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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPEC140011 VVMC Master Plan Loading and Delivery with Attachments 0922140) TOWN OF VAIL' Memorandum TO: Planning and Environmental Commission FROM: Community Development Department DATE: September 22, 2014 SUBJECT: A request for a recommendation to the Vail Town Council on the adoption of the Vail Valley Medical Center Master Plan, to establish a comprehensive redevelopment plan for the Vail Valley Medical Center, Lot 10 (Town of Vail parking lot), and US Bank Building, located at 181 and 281 West Meadow Drive and 108 South Frontage Road West/ Lots E, F, and 10 Vail Village Filing 2, and Lot D -2, A Resubdivision of Lot D Vail Village Filing 2, and setting forth details it regard thereto. (PEC140011) Applicant: Vail Valley Medical Center, represented by Braun and Associates Planner: Warren Campbell DESCRIPTION OF REQUEST The applicant, Vail Valley Medical Center (VVMC), represented by Braun and Associates, is requesting a public hearing with the Planning and Environmental Commission to continue the review of the proposed Vail Valley Medical Center Master Plan (VVMC MP), dated August, 2014. The public hearing will include: • responses by the VVMC to questions raised thus far in the public process, • a discussion of loading and delivery for the redeveloped medical center, • opportunity for public participation, and • a schedule of next steps. As this public hearing will limit the scope of discussion to loading and delivery as just one element of the proposed VVMC MP, staff has not prepared a recommendation for any action by the Planning and Environmental Commission. Town staff will provide a recommendation at the November 24, 2014 public hearing. II. DISCUSSION ITEMS The end result of the master planning process is to create a facilities master plan for the VVMC campus. As such, the plan will be used primarily by VVMC to help guide and direct future decisions for development on the VVMC campus. While many aspects and elements of the plan have little, or no relevance, on the Town of Vail or the immediate neighborhood (i.e., interior layout of the buildings, sequencing of construction, size of the emergency generator, etc.), there are many other aspects or elements of the plan which will. For example, elements such as parking; pedestrian circulation; loading and delivery; bulk, mass and scale; vehicular access, etc. For that reason, it is imperative that input from the community and other potentially impacted parties is taken throughout the master planning process. These design solutions and options for the implementation of these elements will become part of the master plan. Once incorporated into the Vail Land Use, the master plan will be used as a benchmark for evaluating more detailed development plan proposals provided as part of a conditional use permit application. Further, portions of the master plan should be created with the expressed intent and goal of its inclusion in the Vail's Comprehensive Plan. Through its inclusion in Vail's Comprehensive Plan, the master plan becomes pertinent and relevant to future development review processes and actions by the Town. In order to achieve this goal, the Vail Land Use Plan should be amended to include those aspects or elements of the master facilities plan which bear relevance on the Town of Vail and the immediate neighborhood. VVMC Responses to Questions Raised Throuah Public Process The applicant has prepared responses to questions raised to date over the course of the public hearing process. Those questions and responses will be provided and presented at the public hearing. Loading and Delivery Proposed VVMC MP Language The language addressing Loading and Service in the VVMC MP is as follows: Relocating loading and delivery facilities off of West Meadow Drive has been suggested by community members. Moving these facilities to the new South Frontage Road access was studied but deemed infeasible. This is due primarily to grade changes between the South Frontage Road and West Meadow Drive; limited road frontage on the South Frontage Road; the need to accommodate multiple "Front Door" uses (patient and guest drop -off,. ambulance access and a ramp to access hospital parking. The new loading facility is proposed to remain on West Meadow Drive. However, with the redevelopment of the East Wing the loading facility will be entirely enclosed and sized such that vehicles can complete turning movements within the structure. Noise, odor and visual impacts of loading and delivery functions will be mitigated with this new enclosed facility, enhancing VVMC's compatibility with adjacent residential uses. Town of Vail Page 2 Staff has reviewed the proposed VVMC MP language regarding loading and service and has the following comments and questions. Purpose Statement of Loading and Delivery • The proposed VVMC MP language needs to clearly articulate the challenges with regard to providing and locating loading and delivery on the site and solutions that could be developed to address them. The proposed VVMC MP language needs to address opportunities to utilize /incorporate a shared loading and delivery facility with potential existing and future adjacent properties. In several instances shared loading and delivery facilities have proven to result in an optimization in the use of space and reduction in the associated negative