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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1516 REMINGTON ST FRATERNITY SORORITY APU - PDP200017 - SUBMITTAL DOCUMENTS - ROUND 1 - ADDITION OF PERMITTED USEProject Title: 1516 Remington Street Conceptual Review: April 11, 2020 Neighborhood Meeting: August 24, 2020 Property Owner: Beta Tau 1919 House Corporation The proposed project is to renovate and restore the existing residence at 1516 Remington Street most recently used as a group home and now in disrepair, and to apply for an additional use as a fraternity/sorority. The property is 0.39 acres in size and contains a two-story 8,997 sf home with a basement. The site is zoned Neighborhood Conservation Low Density (NCL) zone district. Addition of Permitted Use Request The use as a fraternity/sorority requires a request for an Addition of Permitted Use for this zone district. While fraternity/sorority is not listed as an allowed use in the NCL zone district, this property was built as and has been historically used as a fraternity. The neighborhood also currently has other existing fraternity uses – Sigma Phi Epsilon across the street from this property and Phi Delta Theta within a mile to the north. Concurrent with this Project Development Plan submittal, we request approval of the addition of fraternity/sorority as a permitted use for the property based on the following criteria: 1. This use is appropriate in the zone district. This property was built as and has been historically used as a fraternity, and an existing fraternity exists in this zone district immediately across the street from the property. 2. The use conforms to the basic characteristics of the zone district and the other permitted uses in the zone district to which it is added. The NCL zone district is primarily a residential district with single family homes. This particular NCL zone district also includes the University Center for the Arts, the Avenir Museum, the University House, the Griffin Concert Hall and another fraternity – all within a block of the planned use. This use conforms with the basic characteristics of the zone district and especially to the characteristic of the immediate surrounding blocks. 3. The location, size and design of the use is compatible with and has minimal negative impact on the use of the nearby properties. The house and property have a residential character which fits well in the character of the neighborhood and zone district. The planned expansion is small (6% increase) in size and not visually prominent. The planned improvements are designed to protect and support this character and ensure compatibility with the surrounding uses. 4. The use does not create any more offensive noise, vibration, dust, heat, smoke, odor, glare or other objectionable influences or any more traffic hazards, traffic generation or attraction, adverse environmental impacts, adverse impacts on public or quasi-public facilities, utilities or services, adverse effect on public health, safety, morals or aesthetics, or other adverse impacts of development, than the amount normally resulting from the other permitted uses listed in the zone district to which it is added. This is a historic use for this property. More recently, a group home use was approved for the property. The property will be subject to all noise and similar nuisance codes, and this use does not create any more offensive influences or public health impacts. A traffic memorandum has been included with the submittal for review and off-street parking has been provided to meet the requirements of the land use code. 5. Such use will not change the predominant character of the surrounding area. The house and property have a residential character which fits well in the character of the neighborhood and zone district. The planned improvements are designed to protect and support this character and ensure compatibility with the surrounding uses. 6. Such use is compatible with the other listed permitted uses in the zone district to which it is added. Other uses within the NCL zone district include Single family detached dwellings, shelters for domestic violence, neighborhood parks, group homes, schools, places of worship or assembly, community facilities, minor public facilities and small- to medium-scale solar energy systems. This property was built as and has been historically used as a fraternity, and an existing fraternity exists in this zone district immediately across the street from the property – compatible with the other uses in the zone district. 7. The use, if located within or adjacent to an existing residential neighborhood, shall be subject to two (2) neighborhood meetings, unless the Director determines, from information derived from the conceptual review process, that the development proposal would not have any significant neighborhood impacts. The first neighborhood meeting must take place prior to the submittal of an application. The second neighborhood meeting must take place after the submittal of an application and after the application has completed the first round of staff review. A neighborhood meeting was held prior to the application, and a second neighborhood meeting is planned. Comments included concerns about ensuring adequate parking will be provided, how many people would live in the house, and how zoning and noise restrictions would be enforced. Our submittal addresses the parking requirements based on the number of beds. The owner group is a comprised of local leaders with a vested interest in protecting their investment in the property renovations and in protecting the quality of the neighborhood. They intend to be good neighbors, have offered to provide additional outreach to nearby neighbors to understand any concerns, and will provide contact information for continued communication if needed. 