Body
Department of
Reference: Bromley Park PUD, 16th Amendment (Major)
To: Mayor Richard N. McLean and Members of City Council
Through: Manuel Esquibel, City Manager
Prepared By: Cathy Sexton, Associate City Planner
Date Prepared: December 23, 2014
PURPOSE
The applicant, Marc Savela, on behalf of Brookfield Residential (Colorado) LLC, is requesting approval of an application to amend the Bromley Park PUD for the property known as a part of the Brighton Crossing Filing No. 3 Subdivision, which is generally located south of Bridge Street, east of the Mt. Elbert Street alignment, west of South 50th Avenue, and north of the Village Subdivision (AKA Northgate). The amendment would clarify and more accurately describe the land use designation within the Bromley Park PUD as Single Family Detached and Single Family Attached (no more than two units attached). The amendment would also revise certain dimensional standards, revise some of the residential design standards, and provide the allowance for side yard use easements. Section 17-8-80 and Section 17-16-110 of the Land Use and Development Code require a PUD Amendment to be reviewed and approved by the City Council at a first and second reading by ordinance.
BACKGROUND/SUMMARY
The original Bromley Park PUD, which applied to approximately 435.259 acres and contained land use designations of Single Family Detached, Single Family Attached, Multi-Family, Commercial, and Industrial, was approved by City Council on December 16, 1986. The proposed PUD Amendment revises the Bromley Park PUD where it applies to the approximately 72.23 acre residential portion of the Brighton Crossing Filing No. 3 Subdivision that is still constructing houses, and contains 398 residential lots that vary in size. The PUD in this area currently allows for single family detached and single family attached uses of which both types of houses have been constructed. The existing single family attached products are single family houses attached by a shed or contain a detached garage attached to a neighbor's detached garage. This subdivision also contains alleys that service many of the residential lots, thus providing the option for alternate loaded garages.
The proposed PUD Amendment is intended to continue to allow for single family detached and single family attached uses but clarifies that the Single Family Attached designation is limited to no more than two units per building and the proposed Amendment does not contain a definitive boundary that separates the Single Family Detached designation from the Single Family Attached designation in most areas that have not yet been developed in order to provide for flexibility throughout the subdivision. The proposed PUD Amendment reduces the minimum lot area and lot width requirements for single family detached uses to allow for single family detached houses on the smaller platted lots that were originally intended for single family attached units. The proposed Amendment would also allow for the establishment of side yard use easements that would provide larger side yards by utilizing a portion of the neighbor's lot. The PUD Amendment would also reduce the rear setback requirement for houses that are adjacent to an alley, address setbacks for principal and accessory structures, address height limitations, increase the maximum square footage allowed for accessory structures, and revise some of the residential design standards in regards to the repetition of the same plan, roof colors, rear elevation requirements, and criteria used to determine if a house plan is substantially different than another plan.
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN:
The Comprehensive Plan, Figure 4: Future Land Use Plan, shows the Property as being appropriate for "Medium Density Residential" land uses and Figure 5: Planning Areas, shows the Property as being within the "Bromley Park Area."
LAND USE AND DEVELOPMENT CODE:
Section 17-16-110-(d)-(12)-(b) Amending an Approved PUD Plan, the revisions to the land use, as proposed in the PUD amendment, would be considered, "Alterations to a PUD plan exceeding the limits established above (items noted under Section 17-16-110-(a)-1-5) or any change in the category of use shall be reviewed by the Planning Commission and City Council according to the completed PUD plan review procedure."
BROMLEY PARK PUD:
The Bromley Park PUD requires that a Major PUD Amendment be reviewed by the Planning Commission and City Council. A PUD Amendment is considered major when a development standard or requirement is altered by more than 10%.
ANALYSIS
Land Use Designation:
The current Bromley Park PUD designates the land uses for the Property as Single Family Detached and Single Family Attached. The proposed Amendment would limit the Single Family Attached designation to no more than two units per attached product as there is currently not a limit and would allow the flexibility to construct either single family detached or single family attached houses in most residential areas of the subdivision that have not yet been developed. The current PUD allows duplexes within the Single Family Detached land use designation, however does not contain setbacks for duplexes on separate lots. Therefore, adding the Single Family Attached (no more than two units attached) designation clarifies the types of uses allowed and establishes the applicable setbacks for this use in the proposed PUD Amendment area.
