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HomeMy WebLinkAbout0 Stream Margin Exemption Application300 SO SPRING ST | 202 | ASPEN, CO 81611 970.925.2855 | BENDONADAMS.COM September 14, 2018 Jessica Garrow Community Development Director City of Aspen 130 S. Galena St. Aspen, Colorado 81611 RE: 1108 Waters Avenue – Stream Margin Review Exemption Ms. Garrow: Please accept this application for a Stream Margin Review Exemption for the remodel of an existing single-family residence located on Waters Avenue on Lot 10 in the Calderwood subdivision. This application is submitted by BendonAdams on behalf of the new homeowners, Kirk and Meg Gentle. Background The Calderwood Subdivision, approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission December 26th in 1961 (Book 2A Page 264), created 14 lots on Waters Avenue. These lots are governed by restrictive covenants – the first of which were filed in August of 1962 with Pitkin County (Book 198 Page 436). The restrictions were subsequently updated in December of 1962 (Book 200 Page 263) by the fee owners of the Calderwood lots. These additional restrictions provided easements for utilities, and for the installation of a sanitary sewer system. Based upon the original plat and Restrictive Covenants, Lot 11 was approved for a single-family residence. The building permit file, land use file, and archived Planning and Zoning Commission meeting minutes indicate several previous reviews and discussions surrounding this site – the most recent of which occurred in 1989-90 and legalized the existing decks through a Stream Margin Review. We have attached this land use file in Exhibit 12, which documents the legalization of the existing decks through work with City Planning, City Engineering, the Planning and Zoning Figure 1: Property Location 2 Commission, and correspondence with FEMA. A Certificate of Occupancy was acquired in 1993, Exhibit 13, which formally documents the improvements made on site and the existing conditions. Existing Conditions The property consists of a 10, 077 square foot lot at 1108 Waters Avenue. The property is zoned R-15 (Moderate Density Residential) and contains a single-family residence accessed off Waters Avenue. Additionally, the property also contains the Wheeler Ditch owned by the City of Aspen; and, a Fisherman’s Easement within the Roaring Fork River (Book 201, Page 239). The Fisherman’s easement was part of the original Calderwood Subdivision agreements and while it does provide access to fishermen to wade through the river, it does not provide the right for persons to cross through any property or lands within the subdivision to gain this access. Figure 2: Existing house rendering Floor Area Based upon recent survey work completed by Aspen Survey Engineers (Exhibit 8), the site contains significant slopes – approximately one-fifth of the site contains slopes over 20% (Exhibit 8) with an additional 1,790 square feet of land underneath the Roaring Fork River – which are deducted from the Net Lot Area. The area underneath the decks was not able to be calculated but has assumed to also be deductible from the Net Lot Area. As such the following assumptions for Net Lot Area calculations and allowable Floor Area have been made: 3 Slope % Deducted from Net Lot Area Area Total 20% - 30% 50% 138 sf x .50 = 69 square feet 30% - 40% 100% 264 sf x 100 = 264 square feet 40% + 100% 957 sf x 100 = 957 square feet Undetermined slope Land Under Decks 920 sf x 100 = 920 square feet Water 100% 1,790 x 100 = 1,790 square feet Net Lot Area Deduction= 4,000 square feet Net Lot Area = 6,077 square feet Allowable R-15 Floor Area under current code= ~3,261 square feet Recent as-builts measured the floor area of the existing single-family residence at ~4,296 sf – which includes 2,775 sq ft of interior floor area and 1,520 square feet of deck. The property is considered a legally established nonconforming structure that was built prior to Stream Margin requirements and is able to maintain its nonconforming structure status through Section 26.312.030.B Normal Maintenance. Nonconforming uses and structures are authorized by the Code to continue in their existing state, with the ability to employ uses allowed by underlying zoning and to perform normal maintenance without affecting the authorization to continue as a nonconforming structure. Decks The decks were expanded and memorialized through the abovementioned Planning and Zoning Stream Margin Review in 1989-1990 (Exhibit 12). As can be seen below, the existing decks wrap around the front entry, down the south side of the property, and split into two levels facing out towards the Roaring Fork River. It is important to note that the existing decks are outside of the FEMA 100- year flood plain as can be seen in the figure to the right. Proposal The current remodel plans will be utilizing the existing building footprint and staying within the City’s demolition threshold. The existing decks are proposed to be significantly pared back in addition to floor plan alterations that would reduce the floor area from 4,296 square feet to 3,447 Figure 3: Fema 100-year flood plain 4 square feet – reducing the