HomeMy WebLinkAboutBEAUCAIRE TREATMENT CENTER - PDP - 4-03 - CORRESPONDENCE - CITIZEN COMMUNICATION (8)Page Two
construct a beautiful building in keeping with the architecture of the city buildings.
Another project is also planned for the same block of Cherry Street. I am sure the City of
Fort Collins welcomes these projects, which will complete the Mason Street Corridor.
Please, consider carefully the impact this treatment facility will have on the long-time
residents of Martinez Park, the influx of new neighbors in the area and the completion of
the various Mason Street North Projects.
Sincerely,
Ken Smith, President
Martinez Park Homeowners Association
415 #4 Mason Court
October 3, 2003
Mr. Bob Barkeen
Current Planning Department
P.O. Box 580
281 North College
Fort Collins, Colorado 80524
Dear Mr. Barkeen:
This letter supersedes myprevious letter.
RECEIVED
OCT 0 6 2003
CURRENT PLANNING
I am writing this letter as a concerned neighbor in the Martinez Park neighborhood. The
proposed Beaucaire Residential Treatment Center Expansion Project is a few hundred
feet from my back door. The impact of a 4,995 square foot facility and a 5,725 square
foot parking lot is unacceptable for the neighborhood. The adjacent neighbors have
already been impacted by the Beaucaire presence. At several neighborhood meetings,
neighbors have brought up the inordinate amount of police calls to 302 Cherry Street. In
fact, according to data I have secured from the Fort Collins Police Department, there have
been 65 police responses to that address. The calls run the gamut from harassment and
criminal mischief to assault and warrant arrests.
From my window, I can see the facility and the path out the back door across the tracks
and into Martinez Park. I feel the facility poses a risk to the neighborhood that is
unnecessary. Martinez Park has a proud history as a unique neighborhood in Fort
Collins. The proposed project has no place in that history.
At several meetings last year, many Martinez Park residents expressed real concerns
about issues of safety and civility surrounding the facility and its residents. A home day
center next door to the care facility presents an unacceptable situation. Some of the
residents on Cherry Street have been there for generations and to have this facility built in
their neighborhood is not the best use of the land as well as a personal affront to the
culture built around the Martinez Park neighborhood.
The sheer size of the project goes against the architecture of the long-time neighborhood,
as well as the sensibilities. The increased number of residents, parolees and felons in
many cases, brings unnecessary risk to the families who choose to live in this part of Fort
Collins. With the current rejuvenation of the neighborhood brought about by new
construction adjacent to the park and the north terminus of the Mason Street North
Project, the Beaucaire Project simply does not fit with this positive residential plan. The
National Association for Interpretation has chosen to relocate to the CV Axle location for
their national headquarters. They have also secured a $200,000 grant from the city to