impacts of the use. Three potential properties might benefit from this concept. Those are the US Bank Building, Evergreen Lodge, and the VVMC. The proposed VVMC MP language does not provide a clear explanation for why loading and delivery access is appropriate off of West Meadow Drive and cannot be provided off of the South Frontage Road West (Frontage Road). The Frontage Road is an arterial road which is most appropriate to handle large and over -sized vehicles with minimal conflict with other multi - modal users throughout town. West Meadow Drive is a dead end local road /pedestrian link which incorporates several multi -modal users which may be in conflict with larger delivery vehicles. Recent projects such as Solaris, the Sebastian Hotel, and the Four Season Resort have all incorporated shared, enclosed loading and delivery facilities with access off of the South Frontage Road. Solaris has approximately 425 feet of street frontage, Sebastian has approximately 190 feet of street frontage, and Four Seasons has approximately 455 feet of street frontage. Upon review of the development site, including the US Bank Building, VVMC has approximately 300 feet of street frontage. Provide additional details, documentation, and reasoning to address the appropriate location and solutions to address any potential negative impacts of loading and delivery for the VVMC site. • Pedestrian safety is an additional element which should be evaluated in any loading and delivery facility evaluation in conjunction with a future development plan application. • Is it anticipated that trucks larger than what is designed to maneuver within the enclosed loading and delivery bay would need to back into the bays? If so, how would this occur to ensure pedestrian safety? Town of Vail Page 3 Prohibiting loading and delivery in the public roadway or the more pedestrianized areas of Vail is a well stated policy. For instance, the Lionshead Redevelopment Master Plan in Section 4.7, Loading and Delivery, speaks to the importance of prohibiting loading and delivery in the public roadway and pedestrian areas. The Vail Village Master Plan contains goals, policies, objectives addressing the need to limit vehicular traffic in pedestrian areas and provide loading and delivery facilities consistent with the overall "dispersed quadrant" approach to address their negative impacts. Staff believes these policies need to be continued and included within the VVMC MP. The language needs to include statements addressing these concepts and desired outcomes. • It has been the experience of staff that there are multiple vehicles larger than an SU30 (non - articulating truck with a 30 -foot distance between front and rear axles) which visit the site with some regularly. It is important to address these vehicles in more detail and clarity. Several noted examples have been the temporary generator trailer, mobile medical facilities, etc. Loading and Service Vehicle Traffic Report The applicant has provided a traffic report from Turn Key Consulting quantifying Delivery and Service Vehicles on West Meadow Drive, dated September 16, 2014 (Attachment A). This report provides analysis on the overall traffic volumes on West Meadow Drive and VVMC and specific delivery and service volumes. The memorandum states that "it is anticipated that the same number of delivery trucks will visit VVMC — they will just deliver or pick -up more stuff each trip." As a result of this finding the report analyzed existing delivery and service volumes. Table 1 of the report identifies the delivery and service trip volumes at peak times and overall on a per day time period. A trip includes the arrival and departure of a single delivery and service vehicle. It identifies a total of eight (8) AM and ten (10) PM peak trips with a total of 58 trips (29 vehicles) per day. There are several notes below the table to provide background and clarification on elements contained within the table. Table 2 of the report identifies the percentage of VVMC delivery and service vehicle trips as a percentage of the traffic volumes created by the residential properties and town buses on West Meadow Drive. The report states that on a daily basis he VVMC delivery and service vehicle trips account for 10% of the overall vehicle trips on West Meadow Drive. Staff has reviewed the Turn Key report regarding loading and service vehicles and has the following comments and questions. Provide the background research data for the determination of the VVMC delivery and service vehicle trips included in Table 1 as an appendix to the memorandum. Town of Vail Page 4 • Use ASHTO classifications to describe and identify types of delivery and service vehicle visiting the site. • The data included in Note 2 needs to be included as a column in Table 1. • Table 2 needs to be amended to include actual traffic counts in place of ITE trip generation estimates. III. BACKGROUND The idea for a facilities master plan for the VVMC campus rose out of the municipal site redevelopment project. During discussions regarding the municipal site project, a number of land planning opportunities and facility improvement needs were identified. While the municipal site redevelopment project is no longer being actively pursued by the VVMC and the Town of Vail, the need for certain facility improvements on the VVMC campus remains and opportunities for better land planning still exists. Through previous