TOWN OF ERIE - File #: 20-036

Date	Ver.	Action By	Action	Result	Action Details	Meeting Details	Video
1/14/2020	1	Town Council			Action details	Meeting details	Not available

SUBJECT: General Business

Title

Town Center Master Plan Options for Erie Commons Property at Erie Parkway/Briggs Street Intersection

Body

DEPARTMENTS: Administration, Economic Development, Planning and Community Development

PRESENTER: Malcolm Fleming, Town Administrator

TIME ESTIMATE: 20 minutes

only required for non-consent items

FISCAL INFORMATION:

Cost as Recommended: Potential minor revenue to the Town from retail sales associated with implementing different options for the Town Center Master Plan

Balance Available: $0

Budget Line Item Number: NA.

New Appropriation Required: NA.

STAFF RECOMMENDATION:

Recommendation

Board discussion on alternatives to pursue relative to layout and potential land uses for property at the intersection of Erie Parkway and Briggs Street.

.End

SUMMARY AND BACKGROUND OF SUBJECT MATTER:

On December 10, 2019 the Board of Trustees adopted “in principle” the Town Center Master Plan. Since then, Town staff have been working with DPZ CoDesign, property owners, representatives from adjacent neighborhoods, and developers to finalize regulations needed to implement the Town Center Master Plan. As part of this process, Colorado Development Group (CDG), the owner of the property at the SW corner of the intersection of Erie Parkway and Briggs Street, has discussed with staff concepts for development at that location.

This intersection is the southern gateway to Old Town Erie. Consequently, the site layout, land use, building form, and building architecture of the adjacent properties will all have a significant impact on the gateway. The street running SW to NE and parallel to Erie Parkway on the interior of the Erie Commons site also will have significant impact on the neighborhood. DPZ CoDesign indicated they intended that interior street to function as a commercial/retail corridor and a transition area between the adjacent residential property to the SE.

During the Town Center charrette, CDG indicated they were contemplating a convenience store/gas station on their property at the SW corner of the Erie Parkway/Briggs street intersection. The draft DPZ Illustrative Master Plan reflects two different site layout options for this use at this location. The first option, reflected in the midterm illustrative master plan, shows a building oriented NE to SW along the interior street, and the gas pumps/canopy in the same orientation. This option emphasizes the importance of having a building with an entrance on the interior street. However, this option would result in a convenience store with gas pumps facing Erie Parkway; not the most desirable use for that gateway location.

The second option would locate the store building on the corner, with the gas pumps behind the building. This option emphasizes the importance of having a building fronting the Erie Parkway/Briggs street intersection, helping to define the gateway. However, this option does not continue the emphasis on retail/commercial uses on the interior street and presents a less desirable “face” to the adjacent neighborhood. These two layout options are shown below.

The first option reflects the current format of many convenience stores, including the one currently located at County Line Road and Mitchell Way, just 0.6 miles away from the Erie Parkway/Briggs Street site. A picture of that store is shown below.

The second option reflects an illustration from the Sprawl Repair Manual, written by Galina Tachieva, one of the principals of DPZ CoDesign. This illustration is intended to show how a convenience store use can be oriented and designed to reflect a more “Main Street” appearance that is more indicative of traditional walkable communities.

Staff has discussed these options with CDG and representatives from the convenience store franchise that is interested in the Erie Parkway/Briggs Street site. They say that while they are willing to change their standard store format to fit the first option (with the building orientation on the interior street, including a walk in entrance from that side), they are not able to change their standard format to fit the corner location as depicted in the second option illustrated immediately above.

Considerations.

As noted above, the Erie Parkway/Briggs Street intersection is an important gateway to Old Town. A convenience store use at this location is not likely what the Board of Trustees hoped would occur at this location. Representatives of CDG suggest that a convenience store/gas station may be the best use viable at this time, as the property owner has not been successful in past efforts to secure any other tenants for this site. This may be true. However, it has not been long since the Board approved actions that make the Erie Commons site much more competitive with other development sites than in the past. Specifically, the site is much more competitive thanks to the Board’s September 10, 2019 approval of (1) multiple changes to the Erie Commons Planned Development, allowing 14 acres of the 21 acre Erie Commons site to be zoned for residential uses, and (2) amendments to the Erie Commons Metro District Service Plan, facilitating significant reductions in the mill levy rate applicable to commercial development in Erie Commons. Further, the Board’s approval “in principal” and the community support for the Town Center Master Plan has generated significant interest in this area. Finally, the proposed residential development on the 14 acres immediately adjacent to the site will bring further demand for retail and commercial activity on the site.

A convenience store/gas station in this location would generate some retail activity that could be beneficial. However, it is unknown the extent to which this new use would simply divert retail from other locations in Erie, like the convenience store/gas station less than a mile away on County Line Road, and have no net impact on total retail sales. If the Board does not want to see a convenience store/gas station at this location, it is also unknown what other use might show interest in the site any time soon.

For all these reasons, (the importance of the gateway intersection, the different implications the two options in the Illustrative Master Plan would have on the neighborhood, whether a convenience store/gas station is acceptable at this location, and the uncertainty over what other uses might happen on the site), staff felt it was important to review this matter with the Board of Trustees to get a better sense of the Board’s perspective on this matter.

ATTACHMENTS:

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