Planning Department Civic Center North 480 South Allison Parkway Lakewood, Colorado 80226-3127 303.987.7505 303.987.7057 TTY/TDD Lakewood.org/Planning February 27, 2017 Nathan Taylor 601 S Jason Street Denver, CO 80223 Re: Case # Preplanning Application for 8 townhomes at in Lakewood, CO. Mr. Taylor, The City received your Preplanning Application for. The purpose of the preplanning process is to allow City staff the opportunity to provide preliminary feedback regarding your proposal early in the design process. City staff has reviewed the materials that were submitted with your application and we are providing this comment letter to help identify the issues that you will need to address if you move forward with a formal application. The preliminary proposal is to develop a three-story building that includes 8 for-sale townhomes with studio space on 0.4 acres located at. The property is zoned Mixed-use General Urban (M-G-U), which allows for townhome units. Information about the zoning standards is available on our website at www.lakewood.org/zoning. Additional information about the studio space option is detailed in the comments below. While it is your responsibility to understand the zoning standards that apply to this project, staff is available to help answer any questions you may have. As part of this preplanning application comment letter, we have provided a summary of the major planning related items that may affect your project. General Comments 1. Development Process: In order to develop the site, a Minor Subdivision and a Major Site Plan are required. The Minor Subdivision will create the lots for each attached townhome unit. The Major Site Plan will ensure the site meets all applicable zoning standards of the Lakewood Zoning Ordinance. The Minor Subdivision and the Major Site Plan applications can be submitted and reviewed concurrently; which is about a 4-6 month process. The Minor Subdivision Plat must be recorded before the Major Site Plan can be approved. Please see the Next Steps for more information. Your Major Site Plan will be reviewed per Articles 2, 5, 6, and 8 of the Lakewood Zoning Ordinance. Major Site Plan guidelines are attached for your reference. The Minor Subdivison will be reviewed per the Lakewood Subdivision Ordinance. All of this information is available online at http://www.lakewood.org/planning/development_regulations/zoning_ordinance.aspx
Page 2 of 8 We encourage you to review this information to ensure your submittal is prepared properly. 2. Outside Agency Standards: Lakewood has a number of independent water and sewer districts, all of whom have their own standards. Lakewood Water Utility and East Jefferson Sanitation District are the water and sanitation service providers for this site. Xcel and West Metro Fire Protection District also serve this site. Please be sure to contact each of these agencies to ensure you understand their requirements and that your project can meet their standards prior to submitting a formal application. 3. Party Wall Agreement: Because you have indicated that no home owner s association will be created for this project, a party wall agreement is required in conjunction with your development application. The City of Lakewood will take an active role in reviewing party wall agreements before site plans and plats are approved. The City s goal is to improve the clarity and consistency of party wall agreements for the benefit of future residents. Attached is a sample party wall agreement and cover sheet for your reference. Specific items to be considered by the City are as follows: a. Site Elements with Shared Maintenance: Projects with site elements that serve the entire project and will have shared maintenance must have those improvements clearly identified on the site plan and in the party wall agreement. b. Easements: Easements that affect the land must be shown on the plat and easements that affect the building shall be identified in the party wall agreement. Both blanket easements and duplicative easements are discouraged by the City. c. Dispute Resolution: Due to the nature of party wall agreements and the lack of home owners associations, the process and procedures for dispute resolution must be clearly identified in the party wall agreement. d. Identification of Documents: The recorded party wall agreement must be referenced, by reception number, on both the site plan and plat. e. Disclosure: A separate Developer Disclosure is required and a sample document is enclosed for your reference. 4. Zoning Lot: Per the Lakewood Zoning and Subdivision Ordinances, all new residential lots are required to have frontage on a public street. When developments are proposed with lots that do not front a public street, they may be approved at the discretion of the Planning Director and in accordance with the Zoning Lot standards in Section 17.2.10 of the Zoning Ordinance. As currently proposed, the Zoning Lot designation will be acceptable provided all other development standards are satisfied. 5. Studio Space: The proposed site plan shows four studios, one on each of the corner units which are accessed from the ground level. The purpose or use of the studio space was not detailed in the written description. Please be aware that depending on how that space is used, different zoning, building, and fire standards may apply. Minor Home Occupation if the studio space is intended to be used by the homeowner as a home office or any other use that falls within the parameters of
