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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES Estes Valley Planning Commission 2006-01-17I RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Regular Meeting of the Estes Valley Planning Commission January 17, 2006,1:30 p.m. Board Room, Estes Park Town Mali Commission: Attending: Also Attending: Absent: Chair Joyce Kitchen; Commissioners Wendell Amos, Ike Eisenlauer, George Hix, Betty Hull, Doug Klink, and Edward Pohl Commissioners Amos, Eisenlauer, Hix, Hull, Kitchen, Klink, and Pohl Town Attorney White, Town Board Liaison Homeier, Planner Chilcott, and Recording Secretary Roederer Director Joseph, Planner Shirk Chair Kitchen called the meeting to order at 1:30 p.m. The following minutes reflect the order of the agenda and not necessarily the chronological sequence of the meeting. 1. CONSENT AGENDA Estes Valley Planning Commission minutes dated December 20, 2005. It was moved and seconded (Hix/Hull) that the Consent Agenda be accepted, and the motion passed unanimously. 2. ELECTION OF OFFICERS Commissioner Hull nominated Commissioner Pohl for Chair. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Klink and it passed unanimously, with Commissioner Pohl abstaining. Commissioner Hix nominated Commissioner Hull for Vice-Chair. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Pohl and it passed unanimously, with Commissioner Hull abstaining. It was moved and seconded (Pohl/Hull) that the Community Development Department Administrative Assistant or designee be appointed as Recording Secretary, and the motion passed unanimously. PUBLIC COMMENT None. 4. REZONING, Metes and Bounds, Section 35, T5N, R73W of the 6th PM, 1640 Mary’s Lake Road, Applicant: Terri Adrian Hardy Planner Chilcott reviewed the staff report. She stated this is a request to rezone the applicant’s property from E-Estate to A-^-Accommodations in order to correct a zoning error that occurred during the 2000 comprehensive rezoning of the Estes Valley. Prior to the rezoning, the property was zoned A-Accommodations, as was all the property in the area. As a result of the rezoning, the properties in Ferguson’s Subdivision, which adjoins this tract on the north, were rezoned to E-Estate due to the single-family-residential character of that subdivision, while properties south of Ferguson’s Subdivision were rezoned to A-1-Accommodations. The current and historic use of the applicant’s property is not single-family as provided for under E-Estate zoning. There are two units on this single lot, which was rendered non-conforming by the 2000 rezoning. Both units were occupied until RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Estes Valley Planning Commission January 17, 2006 recently, when applicant’s father, Dwight Adrian, passed away. At the time the rezoning notifications were sent to property owners, Mr. Adrian, who owned the property at that time, was in poor health and did not respond to the notification. The rezoning request is consistent with the Estes Valley Comprehensive Plan and other relevant land-use plans. Adequate public facilities exist to serve both units on the property. Based on the lot size, the maximum allowable density is four units prior to site-specific adjustments. Planning staff recommends approval of the rezoning request. Public Comment: Lonnie Sheldon of Van Horn Engineering and Surveying was present to represent the applicant; he stated his support of staff’s recommendation for approval. It was moved and seconded (Klink/Hix) to recommend approval of the Rezoning of Metes and Bounds, Section 35, T5N, R73W of the 6th PM, from E- Estate to A-1-Accommodations to the Board of County Commissioners, and the motion passed unanimously. 5. SPECIAL REVIEW 06-01, Estes Park Medical Center, Hospital Addition, located in Section 25, T5N, R73W of the 6th PM, Applicant: Park Hospital District, Estes Park Medical Center Planner Chilcott reviewed the staff report. She stated this is a special review application to allow the Park Hospital District to expand and remodel their existing facilities at the Estes Park Medical Center. It will be reviewed by the Estes Park Town Board of Trustees. This is also a location and extent review, which means that the Park Hospital District can override a Town Board decision or a specific condition, provided they follow the procedures outlined in the Colorado Revised Statutes. The property is located at 555 Prospect Avenue and is approximately 9.3 acres in size. It is surrounded by residential uses and zoning. Although alternate sites were considered for the hospital, an addition to the existing building at the current location was the most cost-effective option. The most significant features of the expansion and remodel are as follows: 1. The main building is currently 87,254 square feet in size; an addition of approximately 60,000 square feet is proposed. 2. The new building and remodeled areas will meet current local, state, and federal requirements. This includes federal privacy requirements in addition to building code requirements. 