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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPADS AT HARMONY - Filed GC-GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE - 2007-11-28�T- August 30, 2006 City of Fort Collins Review Staff 281 N. College Avenue Fort Collins, CO 80521 Ref; Pads at Harmony Project Description Review Staff, Land Images, inc. is pleased to submit this project for preliminary approval of the POP. The following information was prepared in compliance with the Submittal Requirements for the PDP Submittal requirements. This development was designed in compliance with City of Fort Collins City Plan Standards and Harmony Road Corridor documents. The Pads at Harmony is located at the north east and north west comers of Harmony Road and Snow Mesa Drive, consisting of two parcels containing approximately 8 acres and 1350 linear feet of Harmony Frontage. Both parcels are undeveloped vacant land. Snow Mesa Drive is currently a private drive providing access to the ARC Mobile Home Park. At the intersection of Harmony Road and Snow Mesa Drive, a traffic signal has recently been installed. Access to the Pads at Harmony will be off of Snow Mesa Drive just north of this traffic signal. The Pads at Harmony is a small infill project sandwiched between Harmony School Shops (community shopping center) on the west, Bayer's proposed Front Range Village (regional shopping center) to the east, and ARC Mobile Home Park to the north. Connectivity to Harmony School Shops and Front Range Village has been requested by both property owners and city staff members. Access to ARC Mobile Home Park will continue to be via Snow Mesa Drive. The site is currently located in a Basic Industrial and Non -Retail Employment Activity Center as per the Harmony Corridor Plan. Considering the unique position of this property being between two large retail developments and with Staffs support, the Pads at Harmony is seeking a modification to change the eastern parcel to a Neighborhood Convenience Shopping Center as defined in the Land Use Code. This parcel meets the requirements of having seven or fewer acres and will include four or more separate business establishments. With this change in sub zoning, all retail development has been moved to the eastern parcel, which will also have office, restaurant and bank spaces. Parking for this parcel is below the maximum allowed of 5 spaces per 1000 square feet of gross leasable area. This modification will allow for a smooth transition from one neighboring retail development to the other. 1136 East Stuart Street, Suite 2040 Fort Collins, Co. 80525 ■ Phone: 970-472.8954 Fax: 970-472-8955 ■ Iandimaoes(a)frii.com ■ •www landimaaesinc corn The eastern parcel will remain in the Basic Industrial and Non -Retail Employment Activity Center but will also seek a modification to allow secondary uses to occupy more than 25% of the gross area of the site plan. The primary uses on the western parcel are 12,000 square feet of office space and a 5,000 square foot bank, with secondary uses proposed to occupy another 14,000 square feet. This modification will again provide a smooth transition from one use to the other and compliment the designs of the neighboring developments. The architecture of this project will reflect individual character per building while still allowing for a unified, cohesive integration and architectural compatibility among the surrounding buildings, other developments and neighborhoods. Repetition of roof lines, finishes and even parking will be consciously planned to allow for building compatibility and integration while increasing the areas' visual interest. The use of similar proportions in building mass and outdoor spaces, similar relationships to the street, similar window and door patterns and/or the use of complementary building materials will further the desired integration into the Harmony Corridor. The architectural elevations shown on the Illustrative Plans establish a basis for architectural form and style. Franchise architectural prototypes shall be modified to meet these design requirements. Individual character will be achieved through architectural elements such as a parapet with accent comicing extending from a sloped roof line, fascia/ gutter detailing, slipped plane offsets, reveals and projections. All elevations will be visually pleasing and inviting allowing the needs of both tenants and neighborhood residences to be met. Finishes and other architectural features will reflect that of an upscale multi use park that meshes with its rurally urbanized surroundings attracting users from surrounding communities. Pavers, raised planters, and landscaping will also act as laces, tying an established concept to the Pads at Harmony. The overall design concept will reflect that of an outdoor urban mixed use park that will have added interest and vitality gained from the mixed use buildings (office/retail etc.) With consciousness to the surrounding businesses and neighborhoods, the developed property will be nestled in by rolling berms and landscaping reflecting one of the three design concepts called out in the Harmony Corridor Plan, the Fort Collins Comprehensive Plan 02.07.06. The Pads at Harmony is seeking a modification to the 80 foot setback along Harmony Road to allow a 10 foot reduction to 70 feet given the unique shape of the project. The site itself, being roughly 1325' long and less than 300' deep has many restrictions