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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPOUDRE R1 SCHOOL DISTRICT SOUTH BUS TERMINAL ADVISORY REVIEW - 55 91 - MINUTES/NOTES - CORRESPONDENCE-NEIGHBORHOOD MEETINGNEIGHBORHOOD MEETING MINUTES PROJECT: Poudre R-1 Southern Bus Barn Facility LOCATION: Southeast corner of Skyway and Constellation DATE: April 17, 1991 REPRESENTATIVES: Ron Spiess, George Galida, Ron Daggett, Bill Brenner COUNTY PLANNING DIRECTOR: Henry Baker CITY PLANNER: Ted Shepard QUESTION, CONCERNS, COMMENTS 1. Has PR-1 explored other sites for this facility? Are there any options other than locating in an existing residential neighborhood? RESPONSE: The primary advantage of this particular site is that it is already owned by PR-1. Sites that are not in or near residential areas are often most suited for commercial development. These kinds of parcels are usually very expensive. Saving acquisition costs is an important consideration for the School District. 2. Are the other sites as close to existing homes as this site? RESPONSE: No, one other site was just east of U.B.C. along South Mason Street. This site is primarily commercial but the acquisition cost was very high. 3. Why is there a retention pond located on the site plan? RESPONSE: Stormwater runoff must be retained in order to prevent downstream flooding. With the development of the site, there will be an increase in impervious surface which increases the amount of stormwater runoff. This runoff must be controlled. 4. Is this site zoned residential? If so, then why locate in a residential area? Clarendon Hills and Golden Meadows are also zoned residential. Why not located adjacent to those neighborhoods? RESPONSE (from Mr. Henry Baker, County Planning Director): The property is zoned FA-1 which basically allows for only residential uses. 5. PR-1 also owns land adjacent to Front Range Community College. Why not locate on that land, or is Clarendon Hills too powerfull? RESPONSE: This location is best suited for our southern bus routes. The goal is to reduce "dead -head" bus miles. The property adjacent to Clarendon Hills is ideal for residential development where students can walk to school, rather than be bussed. 6. What is the typical activity associated with such a facility? RESPONSE: Morning buses will depart between 6:30 and 7:00 a.m., and return between 9:00 and 9:30 a.m. Afternoon buses will depart between 2:00 and 2:30 p.m., and return between 4:00 and 5:00 p.m. Occasionally, an activity bus will return after 6:00 p.m. depending on the event and the distance travelled. 7. What about during the winter when those diesels are warming up? The buses will be starting up long before going out on route. This will cause a disturbance'in the neighborhood and contribute to air pollution. RESPONSE: Although the diesels do take longer to warm up, most of our buses are plugged in with engine warmers so warm up time is not excessive. The air quality is not expected to be worse because of our buses. The biggest contributor to air pollution is the traffic on College Avenue. S. Keep in mind that Foothills Gateway runs Caravan buses all day. PR-1 buses will just add to the bus traffic in our neighborhood. 9. Don't forget that the. bus driver commuter traffic will also be introduced into our neighborhood. Each driver will make four trips per day through our neighborhood. 10. PR-1 is dumping this project on our neighborhood. Between the fumes and traffic, our property values will decrease. 11. The additional. traffic will make our 'neighborhood streets deteriorate. Already, the streets are in bad shape and this facility will only make it worse. The streets are poorly maintained as it is now. 12. Will the City annex our neighborhood? RESPONSE (from City Planner Ted Shepard): The City has no plans to annex, nor is the area surrounded so the neighborhood is not an enclave. 13. What is the process for citizen input? Where does the decision process go from here? At what point is the decision made? RESPONSE: The request will be processed by the Larimer County Planning Department for a hearing in front of the Larimer County Planning Commission. This commission will make an advisory finding and pass this along to the Board of Education. The reason the Planning Commission finding is advisory -only is because the School District is a political subdivision of the state and is exempt from County zoning controls. The School Board will make the final decision. Citizen input can be made at both the Planning Commission hearing and the School Board hearing. The School Board takes citizen input at the beginning of every public meeting. An item does not have to be on the Board's agenda in order to be discussed by the citizens. A sign up sheet is available and the President of the School Board will moderate the input. The School Board meets on the 2nd and 4th Monday of each month. 14. Why not use this site for a neighborhood, walk-in school? RESPONSE: This option has been investigated. The parcel is not feasible for an elementary school. 15. The site is too far south to effectively serve the southerly bus routes. It would be more efficient to locate one or two miles to the north in order to be more centrally located within the district. If optimum location is desired, why not combine with the City of Fort Collins transit garage on east Trilby Road? RESPONSE: The City facility was constructed with the assistance of a federal grant. Part of the conditions of the grant is that the money be spent for public transportation services. School buses do not qualify as public transportation so a joint project would not be allowed. 