped to expedite the success we share in this
project.
Sincerely,
Keith M. Dixon, Ph.D.
Executive Director, Central Area
KMD:jw
c: Dr. David Hendrix
New Fort Collins High School - Site Plan Advisory Review, #60-91B
April 27, 1992 P & Z Meeting
Page 6
Development Manual. The height of these particular elements have
been reviewed and are determined to be in compliance with the five
applicable criteria:
1. Community Scale:
The New High School is in compliance with the criterion that
buildings exceeding 40 feet in height be located adjacent to
an activity, center. Parcel A of the Pine Cone O.D.P. is
adjacent to the south and is defined as a neighborhood
shopping center, or activity center. Toe use of buildings
over' 40 feet in these centers will maximize land use
opportunities and contribute to making Fort Collins•a visually
diverse city.
2. Views:
The proposed structures that will exceed 40 feet will. not§
substantially alter the opportunity and,* -quality of desirable
views within the community. Obviously, no homes are planned
on the 39 acre athletic field or 15 acre park located to the
east of the New High School. This large open space will
provide a substantial setback for future homes thus
maintaining a quality view to the west.
Existing micro -wave communication towers are in place to the
west at Platte River Power Authority, and to the southwest at
the Public Service Facility. In addition, large, overhead,
high -voltage transmission lines are located to the west which
parallel the Union Pacific Railroad tracks. These elements
have been in place without any detriment of views to the west.
3. Light and Shadow:
Due to the size ,of_,.the,, campus. (68 acres),, the, elements
exceeding 40 feet'wili not have a substantial negative impact
on the distribution of natural and artificial light on
adjacent public or private property.
4. Privacy:
The three elements exceeding 40 feet will not infringe upon
the privacy of adjacent public and private property. The
privacy of the neighborhood park and future residences are not
impacted since there are'no balconies or-windowe associated
with the theater, gym, or tower.
New Fort Collins High School - Site Plan Advisory Review, #60-91B
April 27, 1992 P & Z Meeting
Page 7
5. Neighborhood Scale:
Only the "Fly -Loft" of the theater and east wall of the gym
will be over 40 feet which is minor relative to the mass of
the entire structure. The relationship between the horizontal
dimensions of the buildings and the vertical dimensions are
balanced: The tower is an identification symbol, not a
structure. Its slender, tapered shape, while high, will
not be intrusive to the surroundings. The tower is on the
west side of the main building, and north of the commercial
center. It's mass, therefore, is buffered from the existing
and future residential areas.
D. Buffering:.
The. primary. buffering- feature of the campus is the combination of
the 39= acre athletic fie18'and, 15 acre.neighborhood park:' These
two features, combined with permanent ponds' for drainage and -
irrigation, will create a large, unfenced, open area between future:
residential areas to the east.
The area of greatest potential conflict is between the southerly -
parking lot and the proposed. housing
_to.,the _east on Parcel F of the
Pine Cone O. D.P. This: area'; 75;,feet- in;. width, has been identified
leme
as a key buffer ent in transitioning from an educational
complex down to a residential neighborhood. While no specific
buffer treatment has been designed, it is acknowledged by Poudre R-,
1 that the burden is on the more intense use to buffer the
residential use.
E. Landscaping:
'�pOlT�OglAl.
The landscape indicated on the Site_-Plan_is _conceptual. The
Intention —is. o.balance ar,relatively modernistic,. builaing.;7with a
very formal landscape; plan;;; A tight row of street trees along
Timberline meets the City's recommendation of introducing formal
streetscaping along arterial streets. These street trees intersect
with rows of trees which flank the north entry (theater area), the
south entry (tower plaza), and the shared property line with the
commercial center. Each of the three classroom wings will feature
an entry also flanked by formal rows of trees.
F. . Non -Vehicular Circulation:
The primary pedestrian circulation feature is the central spine`
which connects the north and south ends of the school Internally,
this spine is on two levels. Externally, the spine continues its
long, sweeping curve to a point in the neighborhood park on the
north, and across the tower plaza at the front entry on the south.
New Fort Collins High School - Site Plan Advisory Review, #60-91B
April 27, 1992 P & 2 Meeting
Page 8
All circulation paths connect to either the internal or external
portion of the central spine. The system is designed to facilitate
pedestrian movement on and through the site.
