1 2 3 At the last TTF meeting at the end of April, the TTF reached - - PDF document

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At the last TTF meeting at the end of April, the TTF reached a consensus recommendation on the draft zoning and directed staff to put it out in a draft for public review and feedback. I’m going to summarize the public comment process, and what we heard. Notice of the Public Review Draft was:

• Posted on our website at denvergov.org/cherrycreek
• Discussed in multiple local newspaper articles

Discussed in multiple local newspaper articles

• Advertised in multiple email blasts to our email list
• Mailed in postcards to every property owner who will be rezoned
• And further meetings were held, as I’ll describe.

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We contacted all RNOs in the area to come to their meetings and personally explain the draft, and take questions. Four RNOs took us up on the offer, as you can see

• here. The meeting were summarized in your packets. Discussion topics ranged

from parking to opt-ins, from uses to building design. 5

Staff hosted office hours at the Denver Public Library branch across the street to allow people the opportunity to discuss their properties and learn more in a more informal, one-on-one setting.

• Three sessions
• Different times of day
• Mix of attendees (property owners, adjacent residents, etc)

General input is reflected on the slide General input is reflected on the slide. 6

City staff also hosted an open house and public meeting.

• Spanned across the afternoon and evening to accommodate different people’s

schedules

• Multiple formats to allow more engagement:
• Open house for informal conversations on boards – some came and went
• Formal presentation by staff
• Group conversations about zoning topics
• Then opened the floor for feedback from all at once too.
• Those in attendance expressed support as indicated on the slide. They also raised

many topics not in the zoning, such as parking management 7

Some of the zoning concerns raised included these. 8

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• We wanted to start by reminding everyone of the universe of small lots on the

south side of 3rd Avenue:

• 11 total lots sized 6,250 SF or less
• 5 oriented north-south (with 50’ or less of frontage on 3rd) and 6 oriented

east-west 11

• This map shows all of the lots sized 6,250 SF or less in the district. The 11 on the

south side of 3rd are within the area impacted by the 3rd Ave solar bulk plane, shown here in purple. 12

• Before walking through the comments received about small lots, we wanted to

remind everyone what the draft code already does to provide flexibility for small lots

• n the south side of 3rd Avenue. As I’m sure you all remember, you spent a lot of

time throughout the process discussing the unique circumstance of these lots and the desire to balance two important goals from the plan: (1) encourage small lot reinvestment and prevent the assembly of smaller lots (2) preserve sunlight along 3rd Avenue

• The draft code divides the small lot building forms into two groups – small lots
• riented north-south and small lots oriented east-west
• This image shows the base option for lots oriented north-south. They are permitted

to go up to 3 stories – essentially the bulk plane does not apply 13

• For lots oriented east-west, the base scenario requires general compliance with

the bulk plane, except that the building may go up to 3 stories for a max of 50 feet along 3rd Ave. The 50’ could be configured in a variety of ways. Here it is shown split between the two sides of the building. Note that a small strip of building can still fit in the rear of the 3rd story and be compliant with the bulk plane 14

• This image shows another potential configuration. In this case, the 50 feet

exempted from the bulk plane, with a max of 3 stories, is shown on one end of the buidling. 15

• The draft code also has building form options for small lots that incentivize private
• wners to provide open space on their lot.
• This image shows the open space option for lots oriented north-south. Essentially,

they may go up to 3 stories for the first 57 feet south of 3rd, and then up to 5 stories in height. To use this form, the owner must provide at least 15% open space on the lot (with minimum contiguous area of 15 feet by 15 feet) 16

• For lots oriented east-west, the open space form allows the entire building to go up

to 3 stories in exchange for providing 20% of the lot as open space. 17

With that background, I’ll tee up the 3 questions for you to consider in response to the public feedback, not staff.

• Mr. Bagher, who you heard from at your last meeting, posed the first issue, seen

here. 18

• This is a reminder of what Sarah showed you in the draft code – a building with 5’

setbacks on both street sides 19

• Setbacks are best understood at the sidewalk level, so we’ve zoomed in here to

look at the 3rd Avenue sidewalk along that theoretical building. This shows what might be built if a development maxed out its buildable area to the 5’ setback line. 20

• This image shows the setback environment if you agreed with the public feedback

to remove the 5’ setback along the 3rd Avenue side to provide the additional developable square footage for small corner lots on the south side of 3rd. 21

The 2nd issue that was raised also comes from Mr. Bagher. He suggests exempting these lots from the solar access bulk plane. Staff adds the 2nd question – if you agree with him and remove the bulk plane, what then would be the maximum height allowed? 22

• Again I’ll start with your draft code, which Sarah showed earlier. Looking east

along 3rd Avenue, so south is to the right. This first series shows shadow impact on the winter solstice; in a minute I’ll also show summer solstice. 23

• Staff had to assume a new maximum height, so we modeled this theoretical

building at 4 stories, consistent with the Cherry Creek Area Plan maximum height

• recommendation. If you remove the solar access bulk plane, this is the building,

and the impact of its shadow at 12 noon on winter solstice. 24

• Same as before, this shows your draft code at the summer solstice

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• And this is the proposal for no bulk plane, assuming 4 stories, at summer solstice.