3. The Estes Park Medical Center, which currently has sixteen hospital beds in ten rooms, one operating room, and one procedure room, will be expanded to twenty-two beds in twenty-two rooms, two new operating rooms, and one new procedure room. The old procedure room and operating room will be converted to other uses. 4. The Family Medical Clinic, which was built to house five physicians, but currently houses seven, will be expanded to house nine physicians. 5. One main entrance for all hospital services will be provided on the northeast side of the building in approximately the same location as the current entrance to the Family Medical Clinic. The upper entrance to the Estes Park Medical Center will remain but will not be the primary entrance. 6. The lower parking lot will be remodeled and expanded. Thirty-two parking spaces, including five accessible spaces, will be added, raising the total parking spaces from 182 to 214. No remodel or expansion of the upper parking lot is proposed. RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Estes Valley Planning Commission January 17, 2006 7. The main parking lot entrance will be relocated farther to the north along Fir Avenue, and a turn lane will be added. The existing entrance to the lower parking lot will be removed. 8. The right-of-way connection to Stanley Circle Drive will remain; however, asphalt will be removed and access will be blocked by a curb. Vehicular emergency use of the right-of-way will remain. 9. The Park Hospital District has requested that the Town enter into a lease agreement to allow the District to use the unoccupied Prospect Avenue right- of-way immediately north of the hospital for parking, access, and landscaping. The proposed term of the lease is twenty years with an option to extend the lease for an additional twenty-year term. The Public Works Committee reviewed the proposed lease on January 12, 2006 and recommended that Town Board approve the lease. It will be considered by Town Board in conjunction with the special review. 10. Sidewalk will be constructed along Fir Avenue. Staff has discussed a sidewalk connection across the parking lot from Fir Avenue to the main entrance. 11. A service area for loading and trash collection will be provided on the north side of the building. 12. The detention basin will be reshaped and resized. This basin drains a 45-acre portion of Prospect Mountain and is one of the largest detention basins in the Town. 13. The Park Hospital District requested variances to building setbacks, parking- lot setbacks, and building height. These requests were reviewed and unanimously approved by the Estes Valley Board of Adjustment at their January 10, 2006 meeting. No expansion of the Prospect Park Living Center is proposed. This skilled-nursing facility is licensed for sixty beds. The hospital currently has 250 employees; the number of employees is not expected to increase. The property is zoned RM-Multi-Family Residential, and the proposed uses of hospital and senior institutional living are permitted in this zoning district by special review. The proposed development complies with the applicable density and dimensional standards set forth in the Estes Valley Development Code (EVDC), with the exception of minimum building setbacks on the north and east sides, and maximum building height. The Estes Valley Board of Adjustment approved variance requests for these standards on January 10, 2006. The proposed floor-area ratio is approximately 37%, and the proposed impervious coverage is 53.3%. It should be noted that the proposed uses are not subject to the floor-area or impervious- coverage limits in the RM zoning district. A preliminary stormwater management/drainage report and a preliminary grading and drainage plan was submitted for review. The proposed detention pond is one of the largest in the Town and is one of the few that releases into an underground stormwater system. The pond will detain water from a 45-acre Prospect Mountain drainage basin in addition to drainage from the hospital site. The current detention basin will be removed; the proposed detention basin will be located in the northeast corner of the site. A ramp into the basin will be provided for maintenance access and a retaining wall with a maximum height of four feet above the adjacent sidewalk is proposed. The final drainage report and plans must be prepared in accordance with the recently adopted Larimer County Stormwater Design Standards, which include water-quality standards, and must be submitted prior to, or with, the building permit application. Sidewalk will be provided along Fir Avenue and Moccasin Circle Drive. Staff recommends providing a pedestrian connection from the sidewalk along the street to RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Estes Valley Planning Commission January 17, 2006 the main entrance of the hospital. The current design of the