communications with the Town, VVMC has been given conceptual approval to explore master planning options and ideas which may include the use of certain town owned land. More specifically, that land includes the town's municipal site located at 75 South Frontage Road and 281 West Meadow Drive, library parking lot (Lot 10, Vail Village Filing 2). No final decisions on that matter, however, have been reached. On April 8, 2013, the Planning and Environmental Commission the applicant presented conceptual ideas for the creation of the master plan and received input from the Commission on the types of issues which needed to be addressed by the Plan. To that end, a significant amount of time and thought has gone into addressing on -site and off - site traffic circulation, determining the parking need, options for addressing the parking need (both on -site and off - site), loading and delivery options, and construction sequencing. Additionally, further investigation has gone into the potential use of the municipal site and /or Lot 10 to help address the physical and spatial needs of the Vail Valley Medical Center. On May 12, 2014, the Planning and Environmental Commission held a public hearing to address, the planning process, background work that has been completed to date, planning considerations, the format of the master plan document, opportunities for public participation, and a schedule of next steps. In August of 2014, the Vail Town Council and the VVMC decided to exclude the town's municipal site in the VVMC MP as a potential site for parking to meet the requirements of the medical campus. On September 8, 2014, the Planning and Environmental Commission held a public hearing where an introduction to the proposed VVMC MP was presented. The Commission recommended that the project move forward with a clear agenda of topics to be covered at each hearing. This would allow the public to decide in advanced to attend to participate in those elements of the VVMC MP which most interested them. Town of Vail Page 5 IV. APPLICABLE PLANNING DOCUMENTS The following planning documents are applicable to the review of this application: ZONING CODE General Use District 12 -9C -1: PURPOSE: The general use district is intended to provide sites for public and quasi - public uses which, because of their special characteristics, cannot be appropriately regulated by the development standards prescribed for other zoning districts, and for which development standards especially prescribed for each particular development proposal or project are necessary to achieve the purposes prescribed in section 12 -1 -2 of this title and to provide for the public welfare. The general use district is intended to ensure that public buildings and grounds and certain types of quasi - public uses permitted in the district are appropriately located and designed to meet the needs of residents and visitors to Vail, to harmonize with surrounding uses, and, in the case of buildings and other structures, to ensure adequate light, air, open spaces, and other amenities appropriate to the permitted types of uses. VAIL LAND USE PLAN The Vail Land Use Plan contains multiple goal statements placed into six different categories. Staff believes the following goal statements are applicable to the effort to master plan the VVMC campus. 1. General Growth /Development 1.1. Vail should continue to grow in a controlled environment, maintaining a balance between residential, commercial and recreational uses to serve both the visitor and the permanent resident. 1.2. The quality of the environment including air, water and other natural resources should be protected as the Town grows. 1.3. The quality of development should be maintained and upgraded whenever possible. 1.12 Vail should accommodate most of the additional growth in existing developed areas (infill areas). 6. Community Services 6.1. Services should keep pace with increased growth. Town of Vail Page 6 6.2. The Town of Vail should play a role in future development through balancing growth with services. 6.3. Services should be adjusted to keep pace with the needs of peak periods. The Land Use Plan designates the desired Land Use Category of all properties in the Town. The VVMC is comprised of several properties with differing land use designations. Resort Accommodations and Service (US Bank Building) This area includes activities aimed at accommodating the overnight and short - term visitor to the area. Primary uses include hotels, lodges, service stations, and parking structures (with densities up to 25 dwelling units or 50 accommodation units per buildable acre). Transition (VVMC Campus) The transition designation applies to the area between Lionshead and the Vail Village. The activities and site design of this area is aimed at encouraging pedestrian flow through the area and strengthening the connection between the two commercial cores. Appropriate activities include hotels, lodging and other tourist oriented residential units, ancillary retail and restaurant uses, museums, areas of public art, nature exhibits, gardens, pedestrian plazas, and other types of civic and culturally oriented uses, and the adjacent properties to the north. This designation would include the right -of -way of West Meadow Drive and the adjacent properties to the north. LIONSHEAD REDEVELOPMENT MASTER PLAN Section 4.7 Loading and Delivery 4.7.1 Properties with Direct Service Access As a general