Dimensional Standards:
The current PUD requires a minimum lot size of 4,000 square feet with the allowance that up to twenty percent of lots in an area may be 3,600 square feet for single family detached lots. The proposed Amendment allows for a minimum lot size of 3,400 square feet. The current PUD requires that the minimum width of an interior lot be 40' and 60' for corner lots for single family lots. The proposed Amendment would require a minimum width of 31' for interior lots and 41' for corner lots. The proposed reductions in required lot size and lot width would allow for the construction of single family houses on smaller lots. The houses currently constructed on these smaller lots are connected by a shed or shared detached garages but otherwise appear and function as single family houses. The increase of maximum square footage allowed for accessory structures from 400 square feet to 600 square feet would accommodate the construction of detached garages with adequate room to park vehicles. The current PUD does not address maximum height limitations or setback requirements for accessory structures so the proposed Amendment addresses these requirements. The proposed Amendment reduces the rear setback requirement to 7' from an alley, therefore, it should not create a major visual impact. Many of the existing detached garages are setback 7' from the alley. The proposed Amendment also provides the 0' side setback for single family attached houses. The PUD currently requires a 50' sight triangle, a measurement used for arterial streets in the City's previous standards, and the proposed Amendment would revert to the current City of Brighton standards in regards to the sight triangle measurements. This change may create additional usable area for some lots while applying a more current and relevant method of measurement and will also provide consistency in regards to how sight triangles are measured throughout the City.
Side Yard Use Easements:
The builder, Brookfield Residential, proposes to build a product that would extend most of the length of a lot, thereby reducing the area provided for a rear yard. The side yard use easement would be established to allow for the use of a neighbor's side yard, which increases a lot's usable yard area. An easement would have to be established and recorded prior to building permit submittal and the HOA or Metro District would be responsible for disputes that may arise from these side yard easements. It should be noted that this is a concept being implemented in other jurisdictions throughout Colorado.
Residential Design Standards:
The proposed Amendment also revises some of the City of Brighton Residential Design Standards (RDS) in regards to roof colors, repetition of house plans, variation in the rear elevation, and the criteria used to determine the differences in house plans. The current requirement for roof colors is that four different roof colors are provided throughout the subdivision, and the proposed Amendment would require different roof color standards for the different housing types (please see PUD document for further detail). The RDS currently contains requirements for repeating houses based on the house plan and does not take into consideration the various elevations a plan may have; therefore, the proposed Amendment would address this issue by considering differing elevation in lot placement requirements. The RDS also contains a requirement that variation in the rear elevation must be provided for all two story houses. The Brighton Crossing Subdivision contains alleys and most of the houses are constructed with detached garages or alley loaded garages, which already creates variations or blocks the sight of a variation. Therefore, the PUD Amendment addresses these unique situations with revised requirements. The proposed Amendment also reduces the amount of criteria that must be met when determining if house plans differ substantially and also address additional criteria that may be considered. With the proposed changes, the intent of the Residential Design Standards is being met as there are varying housing types within the subdivision that reduce monotony and create a pleasant streetscape.
The Comprehensive Plan:
Figure 4: Future Land Use Plan designates the Property as being appropriate for "Medium Density Residential (2.5-5 DU/A)" land uses. The proposed PUD Amendment does not increase the density from what has already been approved for this area. Figure 5: Planning Areas shows the Property as being located within the "Bromley Park" Planning Area. The Bromley Park Planning Area is intended to join together the Bromley Park area with the rest of the City through the connection of roads and trails and by transferring the small town character with the use of design characteristics such as detached sidewalks, front porches and a variety of styles and colors, and by encouraging the implementation of the vision of a village with different and distinct character. The proposed PUD Amendment would allow for more variety in the housing type, and smaller lot sizes, which provides a different character and accomplishes the intent of these policies.
PUBLIC NOTICE
The Planning Commission held a public hearing on December 9, 2014. At the public hearing, the Planning Commission passed a resolution (Resolution #14-10) recommending to the City Council approval of the PUD Amendment request with a condition (please see the attached Resolution #14-10). The condition has been addressed and the changes are reflected on the PUD plan.
Notification of the City Council public hearing was mailed to all property owners within 300' of the Property on December 22, 2014, published in the Banner on December 25, 2014, and posted on the Property on December 22, 2014, all for no less than fifteen (15) days prior to the date of the public hearing. To date, staff has received no public comments (outside public comments made at the Planning Commission meeting).
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff finds that the PUD Amendment conforms to the approval criteria for a PUD Amendment as set forth in the Land Use and Development Code and the Bromley Park PUD. Staff also finds that the proposed PUD Amendment conforms to the Comprehensive Plan's designation of the Property as being appropriate for "Medium Density Residential" and the Planning Area as the Bromley Park Area. Therefore, staff has prepared an ordinance approving the Bromley Park PUD, 16th Amendment (Major).
CRITERIA BY WHICH COUNCIL MUST CONSIDER THE ITEM
· Comprehensive Plan
· Land Use and Development Code
OPTIONS FOR COUNCIL CONSIDERATION
· Approve the PUD Amendment request.
· Approve the PUD Amendment request with conditions.
· Deny the PUD Amendment with specific findings to justify denial.
ATTACHMENTS
· Vicinity Map
· Planning Commission Resolution
· City Council Ordinance (Draft)
· Bromley Park PUD, 16th Amendment (Major)