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Home My WebLink AboutBLOCK 104 LOTS 5-8 415 SOUTHMASON STREET - Filed GC-GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE - 2016-06-02DELICH ASSOCIATES Traffic & Transportation Engineering AMMOMM/ I _� 2272 Glen Haven Drive Loveland, Colorado 80538 , Phone: (970) 669-2061 Fax: (970) 669-5034 April 29, 2011 Ms. Susan Joy, Development Review Engineer Fort Collins Engineering 281 North College Avenue Fort Collins, CO 80524 Dear Susan: This variance letter pertains to the minimum off-street parking setback distance for the proposed parking lot on the north side of a building at 415 South Mason Street (a proposed restaurant). This 'parking lot will be accessed from South Mason Street. South Mason Street is classed as a 2-lane arterial street. The issue is the distance from South Mason Street (flow line) to the first parking space in the subject parking lot. According to the "Larimer County Urban area Street Standards"(LCUASS) Figure 19-6, the minimum off- street parking setback distance for a parking lot along a 2-lane arterial street is 50 feet, 75 feet, or 100 feet, depending upon the daily volume at the parking lot access. In the course of these analyses, I contacted Emma McArdle, Ward Stanford, Matt Wempe, and you. The future Mason Corridor BRT cross 'section of South, Mason Street was used in this analysis, per direction from Ward Stanford. The analysis assumes twaway traffic on Souk Mason Street°with no left" or left- ut access at this=driveway: The site plan shows the ekdsting. parking setback at apprdxrnately 19 fleet from the flow line. There is an existing curb' cut, at this 'location; -to an existing -parking lot. There is another existing curb -cut to the south, which will be eliminated. The proposed parking lot will have 13 spaces. If it is assumed that no deliveries would occur during the peak hour of the restaurant, there would be as many as 16 parking spaces on this site. There will be on - street parking on the west side of South Mason Street. Using Trip Generation, 8tn Edition, ITE (Quality Restaurant, Code 931), this restaurant would generate 380 weekday and 400 Saturday trip ends. This would indicate that the setback should be 75 feet. While not specifically addressed in LUCASS, Chapter 19, the reason for the parking setback is to allow entering vehicles to get completely out the street, if an unparking vehicle causes delay to the entering vehicles. The setback criteria assume that the travel lane is next to the flow line of the street. The "Mason Corridor BRT - 65% - Signing & Pavement Marking Plan, Sheet 336 shows 16.3 feet between the lane line and the flow line. Therefore, it is concluded that the setback can be measured from the lane line. The 75 foot setback distance criteria allows for storage of at least three entering vehicles. It is likely that the 75 foot setback distance was established to cover the higher end of the parking lot daily volume`range of 1,00-760 AOT. The daily traffle (380-400) is at the. middle of this range, -At a setback distance of 75 feet, nine parking spaces would be eliminated in this proposed park! Jot. ' The actual setback distanbe `from the lane line, is, feet (16' + 19'). The distance between the lane line�and k" sidewalk is 26 feet. � This is enough room to store one vehidie without blocking the sidewalk: The current 35 foot setback will allow at least s one entering vehicle to occupy this space, without backing out to South Mason Street, if an unpacking maneuver occurs at the same time. The Saturday (daily) trip generation is conservatively estimated at 400 trip ends. This restaurant is in an area where off-street parking does not need to be provided with this development. However, the owner/developer would like to provide some off-street parking to accommodate patrons. The site plan shows 13 parking spaces. Two of these are handicap parking spaces. The highest peak hour trip generation occurs on a Saturday with 27 ingressing and 19 egressing vehicles in the peak hour of the generator. Due to its location, it is assumed that 60 percent of the patrons (vehicles) would seek to park in the lot provided. This would result in 16 ingressing vehicles and 11 egressing vehicles. The turnover at this type of restaurant is generally one hour or more. The 11 egressing vehicles can be accommodated in the parking lot. However, not all of the ingressing vehicles will find a parking space at this parking lot. Therefore, some vehicles will enter the lot and be required to turn around, exit to find parking elsewhere, if a parking space is not available in this lot. However, all 16 ingressing vehicles must be accounted for in the parking analysis. Unparking vehicles from the first six parking spaces will impact the ingressing vehicles. Based upon the 11 egressing vehicles in one hour, five vehicles may exit these six spaces in that one hour period. The 16 ingressing vehicles will enter the lot in a one hour period whether or not a parking space is available. These peak hour forecasts were used to determine the probability that two vehicles would enter the site at the same time that an unparking maneuver is occurring. If the probability that there would be two vehicles desiring to enter this access at the same time as an unparking maneuver from the first six parking spaces is small (say 5 percent chance), then the available distance (35 feet) would be deemed to be acceptable and worthy of consideration of a variance to the parking setback requirement. Given the peak hour traffic forecasts, the probability of two vehicles entering the South Mason Street access while an unparking maneuver is occurring in the first six parking spaces is less than one percent in highest peak hour. The foregoing discussion and analysis demonstrates that there is little likelihood that the existing setback distance (35 feet from the lane line) will cause vehicles to spill into South Mason Street. A variance of the parking setback distance is requested. The variance will have no impacts on the capital or maintenance costs to the City. The variance will not be detrimental to the public health, welfare and safety. It is respectfully requested that this variance be granted. Thank you. File: 1 is . J DehiW P.E. 4 Z41�4�, of F6rt`` May 18, 2011 Andre Mouton 119 North Loomis Fort Collins, CO 80521 RE: 415 S. Mason Variance Request Dear Andre, Planning, Development & Transportation Engineering Department 281 North College Avenue PO Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522-0580 970.221.6605 970.221.6378 - fax Your request to vary the 75' parking setback required by the current Larimer County Urban Area Street Standards has been approved for the 35' setback currently shown on the plan sets and proposed within the variance letter written by Matt Delich, P.E. Susan Joy Development Revi JnL CDNS, City of Fort Collins