that this design has attempted to compensate for. This unique shape does not allow for an efficient method of parking where all of the buildings on site could use centralized parking as with traditional retail and/or mixed use developments, particularly visible with the designs of both neighboring retail projects. This extra 10 feet will allow sufficient parking and connectivity to ensure the economic viability of the project when built and into the future. To compensate for this decrease in setback, we are proposing approximately a 15% increase in landscaping along Harmony Road, paying particular attention to screen bank drive- thrus and any utility or service areas that might face Harmony Road. We also propose to increase the pedestrian connectivity to the Harmony Road sidewalk as well as increase visible interest by using public plazas as gathering places on each parcel. These plazas will become architectural focal points tied together with sculpture and landscaping. Lighting for the project will pay very close attention to the concerns of the neighbors in the ARC Mobile Home Park. As expressed in the Neighborhood Meeting that was attended by some of the residents, overflow light was a concern as was sufficient light to dissuade undesirable activities. Lighting for the site will allow for highlighting of the architectural features of the buildings along Harmony Road, provide a secure and safe environment within the parking lot and will use house side shields on the north sides of light poles to stop overflow light from escaping into the neighborhood to the north. Large existing cottonwoods, other existing vegetation, proposed new buffering landscaping and a new proposed screen fence will also help to stop any overflow light into the ARC Mobile Home Park as well as provide extra security to those residents. The redevelopment of Snow Mesa Drive from a private drive to a public right-of-way is another essential element of this development. Again, the unique shape, location of the site and concerns of neighbors brought challenges to this portion of the design. With Snow Mesa Drive splitting the property into two parcels and very little depth to work with, we are proposing a traffic circle to be installed on the northern portion of the site just south of the ARC Mobile Home Park. This traffic circle meets City and Poudre Fire Authority standards and is encouraged by staff. This roundabout is the most ideal solution for providing the necessary circulation, definition at the intersection as well as providing sufficient stacking distances for the 3 lanes and bike lane going south to Harmony Road. As discussed at the Neighborhood Meeting, signage will be placed appropriately to dissuade unnecessary traffic from traveling north into the ARC Mobile Home Park. Snow Mesa Drive is also intended to serve both Harmony School Shops and the Front Range Village to the east. Connectivity to these properties and secondary accesses to the Pads at Harmony are accomplished with drives along the north portion of the site. Drives to the east and west property lines have been designed to match those of the surrounding retail developments. These drives have also been designed to meet Poudre Fire Authority's fire lane requirements. The majority of the internal parking lot will serve as designated fire lanes and shall be visible by painting and signage and maintained to be unobstructed. Automatic fire sprinklers and Knox boxes will also be equipped in each building. Additional right-of-way dedication along Harmony Road is being proposed to tie into that of Front Range Village to the east and the Harmony School Shops to the west. Approximately 30' of right-of-way will be dedicated but distance will vary to accomplish a seamless right-of-way between the surrounding properties. �'tid5 31 Hnf.^.lCl'.'j ?fr;!cr:� L9gf fip ilUn Water quantity and quality detention will take place off site on Front Range Village to the east. This is again due to the compact, unique nature of the site. Off -site easements will be secured with the adjacent property owners to provide sufficient detention and drainage infrastructure. Strong coordination between the two design teams is well underway to accomplish this goal. As is the case for the whole Harmony Corridor, the Pads at Harmony project strives for excellence and high quality in the design and construction of buildings, open spaces, pedestrian and bicycle facilities and streetscapes. The challenge to create a major business center in northern Colorado and along Harmony Road requires the unique design proposed with the Pads at Harmony. Economic viability of this project and the surrounding development projects also requires unique solutions and presents great opportunities to the Harmony Corridor. All required submittal items specified on the submittal check list has been included in the submittal as required by the City. We look forward to working with the City on the expeditious review of the Pads at Harmony project. Thank You, Michael Chalona, RLA Principal I am aware of the development plans for the Pads at Harmony, which is an adjacent property to ours and have no objections to the project proceeding to hearing at this time. We anticipate executing a formal agreement to allow road improvements on Snow Mesa Drive at a later date. c L. C e Date: September 25, 2006 anger ARC Communities 2 LLC Oct. 9. 2006 3:26PM Bayer Properties No.0408 P. 2 DAVID I. SILVSKSTM DM11CT DIAL: (705)795-4117 6-MAIL: ��If.VE1ltT60V�.