To: Honorable Mayor and Members of Town Council
From: Sandy Vossler, Senior Planner, Development Services Department
Title
Resolution Approving the Crystal Valley Ranch Filing No. 15 Site Development Plan [Single-Family; West Loop Road / East Loop Road]
Body
________________________________________________________________________________
NOTE: Please refer to the staff report for graphics, illustrations and photographs.
PUBLIC HEARING
The Town Council will now consider a request for the approval of Resolution Approving the Crystal Valley Ranch Filing No. 15 Site Development Plan
In order to afford all parties due process under law, the Town Council members must be fair and impartial in deciding whether this application should be approved, approved with conditions, or denied. In making that determination, each Councilmember must consider the record, which includes the planning commission recommendation, the staff recommendation, the applicant presentation, public comment presented during the hearing, and other written public comments offered before or during the hearing. Under law, Town Council must evaluate this proposal based solely upon the record and the criteria established under the Municipal Code, which are highlighted in the staff report.
It is important that each Councilmember remain objective and capable of considering information offered into the record during this hearing.
Does any Councilmember believe that he or she is incapable of evaluating and voting on the application consistent with these due process requirements? If so, please describe the situation and recuse yourself from further participation on this agenda item.
Does any Councilmember have a conflict of interest or any other matter he or she would like to disclose prior to proceeding on this item?
The Council will hear from the applicant, the public and staff. Time for this public hearing is allotted as follows:
Staff Report: as needed
Applicant Presentation: as needed
Public Comment: as needed
Applicant Response as needed
Council Questions: as needed
Follow-up Questions: as needed
Madame Clerk, has this public hearing been properly noticed under the applicable regulations for this type of land use hearing? (Clerk to refer to certification from Development Services, describing the notice).
Mr. Detweiler, the staff introduction please
(Public hearing is conducted, applicant presentation, public comment, applicant response, questions from Council)
Do any Council members have any final questions of staff or the applicant before I close the public hearing and refer this to the Council for action?
I now close the public hearing and refer this to Council for discussion and action.
AGENDA MEMORANDUM
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of Town Council
Executive Summary
Crystal Valley Ranch is a master planned subdivision located in the southeast portion of the Town of Castle Rock. The property was zoned in 2001 for 3,475 dwelling units. Residential development within Crystal Valley Ranch was slow in the 2000s due to economic conditions and other factors. In 2012, Crystal Valley Recovery Acquisition, LLC, the current applicant, purchased a significant portion of the undeveloped PD and began site planning the development. Sales of residential lots have increased steadily over the past few years. To date, approximately 1,308 single-family residential lots have been platted in Crystal Valley Ranch. The Site Development Plan (SDP) proposal is for a 900-lot, single-family residential neighborhood development (Attachment B, Exhibit 1).
This proposal is in conformance with the approved zoning and all staff comments have been addressed through the review process. On September 22nd, Planning Commission voted 7-0 to recommend to Town Council approval of the Crystal Valley Ranch Filing No. 15 SDP, as proposed. (Attachment C).
Notification and Outreach Efforts
• Neighborhood Meeting - The applicant held a neighborhood meeting on January 26, 2016, in conjunction with a regular Homeowners Association Meeting. Approximately 40 attended the meeting. Questions focused on traffic and road improvements, water availability, impacts to wildlife and number of units expected at build-out.
The overall road system for Crystal Valley Ranch was designed to accommodate the vehicle trips anticipated at full build-out of 3,475 dwelling units. The Crystal Valley Ranch Annexation and Development Agreement establishes triggers for road improvement based on building permits issued. The developer explained that widening and turn lane improvements for Crystal Valley Parkway would begin in the summer of 2016. In addition, future improvements to Lake Gulch Road will include acceleration and deceleration lanes. Signalization of major intersections in Crystal Valley Ranch will be added when traffic counts warrant. Finally, 900 single-family lots proposed with this Filing No. 15 SDP are 613 lots less than is allowed for this property.
At the time of annexation the groundwater associated with Crystal Valley Ranch property was dedicated to the Town and intended to be used to meet the needs of the future development. The developer is permitted to draw from the Crystal Valley Ranch water bank or pay cash-in-lieu of single-family equivalents for water resources needed to serve the development.
Approximately 28% of the property is set aside as open space. The open space is configured to preserve vegetated drainage corridors and provide connected and continuous natural tracts. It is anticipated that wildlife will continue to visit and traverse the property.