.External connections are made to a wider system that has been
designed concurrently with the Pine Cone O.D.P. The City of Fort
Collins Transportation Department has identified six bicycle routes
to the New High School from existing residential areas on the
north, west, and south. While portions of these routes will need
to be completed, the network takes advantage of the Spring Creek
Trail, existing streets, and signalized intersections to facilitate
bicycle usage. It is acknowledged that full improvements to the
4owsNow system may require capital expenditure since one route envisions an
VEX144fi underpass of the U..P.R.,&: tracks. The promotion of non -vehicular
travel is supported by the goals of the Fort Collins Area
Transportation Plan and the Land Use Policies Plan, elements of the
City's Comprehensive Plan.
G. Public Spaces:
Unlike most commercial or residential projects, a high school has
.a unique need to create attractive, functional public spaces. In
conjunction with an open campus philosophy, spaces are provided for
socialization as well as circulation. The primary area is at the
main entry at the,. -South-, end,,.of the,_ school. This area, is the
location of the tower and;, a_ pde:? plaza that provides a vista to
Timberline Road and direct apcess to the commercial center. A
Transfort bus'facility is also planned for this area. With a plaza
and pedestrian connection .to the commercial center, this area will
become a ^pedestrian:'cros-sroadsR for students and citizens. It is
anticipated that this mixing will be beneficial for all age groups
and not have an impact on public streets.'
6. Neighborhood Co* atibility:
A neighborhood information meeting was held on April 1, 1992 for
the sole purpose of discussing the new high school. This was in
addition to the meeting held on January 29, 1992 for the entire
Pine Cone O.D.P. A copy of the minutes to the April 1, 1992
meeting is attached.
One of the primary concerns raised by the group was the alignment
of the southern parking lot entrance on Horsetooth Road with Arctic
Fox Drive in Fox Meadows subdivision. This alignment was perceived
As creating an attractive short cut for students exiting the lot
and using Arctic Fox and Caribou to head south on Timberline Road
rather than using the traffic signal at Timberline and Horsetooth.
Further, such a short-cut ,passes the Linton Elementary School
contributing to a safety hazard for younger children.
New Fort Collins High School - Site Plan Advisory Reviews #60-91B
April 27, 1992 P & Z Meeting
Page 9
The alignment is presently shown in the most optimal location. If
the parking lot curb cut were shifted to the east, then left turns
off Horsetooth to either the parking lot or Arctic Fox would
"interlock" or compete for space in the center turn lane. In
addition, the use of Arctic Fox to Caribou to Timberline is not
really a short cut but a longer, more circuitous route with a stop
sign at the Arctic Fox/Caribou intersection. The use of the
perimeter arterials is the most direct and efficient way to head
south from the southerly parking lot. A left turn arrow at the
signal will allow southbound vehicles to cycle through the
intersection without undue delays.
Another concern was the degree of intensity planned for the
athletic fields. The concern was that the fields would become
another French Field with bleachers, lights, and interscholastic
games.
The athletic fields will have minimum illumination for security but -
not for:competition.1 The football field is for practice only. The
ball diamonds will be used for varsity competition for both boys
baseball and girls softball but these games will not be at night.,
In general, there was a level of consensus among those attending
the information meeting that the New High School would not have a
negative impact on the neighborhoods.
7. Parking:
The two student parking lots are divided so that each arterial can
be used to distribute the traffic. The number of spaces indicated
on the site plan is based on a full enrollment of 1,800 students
and 250 faculty and staff (year 2000 - 2002).
The number of student parking spaces was based on a study of Rocky
Mountain High School, which combines student, faculty and staff
parking. With a present student enrollment of 1,180, 90 faculty
and staff, and 724,E arking stalls, the parking ratio of stalls to
total users i901,573: Applied to an enrollment of 1,800 students,
137 faculty and staff, the ratio calculates a need for 1,104 stalls
for all users.
The New High School site plan indicates 1,105 total parking spaces
divided as follows:
South
Lot:
.468
student parking spaces.
North
Lot:
439
student parking spaces
North
Lot:
198
faculty/staff parking spaces
The parking ratio of stalls to total users is e54.1