HomeMy WebLinkAboutAVONDALE COTTAGES - PDP - PDP140003 - REPORTS - CITIZEN COMMUNICATIONwithout putting a street to Avondale very near the intersection with Trilby which
would never work with all of the cars trying to exit to and enter from Trilby. How
can this development proposal be approved without detailed engineering,
landscape, and other critical plans prepared to be sure everything will work? There
does not seem to be a well thought out project plan. Has there been a development
impact and suitability study conducted to better examine these issues? This should
be made available to residents of Ridgewood Hills.
I plan to attend the public hearing on June 26. Thank you for your consideration
of my concerns.
Robert G. McLean
mcleanubico@msn.com
970-226-4600
has a very good reputation and is a sought after location to live as indicated by
rising house values now and the rapid turnover of houses for sale.
Will these new homeowners be required to be under the HOA rules and regulations
of Ridgewood Hills and pay the HOA fees like the rest of us? This should be
required to keep the properties in good shape and to maintain the quality and
appearance of the neighborhood. I doubt they would want to pay the $500 per year
HOA fee. Just the cluster of 10 small houses alone would be unattractive but all of
the extra garages and/or other buildings will make it worse. This is a good deal for
Habitat for Humanity development to be located in an upper scale neighborhood,
but it is not good for Ridgewood Hills Subdivision because it will diminish our
value and quality. Will the owners/occupants have jobs and have smaller family
sizes which HH claims their occupants of other developments have? Previous
comments during the last meeting were that the 2-story units could be expanded
and thus the number of occupants increased. This development could become a
community problem.
Another big issue is traffic at the intersection of Avondale and Trilby roads. Home
owners in this subdivision have requested a traffic signal at this intersection in the
past because of all of the traffic on Trilby, particularly since Trilby has become a
major bypass road around the southern border of Fort Collins, but were told that
the intersection was too close to another light at College Ave. I have waited at the
traffic signal at Trilby and College to turn left for 3 signal changes. There
apparently was no problem putting additional traffic lights even closer to College
Ave on Harmony, Horsetooth, Drake, and Prospect roads. The Horsetooth-College
intersection has about 7 traffic lights (4 west and 3 east of College Ave) within the
distance from Avondale Rd to College Ave. The additional traffic at the Avondale -
Trilby intersection following completion of this proposed 10 house development
will make traffic problems much worse. Entering Trilby from Avondale is difficult
particularly to turn west on to Trilby. In addition, the proposed large housing
development on the south end of Avondale and Triangle will make traffic
problems even worse because many drivers will exit Ridgewood Hills to the north
on Avondale to go to Trilby and on to Fort Collins.
What are the plans and schedule for the Habitat for Humanity neighborhood
development? Will all the houses be built within a short time period within a year
or less or spread out over a longer period of time? After reading the previous
meeting notes, there appeared to be no ideas or plans by the designers how to
handle a number of issues like parking, cul-de- sac, traffic flow, fire access, etc. A
statement was made that access to Avondale would not go through the townhouses
on Yuma Court and would go directly to Avondale. How would that be done
Avondale and Trilby Cottages Development
June 20, 2014
To: Clark Mapes, AICP, City of Fort Collins
From: Robert McLean, 407 Idalia Dr., Fort Collins, CO 80525
Sorry for the delay in responding, but I have out of the state for a few weeks.
I am sorry I missed the community meeting in Ridgewood Hills Subdivision and I
appreciate your sending a copy of the meeting discussion. I have concerns as well.
Two of my older brothers were professional city/county planners in Ohio and I
worked with them in the summers when I was in college, but I am obviously only
superficially aware of what is involved in the city planning process.
My primary question is why was this site chosen for this development? There are
much better and more suitable sites in Fort Collins and the surrounding area both
for the future residents of the development as well as the current residents of
Ridgewood Hills. This is a low -density mixed -use zoned subdivision and this
proposed development is not low density. It was mentioned that this site was zoned
commercial and was intended for a gas station as if that justifies the current
development plan. I know enough from working with my brothers that this site
would never be suitable as a commercial location particularly a gas station because
of poor access and that another gas station and 7-Eleven are located close by and
do have more traffic and two way access so the success of a commercial store/gas
station at this location would be very unlikely and would not have been built. The
site has been undeveloped for a long time and will have to be rezoned and what
will the new zone status be?
Despite the statement by the developers that they do not expect the project would
reduce property values, I disagree. This development plan will adversely affect our
house values in Ridgewood Hills particularly on the north side of the neighborhood
and will reduce the initial appearance of the neighborhood entrance which is
currently very attractive and offers appeal to potential buyers. That was a plus
when we were looking to buy a house here and we would have been discourage of
buying here with a 10 small house development crowded into the acre of land at
the main entrance. Will there be any consistency in the house designs, layouts, and
quality? In selling a house one of the features that helps in impressing potential
buyers is the street view or curb appeal of the house and this feature is the same for
the community where the house is located. Ridgewood Hills' subdivision currently