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October 28, 2004
Tomboy project sent back for revisions
After laboring over every detail of a second draft proposal of the town's newest affordable housing project, Telluride's Historical and Architectural Review Commission declined to grant the development final approval Tuesday, and sent the project back for another round of revisions.
Lance McDonald, projects manager for the town, said HARC wanted some very specific revisions to the project's main entryway, the size and quantity of the windows, and some of the exterior materials, as well as more landscaping along Cornet Creek.
Tomboy Town Homes, the proposed 16-unit development drawn up by town staff and architects from the firm Cottle, Carr and Yaw, is broken down into three multi-story buildings, housing a combination of studios, and two- and three-bedroom units.
The development is planned for the corner of Colorado Avenue and South Tomboy Street, just behind the visitor's center and adjacent to Cornet Creek.
McDonald said the architects will go back to the drawing board, make the necessary changes and return to HARC on Nov. 17 for what will be a third and hopefully final review.
The project was granted preliminary approval by HARC on Sept. 29 with a long list of conditions that the applicant was required to revise in the design plan prior to Tuesday's meeting. While some of those conditions were met, HARC was not satisfied with some of the materials proposed for the exterior, including a wire mesh material proposed to be used to screen the parking garage.
HARC also asked that landscaping along Cornet Creek be revised, creating more of a buffer space between the creek and the development.
"The town has specific guidelines limiting access from a private development to the creek," Historic Preservation Planner Dee Van Donselaar said. While the applicant has proposed increased vegetation along the creek to create a sort of barrier that will direct pedestrians away from the creek, staff suggested the access be further revised to provide more limited access to the open space.
The visibility of the access point has been reduced, however, the use of this access point has not been limited," staff wrote in its recommendations to the HARC board.
The board also wanted to see less glass on the building, citing concerns about light spilling onto neighboring complexes, as well as privacy.
"Where the windows are facing the creek, there is still too much light spill," she said.
While the design did not reduce the amount of windows, the applicant proposed solid railings on the decks, covering half of the windows.
"We're trying to balance livability inside and control the light spill for the outside," Project designer John Cottle said. "We feel the wall to glass ratio is modest compared to the guideline's direction."
By Susannah Patton
Posted by Adam at October 28, 2004 12:18 PM