rule, properties that can provide for their own service and delivery needs should comply with the following guidelines: a. Loading and delivery facilities should be located deep enough into the property that the estimated peak volume of service vehicles does not back up into or block the access road or pedestrian areas. b. Service drives and loading docks must be screened with landscaping, fencing, retaining walls or other appropriate design techniques. c. All reasonable measures shall be taken to prevent noise and exhaust impacts on adjacent properties. d. In no case shall a property utilize the public roadway or pedestrian area to stage service and delivery vehicles. Town of Vail Page 7 V. NEXT STEPS A letter outlining the upcoming topics and dates for discussion in the review process is attached for reference (Attachment B). Are there any additional materials the Commission anticipates at this time in order evaluate future discussion items encompassed by the VVMC MP? The Planning and Environmental Commission is asked to table this public hearing to the October 13, 2014. VI. ATTACHMENTS A. Turn Key Consulting memorandum addressing Delivery and Service Vehicles on West Meadow Drive dated September 16, 2014. B. Letter from George Ruther, Community Development Director, dated September 15, 2014, outlining the next steps in the process C. Correspondence from neighboring property owners received since September 8, 2014. Town of Vail Page 8 �TQ_�CoUn�sulting, MKey LLC MEMORANDUM 2533 West Pinyon Ave Grand Junction, CO 81505 970 - 985 -4001 TO: Dan Feeney, PE, Vail Valley Medical Center (VVMC) FROM: Skip Hudson, PE DATE: September 16, 2014 RE: Delivery and Service Vehicles on West Meadow Drive This memo addresses the delivery and service vehicle traffic on West Meadow Drive. The information in the Table 1 is based on the current delivery vehicle information provided by the VVMC Facilities group, and your email regarding the VVMC service vehicles. Table 1 shows the existing VVMC traffic volumes on West Meadow Drive. It is anticipated that these numbers will not change after the Master Plan construction is completed. Even though the VVMC will be larger in size, employee more people, and serve more patrons and guests, it is anticipated that the same number of delivery trucks will visit VVMC — they will just deliver or pick -up more stuff each trip. Table 1 — VVMC Delivery and Service Trips on West Meadow Drive Vehicle Type Peak Hour Traffic Volume 1,2 (vehicles per hour) Daily Traffic Volume' da ( vehicles per p Y) AM Peak Hour (7:30 am — 8:30 am) PM Peak Hour (4:00 pm — 5:00 pm) Delivery 6 8 503 Service 4 2 2 8 Total 8 10 58 Notes: 1. The Peak Hour and Daily Traffic Volumes represent the total number of trips IN and trips OUT; for example, the Total Daily Traffic Volume of 58 for Delivery and Service Vehicles represents 29 vehicles that make 29 trips IN plus 29 trips OUT for a total of 58 daily trips. 2. The AM and PM peak hours are based on the peak hours at the Vail Road and West Meadow Drive intersection; the highest hour for delivery and service vehicles to /from the VVMC is 12 vehicles per hour and occurs from 10 am to 11 am. 3. 6 of the 50 trips are made by large trucks (one garbage truck, and two small semi - trucks with trailers); the rest of the trips are made by large vans. 4. The service vehicles are pick -up trucks or large vans. Page 1 of 2 Table 2 compares the background (non -VVMC) traffic on West Meadow Drive to the VVMC delivery and service Vehicles that will be on West Meadow Drive after the VVMC Master Plan construction is completed. The VVMC main entrance will be relocated to the 170 South Frontage Road so the only VVMC traffic on West Meadow Drive will be delivery and service vehicles. Table 2 — Compare VVMC Traffic Volumes on West Meadow Drive Traffic Volume Source Peak Hour Traffic Volume (vehicles per hour) Daily Traffic Volume (vehicles per day) AM Peak Hour (7:30 am — 8:30 am) PM Peak Hour (4:00 pm — 5:00 pm) Passenger Vehicles 33 81 294' Background Traffic Buses 142 202 2402 Total 47 101 536 VVMC Traffic (Delivery and Service Vehicles only) g -F 10 58 Total (Background + VVMC) 55 111 594 VVMC as % of Total 15% 9% 10% Notes: 1. The daily traffic volume on West Meadow Drive is not known; the 294 vehicles per day was estimated using the ITE Trip Generation Manual (ITE Land Use 260 Recreational Homes; there are 93 residential units that access West Meadow Drive). 2. Bus numbers estimated based on frequency /headway information provided by Vail Transit. Page 2 of 2 TOWN OF 75 South Frontage Road West Vail, Colorado 81657 vailgov.com September 15, 2014 To Whom It May Concern: Community Development Department 970.479.2138 970.479.2452 fax The Vail Valley Medical Center has submitted an application proposing the adoption of the Vail Valley Medical Center Facilities Master Plan and an amendment to the Vail Land Use Plan. According to the Town's Code, the Planning & Environmental Commission must first review the proposed Master Plan and forward its recommendation to the Vail Town Council. A recommendation from the Commission may include an approval, a denial, or an approval with modifications. The Town Council shall have final decision - making authority on whether the Master Plan is adopted or the Land Use Plan is amended. To aid in the understanding of the review process of the Master Plan by the Commission, a schedule has been developed which summarizes the topics to be addressed over the course of the review process and meeting dates have been assigned. The goal of this effort is to provide improved communication and establish further predictability within the review process. That being said, the following schedule has been developed for the master plan review process: VMCC Facilities Master Plan Outline of PEC Review Process The following summarizes topics to be discussed at upcoming Planning and Environmental Commission hearings. September 22, 2014 1. Response to questions raised by Commissioners and the public at the September 8th PEC hearing and in letters submitted to the PEC. 2. Presentation of the "road map" for the Town's review of the Master Plan. 3. Discussion of the Master Plan review process and the Conditional Use review process. 