16. It is my impression that the intention of the original developer's land donation was for a school. Over the years, this ground has been used for Foothills Gateway and Shelter Care. Now, PR-1 is proposing a bus barn. It looks like our neighborhood will never get a school. 17. A bus facility will lower our property values. Lower values will result in lower tax revenues for the School District. This unexpected side effect will have a negative impact on the financial health of the District. Has PR-1 considered this financial aspect? RESPONSE: This is an interesting comment. The facilities division of the school district has not calculated these effects since changes property values are so difficult to quantify as to cause and effect. 18. Foothills Gateway buses presently use the curb cut on Constellation. What assurances do we have that school buses will also not use this access? Using Constellation has a negative impact on the neighborhood. r RESPONSE: Our buses will only be permitted to gain access from Skyway. 19. The site plan does not show enough landscaping to screen the project. RESPONSE: The site plan is not in final form. There will be approximately $67,000 spent on landscaping in a combination of trees and berms. Areas that remain undeveloped will be planted with a dryland grass mix to prevent wind erosion. 20. How big will the shed be? Will all buses fit under it? RESPONSE: Yes, all buses (30) will fit under the shed. 21. Will buses be added over time as new schools are built? RESPONSE: No, new schools convert previously bussed students into walk-in students which reduces the demand on transportation services. For example, six new schools have been built since 1986 and no additional buses have been added to the fleet. 22. Why aren't buses kept at the schools they serve overnight? This would also reduce "dead -head" miles. RESPONSE: The District prefers to keep the busses centralized for maintenance purposes and to help reduce vandalism. Also, each school site would have to be retro-fitted to accommodate bus storage. Also, buses often serve more than one school since different grade levels start at different times. 23. What kind of security lighting will there be? Our neighborhood is a semi -rural area, not in the city, and we enjoy not having lots of street lights or security lights. RESPONSE: This is a good comment. It is likely that security lighting will be most intense around the shed. The yard area will illuminated by fixtures that can be down directional w.ith_a-9.0 degree cutoff luminaire rather than the widespread pattern. 24. Has the Environmental Protection Agency been contacted about the amount of diesel exhaust emitted by the buses? RESPONSE: No. 25. What kind of security fencing will there be? Will there be barbed wire? Will the stormwater retention pond be fenced? RESPONSE: Fencing has not been designed at this time. The pond will be just like the one serving Foothills Gateway. 26. The $1,000,000 budgeted for this project could be better spent elsewhere. The District should exchange or sell land with Larimer County so a County park can be developed within the neighborhood, and bus barn can be developed away from residential areas. It seems the responsible parties are not exploring creative solutions that will benefit the residents. Instead, the District is looking to expedite the project without proper consideration of neighborhood concerns. . 27. If County zoning is FA-1, which is for residential, does the School District have to obtain a variance from the County Board of Adjustment? RESPONSE: No, the District is exempt from having to obtain a variance. 28. Please provide more details on citizen input with the School Board. RESPONSE: The Board meets on the 2nd and 4th Monday of each month at the administration building located adjacent to Poudre High, 2407 LaPorte Avenue. Call 490-3602 to get details on starting times,. agendas, board members, district boundaries, etc. 29. Can we submit a petition to the School Board? RESPONSE: Yes. 30. The buses will negatively impact our neighborhood. The increased traffic, noise, fumes, and deteriorating streets will all affect our quality of life. We will not be able to sell our homes since no one will want to move into our neighborhood. 31. The record should indicate that several of our neighbors did not attend tonight's meeting. They are concerned about the bus barn but believe that no one will listen to them. No one has listened to them in the past. It is their experience that decision makers only care about their agencies, not the concerns of the residents. 32. Will the residents be notified of the public hearing -in -front of the County Planning Commission? RESPONSE: Yes. 33. The District should be aware that there is a high degree of vandalism in the area. Foothills Gateway has experienced vandalism and with Shelter Care now in the Gateway facility, the vandalism may increase. RESPONSE: It is hoped that with fencing_ and lighting, vandalism will be deterred. 