detention pond gives adequate room to provide this sidewalk connection. The Park Hospital District requested a variance to allow the proposed parking lot to be built up to the northern and eastern property lines in the locations shown on the development plan; the variance was approved by the Estes Valley Board of Adjustment on January 10, 2006. The required number of landscaped islands is not provided; however, given the unique use of the property and the constraints inherent in expanding and remodeling the existing facility, staff is supportive of the plan. The proposed number of trees and shrubs exceeds the EVDC landscaping requirements. Seventy-one trees are required and 126 are proposed; 172 shrubs are required and 188 are proposed. The location of trees and shrubs in the Prospect Avenue right-of-way is limited by the fact that plants cannot block future access to utilities in the northern portion of the right-of-way. It is also limited by the requirement that trees and shrubs be placed far enough from the parking lot to allow vehicles to overhang the curb without damaging the landscaping. These requirements leave a limited area in which to plant trees, and staff is supportive of the applicant’s landscaping plan. A total of 214 parking spaces are proposed; 199 are required. There will be no changes to the upper parking lot. The lower parking lot will be redesigned and increased from 93 to 125 parking spaces. Five more handicapped-accessible spaces are provided than are required, although some of the existing accessible spaces in the upper parking lot do not meet current standards. Also, the accessible spaces are proposed to be eight feet wide but are required to be nine feet wide; this may result in the loss of one proposed accessible space. Bicycle racks will also be provided. Pavement markings, including directional arrows, center turn lane at exit, pedestrian crosswalk, stop sign, and turn-lane divider line, should be provided at the main driveway entrance to the hospital, and should be reviewed and approved by Public Works. Staff recommends making the driveway in front of the main entrance one­ way. Parking-lot lighting is proposed, but no lighting is proposed along the northern district buffer, which is the area closest to neighboring residences. Although lights up to twenty-five-feet tall are permitted in parking lots with more than 100 spaces, the applicant proposes to limit the lights to 17.5 feet in height, helping to minimize the impact on nearby residences. Given the twenty-four-hour use of the hospital, staff does not recommend restricting the hours of parking-lot illumination. The applicant proposes two delivery areas. One will be on the north side of the building, close to the residential neighborhood; deliveries will be made between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Planning staff believes the hours are reasonable and should not result in conflicts with neighboring residences. A second delivery area will receive deliveries for the Dietary Department as early as 6:30 a.m. but is not located as close to neighboring residences. The applicant proposes to remove the Stanley Circle Drive connection, which will eliminate hospital traffic in this residential neighborhood. Staff has received many complaints over the years about this cut-through traffic. Adequate public facility improvements are required to be installed or guaranteed prior to issuance of the first building permit, and improvements are required to be installed concurrent with the impacts of the development. The lot is sen/ed by the Estes Park Sanitation District and by Town water. There will be significant upgrades to sewer, water, and electric lines, with final line sizes and capacities to be RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Estes Valley Planning Commission January 17, 2006 determined at the building permit stage. ISO calculations were routed to Fire Chief Scott Dorman; no concerns were expressed. The calculations show that the two new fire hydrants proposed, along with the two existing hydrants, will provide sufficient fire flow. All new electric lines will be placed underground, and an overhead line near the northern property line will be buried. A traffic impact analysis was submitted, estimating an increase of 272 vehicle trips per day. This would raise the daily trips generated by the hospital from 1,138 to 1,410, which Cornerstone Engineering and Surveying has stated is not a significant increase. The traffic impact analysis was based on the assumption that 153 of the 250 hospital employees will work on any given day. The hospital expansion will not result in an increased number of employees. The addition of a turn lane at the hospital entrance will improve safety. The submitted plans comply with road design and construction standards, except that the two southern driveways should have radii that are compliant with the standards and should have crosspans installed. The expansion and remodel will be