Page 3 of 8 allowed home occupations (See Section 17.4.3.1.N) and the space is less than 25% of the total home and garage square footage, then the space would be considered a home occupation and no additional building or fire standards for residential construction will apply. Studio as a business if the studio space is used to operate a business independent from the home or does not qualify as a minor home occupation, then the studio space will be treated as non-residential space. Any proposed business will need to meet to be an allowed use in the M-G-U zone district and may need to meet commercial building and fire code standards. Additionally, if the studio functions as commercial space, Article 7 design standards may apply instead of the Article 6 standards referenced throughout the comments below. Clarification will be provided once more information about the studio space is submitted to staff. Other if another use of the studio space is proposed, please be sure to detail the use of the space so we can provide you feedback and the associated process. Site Plan Comments 6. Building and Site Design Standards: The buildings facades appear to meet the intent of the design guidelines, specifically Section 17.6.2.1.E, which states that all residential structures that are adjacent to a public or private street shall contribute to the streetscape. Please continue refer to Article 6 of the Lakewood Zoning ordinance as you finalize your building design. 7. Setbacks: The setbacks in the M-G-U zone district are: Primary Front between 0 feet minimum and 20 feet maximum. Side 0/5 feet, buildings not located at the 0 foot setback shall be located a minimum of 5 feet from the property line. Rear 0/5 feet, buildings not located at the 0 foot setback shall be located a minimum of 5 feet from the property line. The front setbacks are measured from the edge of existing or future public improvements. Based on the design provided, you appear to meet the required setbacks and the required spacing when internal walkways are located between buildings, per Section 17.6.4.1.F. 8. Open Space: The minimum open space requirement in the M-G-U zone district is 15 percent. Internal walks and landscape areas may be counted towards open space, but anything with a roof or dedicated for vehicles may not be counted towards open space. Please be sure to identify, label, and calculate open space on you formal submittal. 9. Landscaping: The proposed development will need to meet the landscaping requirements of section 17.6.5 of the Lakewood Zoning Ordinance. The preplanning application does not show the required street trees or landscaping materials. Please be sure to provide all required landscape details with your formal submittal.
Page 4 of 8 It also appears that you are proposing a number of trees along the eastern property line. Aerials of the property show overhead power lines. Please be sure to talk with the utility company to determine if there is an easement along the eastern property line and if trees are allowed in that easement. If trees are not allowed under the power lines, please be sure to place the required trees in another landscape area. 10. Build-to-zone: In the M-G-U zone district, the build-to-zone requirement is 55%. The proposed site plan appears to meet this requirement but please keep this in mind as you continue formalizing your site design. 11. Parking: You appear to be meeting your minimum parking requirement with the garage spaces and we are pleased to see you have included 6 guest parking spaces. We hope these spaces remain on site as you develop your major site plan submittal. As proposed, the guest parking spaces appear larger than the required 9-foot x 18-foot dimension. Please note that you will need at least 5 feet of landscape area between the eastern-most parking stalls and the property line for vehicle maneuverability. Additionally, when a walkway is adjacent to head in parking, the walkway must be at least 7-feet in width. Please revise this parking area to meet the requirements in your formal submittal. 12. School & Park Land Fees: In lieu of dedicating land, school and park land dedication fees are due with the creation of new residential units. The school and park land fees are due at the time of the Plat. Currently, the fees are $1000 per attached single-family unit and $700 per unit for parks. 13. Required Public Improvements: The required public improvements include the construction of a curb, gutter, and 5-foot wide detached sidewalk along the Ingalls property frontage. Additional curb and gutter extending south to West Colfax Avenue may be required in order to make the drainage work. When a formal application is submitted, the City will consider cost participating with you to install the 5-foot wide detached walk on the property to the south to get pedestrians to West Colfax Avenue. 14. Drive Aisle and Access: Per the City s Transportation Engineering Standards, a drive access must be located a minimum of 50-feet from the northern property line to the northern edge of the drive aisle. The proposed access needs to be shifted slightly and/or the drive aisle reduced to 24-feet to meet this standard. Please revise the location of the access to meet this standard on any future submittal. 15. Vehicle Stacking and Site Triangle: The drive entrance must provide for at least 20 feet of stacking on site and all site improvements must respect the 20-foot site triangle which is required at the entrance shown off of Ingalls Street. 16. Right-of-Way / Easement Dedications: If any of the City s required public improvements fall outside the existing right-of-way (ROW) or easements, a dedication of ROW to the back of curb and a pedestrian, utility, traffic control devices (PUTCD) easement will be required to two feet behind the walk. All easements and ROW should be included in the formal application. 17. Drainage Information: Detention is not required. However, water quality measures should be incorporated into the site design.
