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Home My WebLink AboutSTAFF REPORT 362 E Elkhorn East River Walk Condos Variance 2003-07 362 East Elkhorn Avenue Lot 1, Amd. Plat of Lot 1 Mountain Man Sub. Setback and Off-Street Parking Variance Request Estes Park Community Development Department Municipal Building, 170 MacGregor Avenue PO Box 1200 Estes Park, CO 80517 Phone: 970-577-3721 Fax: 970-586-0249 www.estesnet.com I.PROJECT OVERVIEW DATE OF BOA MEETING: September 9, 2003 REQUEST: The petitioner requests a variance to Estes Valley Development Code Section 4.4.C.1, Table 4-5 “Density and Dimensional Standards Nonresidential Zoning Districts” which requires a maximum setback of sixteen feet from the front property line in the “CD” Downtown Commercial zoning district. The petitioner also requests a variance to EVDC Section 4.4.D.3, Table 4-7 “Vehicular Access and Circulation Requirements Nonresidential Zoning Districts” which requires that off-street parking shall not be located between the lot line and the building line facing an arterial or collector street in the “CD” zoning district. LOCATION: The site is located at 362 East Elkhorn Avenue within the Town of Estes Park. Legal Description: Amended Plat of Lot 1, Mountain Man Subdivision (East Riverwalk Center Condominiums, Reception #92035839) PETITIONER:Ross Stephen, RMNP RMNP Fall River - Entrance Cornerstone Engineering and EVDC Boundary 34 USFS (Eagle / Rock Mac Gregor Ranch Surveying (970-586-2458) 34 (/ RMNP Lake Estes Beaver Meadows Entrance PROPERTY OWNER: Pika 36 ( / 36 (/ Rocky Prospect Mt.36 36 7( / Properties, LLC, Mike Whipp, ( Mountain/ USFS National USFS Park Home Away From Home, Inc. c/o Marys Lake YMCA Conference Grounds Mike Whipp/Pika Properties, LLC USFS Cheley USFS Camps 7 (/ STAFF CONTACT: Alison RMNP EVDC Boundary Lily Lake Chilcott APPLICABLE LAND USE CODE: Estes Valley Development Code (EVDC) II.PROJECT DESCRIPTION/BACKGROUND The petitioner requests a variance to Estes Valley Development Code Section 4.4.C.1, Table 4-5 “Density and Dimensional Standards Nonresidential Zoning Districts” which requires a maximum setback of sixteen feet from the front property line in the “CD” Downtown Commercial zoning district. Specifically, this is a request for a variance to allow a building to be constructed as shown on East Riverwalk Condominiums Development Plan #03-09. The setback will vary from a minimum of eighty feet to a maximum of 115 feet from the front (northern) property line. This exceeds the maximum allowable front setback of sixteen feet. The petitioner also requests a variance to EVDC Section 4.4.D.3, Table 4-7 “Vehicular Access and Circulation Requirements Nonresidential Zoning Districts” which requires that off-street parking shall not be located between the lot line and the building line facing an arterial or collector street in the “CD” zoning district. This is a request to allow a twenty-four space parking lot to be constructed between the front property line and proposed building. The Estes Valley Planning Commission conditionally approved the East Riverwalk Condominium Development Plan #03-09 at their August 19, 2003 meeting. One of the conditions of approval is “The development plan shall be conditioned on Board of Adjustment approval of the variance request” to the sixteen foot maximum setback and the off-street parking requirement. The development plan shows the proposed remodel of the existing building at 362 East Elkhorn Avenue, labeled the Whipp/Hill Building on the development plan and construction of a new building on the southeast portion of the lot, labeled the Whipp Building. The existing parking lot will be reduced from fifty-five/fifty six spaces to twenty-four spaces. The lot size is 1.17 acres (50,965 square feet) and is zoned “CD” Downtown Commercial. The letter of intent submitted by Cornerstone Engineering and Surveying, Inc. provides a detailed description of the project and is included in the Board of Adjustment packets along with the statement of intent for the variance request. Page #2 – 362 East Elkhorn Avenue East Riverwalk Center Condominiums, Lot 1 of the Amended Plat of Lot 1, Mountain Man Subdivision Front Yard Setback and Off-Street Parking Variance Request III.SITE DATA 50,965.2 square feet per Development Plan Number of Lots One Parcel Number(s) 3525125001 to 3525125003 and 3525126004 to 3525126006 Gross Land Area 1.17 acres (50,965.2 sq. ft.) per Development Plan #03-09 Existing Zoning “CD” Downtown Commercial Proposed Zoning“CD” Downtown Commercial Existing Land Use Retail Establishments/Eating/Drinking Establishments Proposed Land Use Retail Establishments, Eating/Drinking Establishments, Office and/or Residential ADJACENT ZONING AND LAND USE Adjacent ZoningAdjacent Land Use North“CD” Downtown CommercialRetail, Eating/Drinking Establishment, and Office South “CD” Downtown CommercialTwo undeveloped lots owned by State of Colorado Highway Department and a lot placed into a conservation easement with the Estes Valley Land Trust East “CD” Downtown CommercialTwo undeveloped lots owned by State of Colorado Highway Department “E” Estate Single-Family Residential West“CD” Downtown CommercialRetail , Eating/Drinking Establishment, and Office – Shops at Riverwalk East Condominiums Note: Adjacent land uses are based on information on the Larimer County website. SERVICES Water Town of Estes Park Sewer Estes Park Sanitation District Fire Protection Town of Estes Park Volunteer Fire Department Gas Xcel Energy Company Electric Town of Estes Park Telephone Qwest Page #3 – 362 East Elkhorn Avenue East Riverwalk Center Condominiums, Lot 1 of the Amended Plat of Lot 1, Mountain Man Subdivision Front Yard Setback and Off-Street Parking Variance Request Page #4 – 362 East Elkhorn Avenue East Riverwalk Center Condominiums, Lot 1 of the Amended Plat of Lot 1, Mountain Man Subdivision Front Yard Setback and Off-Street Parking Variance Request East Riverwalk Condominium Development Plan #03-09 IV.REVIEW CRITERIA All variance applications shall demonstrate compliance with the standards and criteria set forth in Chapter 3.6.C and all other applicable provisions of the Estes Valley Development Code. This variance request does not fall within the parameters of staff level review,and will be reviewed by the Estes Valley Board of Adjustment. V.REFFERAL COMMENTS This request has been submitted to all applicable reviewing agency staff and property owners within 100 feet of the property for consideration and comment. The following reviewing agency staff and/or neighbors submitted comments. Estes ParkBuilding Department See Will Birchfield’s memo to Alison Chilcottdated September 2, 2003. Estes Park Public Works Department See Greg Siever’s memo to Alison Chilcott dated August 19,2003. Page #5–362 East Elkhorn Avenue East Riverwalk Center Condominiums, Lot 1 of the Amended Plat of Lot 1, Mountain Man Subdivision Front Yard Setback and Off-Street Parking Variance Request Town Attorney See Greg White’s letter to Alison Chilcott dated August 28, 2003. VI.STAFF FINDINGS Staff finds: 1. Special circumstances or conditions exist (e.g., exceptional topographic conditions, narrowness, shallowness or the shape of the property) that are not common to other areas or buildings similarly situated and practical difficulty may result from strict compliance with this Code’s standards, provided that the requested variance will not have the effect of nullifying or impairing the intent and purposes of either the specific standards, this Code or the Comprehensive Plan. Staff Finding:There are special circumstances associated with this lot that are not common to other lots in the “CD” zoning district that face an arterial or community collector street, e.g. East and West Elkhorn Avenue, MacGregor Avenue, Moraine Avenue, and East Riverside Drive. As shown on the location map in Section III of this report, this is the first lot on the southern side of East Elkhorn Avenue in the “CD” zoning district. As such, setting the proposed building more than sixteen feet from the property line will have less impact on the character of the zoning district than setting a building in the middle of the street block back more than sixteen feet from the front property line would, e.g. the Range Realty building on East Elkhorn Avenue. Also, the size and shape of this lot makes it more difficult to both meet the front property line setback requirements and build close to the riverwalk, without building asignificantly larger building and eliminating parking. The lot is much larger and wider than most lots in the “CD” district that border the riverwalk. On this lot, given a choice between building close to the street or close to the river, staff prefers developing close to the river since it will increase the vitality of the riverwalk. 2. In determining "practical difficulty," the BOA shall consider the following factors: Page #6 – 362 East Elkhorn Avenue East Riverwalk Center Condominiums, Lot 1 of the Amended Plat of Lot 1, Mountain Man Subdivision Front Yard Setback and Off-Street Parking Variance Request a. Whether there can be any beneficial use of the property without the variance. Staff Finding: There can be a beneficial use of the property without the variance. The existing buildings and uses can remain. b. Whether the variance is substantial. Staff Finding: This is a request for a variance to allow a building to be constructed as shown on East Riverwalk Condominiums Development Plan #03-09. The setback will vary from a minimum of eighty feet to a maximum of 115 feet from the front (northern) property line which exceeds the maximum allowable front setback of sixteen feet. This is a substantial variance. However, since this is the first lot in the “CD” zoning district on the southern side of East Elkhorn Avenue setting the building more than sixteen feet from the front property line has less impact on the character of the zoning district than approval of a similar variance elsewhere in the district. In other locations, approval of a similar variance may be detrimental to the character of the neighborhood and may be more substantial. The petitioner also requests a variance to EVDC Section 4.4.D.3, Table 4-7 which requires that off-street