Citizen Input

Dear Mayor Arndt and Councilmembers,

Your recent vote to re-zone Fort Collins city-wide, and especially the rezoning of Old Town OT-A, OT-B, and Tres Colonias has the potential to destroy both the historic character and social fabric of these neighborhoods. How? Our established neighborhoods do not have vacant lots so there will not be “infill” as a result of the proposed LDC.  Instead, the proposed Code encourages and expedites the demolition of existing old, small, less expensive renter and owner occupied homes in our neighborhoods.

This has been happening for some time in Old Town in particular. Scroll down for a list of homes over 50 years old that have received and/or applied for demolition permits in the past two years - some in anticipation of this new code. 514 Wood Street was demolished in late December and 510 is likely next. It may already be gone. Please note that 16 of these 19 are on the west side and that these houses have been occupied for decades – some for over 100 years. Perhaps you might not want to live in them, but virtually hundreds have and do. And since they are smaller and older, their rents are likely less than most other houses in the city.

Having lived in both east and west Old Town since 1987, I am very familiar with these neighborhoods. Their more affordable/less expensive homes are occupied by students, young people buying their first home, seniors, and renters of all kinds. The new houses that have been recently been replacing them are much larger and very expensive. This demolition and redevelopment is reducing the affordability and social cohesion of our neighborhoods. When a little house is replaced by a large, taller house, neighbors are unhappy about the loss of historic neighborhood architecture and character,  and the loss of sunlight and  privacy in their backyards, on their patios, etc. Some resent their new neighbors for the  changes they have brought. And the long-standing personal relationships between neighbors is frayed or lost entirely. The people who buy Old Town homes LIKE historic architecture and are willing to live with less square footage, aging plumbing and wiring, etc. And once these older homes are gone, they are gone forever.  

As a response to these changes about 10 years ago, the neighborhood asked City Council to consider changes to zoning and architectural standards for the east and west Old Town neighborhoods. The city then engaged in a lengthy planning process which was initiated in 2012, went to Council in 2015, and due to political conflict, was re-started in 2015, and ended with the Old Town Neighborhoods Plan (OTNP) adoption in 2017. It resulted in neighborhood architectural guidelines, new zoning that restricted the mass, height, and lot coverage of new homes, and added protection of solar access to the zoning standards. The effort had EXTENSIVE public involvement and consensus on the changes. While our neighborhoods didn’t get everything they wanted, the resulting changes had/have general support. But after 5 years of our long volunteer time and work and the adoption of the plan and zoning changes in 2017 (just 5 years ago), we see this plan ignored and replaced with something completely different for which we had no notice or meaningful public engagement.  (The city notifies us in advance of street sweeping, tree trimming, or 5k races. We would expect to be notified when our homes and neighborhoods are proposed to be rezoned.)

The OTNP can be seen at https://www.fcgov.com/planning/otnp/resources.  Please open the 2nd  document on the website to look at the plan and Appendix B that describes the robust public process that occurred before its adoption. It took five years of process to reach a consensus and plan for just these 2 neighborhoods. It was adopted by Council in 2017 after a long period of neighborhood participation with a stakeholder group of more than 30 neighbors (see below) and countless outreach events and workshops. Appendix B starts at page 138 and you can see that the engagement process included important feedback loops. The consultants provided extensive data to the stakeholders and residents, polled the citizens, summarized their comments, and then came back with more discussion items so it was a reiterative process. Not a process where citizens tell staff and consultants what they desire and it’s one and done. Especially note starting on page 139 all the meeting dates and lists of stakeholder meetings, public workshops, listening sessions, (hands-on discussions – not just a Powerpoint and answers to question), etc.  The full list of public engagement meetings is 4 pages long. This planning process is good example of a dynamic and responsive public engagement process that ended in a broad consensus for plan and zoning adoption. It is an example of what should/could be done going forward on the LDC but at a city-wide scale.