• Public Notice - The site plan was noticed in accordance with the Town of Castle Rock Municipal Code. The applicant posted public hearing signs on the site facing the adjacent streets. Written notices were mailed to property owners within 300 feet of the property and to surrounding Homeowner Associations (HOA). Town staff published notice on the Town’s website and featured the proposal on the Development Activity map (formerly the In Your Backyard map).
• External Referrals - Requests for external comments were sent to the various utility service providers, Douglas County Government, Colorado Department of Transportation, Colorado Division of Wildlife and surrounding HOAs. All comments have been addressed by the applicant and accepted by staff.
Planning Commission Public Hearing - September 22, 2016
At the Planning Commission hearing, two residents of Crystal Valley Ranch addressed the Commission. The first expressed a desire to see the recently drained detention ponds on the site refilled in order to serve as a wildlife and water fowl habitat. Staff acknowledged that there has been water in the basins, however that has occurred because the outfall structures were clogged. The basins are an intrical part of the overall Crystal Valley Ranch drainage system and the ponds are intended to be dry, except in a rain event during which they will detain and release stormwater at historic flows. The stormwater is not intended to be retained, nor are the basins intended to be a fresh water amenity in the subdivision.
A second resident asked about future signalization along Loop Road. Ryan Germeroth, Transportation Planning and Traffic Engineering Manager, explained that the developer has paid for signalization of four intersections. At this time, traffic volumes do not warrant the signalization of Loop Road intersections.
Discussion
Crystal Valley Ranch PD Zoning
Filing No. 15 is centrally located within the Crystal Valley Ranch subdivision; south of The Pinnacle Recreation and Community Center, between East Loop Road and West Loop Road. This property is zoned single-family residential with permitted densities up to 6 dwelling units per acre (du/ac) and a maximum building height of 35 feet. At 6 du/ac, 1513 units are permitted under the current zoning. The developer is proposing 900 single-family lots with this SDP.
Property Description
The vacant site is comprised of grasslands and has historically been used for cattle grazing. Removal of some pockets of Gambel Oak will be necessary in order to develop the site; however care was taken in the site planning process to preserve the natural vegetation and topography, particularly in the existing drainages. The prominent drainages will be preserved in open space tracts.
Prairie grasslands have the potential to support mule deer, pronghorn, coyotes and red fox, as well as smaller mammals such as voles, gopher and squirrels. It is anticipated that wildlife will continue to visit the site via the connected and continuous open space tracts.
Proposed Site Development Plan
This site plan proposes 900 single-family lots and a gross density of 3.57 dwelling units per acre; 613 units less than the zoning allows. The lot sizes will range from approximately 4,000 square feet (s.f.) to 16,156 s.f., providing a variety of options for home buyers. The development will be constructed in phases.
Approximately 69.7 acres, about 28% of the site will be set aside as open space providing for buffers, trails and natural corridors (shaded green). Hard surface and crusher fine trails will traverse the site linking neighborhoods to each other and connecting to the overall Crystal Valley Ranch trail system. Entry features will distinguish the primary access points and neighborhoods within the subdivision.
The proposed development standards are consistent with the existing and proposed single-family neighborhoods adjacent to the property, as shown in the table on page 4 of the staff report.
Finally, the developer is dedicating additional acreage, shown as Tract T, to the School/Park site located in the southern portion of the property (shaded purple in the illustration in the staff report). This will increase the total Public Land Dedication (PLD) acreage to 22.2. The original PLD was 20.2 acres. This addition compensates for the loss of PLD to the right-of-way for Homestead Circle (shaded red). The minimum buildable area of the PLD will remain 20.2 acres as was originally planned.
Budget Impact
Development of the property with 900 single-family lots will generate review and impact fees, along with use taxes. Other ongoing costs of serving a new neighborhood, in terms of public infrastructure and amenities, as well as police and fire, will be comparable to other single-family residential developments in Castle Rock.
Staff Recommendation
Based on the analysis and findings summarized in this report, Planning Commission and staff recommend that Town Council approve the proposed SDP.
Proposed Motion
“I move to approve the Resolution as introduced by title.”
Attachments
Attachment A: Vicinity Map
Attachment B: Resolution
Exhibit 1: Site Development Plan
Attachment C: Planning Commission Minutes