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HomeMy WebLinkAboutKAUFMAN BARN, ADDING A STRUCTURE TO A PROPERTY WITH A NON-CONFORMING USE - 18-03 - REPORTS - CITIZEN COMMUNICATION (17)north and the south, your home is behind you to the west. You look east and can see a little bit of the world to your left. But as you pan right you suddenly lose sight of that world because there, ominously looming before you, 5 feet from the fence, 15 feet high, is a massive structure. It is all you can see. You feel as though you are in an alleyway or a canyon. Maybe right smack in the middle of a big city surrounded by skyscrapers. Now ask yourself: How do you feel? • The last request I ask of you is to visit my parents' home. Yes, I know you are busy. You have your work, personal lives, groups, clubs, committee meetings to go to, recitals to see, your exercise programs, errands to run, meals to cook. A million and one things to do! You plan to retire some day. That's where my parents are. My Mom retired and my Dad is close to retiring. Moreover, what they worked so hard for all these past years was to retire in their home, to enjoy that home and its yard. Thank you for the opportunity to share my thoughts and concerns on this agenda item. Sincerely, Angelique N. Godinez My Additional Concerns Through my research, I have come across a building permit to demolish three existing horse sheds that the perspective barn structure is to replace. I'm not quite sure how three horse sheds are equal to a six -stall bam. What's more interesting is that there was a new horse shed built after the three horse sheds came down, yet I did not find a building permit for this new shed. I thought this odd since it was necessary to obtain a permit to demolish the three horse sheds. Is the new horse shed a temporary structure? If not, this will bring the total of stalls from three to seven. The numbers appear to be going the wrong way. According to the layout of the property there are three other horse sheds which, if they remain standing, will bring the total of sheds and stalls to 10. I will reiterate: 3.3 acres equals 6.6 horses, not ten. This barn structure is supposed to be a replacement! Not only is the quantity of sheds to stalls not computing, but if look at the footprint of the three old sheds and compare it to the footprint of the proposed new structure, this replacement strucure is intended to be moved to a new location. Alternative Solution This new barn structure could be built anywhere on this land. It could be set right where the old structure was —approximately 65 feet from the owner's north property line. With this adjustment and a resolution to the manure issue, I believe that this would be a win -win situation for all parties involved. I Sincerely Ask of You... • Not all of the issues in my letter or my parents' letter can be solved within the Planning and Zoning Committee. I do understand that! However, I believe that you have a much better understanding of which departments or committees would be best suited to handle them. Please pass this information on to those departments and committees. If for any reason you can not do this, then please provide either my mother or me with department names, phone numbers, contacts, and any other pertinent information so that we may present our concerns to them. • Visualize: When you go home tonight (if you are voting on this agenda item tonight, please take 5-10 minutes for this now), take some time to visualize your home. Imagine sitting on your patio or deck and you have a tiny back yard that measures 90 feet by 27 feet. Since you are on your patio or deck, you are only 20 to 25 feet from the privacy fence that your neighbor put up. Just over the fence, right up against the other side, are piles of festering manure. Can you smell it? Mmmm — Aroma! Now ask yourself- How do you feel? Picture this: It is a hot day in the middle of summer. Flies are swarming. You are hosting this year's family reunion. A large turnout this year. Your spouse, kids, sisters, brothers, in-laws, many generations, all with their very own fly swatters. Through the swishing of those swatters, you look around. You can sea W the My parents have lived this house for 30 years! They have worked hard to take exceptional care of their home and yard. My mother loves her yard and garden — especially her back yard. I have many fond memories of helping my mother plant flowers and vegetables in the garden; many more of the times we ate vegetables and fruit cultivated in that garden. In addition to the garden, the back yard has a raspberry bush, a grape vine, an apple tree (that my father planted), and several strawberry plants. My parents both dedicate a lot of their time and energy to maintaining their yard and garden yet they have not been able to really enjoy the fruits of their labor since the manure problem. The Property Value line and runs I truly believe that if this structure is placed 5 feet from the east property along a good portion of the property line it will have a negative effect on the value of my parents' property. It will adversely affect the amount of sunlight that the back side of the house, back yard vegetation, and garden receive. It will also block the view from the windows of the back side of the house because the structure will be right on top of my parents' house. As it is now, you can watch the horses and sun rise from the back of the house. Morning sun is also the healthiest form of sunlight for gardening. Allowing this structure to be built will destroy this valuable asset. The Quantity and Type of Animals Is pretty simple: 3.3 acres minus the footprints of all structures equals the "true" t' acreage of the property. If you can have one horse per .5 acres of pasture, then you take the "true acreage", multiply it by 2, and this is equal to how many horses you can have on the property. If there were no structures on the 3.3 acres, then the maximum number of horses allowed would equal 6.6. It is my understanding that there have been instances when there was more than the allowable amount of horses on this property at one time. I have also been told that although it is illegal to keep sheep within the city limits, the property has housed sheep in addition to the horses (which I expect would amplify the manure problem). The Increase of Pests I'll be brief here, as my parents have already covered this area, but as I said before, I share all their concerns and their point of view. I have only one point to add about the mice. During the time that I grew up in that house, there was a small number of mice. In fact, I don't remember but one or two mice being caught in our home in my have seventeen years of residing there. In just this past summer and fall, my parents caught four mice in their home. It seems that the previous owner of the adjacent property must have been doing something to keep the rodent population down. With the proximity of the proposed barn to my parents' house, I fear that the number of mice will continue to rise until there is an uncontrollable infestation. Angelique N. Godinez November 18, 2003 Planning and Zoning Board 281 N. College Ave. Fort Collins, CO 80521 13307 SE 19th Street Vancouver, Washington 98683 Phone: 360-604-4789 angelique_godinez@hotmail.com RE: Item 2, #18-03, KAUFMAN BARN, ADDING A STRUCTURE TO A PROPERTY WITH A NON -CONFORMING USE on the 11 /30/2003 Agenda of the Planning and Zoning Board To Whom It May Concern: I am the daughter of Augustine and Rose Godinez who share the east property line with the owner of the proposed barn. Naturally, as they are my parents, I am greatly concerned with their health, finances, and any other issues that may affect their personal well-being. Not only am I writing on their behalf as a concerned supporter but also from a personal point of view. The personal point of view stems from the 17 years that I spent growing up in that house and my plan to someday own it, as the house is willed to my siblings and me. I will assume that you have read the letter from my parents stating their concerns and the details of how the placement of the perspective barn will affect them. I share their concerns and at this time would like to emphasize them. The Manure This has been a problem for quite some time which, despite what you have been told, has not been remedied. My parents and I realize that there will be manure on a property that is allowed to house livestock, however the disposal of that manure is another matter. The manure is collected, piled, and left to rot less than 30 feet from the backside of my parents' home. Due to the layout of their home, this is where my parents prepare and eat their meals. This is completely disgusting and most definitely presents itself as a health hazard, not to mention my parents' inability to enjoy the company of friends and family in the back yard. Being the Planning and Zoning Board this may be less of a concern to you but I ask that you bear it in mind because this area is zoned RL and if you approve project, will you not be condoning the practice of this outrage?