4. Presentation of Loading /Delivery /Service for the project. October 13, 2014 1. Response to questions raised by Commissioners and the public at the September 22 t PEC hearing and in letters submitted to the PEC. 2. Presentation of the following: • Parking • Building Massing /Architecture • Meadow Drive /Streetscape • Employee Housing • Middle Creek • Procedural considerations (zoning, MP land use designations) • Traffic /Circulation October 27, 2014 1. Response to questions raised by Commissioners and the public at the October 13th PEC hearing and in letters submitted to the PEC. 2. Presentation of the helipad. November 14, 2014 1. Upload final draft version of the master plan to the Town's website for public review. November 24, 2014 1. Applicant and staff provide final follow -up on master plan topics 2. Request for PEC recommendation to Vail Town Council Again, the goal of creating this schedule is to provide improved communication and establish further predictability within the master plan review process. Understanding that it may be difficult to attend every meeting in person, please feel free to send your written comments to me and I will ensure the information gets to the Commission for their consideration. Should you have any questions with regard to the information addressed in my letter, please do not hesitate to call or write. You can reach me most easily by telephone at (970) 376 -2675 or by email at gruther(a)vailgov.com. I look forward to a successful outcome for all the interested parties to this master planning process. Sincerely, George Ruther, AICP Director of Community Development Town of Vail Town of Vail Page 2 Warren Campbell From: MusylM @gtlaw.com Sent: Friday, September 12, 2014 2:26 PM To: Andy Daly Cc: George Ruther; Warren Campbell; Council Dist List Subject: Vail Valley Medical Center proposed redevelopment plan Dear Mayor Daly, Messrs. Ruther and Campbell and Members of the Vail Town Council, I have owned property in Vail since 1981. My wife and I are currently owners of a condominium at Alphorn, 121 West Meadow Drive. I am writing in response to your request for public comment on the Vail Valley Medical Center ( "VVMC") proposed redevelopment plan. I have two major concerns that I would ask you to address in your consideration of the plan. The first is the location of the VVMC helipad. It is my understanding that the location does not meet FAA technical standards as it is too close to residential structures (Alphorn, Skaal Haus, Scorpio, etc.). As I'm sure you are also aware, there are flight restrictions on helicopters operating at altitudes over 6000 feet. The altitude, changing weather, wind and other conditions in the narrow Vail Valley, along with these flight restrictions, will make helicopter takeoffs and landings extremely dangerous. Common sense would dictate that such flights avoid high density residential areas. In addition to safety concerns, there are, of course, issues with the landing lights surrounding the landing pad, noise and traffic, again in a residential neighborhood. Our second major concern is traffic. As I understand the current proposal, much of the traffic that currently uses the frontage road (including 65 parking places at the bank building) will be re- routed (at least through the course of construction) to the driveway between Alphorn and Skaal Haus. This driveway is narrow, obscured from West Meadow Drive and currently is used almost exclusively by Scorpio and Alphorn owners. Re- routing a large volume of traffic to this driveway will significantly impact Alphorn, Skaal Haus and Scorpio with added noise, light and vehicle exhaust. It will also create added congestion to West Meadow Drive. As I'm sure you know, West Meadow Drive sees an extraordinary amount of non - vehicular activity, e.g., pedestrian, bicycle, skateboard, rollerblade, etc. Current vehicular use of the road is made up generally of owners (who are very familiar with these activities and, as a result, are extra careful) and the TOV bus. We believe that limiting traffic on West Meadow Drive ought to be the goal. Increasing traffic, even on a temporary basis, will create an unreasonably hazardous condition. We understand that you take the planning process seriously and applaud your efforts on behalf of all of members of the community. Thank you for your consideration of our comments. Marc and Regina Musyl Alphorn Condominium Owners If you are not an intended recipient of confidential and privileged information in this email, please delete it, notify us immediately at postmasterkgtlaw.com, and do not use or disseminate such information.