existing nonconformity which is line with the language found within the Land Use Code. Figure 4: Proposed alterations to existing decks The current deck configuration (Figure 3 above) will be altered to remove the decks closest to the Wheeler Ditch and existing entryway and the staircases down towards the lower decks (delineated in blue). The mid-level deck (in green) will be lowered to be in-line with the new floor plans. The northern and eastern lower decks (in yellow) are to remain intact. The proposed remodel works within the footprint of the existing home and the proposed interior changes, as mentioned above, will stay under the defined allowances in Sections 26.104.100 and 26.575.020(H) Measurements of Demolition. Demolition, as defined within the City’s Land Use Code, is ‘to raze, disassemble, tear down or destroy forty percent or more of an existing structure as measured by the surface of all exterior wall and roof area above finished grade’. Compliant demolition calculations and drawings are provided on Sheet Z101. Residential Design Standards The property is within the Aspen Infill Area and is subject to the Residential Design Guidelines – however as a remodel of an existing building many of the standards do not apply. The only significant changes are the alterations of the existing entryway to create a compliant one-story element and an update to the principal window placement. The residence will be reclad utilizing the existing vertical plane and will not expand the structure towards the highwater line. 5 The proposal is in compliance with all of the applicable standards and is not requesting any variations that would prohibit an administrative review. A full RDS Checklist has been attached for staff review in Exhibit 9. Easements The subject property contains multiple easements including a utility easement, the Wheeler Ditch which currently has no easement agreement, and a Fisherman’s Easement through the Roaring Fork River. The Wheeler Ditch crosses the western portion of the property and the current residence has two crossing points over the Ditch via pedestrian bridges. It is our understanding from conversations with the Planning Department that there are specific requests from referral agencies regarding the existing pond and access to the Wheeler Ditch which may be addressed with reasonable conditions of approval. Stormwater The City Engineering Department has deemed the proposed remodel as a “major project” through their Standards which requires compliance with stormwater mitigation and other requirements as outlined in Aspen’s Urban Runoff Management Plan. To avoid pollution running down into the Roaring Fork River– Engineering highlighted the necessity to mitigate on site. In discussions on Tuesday August 14, 2018 the Engineering Department, Roaring Fork Engineering, Planning Staff, and the project team discussed various methods of how this requirement could be met through the installation of a dry well, planter boxes, pervious pavers, and other methods acceptable to the City. Roaring Fork Engineers has provided a stormwater mitigation plan in Exhibit 11 outlining the intended methods for mitigation on-site. Trees As part of the Stream Margin Review Exemption criteria, trees that require permits are not allowed to be removed. The project team met with the City Forester, Ian Gray on Tuesday August 14th, 2018 to review the plans which included a listing of the existing species on-site to ensure that there were no questions from Parks regarding the proposed remodel. As proposed, the remodel is not requesting any tree removals that require a permit. Summary The proposed remodel is below the applicable Stream Margin Exemption criteria thresholds and will be significantly reducing an existing non-conformity. Constructed before the City’s Stream Margin Review came into effect, the residence and its placement on site would not be able to be replicated under today’s code. As such, the proposed remodel is staying within the existing building footprint - with no development or structural expansion closer to the Roaring Fork River, 100-year flood plain, or high-water line. The development decreases the existing floor area and is under the 25% 6 allowance for increase to area exempt from floor area calculations. There are no trees requiring permits being proposed for removal. The project team has held several conversations with Planning Staff, Engineering, and Parks to fully understand the site-constraints and applicable regulations and has made every attempt to address all relevant provisions of the Code and to provide sufficient information to enable a thorough evaluation of this application. Upon request, BendonAdams will gladly provide such additional information as may be required in the course of the review. Kind Regards, Reilly Thimons BendonAdams, LLC Exhibit: 1. Pre-Application Summary 2. Review Standards and Criteria 3. Authorization Letter 4. Agreement to Pay Form 5. Land Use Form 6. HOA Form 7. Title Commitment 8. Survey 9. RDS Checklist 10. Drawing Set 11. Stormwater Letter from Roaring Fork Engineers 12. 1989-90 Stream Margin Review Approval 13. 1993 Certificate of Occupancy