parking shall not be located between the lot line and the building line facing an arterial or collector street in the “CD” zoning district. This is a substantial variance request because all proposed parking would be built between the lot line and building line. c. Whether the essential character of the neighborhood would be substantially altered or whether adjoining properties would suffer a substantial detriment as a result of the variance. Staff Finding: The remodel of the existing building, development of the proposed building and parking lot redesign shown on Development Plan #03-09 will improve the entranceway to the “CD” Downtown Commercial zoning district. Adjoining property owners have not contacted staff to comment on this proposal and staff is not aware of their opinions about the variance request. Page #7 – 362 East Elkhorn Avenue East Riverwalk Center Condominiums, Lot 1 of the Amended Plat of Lot 1, Mountain Man Subdivision Front Yard Setback and Off-Street Parking Variance Request d. Whether the variance would adversely affect the delivery of public services such as water and sewer. Staff Finding: The variance will not affect the delivery of public services. e. Whether the Applicant purchased the property with knowledge of the requirement. Staff Finding: Per a conversation with Ross Stephen, Cornerstone Engineering and Surveying, Inc., on September 3, 2003, the applicant purchased the property prior to the February 1, 2000 effective date of the Estes Valley Development Code without knowledge of the setback requirements. f. Whether the Applicant's predicament can be mitigated through some method other than a variance. Staff Finding: Development Plan #03-09 cannot be approved without the variances. The applicant could redesign the plan, locating the proposed building near the front property line and the parking near the riverwalk. 3. No variance shall be granted if the submitted conditions or circumstances affecting the Applicant's property are of so general or recurrent a nature as to make reasonably practicable the formulation of a general regulation for such conditions or situations. Staff Finding: The submitted conditions or circumstances affecting the applicant's property are not of so general or recurrent a nature as to make reasonably practicable the formulation of a general regulation for such conditions or situations. 4. No variance shall be granted reducing the size of lots contained in an existing or proposed subdivision if it will result in an increase in the number of lots beyond the number otherwise permitted for the total subdivision, pursuant to the applicable zone district regulations. Staff Finding: The variances, if granted, will not reduce the size of the lot. 5. If authorized, a variance shall represent the least deviation from the regulations that will afford relief. Page #8 – 362 East Elkhorn Avenue East Riverwalk Center Condominiums, Lot 1 of the Amended Plat of Lot 1, Mountain Man Subdivision Front Yard Setback and Off-Street Parking Variance Request Staff Finding: The variances, if granted, offers the least deviation from the regulations that will afford relief to buildthe proposed building and parking lot. 6. Under no circumstances shall the BOA grant a variance to allow a use not permitted, or a use expressly or by implication prohibited under the terms of this Code for the zone district containing the property for which the variance is sought. Staff Finding: The use is permitted. 7. In granting this variance, the BOA may require such conditions as will, in its independent judgment, secure substantially the objectives of the standards varied or modified. 8. This request has been submitted to all applicable reviewing agency staff for consideration and comment. All letters and memo’s submitted by reviewing agency staff, referred to in Section V of this staff report, are incorporated as staff findings. 9. Per EVDC §3.6.D, failure of an applicant to apply for a building permit and commence construction or action with regard to the variance approval within one (1) year of receiving approval of the variance shall automatically render the decision of the Board of Adjustment null and void. VII. STAFF RECOMMENDATION 1. Staff recommends APPROVAL of a variance a variance to Estes Valley Development Code Section 4.4.C.1, Table 4-5 “Density and Dimensional Standards Nonresidential Zoning Districts” which requires a maximum setback of sixteen feet from the front property line in the “CD” Downtown Commercial zoning district to allow a building to be constructed as shown on East Riverwalk Condominiums Development Plan #03-09. 2. Staff recommends APPROVAL of a variance to EVDC Section 4.4.D.3, Table 4-7 which requires that off-street parking shall not be located between the lot line and the building line facing an arterial or collector street in the “CD” zoning district to allow construction of a parking lot as shown on Development Plan #03-09. Page #9 – 362 East Elkhorn Avenue East Riverwalk Center Condominiums, Lot 1 of the Amended Plat of Lot 1, Mountain Man Subdivision Front Yard Setback and Off-Street Parking Variance Request