completed in phases over a period of approximately eighteen months; construction is expected to begin in the spring of 2006. A detailed phasing plan addressing all aspects of construction, including paving, drainage, and landscaping, must be submitted with or prior to submittal of the building permit application. This request was submitted to all applicable reviewing agency staff and to adjacent neighbors for consideration and comment. Comments were received from the Town of Estes Park Department of Building Safety and Public Works Department, from Town Attorney Greg White, and from Estes Park Sanitation District. No comments were received from neighboring property owners. If the recommended conditions of approval are met, the development plan will comply with all applicable standards set forth in the Estes Valley Development Code and will be consistent with the policies, goals, and objectives of the Comprehensive Plan and any other relevant plans. The application mitigates, to the maximum extent feasible, potential adverse impacts on nearby land uses, public facilities and services, and the environment. Public Comment: Kerry Prochaska of Cornerstone Engineering and Surveying responded to a question from Commissioner Hull regarding the lack of lighting in the northern area of the lower parking lot. He stated the building architects had completed a lighting study that showed there will be enough foot-candles of light to provide adequate lighting in that area without the light shining onto neighboring properties. Commissioner Pohl questioned whether the third-floor portion of the proposed addition would interfere with the helicopter landing pad on the roof of the hospital. Mr. Prochaska stated it would not. Mr. Prochaska stated that work is in already in progress on the planning staff’s recommended conditions of approval, noting that given the magnitude of this 20- million-dollar project and only three variances requested, there will be minimal impact on the neighborhood. He stated the appliant expects to break ground in April, with building construction beginning in the summer and completion expected in the summer of 2007. Linda Thierrin, Estes Park Medical Center Adminstrator of Patient Care Services, stated the current building was built in 1975. The addition and remodel will provide for private rooms, an upgrade of the rehab program, improved operating rooms, and additional funding from Medicaid. She thanked the Commissioners for their consideration of the project. RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 2. 3. Estes Valley Planning Commission January 17, 2006 It was moved and seconded (Pohl/Hull) to recommend approval of the Special Review 06-01, Estes Park Medical Center, Hospital Addition, located in Section 25, T5N, R73W of the 6th PM, to the Estes Park Town Board of Trustees, with the findings and conditions recommended by staff, and the motion passed unanimously. CONDITIONS: 1. Compliance with Carolyn McEndaffer’s comments dated January 3, 2006. This may include relocation of the proposed sign at the Fir Avenue entrance. Compliance with the Engineering comments in Greg Sievers’ June 17, 2005 memo with the exception of Engineering comment #4 concerning sidewalk. A crosswalk shall be provided from the street to the main hospital entrance south of the detention basin. Address drainage comments with submittal of final drainage plans and report. The final report shall take into consideration off-site drainage. The development plan shall be revised to reflect the new detention basin design. Compliance with the comment in Greg White’s June 23, 2005 letter which states. This Development Plan contemplates development of a parking area along the north side of the property within the Town’s right- of-way. Approval of this Development Plan shall be contingent upon approval by the Town of Estes Park of a Lease Agreement with the Estes Park Hospital District for use of the Town’s right-of- way as contemplated in the Development Plan. 4. Compliance with the comments in Jim Duell’s letter to Alison Chilcott dated Dfe,cuemJber 114’ 2005- Comment #1 shall be addressed prior to Town Board review of the development plan. 5. The plan shall be revised to accurately reflect the proposed building size 6. The f,nal report and plans shall be submitted for review prior to, or with the rnMnh?<Sermlt afpli1?ati?n and shal1 “'aPly With the requirements in the Larimer County Stormwater Design Standards manual reftect L nerdete“:dMsbeUal' ThS draina9e rePOrt Sha" be Updated to 8' shail'matchnA 0n lhe P'an and ,he totals found in the Plan' SdWe thid;-onfalonVthealb0u!|^°Xt arS Sh°Wn a'°n9 n0r,hem b°Undary and 8o tba overheng, see proposedlighting hSght of ie7.50fe2.rn'n9 li9h,in9 Sha" be reViSed t0 re,ledt tha RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Estes Valley Planning Commission January 17, 2006 6. REPORTS None. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 2:17 p.m. itchen, Chair ulie/Roederer/Recordipg Secretary