HomeMy WebLinkAboutConstituent Letter - Mail Packet - 5/1/2018 - Letter From Ron D. Sladek, President, Historic Larimer County, Re: Planned Building Height Allowances Around Buckingham NeighborhoodHonor the Past, Imagine the Future
P.O. Box 1909
Fort Collins, Colorado 80522
Board of Directors
Ron Sladek, Fort Collins – President
Jennifer Mayan Kaylor, Wellington - Vice-President
Meg Dunn, Fort Collins – Secretary
Ray Sumner, Timnath - Treasurer
Sharon Danhauer, Loveland
Cheryl Glanz, Fort Collins
D. L. Roberts, Livermore
Sue Schneider, Poudre Canyon
Judy Jackson, Bellvue
Tracy Briggs, Berthoud
24 April 2018
Dear Fort Collins Planning Staff and City Council,
I am writing today on behalf of the board and membership of Historic Larimer County to raise our
concern about planned building height allowances for the area around the Buckingham
neighborhood. We recognize and celebrate the historic significance of this neighborhood for its
direct association with the development of the nearby Great Western Sugar Company factory in
1903. As you are probably aware, the homes there were first occupied by Germans from Russia,
who had immigrated to the United States in search of freedom and better lives for their families. As
their finances allowed, many of them moved out of the neighborhood to develop farms of their own,
and the houses became occupied by a second wave of Hispanic factory and farm workers with the
same hopes and dreams. Today the Buckingham neighborhood is still home to some of these
families, along with others who have sought its more affordable housing.
We ask that Planning Staff and City Council work to protect not only the historic character of the
Buckingham neighborhood, but also the quality of life of those who reside there. Because this is
not a neighborhood of great wealth or status in the community, we feel it important to speak out and
express our concern regarding plans that will allow buildings as tall as four stories to be constructed
around much of the neighborhood’s perimeter. Given the one-story height and modest massing of
the homes, we feel that even with setbacks this would be insensitive to the existing neighborhood
character and would negatively impact its residents. We ask that you consider a buffer zone of
lower height allowances around the Buckingham neighborhood that would protect its historic
features and its residents’ quality of life.
Thank you for your great work and for taking our thoughts into consideration,
Ron D. Sladek
President