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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRIGDEN FARM, PHASE 1 - PDP - 56-98C - CORRESPONDENCE - CITIZEN COMMUNICATION (6)Our understanding is that our offer has been rejected by the LPC. We encourage both the LPC and the city to reassess this decision. Since we want to submit our Neighborhood Center in our first PDP, we need to have a decision soon if the city and the LPC would like to take us up on our offer. If they don't wish to accept the offer, we will design and build a different center. I would like to address LPC's position of moving the entire farmstead back away from the intersection, but leaving it on the comer. The owners of the Rigden Farm project do not support this solution, but might be willing to sell the ground to a group wanting to relocate the farmstead on this site. The price of the commercial ground on the comer is $15.00 per square foot. As we see it, the LPC and the city have a number of alternatives for the Johnson farmstead: 1. Take the development group up on its offer to relocate, remodel and preserve the farmstead at the Neighborhood Center within our Rigden Farm project. 2. Purchase the comer at market price in order to relocate the farmstead as close to the corner as possible. 3. Move the farmstead to another location not on the Rigden Farm project. 4. Destroy the farmstead. 5. Condemn the property adjacent to the comer with the vehement opposition of the current property owner, Spring Creek Farms, LLC, as well as the development group. It is our opinion that alternative #l, while not ideal for either party, is the best solution for all concerned. We welcome a constructive dialog with the city, but reiterate that our offer to move the farm site will be withdrawn in the near future. Sincerely, <�Q --e Dave Pietenpol Project Manager copy: Karen McWilliams Matt Baker Scott Griffin WHEELER Commercial January 27, 1999 Mr. Troy Jones Current Planning Department City of Fort Collins P.O. Box 580 Fort Collins, Colorado 80522-0580 RE: Johnson Farm SE comer of Drake & Timberline Fort Collins, Colorado Dear Troy, There seems to be some confusion about the Johnson Farmstead with regards to the Drake & Timberline Road improvements and how it all relates to our Rigden Farm project. When we first met with Matt Baker on October 19, 1998 about the Rigden Farm project, we stated that we were not planning to develop the commercial comer adjacent to Drake & Timberline for a number of years. In fact, since we were not developing adjacent to the comer, we planned to put off the intersection improvements until our third construction phase. At that meeting, Matt Baker stated that improving and widening the intersection of Drake & Timberline is currently a very high priority for the city and that the intersection needs to be improved based on today's traffic counts. Although it will cost us significant money up front, and necessitated the renegotiation of our contract with the Johnson's, in order to cooperate with the city we reluctantly agreed to pay our share of the intersection improvements in our first development phase. However, the improvement of the intersection is clearly a city driven project and not a Rigden Farm development driven project. It is our understanding that the city is now beginning the planning process to improve and widen the Drake & Timberline intersection to its interim four lane width. It is our further understanding that the ultimate intersection has been designed for six through lanes and is slated for construction around 2015. With the widening of Timberline came the question of what to do with the Johnson house and farm site. At the Rigden Farm project owner's request, Scott Griffin met with the Landmark Preservation Commission on three occasions. It is my understanding that the LPC acknowledged that the house and some of the out buildings would need to be relocated in order to both widen the intersection and minimize the need to cut down trees. As previously stated, it is our position, that the city's intersection improvements, and not our development, necessitates the moving of the farmstead. That being the case, the onus is on the city to find a place to relocate the farmstead. We have previously stated that we would be willing to move the farmstead to another location of our choosing within our development at our expense. We would move the farmstead to our Neighborhood Center location at a cost well above the construction of new buildings. We would not be amenable to moving the farmstead to a location other than this site.