Page 5 of 8 18. Engineering: At the time of Formal Land Development Application (site plan and/or plat), final engineering construction plans are required. The engineering plans, site plan and the plat are separate sets of drawings. The list of required documents is described in the table below and the engineering standards are available on our website at http://www.lakewood.org/engineering/. For questions about the engineering requirements, please contact Shawn DeJong at 303-987-7945 or shadej@lakewood.org. 19. Lakewood Water Utility: There is an existing 5/8-inch water tap for this property that is being used for irrigation. If you choose to abandon this tap, Lakewood will provide a credit equivalent to a ¾-inch tap. The water tap fee will be based on the current City of Lakewood Water Tap Fee Schedule. Denver Water will require a System Development Charge (paid directly to Denver Water). Refer to the Denver Water website for general information on this charge. Please provide a utility plan in the engineering plans which presents the water service design. Show the alignment, size, and material of the domestic service line and of the fire line(s) (if required). Show and label the water meter, curb stop, backflow prevention device, fire department connection (if required), and fire hydrant (if required). Be sure to reference the appropriate Denver Water details in the construction drawings. In addition to the water service design, please prepare a Water Study for the proposed development, which provides the domestic water demand based on fixture units and domestic service line sizing calculations (The AWWA M22 is an acceptable method). Submit 3 copies of the study with the Major Site Plan Submittal. Contact Ray Hill at 303-987-7935 or RayHil@lakewood.org with any questions. 20. Fire Access: The driveway entrance from a public street must be at least 24-feet wide with a 20-foot minimum vehicle stacking distance from the curb or edge of asphalt at each entrance. A fire lane is required for every building. Fire lanes for buildings up to 30-feet in height must be 24-feet wide with no obstructions or parking. For buildings over 30-feet in height, the fire lane must be 26-feet wide and located a minimum of 15-feet and maximum of 30-feet from the building for aerial fire access. Some parking, landscaping and sidewalks may be allowed in the 15-foot clear zone. The fire lane must be within 150-feet of all sides of the building. A fire lane may be a public street if the unobstructed width of the street is at least 24-feet. If on-street parking is allowed, the width is measured 8-feet from the curb or edge of asphalt. The proposed site plan may not meet the needs of the fire department, please contact Fire Marshall, Bruce Kral at (303)989-4307 ext. 513 for additional information. Applicant Question Q1. Will a secure fence with keyed entry gates surrounding the property be permissible? A1. Yes, as long as the fire department has access if required and you meet all the fence standards listed in Article 6 of the Lakewood Zoning Ordinance. A separate fence permit is required.
