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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTRAILHEAD ANNEXATION & ZONING - 43-02 - CORRESPONDENCE - PLANSWe appreciate the time and attention that City staff has provided for this request. We look forward to your response to this latest proposal. Sincerely, VF RIPLEY ASSOCIATES ��L�GI/` Imo• c Linda Ripley Principal 1) The net loss of E designated land to the City as a whole is minimal (28.79 acres). 2) Designating the northern portion of Hartshorn Farm as E allows it to be contiguous to the E property further north adjacent to the Anheuser-Busch Brewery. 3) Designating the southern portion of the Farm as LMN allows it to be contiguous with existing residential development and to LMN designated property to the south across Vine Drive. Although the Waterglen development has been controversial in the past, there is no doubt that it has added significantly to the supply of affordable housing in this community. Waterglen has been well received by the community (selling at twice the pace of other residential projects) and is populated predominately by young families and first-time homebuyers. The development of Trailhead PDP would keep the Waterglen neighborhood from being an isolated residential community. Furthermore, the Trailhead proposal does not share the same development constraints that the Waterglen development struggled with (proximity of the interstate, Cooper Slough issues and lack of development contiguity). Trailhead would, however, contribute to the diversity and livability of the Waterglen neighborhood by offering a wider variety of housing types, providing additional recreational amenities (an interconnected trail system and a neighborhood park) and providing another neighborhood center that would be utilized by both developments. 4) Locating the LMN designated land adjacent to Vine Drive would allow an affordable residential neighborhood to be built sooner rather than later. Access and infrastructure are available to allow the proposed Trailhead PDP to move forward in the near future. The existing LMN land north of the canal does not have the same potential. It is unlikely that the property to the north could develop as either a residential or employment project any time soon because of the severe access constraints. 5) The railroad line could potentially serve employment uses on the north side of the tracks, but is almost inaccessible from the south because of the canal and topography. 6) Development of the proposed Trailhead PDP would create the opportunity to complete a portion of Greenfields Road, an important north/south connection on the City's Master Street Plan. In addition, a temporary regional bike trail could be connected to the north via the former Larimer and Weld Canal ditch rider's road. This "road" will be converted to a trail that will serve the proposed Trailhead subdivision as well as Waterglen. 7) Residents of the proposed Trailhead PDP would be able to access the future Commercial core planned to the north via Greenfields Road and Mountain Vista Drive. Greenfields Road, when extended from the south, would also provide easy access to employment opportunities and shopping opportunities in the Mulberry Corridor. 8) Finally, the Trailhead PDP could provide the City with the opportunity to establish a below grade crossing of Vine Drive for the regional bike trail that is planned along the Cooper Slough. In summary, we believe that significant changes have occurred in the northeast since the Mountain Vista Subarea Plan and the City's Structure Plan were adopted. Vine Drive is no longer being considered as a major truck route and CDOT has no plans for a new interchange along Interstate 25 at Vine Drive in the foreseeable future. Given these significant changes, we believe a fresh look at the land designations is appropriate. If the LMN and E designated areas were exchanged as proposed above, the community would benefit from an increase in the supply of affordable housing opportunities and important infrastructure improvements could be gained as well. The development of the Trailhead PDP would contribute to the construction of a portion of Greenfields Road and provide an opportunity for a below grade crossing at Vine Drive for a regional trail system. V Fr1i PIGyASSOCIATES INC Landscape Architecture Urban Design Planning May 16, 2003 Bob Barkeen Fort Collins Planning Department 281 North College Avenue Fort Collins, CO 80521 Re: Trailhead Annexation, Zoning and Comprehensive Plan Amendments Dear Bob: As you are aware the owners of Hartshorn Farm would like to develop an affordable residential project on the 88.79-acre site south of the realigned irrigation canal adjacent to Vine Drive and Waterglen. Our project team been in a dialogue with City staff for approximately a year regarding the following: 1) Amending the Comprehensive Plan (Structure Plan, Mountain Vista Subarea Plan and Master Street Plan) to (a) change the designation of the 88.79-acre site from Employment ("E") to Low Density Mixed -Use Residential ("LMN") and (b) eliminate the collector street paralleling Vine Drive; 2) Annexation of the 88.79-acre site and zoning in the L-M-N Zoning District; 3) Designing an affordable residential project that meets the requirements of both the L- MN Zoning District and the general development standards in Chapter 3 of the Land Use Code. While the Planning Staff has been very helpful in working through design issues related to the proposed Trailhead preliminary development plan ("PDP"), the Staff's initial comments on the proposed Structure Plan and Mountain Vista Subarea Plan amendments were not supportive. The primary reason for not supporting the request seemed to be the loss of land reserved for future employment uses. Taking these comments very seriously, the owners are proposing to also request that the Structure Plan and Mountain Vista Subarea Plan designation for the balance of the Hartshorn Farm, approximately 60 acres north of the relocated canal and railroad tracks, be changed from LMN to E. The arrangement of E and LMN areas on the Structure Plan and Mountain Vista Subarea Plans made sense when the Truck Route on Vine Drive and 1-25 interchange were distinct possibilities. Since the designation of Vine Drive as the Truck Route has been defeated by the voters and the Colorado Department of Transportation ("CDOT") has advised that the construction of an interchange at Vine Drive is a minimum of 20 years in the future, we suggest that a different arrangement of the E and LMN designated land would be more appropriate for this area. Specifically, the current proposal would result in E designated land being closer to the "core" as envisioned by Mountain Vista Subarea Plan Principle MV-LU-1, and would accomplish numerous other City goals as well. We view the following as positive effects of the current proposal: Phone 970.224.5828 Fax 970.224.1662 401 West Mountain Ave. Suite 201 Fort Collins, CO 80521-2604 vfripley.com