34. We want written answers to all our questions. r 35. What about fuel tanks? What safety measures will be taken? The homes on East Swallow suffered damage from leaking underground fuel tanks. RESPONSE: There will be two, 12,000 gallon underground storage tanks for diesel and gas. Installation will be according to E.P.A. regulations. There will be double containment, or a tank within a tank. The secondary tank captures any spill before it contaminates the soil. 36. What about oil spills? RESPONSE: Any oil spill will be contained onsite. 37. Could buses run on natural gas or propane rather than gas or diesel? RESPONSE: Yes, buses can run on these fuels but the fuel source for a fleet of our size is unreliable. 38. What is your construction schedule? RESPONSE: After approvals, we would like to begin in the next few months. 39. I've noticed drill holes on the site. Are the soils being tested? If so, are the soils suitable for construction? RESPONSE: Soil testing has been done and the soil -is suitable for construction. There are some expansive soils on the 'site but will be mitigated or avoided for construction. There are no serious groundwater problems. 40.- What is the water source for domestic water? RESPONSE: The source is the Fort Collins -Loveland Water District. 41. The people here tonight are against the project. We are circulating a petition to present to District staff -so -it -may. -be presented to the School Board. 42. Has the Board of County Commissioners been notified of the proposal? RESPONSE: Not officially. 43. I am not against development per se. It is just that this particular land use is so objectionable. 44. The vacant lot now is not maintained very well by PR-1. The weeds get too high and the site becomes an eyesore. How will the District maintain a developed site? RESPONSE: The proposed development will be irrigated with turf and maintained like the District maintains all. its developed property. The undeveloped portion will be planted with a drought -tolerant dry land grass mixture. 45. Is the facility on Laporte Avenue fenced? If so, what kind? RESPONSE: Yes, it is fenced with chainlink topped with strands of, barbed wire. 46. The Loveland R-2-J District has an attractive facility on Wilson Avenue in the southwest portion of the City. Why can't PR-1 build something just as attractive? RESPONSE: To the best of our knowledge, this facility was built with funds from the City. Unlike in Fort Collins, these funds were not a federal grant that required they be spent on public transportation. 47. Has the District looked at land on East Trilby? There is a lot of vacant land that is not in the middle of a residential area. RESPONSE: This area has not been looked at by the District. 48. Is there a model school bus facility that can demonstrate how these uses can be done with sensitivity? RESPONSE: A very good example is the current Cherry Creek School District facility located on Smokey Hill Road in Arapahoe County. This facility is near residential areas. 50. The site plan should pull fencing back to the immediately developed area and leave the perimeter unfenced. Also, the only way to make this facility compatible is to plant more trees. Large trees should be planted so the effect is immediate, not 10 to 20 years down the road. 51. As a neighborhood group, we should not be concerned with berms and trees. Rather, we should make it clear that the facility is _not wanted, it. should be relocated. The bus activity —will -devalue our property. We should urge the School Board to veto the project at this location. 52. How many buses will the facility handle, and how many buses are handled by district wide? RESPONSE: This facility will handle about 30 buses. District wide, there are about 95 buses. This total is broken down into 67 full size buses, and 28 smaller buses for Special Education programs. 53. You show 30 buses now, how about in the future? Will the balance of the property be developed to handle more buses? RESPONSE: There are no plans to expand the facility. District wide, the demand is for more of the smaller Special Ed. buses. 54. I have lived in this neighborhood for over 16 years. I remember when we fought one proposal on College Avenue and we ended up with storage lockers. I remember when architectural covenants were supposed to have been filed with the County and then double wide modular homes were brought in. our streets are substandard and not repaired. The strip of commercial along College Avenue is unattractive. We fought the first Pace Warehouse location and ended up with Webergs. The point is to not try to block development but negotiate with the District so it is done right. Access should be strictly limited to Skyway, fences should be attractive, lighting should not spill offsite, and the landscaping should be generous. The project should be quality, not institutional. 55. Will Skyway be upgraded? The intersection with Gateway's driveway is dangerous? Will any improvements be done? . RESPONSE: The District is wary of doing offsite improvements to mitigate traffic impacts. This could set a dangerous precedent throughout the entire District and could cost the taxpayers a great deal of money. 56. Will the District plow Skyway? RESPONSE: No, the District does not plow streets. Check with the County on snow -plowing. 57. Will there be any changes to the signal cycle at College and Skyway? RESPONSE: This signal is under the jurisdiction of the State Highway Department. Keep in mind that the buses depart on staggered schedules and will not stack up on Skyway. 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