HomeMy WebLinkAboutCARRIAGE HOUSE APARTMENTS - PDP - PDP120035 - CORRESPONDENCE - (6)Courtney Levingston
From: Melyssa Glassman <mglassman@newbelgium.com>
Sent: Sunday, January 20, 2013 10:20 PM
To: Courtney Levingston
Cc: melyssa glassman
Subject: Carriage House Apartments - proposed student housing near Bennett Elementary
Hello Ms. Levingston,
As a near lifetime member of the For'i Collins Community, I have vva`ched this tow✓n grow since 1.073.
That growth is welcomed in many cases; but not in the one I'd like for you to take into serious
consideration. It is the proposed development at 1305 Springfield Drive, a mere half -block from my
house at 1244 Bennett Road.
I purchased my house on Bennett Road five years ago mainly because of the location. That location
will be greatly affected if the Springfield development gains approval as proposed. Granted, we live
across from CSU, so student housing is an obvious choice for the property. We also live across the
street from one of the top elementary schools in Fort Collins. I have two kids at Bennett IB World
School, and it is, in part, for their sake I write the following concerns.
First, the parking spaces allotted for the proposed development are entirely inadequate. CSU
students regularly fill up Springfield Street during school days. The students living at 1305 Springfield
would be forced to park on Springfield Drive, therefore moving the day parking to Bennett Road. Not
a workable solution for many reasons, but the main one being that twice a day Bennett Road fills with
cars as parents drop off and retrieve their kids. I can't imagine if they were now contending for space
with college students. I also greatly worry for the safety of my own kids as they cross the street.
Heavy college traffic is unquestionably not compatible with walking elementary students.
As proposed, the new development is a three-story building. When everything around it is ranch -style
or at most two -stories, it hardly seems reasonable to think a three-story college student complex is
appropriate or congruent with the neighborhood. Considering those windows look down on Bennett
Drive and Bennett Elementary, it's unnerving to think of what will go up in those windows and the
privacy that would be destroyed. I also believe the existing character of the community, not to
mention property values, will be degraded significantly.
At the heart of this is the fact that no buffer is planned between the Springfield Drive project and the
existing houses on Bennett Road. Should the student housing project be developed, some substantial
and tasteful sight and sound buffer that is compatible with the existing neighborhood should be
imposed to block the view into the Bennett dwellings, as well as buffer the inevitable noise coming
from the complex.
I hope the council will take into consideration that an off -campus student housing situated a mere 200
feet from an elementary school in a thriving and tasteful residential neighborhood is exactly the
opposite of positive growth and development in Fort Collins. I hope for my children's sake it is
recognized that there are other more viable and compatible ways to provide student housing that
doesn't put elementary students, their families and proud property owners at risk.
I appreciate your time and hope we can continue a productive dialogue that engages the community
members who will be affected by this development.
Sincerely,
Melyssa Glassman I Creative Director I New Belgium Brewing 1970.221.0524