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The 3rd and final small lot issue came from a different property owner on the south side of 3rd Avenue. He wrote an email, which was in the meeting packet. (see above) 27

• So once again, this is your current draft at 12 noon on the winter solstice

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• And here is the proposal. On the right, you can see the 50’ lot width that can now

go to 4 stories, while the rest of the lot still has to follow the bulk plane.

• On the north side, the shadow impact on the sidewalk is the same, but the portion
• f the shadow that crosses the sidewalk goes farther up the building face.

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• Again, in the summer, this is your draft code

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• And this shows the proposal at the summer solstice, 4 stories for 50’ wide.
• In summary:
• 1. 5’ setback
• 2. No bulk plane
• 3. Keep bulk plane, but allow the 50’ exception to go up to 4 stories.

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• We will now discuss another topic that came up through public comment. This

relates to patios on the upper levels of buildings that are next to lower-density residential neighborhoods, which are called “protected districts” in the code. The concern that arose is that rooftop patios could create noise and allow for people to see into the yards of neighboring homes. 32

• The code treats upper-level patios in the same manner throughout the city

wherever commercial or mixed use areas abut lower density areas. This happens throughout the city in many areas, especially along mixed use corridors like Colfax

• The code requires any outdoor patio used for dining that is within 50 feet of a

protected district to go through a special exception review process. This requires a public hearing in front of the BOA. If the BOA approves the use, they may require certain conditions and may only grant hours of operation after 6pm “with id ti ” f i hb i ti it th t f d i k b i consideration” of neighboring uses, seating capacity, the type of drinks being served, and the noise created by the activity

• City’s noise control ordinance also applies to any property.

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• Any rooftop patio, whether for outdoor dining from restaurant, or for private use by

an office or residence, must comply with the required protected district setbacks.

• This image shows the protected district setbacks that are required when there is

no alley between the building zoned C-CCN and the protected district. 34

• This image shows how the building height would have to be reduced in order to

place an upper-story patio within the setback area. This is because the setback area does not allow safety railings, which would be required for any patio by building code.

• So, in order to fit the rooftop patio, the building has to drop one story in order to

make room for the safety railing

• NOTE: the residential property next to you would also be allowed to place a

rooftop deck on the roof of their property

• These rules apply throughout the city as a way to ensure appropriate transitions to

protected districts 35

Our last topic is actually brought to you by staff. We realized as we drafted the technical language that we needed clarity from you on the definition of the upper story mass reduction. 36

As you’ll recall there is a 25% upper story mass reduction required above 31’ for medium and large lots. But what exactly could be allowed within that mass reduction? Note elements here such as safety railings, unenclosed open structures, and balconies. The only Guiding Document that addresses this topic is the Urban Form Study. While the mass reduction is not in the Urban Forms Study, similar concepts such as the notch and the side interior upper story setbacks are addressed. The Urban Form St d id th t b l i h ld t b ll d i th i d t ll Study said that balconies should not be allowed in these areas, in order to allow views and light, but it did not address other building elements. Perhaps it would make sense for a residential building to have an amenity deck or parapets.

• Elsewhere in the code we typically note minor encroachments. Some of these

elements would typically be allowed above the maximum height of a structure, for l example. 37

This section diagram shows how staff drafted the code. In the interest of transparency, we wanted to provide the opportunity for the task force to either change or confirm this approach. Consistent with the Urban Form Study, the mass reduction was drafted to not allow balconies. However, parapets, safety railings, and open structures such as trellises above the 2-story, 31’ max base would be allowed. 38

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We will begin by providing a brief overview of the opt-in process agreed to by the task force 41

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• At your last meeting in April, the task force decided to defer to RNOs that are

adjacent to the opt-in sites. All property owners asking for an opt-in were instructed to do outreach to the neighboring RNOs and, if necessary, form agreements with them specific to the property.

• Tonight the RNO reps will let the task force know how the conversations went and

if they are supportive of the opt-in request. The task force will then make a consensus recommendation on which sites should be included. That d ti t th C il ffi hi h ill k th fi l f bli recommendation goes to the Council office, which will make the final map for public review. 43

• This map shows the 5 sites that requested to opt-in (there were originally 6 but the

6th site at 290 Fillmore requested to be removed) 44

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• Here is the schedule for the rest of the Phase 3 Formal Adoption Process
• Sarah and I will go to Planning Board next week to provide them a status update

while the final code is being prepared and reviewed. This is not a formal public hearing; it is more informational in nature. However the public is welcome to attend the meeting.

• RNO and City Council public notice will be provided before each of the following

RNO and City Council public notice will be provided before each of the following meetings.

• We strongly encourage Technical Task Force members to attend the Planning

Board public hearing and speak to their consensus recommendations.

• After Planning Board, the text and the map amendments proceed to the

Neighborhoods & Planning Committee of the City Council, which will meet on 9/17 at 1:30 p m at 1:30 p.m.

• City Council public hearings will be complete by the end of the year.
• Map amendment will probably follow text amendment.

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Mike – final thoughts Jeanne – thank yous 47