Avenue 120 Concept Review

This Concept Application was Completed in 2021 and is Inactive

The 2022 Concept Application with a Revised Site Design is here.

Location: Generally located on the northeast corner of W 120th Avenue and N Perry Street

Project Type: Concept Review for Residential Development

Applicant: Wasatch Residential Group

Project Description: The applicant has submitted a concept review application for a proposed residential development with a small retail/commercial corner on approximately 15.36 acres of land located on the northeast corner of W 120th Avenue and N Perry Street. The applicant is proposing a 300 unit multi-family residential development consisting of 10 townhomes and 290 apartment units. The townhomes are proposed to be two stories tall and front W 121st Place. These are currently anticipated to be three bedroom and 2.5 bathroom units, and would be rental.

The proposed 290 apartment units would be contained within five, 4 story buildings. Three of these apartment buildings would be on the northernmost parcel (located north of the Nissen Channel), and the other two would be located on the southern parcel fronting W 120th Avenue. The apartment units are proposed to consist of a combination of one bed/one bath, two bed/two bath, and three bed/two bath units.

The applicant is providing private on site open area as well as private amenities including a clubhouse and pool for their residents, and also proposing to dedicate a portion of their site adjacent to the Nissen Channel as public land dedication.

In addition to the residential uses, the applicant has proposed an approximately 5,000sf retail use on the southwest corner of the site, immediately adjacent to the N Perry Street. No specific potential users/tenants have been identified at this time.

The site design currently proposes four ingress/egress points. A main entry along W 120th Avenue into the southern parcel, along with a secondary entry along N Perry Street into the southern half of the site. The northern parcel includes an access on both N Perry Street and W 121st place. The applicant is proposing a pedestrian bridge which would cross the Nissan Channel and provide for internal pedestrian connectivity between the two halves of the project in addition to the sidewalks along N Perry Street which would be available.

To view the full submittal please download the concept review packet within the document library.

Previous Concept Plans, Applications and Approvals:

• November 29, 2011 Concept Review - City Council reviewed a concept plan for a residential development on the subject property. This proposal was for a nine building, 209 unit apartment development. During this concept review concerns were expressed regarding (1) the height of buildings adjacent to the existing single family residential to the north, (2) possible shading/shadow casting on W 121st Place by the original proposed buildings abutting the street, (3) potential traffic generated from the site, (4) a desire for the site to develop with adjacent properties in a unified manner, and (5) regarding the financial impact of allowing residential uses on a property that was anticipated to develop for commercial development.
  
  
• February 16, 2012 Neighborhood Meeting - Following the November 2011 concept review meeting, the applicant worked to address comments they received and held a neighborhood meeting to discuss their modified plans. The applicant reported that the meeting was attended by approximately 8-10 residents. The applicant stated that the majority of resident concerns were regarding potential traffic impacts on W 121st Place.
  
  
• February 21, 2012 Concept Review - On February 21, 2012, the applicant presented their revised site design to City Council at a second concept review meeting. This revised conceptual design added an additional adjacent parcel of land increasing the project area to 15.3 acres, and increased the proposed number of units. The conceptual site design proposed 302 multifamily units in 12 buildings with private amenities for residents of the development including a pool and tot lot.
  
  
• August 27, 2013 City Council Action - On August 27, 2013, City Council approved Ordinance No. 1973, Resolution No. 2013-121 and Resolution No. 2013-122-UR. Council's actions approved the rezoning of the parcel of land north of the Nissen Channel from B-2 to Planned Unit Development (PUD), as well as a PUD Plan, Site Development Plan/Urban Renewal Site Plan (SDP/URSP) and Final Plat for the Norwest Filing No. 1 Replat D development. The approved PUD Plan and SDP/URSP were for 144 multi-family residential units.

Consistency with Zoning and Comprehensive Plan: The applicant's project has split zoning (meaning the project has more than one zoning district). The northern parcel is zoned Planned Unit Development (PUD) and has approvals for 144 multi-family residential units. The southern parcel is zoned B-2 and allows multiple-family dwelling when located in a vertically stacked mixed-use development when processed as a PUD plan. The applicant's proposal is not consistent with the underlying zoning, and should the development move forward as currently proposed, it would require the rezoning of the southern parcel to be rezoned from B-2 to PUD, and an amendment to the Norwest PUD Plan to add additional acreage and amend the development standards/uses.

