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HomeMy WebLinkAboutKECHTER TOWNHOMES - FDP210002 - SUBMITTAL DOCUMENTS - ROUND 3 - VARIANCE REQUEST301 N. Howes Street, Suite 100, Fort Collins, CO 80521 970.221.4158 www.northernengineering.com Administrative Engineering Variance Request Letter Date: April 7, 2021 Revised April 27, 2021 Project: Kechter Townhomes Project No. 1664-003 Fort Collins, Colorado Attn: Mr. Dave Betley, PE City of Fort Collins | Engineering Development Review 281 North College Avenue Fort Collins, Colorado 80524 Dear Mr. Betley: Public safety and convenience, maintaining public use, and optimizing the use of limited physical capacity of right-of-way are among the objectives of the Larimer County Urban Area Street Standards (LCUASS) – Repealed and Reenacted April 1, 2007. It is with those considerations in mind that this variance request letter has been prepared. This letter is provided pursuant to Section 9.3.7 of LCUASS to document a proposed site condition that does not comply with the current standards. The criterion in question is the width of the driveways. Section 9.3.7 requires that the width of a residential driveway approaches shall have a minimum width of 12 feet and a maximum width of 24 feet. As related to the Kechter Townhome project, the single family attached townhomes share driveways to the maximum extent practical. These shared driveways have a combined width of approximately 20-ft wide (10-ft for each unit). For select end units, the project is not able combine the driveways and these units have driveways approximately 10-ft in width. In all cases, the driveways are the width of the garage. The conditions above and this variance request applies to all the lots associated with the project. Due to the dense nature of this project and the goal to provide as many income deed restricted units as possible, the reduced width of the driveways is required to provide additional space for street trees, allow for as much on- street parking as possible, and allow for the placement of water meter pits in landscaped areas as required by the Fort Collins Loveland Water District. The density and income deed restrictions included with this project allows it to meet several City Plan Principles and Policies listed below, including: Policy LIV 5.5 Integrate and Distribute Affordable Housing Integrate the distribution of affordable housing as part of individual neighborhoods and the larger community rather than creating larger concentrations of affordable units in isolated areas Policy LIV 6.4 Permanent Supply of Affordable Housing Create an inventory of affordable housing consistent with the Affordable Housing Strategic Plan. Policy LIV 7.2 – Develop an Adequate Supply of Housing Encourage public and private for- profit and non-profit sectors to take actions to develop and maintain an adequate supply of single- and multiple-family housing, including mobile homes and manufactured housing. 301 N. Howes Street, Suite 100, Fort Collins, CO 80521 970.221.4158 www.northernengineering.com Policy LIV 7.4 – Maximize Land for Residential Development Permit residential development in most neighborhoods and districts in order to maximize the potential land available for development of housing and thereby positively influence housing affordability. Principle LIV 8: The City will encourage the creation and expansion of affordable housing opportunities and preservation of the existing affordable housing supply. Policy LIV 8.3 – Offer Incentives Support and encourage the private development of affordable housing by offering incentives, such as special assistance to offset the costs of the City’s impact fees and development requirements, air rights, energy saving features, and reducing local government barriers to the construction of and the rehabilitation of affordable housing units. Policy LIV 8.5 – Integrate and Distribute Affordable Housing Encourage the integration and distribution of affordable housing as part of individual neighborhoods and the larger community rather than creating larger concentrations of affordable units in isolated areas. Without this driveway variance, it will impair the project’s ability to meet the City’s other design criteria and affordable housing goals. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions at 970.819.2742. Sincerely, On behalf of Northern Engineering Ryan Spaustat, PE