HomeMy WebLinkAboutPINECONE PUD FORT COLLINS HIGH SCHOOL SITE PLAN ADVISORY REVIEW - 60 91B - CORRESPONDENCE - CORRESPONDENCE-CONCEPTUAL REVIEWDevelopr. it Services
Planning Department
I
City of Fort Collins
February 27, 1992
Mr. Ed Holder
Poudre R-1 School District
Facilities Services Department
2407 LaPorte Avenue
Fort Collins, Co 80525
Dear Mr. Holder:
For your information, attached is a copy of the Staff's comments concerning New
Fort Collins High School = Pine Cone Farm presented before the Conceptual Review
Team on February 24, 1992.
The comments are offered informally by Staff to assist you in preparing.the
detailed components of the project application. Modifications and additions to
these comments may be made at the time of formal review of this project.
If you should have any questions regarding these comments or the next steps in
the review process, please feel free to call me at 221-6750.
Sincerely,
'''er
7
Ted Shepard
Senior Planner
TS/gjt
Attachment
cc: Tom Peterson, Planning Director
Kerrie Ashbeck, Civil Engineer
Project Planner
File
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281 North College Avenue • P.O. Box -80 • Fort Collins, CO 80-22-0;80 • i303j 221-n'�0 -
CONCEPTUAL REVIEW STAFF COMMENTS
MEETING DATE: February 24, 1992
ITEM: New Fort Collins High School - Pine Cone Farm
APPLICANT: Mr. Ed Holder Poudre R-1 School District, Facilities
Services Department, 2407 LaPorte Avenue, Fort Collins, CO. 80525
LAND USE DATA: Request for a replacement for the existing Fort
Collins High School. The new school would be located within the
Pine Cone Farm, on 63 acres, in the general area of the northeast
corner of Horsetooth Road and Timberline Road. The.school would be
approximately 285,000 square feet and include a tower as a focal
point at the main entry Adjacent to the athletic fields, a 10 to
15 acre City neighborhood park is proposed to increase the amount
of buffer area to the future residential neighborhood. Non -
arterial access would be from Vermont (extended) on the north and
Arctic Fox (extended) on the south. Four arterial access points
are proposed subject to evaluation by the Traffic Impact Analysis.
`0104
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1. The City Light and Power Department has an underground
electrical system on the west and south of the site. On the
west, there is electrical conduit on the west side of
Timberline Road, with conduits stubbed across to the east at
Danfield and Vermont. On the south, there is electrical
conduit on the north side of Horsetooth Road. Any of -these
sources can be tapped to supply power to the site. Normal
development charges will apply. Charges are usually based on
square footage of the site and linear frontage along public
streets. Electrical transformers can be enclosed with proper
clearances, and with hard surface access by a line truck.
2. There are water mains in Timberline and Horsetooth. There --is
a sewer main in Timberline. There is a 21 inch diameter sewer
line that parallels Horsetooth north of Danfield Court which
is presently in conflict with the proposed building envelope.
It is generally unacceptable to allow buildings to be placed
over existing sewer lines. Please contact the Water and
Wastewater Department, 221-6681, for further information
regarding this sewer line conflict.
3. The Poudre Fire Authority is concerned about external
sidewalks, or other hard surface material, that. can be used to
support ground (not truck) ladders to serve the second floor
in the classroom courtyard areas. These courtyards do not
have to accommodate any major pieces of equipment. P.F.A.
will inspect for fire protection systems, hood and duct
systems, and alarm systems. Hydrants must be coordinated and
located onsite. Adequate water supply for the fire hydrants
and fire sprinkler systems must be verified.
4. The theater may need special smoke control devices. Also,
with labs and the future pool, there may be storage of
hazardous materials. Enclosed please find the "Hazardous
Material Impact Analysis" which must be completed for all
development proposals use or store certain materials. If you
have any questions regarding this analysis, please contact
Warren Jones, Poudre Fire Authority, 221-6570.
5. The Poudre Fire Authority is also concerned about ambulance
access to the indoor athletic facilities and outside fields.
Such access does not have to accommodate the trucks.
6. Police Services encourages the use of innovative security
lighting, motion detectors, and burglar alarms. Access drives
for ambulances would also help patrol cars or private security
vehicles. For more information regarding crime prevention,
please call Ken Kirchoff, 221-6833.
7. The full arterial improvements to both Horsetooth and
Timberline will be required with the construction of a new
high school. The development will be responsible for the
local street portion of the arterial half width. Internal
streets that serve the school will have to be built to
complete standards. If there is to be joint cost sharing with
future, adjacent development, then the City can write a repay
agreement to assist in recovering these costs.
8. A subdivision plat will be required. The plat can be used to
dedicate right-of-way for public streets, deceleration lanes,
utility easements, cross -access easements, sight distance
easements (where applicable) and other miscellaneous
dedications.
M
Before beginning construction, a set of Utility Plans must be
approved by the City. These plans may be submitted,
processed-, and reviewed on a different time schedule than the.