The property has two comprehensive plan land use map designations. The portions of the site proposed for development are designated as Mixed Use Commercial, and the strip of land which includes the existing Nissen Channel is designated as Open Lands.The proposed development is consistent with the underlying comprehensive plan.

Consistency with Long Range Financial Plan:The southern parcel is currently zoned B-2 and was anticipated to develop as commercial uses, as such there is a potential that this development may not be consistent with the assumptions in the Long Range Financial Plan (LRFP) and may have a negative impact on the plan. that analysis will be completed and presented as part of staff's memorandum to City Council during the concept review meeting.

Public Land Dedication: Broomfield's Open Space and Trails Master Plan calls for 24 acres of public land dedication for every 1,000 residents generated by a development. The project is anticipated to generate 579 residents, and a public land dedication obligation of approximately 13.9 acres. As part of the 2013 approval, the developer dedicated 1.637 acres. Residential developments are required to provide 25% of their site as public land dedication. As such, the developer is required to dedicate 3.84 acres of public lands on site, should this project move forward a minimum of an additional 2.20 acres of land will need to be dedicated on site. Any additional dedication above the 2.20 acres could be satisfied through a cash-in-lieu payment of $56,000 per acre.

The conceptual proposal does not provide specific acreages for dedication; however, assuming that the developer provides the necessary 3.84 acres of onsite dedication, the outstanding 10.06 acres could be satisfied with a $563,360 cash-in-lieu payment.

Inclusionary Housing Obligation: Section 17-76 requires that any residential development to be marketed as "rental" to pay an inclusionary housing fee equal to 20% of the final unit count, calculated using the proportionate share of unit sizes within the overall development. The table below provides a preliminary estimate for the inclusionary housing fee obligation based on the current conceptual design and unit breakdown, note that this is a preliminary analysis and is subject to change.

Consistency with Long Range Financial Plan:
The proposed development is not consistent with the land use assumptions for this site that had been incorporated into the LRFP. The LRFP assumptions were based on this property developing for non-residential uses (assisted living facility). The applicant is proposing to add residential units to this project area, and as such will impact the LRFP. Specific impacts on the LRFP are not currently known, but there is the potential for a negative impact to the plan. Analysis will be completed as part of the technical review of this application and this analysis will be incorporated into the staff memorandum for Concept Review.


Anticipated Variances/Amendments

• Amendment to PUD Plan - need to expand PUD Plan area and modify allowed uses, development standards, and density
• Variances for private open area - requirement is 40% applicant is proposing less than that conceptually.
• Possible setback variances

Potential Key Issues/Comments:
No specific key issues have been identified at this time; however, below are some topics which may be identified as key issues as part of staff's memorandum moving forward.

• Proximity to Nissen Channel and floodplain/floodway improvements - the project area is adjacent to the Nissan Channel, this area is part of a joint City and County of Broomfield and Mile High Water District project, the timing of which may impact development schedules for this project

• Public Land Dedication - the applicant is proposing to dedicate a segment of land abutting the Nissen Channel (a corresponding mirrored segment on the opposite bank from an existing CCOB owned parcel); however, that portion of land does not fully satisfy the developer's PLD obligation so additional land or cash contributions will need to be determined as the project moves forward.

• Impact to Long Range Financial Plan - a portion of the project area was anticipated to develop for commercial uses and is now proposed to develop largely as residential uses. This could result in a negative impact on the LRFP, the analysis for potential impacts will be completed as this project moves forward.

• Inconsistency with Zoning and PUD Plan - the current proposal represents an increased project area and an increase in dwelling units over what was previously approved as part of the Norwest PUD Plan and development proposal. Should this project move forward, it would require the rezoning of a portion of property and the amendment of the established PUD Plan in order to make this development consistent with both elements.
  
  
  Project Status:
  This project is currently in the concept review phase of the development process. The concept review meeting will be held in front of the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council. This meeting is intended to provide feedback on the conceptual proposal and not provide a formal approval or denial of the project.