8. The proposed use is not a medical marijuana business as defined in Section 15-452 of the City Code or a retail marijuana establishment as defined in Section 15-603 of the City Code. In addition to compliance with the above eight criteria, we propose that this use would not be detrimental to the public good, is in compliance with the requirements and criteria contained in Land Use Code Section 3.5.1, and is not specifically listed as a ‘prohibited use’ in the NCL zone district standards. Building Design Following the April 2020 Conceptual Review Meeting, the architect met with Jim Bertolini, staff Historic Preservation Planner and developed a compatible design for the renovation of the residence, including removing non-historic mansard roof features, restoring covered and missing historic details, and designing a small expansion compatible with the existing building. Conceptual plans were shared with Jim and his direction on the building design, the planned addition, and front landscaping have been addressed with the submitted plans. Site Design Based on discussions with planning and historic preservation staff, our goal is to maximize off-street parking but to restrict its location to the side/rear of the building in order to retain and bring back the residential front yard character. We have also walked the property with forestry staff to identify the health of all the existing trees on the site with the goal of retaining as many trees as feasible. Given the site constraints, we are proposing the following to maximize each of these goals: Off-street parking - With the renovations, the building will be 9,571 square feet in size and contain up to 19 beds. Planned site improvements include constructing required off-street parking for the building located in the rear of the site adjacent to the alley. The existing driveway will remain to provide additional access to the parking area from Remington Street. This design retains the residential front yard quality With the use as a fraternity/sorority, the tenants will be students at the nearby Colorado State University campus. Located on the Remington bikeway and with direct adjacency to campus via the nearby grade-separated crossing of College Avenue, the property is indicated with Pedestrian and Bicycle Levels of Service A based on our traffic memo submitted for review. Transit Passes will be provided for each tenant further reducing the need for cars. The Land Use Code supports the reduction of required parking spaces for multi-family and mixed-use dwellings within the Transit-Overlay Development (TOD) Overlay Zone if Demand Mitigation Strategies are present including Pedestrian and Bicycle Levels of Service A and providing Transit Passes. As such we are indicating the required amount of off-street parking based on the reductions allowed with these Demand Mitigation Strategies. In order to maximize the number of off-street parking spaces in the constrained space available at the rear of the property and to limit the impacts on existing trees in the areas near the alley, we are indicating an increased number of compact parking spaces (60%). Since this parking will be used by residents of the house we believe this is an appropriate way to provide a greater number of parking spaces on the site while retaining the large trees along the north property line. Portions of the planned parking and patio areas are designed with permeable pavers to achieve enhanced water quality for the site storm drainage needs. Bicycle parking – Both fixed and enclosed bicycle parking is provided. A lockable enclosure is proposed along the east side of the building near the entrance that will allow for 12 bicycles on a stacking rack system inside the enclosure. In addition, fixed bicycle racks are located near the planned trash enclosure for 9 additional bicycles. Landscaping and Tree Mitigation – The landscape plans indicate restoring and protecting the open front yard and providing simple ornamental shrub beds along the building foundation and adjacent to the outdoor patio areas. Existing trees are being retained and protected. Exceptions include a small ash tree located in the area to be used for planned parking, two small trees at the west end of the front yard that can be transplanted to more suitable locations, and a group of large trees immediately adjacent to the south side of the building. This large group of trees have grown up in the constricted space between the house and the neighboring property and fence. These trees are a hazard as they are too close to the building foundations and are likely to cause damage to the structures, so are planned to be removed. We have provided new trees to help mitigate these hazardous trees to be removed but are unable to mitigate them all on-site given the small site and the desire to keep the front yard open. We propose to offer to mitigate the remaining trees off-site or provide fees in lieu of this tree mitigation if appropriate.