Page 6 of 8 Q2. How does the 30% transparency calculation work? Is this calculation based on the wall area between 2 and 10 above grade or is it calculated by the proposed lineal feet of the front street facing first level wall? A2. The transparency requirement is calculated by the proposed lineal feet of the street facing façade. Q3. The edges of the 26 wide center drive aisle is 49-0 from both the North and South property lines. Will this become an issue? A3. Yes, you will need to meet 50-feet from the property line. See Comment #13. Q4. The center drive aisle should be adequate for the Fire access. Please review and let us be aware of any concerns. A4. Please work directly with West Metro Fire Protection District regarding the required width of the drive aisle. Q5. Are A/C condensers be allowed to be mounted at the rooftops or with wall hangers a certain distance above the center drive aisle? Otherwise they will be located at the ground level as the Site plan shows. A5. The drive aisles, especially if required for fire, must remain free and clear of obstruction from ground to sky. Zoning does not have a concern if the units are mounted to the roof as long as they are not exceeding the maximum height limit of the zone district but please work with the building department to determine if it is a feasible option from a building code stand point. Please refer to Section 17.6.3 for utility screening requirements. Next Steps / Application Process The formal application process typically takes approximately 4-6 months to complete. As mentioned earlier, a Minor Subdivision and Major Site Plan application can be reviewed concurrently. The case will be referred to all outside referral agencies for their review. Please note that the timeline for review depends upon the thoroughness of the original submittals, outside referral comments, number of comments, efficient response to comments, caseload, and schedules. To initiate your formal application process, please submit the required electronic and paper copies of the items listed below. The electronic application form is available online at www.lakewood.org/planningforms. You may send the other files as attachments via email (if the files are less than 5 MB), or provide a CD with the digital files. Application Instructions (please read) 1. Applications must include an electronic copy (E) AND paper copy(s), # provided, to be accepted. 2. If submitting concurrent applications, duplicate sets of documents are NOT necessary. One set is sufficient. 3. FORMAL APPLICATIONS ARE ACCEPTED BY APPOINTMENT ONLY! Please contact your Case Planner to set up an appointment when you are ready to submit your formal application. Applications brought to the City without an appointment will be denied. Item Major Site Plan Land Development Application E + 1 Minor Subdivision
Page 7 of 8 Subdivision Application Form for a Minor Subdivision E + 1 Vesting Deed E E Deed(s) of Trust E E Letter of Authorization from Property Owner E+1 E Title Commitment with an effective date within 2-weeks of the application submittal with hyperlinks. E E Detailed written description of the request E + 15 E + 15 Preliminary Plat (folded to 9" x 12") E + 15 Final Plat (folded to 9" x 12", PDF & DWFX) E + 15 Final Site Plan (folded to 9" x 12", PDF & DWFX) E + 15 Survey of the property (folded to 9" x 12") E + 3 E + 3 Drainage, Grading and Erosion Control Plan (folded to 9" x 12") E + 5 Final Street Construction Plans for Public Improvements (folded to 9" x 12") E + 14 Public Improvement Agreement Signature Information Sheet E + 1 Water Study E + 3 Formal Application Submittal Appointment contact Erin Bravo at eribra@lakewood.org or 303-987-7548 to set up a Required time to drop-off your formal application. Application fee: $1,250 Required $675 PLUS $300.00 per lot or tract up to 5 lots or tracts PLUS $250.00 per lot or tract, > 5 and 15 lots or tracts PLUS $200.00 per lot or tract > 15 Please be aware that the above comments regarding the proposal are for general information purposes only. Final public improvements and other site requirements may vary from this preliminary review. Final determinations will be made upon our review of final plans and/or other documents that may be required prior to approval and issuance of building permits. If you wish to arrange a meeting to further discuss your proposal or clarify any requirements, please do not hesitate to contact me at 303-987-7548 or eribra@lakewood.org. Sincerely, Erin Bravo Project Planner
Page 8 of 8 Enclosed: Major Site Plan Guidelines PIA Signature Sheet Party Wall Agreement Cover Sheet and Example cc: Case File # Paul Rice - Manager, Planning, Development Assistance Keith Hensel - P.E., Engineering Development Assistance Shawn DeJong - Engineering Development Assistance Garrett Downs Property Management Toni Bishop Traffic and Transportation Engineering Ray Hill - Engineering