�Y64PlOPFk t /IL: October 9, 2006 VIA FACSIMME — (970) 416-20ZO Mr. Cameron Gloss Director Current Planning Department 291 North College Avenue P.O. Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522-0580 RE: Pads at Harmony — Bellisimo, Inc. Dear Cameron: We are aware of the development plans for the Pads at Harmony, a development proposed for property adjacent to property owned by our affiliate, Front Range Retail Company, L.L.C. We have no objections to the project proceeding to hearing at this time; however, we have not reviewed plans for the project in detail and we reserve the right to comment on those plans in the future. We are negotiating a formal agreement to allow access easement, drainage easement and water main & sewer main tie-ins, at a later date. Sincerely, BAYER PROPERTIES, L.L.C. David L. Silverstein Principal DLS/jmp cc: Mr. Gino Campana (via facsimile -- (970) 223-5740) BAYIR< PROPER=, LL.C.. 2222 ARLIINGMXAVMM • BE MMMAM, ArAaAWA 35205 . (WS)9"11 . w bw/alaopuueacom Stantec Consulting Inc. 209 South Meldrum Street Fort Collins CO 80521-2603 Tel: (970) 482-5922 Fax: (970) 482-6368 stantec.com I&- SbfftK December 5, 2006 File: Pads at Harmony Formal Variance Request City of Fort Collins Current Planning 281 North College Fort Collins, CO 80521 Attention: Mr. Gary Diede Dear Mr. Diede: The purpose of this letter is to request the following four variances for the Pads at Harmony project: 1) Vertical curves along Snow Mesa Drive (LCUASS Section 7.4.1 B) 2) Stacking requirement for right turn lane on southbound Snow Mesa Drive 1) Vertical curves along Snow Mesa Drive (LCUASS Section 7.4.1 B) a) The proposed centerline and flowline roadway design for Snow Mesa Drive uses short vertical curves to meet the cross -slope requirements of 2%to 3%, while allowing for smooth transitions off of Harmony Road and into the proposed round a bout. The required vertical curves from the code cannot be met due to 4.5' vertical drop over the 156' horizontal distance from Harmony Road to the round a bout. The vertical curves are required to have a k value of 30 and length of 75 feet. b) Because of the short approach distance we are able to propose as an alternative to this a slower design speed with will allow the reduction of the vertical curve lengths. This is provided because of a roundabout intersection as opposed to a standard intersection. The design speed for a local street is 25 mph. The speed between the roundabout and the intersection will be between 15 and 20 mph and allow a lower K value of approx 20 and matching shorter vertical curve length. c) The comparison of the standard vs. what is supplied is mentioned above. The cost in additional maintenance and cost to the City of Fort Collins will be minimal. The length of the vertical curves has no affect on capital or maintenance costs. d) This variance request will not cause a reduced design life to the City of Fort Collins Streets. This variance will not affect the health and safety of the City of Fort Collins street systems because of the reduced speeds that this section of roadway will be operating at. Stantec November 3, 2006 Errorl Reference source not found. Page 2 of 2 Reference: Error! Reference source not found. 2) Stacking requirement for right turn lane on southbound Snow Mesa Drive a) The stacking requirement for the right turn lane on southbound Snow Mesa Drive is restricted by the 156' distance from Harmony Road to the round a bout. The intersection configuration at Harmony/Snow Mesa requires a left turn, through, and right turn lane. The goal was to offset the opposing left turn lanes on the south and north sides of Harmony Road while also trying to align the north and southbound through lanes between the PVHS and Pads site, thereby providing continuity within the intersection. Therefore, the tie to the existing lane configuration and the closeness of the round a bout to Harmony Road, lends the southbound right turn lane to its present location, which doesn't meet the stacking requirement from the traffic study. b) The alternate design proposed is the shorter (50') right turn lane storage and 50 foot taper. The required right turn lane storage per figure 8-5 is 150 feet. The taper should be about 235 feet. c) The alternate design will not have an impact on public capital or maintenance costs as City of Fort Collins specified material will be used. Because the above criteria applies to higher speed the can be reduced. Also, the installation of the roundabout with its proven safety improvement record will help this situation. In my opinion this provides a safe right turn lane configuration. The amount of traffic going to the right turn is also mitigated by the proposed connections to the east and west to Front Range Village and to Harmony School Shops which also have access to Harmony Road. d) This variance request will not cause a reduced design life to the City of Fort Collins Streets. This variance will not affect the health and safety of the City of Fort Collins street systems because of the reduced speeds that this section of roadway will be operating at. Therefore, the variances requested above provide feasible ways to mitigate space constraints and design concerns posed by the physical location of the site in relation to its surroundings, while providing adequate parking, good pedestrian access, and an aesthetically pleasing look along the Harmony Corridor.