By contrast, the LDC process had no significant or meaningful public engagement activities.  The current re-zoning process has been dominated from the start by vested housing and development interests. The LDC stakeholder group was small and made up of “people who use the Land Use Code on a daily basis.” It had no neighborhood or HOA representatives whatsoever. The zoom workshops, one of which I attended, lasted about an hour or so and were made up almost entirely of a Powerpoint presentation with minimal time for questions and answers. There was no data provided about the likely impacts the zoning would have on neighborhoods. And our questions were frequently not answered. For example, I asked about how many 4500 square foot lots there are in Fort Collins (with or without existing homes) and where they are located. This would show us how many lots could in theory add ADU’s and duplexes.  The staff had no answer. But this is an easy task for the city’s GIS mapping department to produce.

The new zoning’s stated goal is to increase the density, or housing units per acre, but does not mandate affordability. The code only offers “affordably housing bonuses” including one extra dwelling unit for duplexes to become triplexes or  a 5-unit apartment to have 6 units by requiring 99 year affordability.  I honestly don’t think many investors will want to tie up one unit for 99 years. Particularly when they have spent $400,000-$500,000 to buy an existing house to demolish it prior to building. Adding that half million to the cost of the construction of a duplex is very unlikely to result in affordable units.

The other incentives are less parking and higher buildings. Both of which impact the surrounding neighbors. In fact, city staff has told members of Preserve that a 5 or 6 – unit apartment building will only be required to have 3 on-site parking spaces putting as many as 10 extra cars on the adjacent streets. (And remember that Old Town homes frequently have only one-car garages, so many residents already have one or more cars parking on the street.) Parking is a real issue. Imagine the competition for parking that multiple 5-unit apartment buildings in one block might cause. And just because there is a Transfort route nearby does not mean people won’t own cars. Until there is a much larger and more frequent transit system, people will still need to drive cars.

The new proposed zoning can be expected to accelerate the demolition of existing homes in Old Town and the Tres Colonias for new construction by three different market segments: home buyers who want bigger, expensive houses; investors who will build apartments and high cost duplexes for profit; and affordable housing agencies who will build higher density rentals or entry level for-sale homes. This can be expected to further destroy the historic character and social cohesion of our wonderful Old Town neighborhoods.

And you wonder why there is widespread anger by citizens about these code changes?!

And finally, in researching the Housing Strategic Plan (adopted 2021), I found the description of a study on “displacement and gentrification risks” that the city was going to complete over the short term but which I could not find on the city website. This study should be done on the potential risks the new zoning will have  on existing residents. I believe the proposed upzoning of the Old Town and Tres Colonias neighborhoods, in particular, will have deleterious impacts upon existing, lower income renters and home owners, seniors, people of color, and others who already face major challenges finding affordable homes.  

As such, I’d like to see who will likely be displaced as a result of the LDC upzoning that will cause the demolition and redevelopment of the existing smaller housing stock in these neighborhoods. Will they be given housing vouchers? And will housing vouchers provide sufficient rent subsidy for them to rent somewhere else in their neighborhood or Fort Collins? Or will they be displaced outside the city and end up on the long waiting list for vouchers that already exists today.?

Here’s a quote  from page 46 of the Housing Strategic Plan.

1. Assess displacement and gentrification risk (New). City staff can use examples from other communities as a guide for building our own index for displacement and gentrification risk using readily available data (Census, American Community Survey, etc.). This information can help promote and target antidisplacement resources/programs, pair such resources with major capital investments, and guide community partnerships. Why Prioritized? Low-cost effort with targeted and meaningful impact; direct

impact on equity and stability. Already identified as an Ad Hoc Committee Quick Win.

Time Frame: Quicker Win (<1 year)

Expected Outcome: Improves housing equity; Increases stability / renter protections, Preservation

Lead Entity: County, City

Impacted Players: Renters, Historically disadvantaged populations, Residents vulnerable to displacement

Next Steps: Best practice review of approaches to identifying vulnerable neighborhoods; analysis and mapping; partner with the County’s Built Environment Group and their work to assess displacement

Please stop the implementation of this large, city-wide rezoning and initiate a real, public engagement process to make a better plan that has buy-in by most residents. Adopt a public engagement process that includes renters, seniors, minorities, students, neighborhood homeowners, and HOA representatives…the people who are impacted by the LDC, not just the development and non-profit interests who have been involved to date.   Let’s adopt a plan and zoning that actually mandates real affordable housing instead of optional “affordable housing bonuses”.

The Council should govern with the consent of those governed. And it appears that you do not have our consent now.

Thank-you for reading my comments.

Gina C  Janett

730 W Oak St