Site Plan Advisory Review for the Planning and Zoning Board.
The construction manager and consulting engineer should
closely coordinate with Mike Herzig, City Engineer, 221-6750,
to establish a workable review schedule.
10. The Street Oversizing Fee is $5,252 per developed acre. For
details on the calculation of this fee, please contact Matt
Baker, 221-6605.
11. The site generally drains to the east. It will be important
to coordinate with the owners of Pine Cone Farm on the
location of stormwater detention facilities. Generally, the
required documents are a Drainage Report, Drainage and Grading
Plan, and Erosion Control Plan.
12. The site is located in the Foothills Drainage Basin. The fees
in this basin are $5,024 per acre, subject to the amount of
impervious surface, onsite detention, and runoff coefficient.
Please coordinate with Susan Hayes, Stormwater Engineer, 221-
6589, for details on how this fee will be calculated.
13. The Foothills Drainage Basin is very clear about how much
detention is required within the basin. There is little
flexibility in these requirements. The offsite swale to the
east may be required on a temporary basis, and could be piped
with future residential development. One option would be to
deal with this swale once by piping it ahead of residential
development.
14. Enclosed please find the explanatory hand-out for structures
(theater, gym, tower) that exceed the 40 foot height
limitation. Please disregard the reference to the requirement
of a P.U.D. Rather, the height analysis will be processed as
part of the Site Plan Advisory Review. Be sure that the tower
will not block microwave transmissions by other agencies or
private parties that require a direct, uninterrupted beam.
15. We have discussed at length the City policy of providing
collector street access internal to the square mile section to
link the future residential area to the commercial area. The
primary purpose of this policy is to discourage unnecessary
vehicular trips on the arterial streets. Both Pine Cone Farm
and the New High School attempt to deal with this issue in a
different context. In order to support this new approach,
Staff encourages visible, illuminated, safe bicycle and
pedestrian trails to connect the residential, commercial and
school areas. Such trails need to have minimum street
crossings. Destinations need to have bicycle and pedestrian
amenities. The width must be sufficient to handle two way
traffic. There must be a viable choice to use alternative
transportation. Residents and students should not be forced,
due to a lack of alternatives, to use their car.
16 Staff is concerned about promoting the alternative forms of
transportation and the orientation of the commercial building
and student parking lot. While this may be more of a "Pine
Cone Farm" comment, it is indirectly related to the proposed
circulation plans for the New High School. The commercial
center must be designed so that it does not turn its back on
the residential area. The service dock, dumpster, trash
compactor, pallet racks, exhaust fans, HVAC equipment, etc.,
must be screened so that .there is no "backdoor" affect on the
east. The student parking lot and east side of the commercial
building must have "curb appeal" and provide an attractive,
alternative choice of entry.
17. Residents to the east will have to pass through the north side
of the student parking lot to gain access to the east side of
the commercial area. Unless this passage is designed
properly, there may be some resistance to traverse what may be
perceived as a "students only zone". This passage must be
made available for non -students in order to be a viable, non -
vehicular link. Thought should be given as to how this space
can be made sufficiently neutral so the non -student does not
feel he is invading a student domain.
18. It is recognized that the concept plan is merely a schematic
and will be further refined. One area that needs further
revision is the interface between school main entry,
commercial building, visitor parking, and student parking lot.
It will be critical to create a space that meets the needs of
a variety of users in this area. How this space is used will
contribute to the ultimate character of the mixed -use concept.
19. Attention should be paid to how the multi -family residents,
north of Vermont, will access the athletic field complex. It
is assumed that the tennis courts and soccer field will be
available to the public during non -school times like the
courts on Pitkin Street.
20. In order to promote non -vehicular circulation, architectural
concrete is recommended for focal areas.
21. Bicycle amenities include secure racks, proper illumination,
shelter, ramps, proximity to entries, and a sense of security
for after hours. Will there be a separate faculty and staff
bicycle parking area?
22. With three potential fast food pads, there will likely be
heavy pedestrian traffic across the commercial parking lot.
Perhaps an attractive perimeter, with landscaping and outdoor
dining areas, would help minimize the pedestrian/vehicular
conflicts.
23. The schematic plan indicates that the two common areas
flanking the main entry will be paved. Is this much paving
necessary? _The common area adjacent to visitor parking would.
benefit from some green area and some amenity features to
create usable space.
24. Is the large rectangular island between visitor parking and
commercial shopping intended to be used by students for common
open space, or is it a landscape design element? It is not
clear how this space will be used.
25. Comments have already been made by the Transportation
Department based on preliminary findings of the Traffic Impact
Analysis. It is anticipated that the study will continue to
be refined and the necessary site plan adjustments made, or
mitigated.
26. Finally, Staff supports the mixed -use concept. A
school/commercial campus has exciting potential for creating
a strong neighborhood identity for the residents, and an
active focal point for the southeast quadrant of the
community. Staff is looking forward to working with the
design team to further develop the mixed -use site elements so
the entire 80 acres work effectively.