New urbanism project Polestar Village, downtown Fort Collins apartments win city approval
Pat Ferrier
Fort Collins Coloradoan
11/17/23
A nonprofit educational group that promotes new urbanism and spirituality won unanimous approval from the Fort Collins Planning and Zoning Commission early Friday morning for a 144-home project despite commissioners’ concerns about traffic impacts on an adjacent neighborhood.
In addition to Polestar Village, commissioners approved a seven-story apartment building in downtown Fort Collins and postponed action on a housing project on the northside so neighbors could work out an easement.
Polestar Village, which moved its operation from Hawaii in 2022, is situated on 10 acres east of South Overland Trail between West Elizabeth Street and Orchard Place, land that was once the Happy Heart Farm.
When it purchased the site, Happy Heart owners retained the bulk of the land and cut off access from Polestar’s property to Elizabeth Street, commissioners were told. That eliminated any potential connection between Polestar Village and a major roadway.
Plum and Orchard streets will be extended through the project but will go as far as Overland Trail or Elizabeth Street.
Commission Chairperson David Katz described Polestar’s location as basically “an island” with no direct access to a collector or arterial road. That means all traffic from the development will be funneled through neighborhood streets including Locust Grove, Louise Lane and Kimball Road.
“That’s my biggest concern,” Katz said. “The development itself is unique. Everything within the (project) boundaries looks wonderful, but it’s the access to it. The doubling of traffic on Locust and Louise will cause some problems.”
Several Fort Collins residents, some of whom moved here from Hawaii with Polestar, supported the 144-unit project that includes community gathering sites and gardens as well as a bed and breakfast, small commercial center and wellness center. They lauded the project’s vision, values and sustainability measures.
A handful of neighbors who said the traffic impact would be too great found sympathetic ears among commissioners. Traffic counts were projected to double or triple on some neighborhood streets, but would still be under the city’s threshold of 2,500 average daily trips before they transition to collector streets, and require additional work to bring them up to city standards.
Dan Sapienza lives near the project and said Louise Lane is “hidden” in the west part of town built in the 1960s. It’s a place where his 2- and 4-year-olds safely learn to ride their bikes and kids have hockey tournaments in the middle of the street.
“Polestar seems like a nice place” that has wide sidewalks and traffic measures that will slow cars down within its project, “but creates negatives outside of the neighborhood. Doubling the traffic going down my street will have big impact.”
Commissioner Ted Shepard said the commission frequently hears complaints about traffic when new developments are proposed. “We frequently see growing pains,” he said. “These are nice little neighborhoods where there’s still some (housing) affordability. Those little streets are quaint … they really are quiet. It’s a cohesive neighborhood, it’s charming and kind of hidden.”
It’s always a challenge for the commission when small subdivisions are next to intense multifamily, said Shepard, a retired city planner. “It seems like a no-brainer for the parties to get together and provide a right-of-way to extend Orchard,” but that is a little beyond the commission’s purview, he said.
Polestar co-founder Michael Gornik said he bought the Happy Heart land in Fort Collins because of its “enlightened” zoning and Fort Collins’ community values. “We understand there’s impacts,” he said. “We are dead serious about deemphasizing the automobile.” Neighbors “may find the impacts are way less than what they would expect.”
https://www.coloradoan.com/story/money/2023/11/17/polestar-village-west-fort-collins-downtown-fort-collins-apartments-win-city-approval/71617724007/
