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HomeMy WebLinkAboutJOHNSON FARM - REZONE - 24-00 - MEDIA - (3)NearXevelopments concern east -side neighborhoods BV DAVID PERSONS tural plan to a variety of res- neighborhood already is be financed entirely by street The Coloradoan idential and commercial seeing increased speeds by oversizing and other devel- Johnson Farm proposed development The residents of the Parkwood and Parkwood East neighborhoods for years have read about the city's torrid growth Now they find them- selves bracing for it, unsure if it's going to be a good thing or bad thing. Their concerns are fueled by the Rigden Farm and Johnson Farm developments at the intersection of Drake and Timberline roads. Rig - den Farm, a 1,000-home sub- division which will include some commercial uses, al- ready is being developed on the southeast corner. Johnson Faint, a proposed 55-acre site on the northwest comer, is scheduled for a mixed -use development. It will include: 93 to 148 single- family homes on 185 acres; 355 to 533 (townhome/con- dominium/apartment) hous- ing units on 29.6 acres; and 81,675 to 94,089 square feet of commercial use on 7.2 acres. The Johnson Farm proj- ect, however, requires re- zoning from E (employment or commercial) as recom- mended in the city's struc- zonings. The City Council will review the rezoning re- quests Jan. 2 and Jan. 16. Pointing to the size of the two developments and the traffic problems that al- ready exist at the Drake - Timberline intersection and in their neighborhoods, Parkwood and Parkwood East residents quickly rattle off their concerns. "First, we have EPIC, Edora Park and Riffenburgh (Elementary School)," said Glenn Ackerson, a Park - wood East resident. "They are being accessed by peo- ple coming from all direc- tions. But if you live to the south and east (in the direc- tion of the new develop- ments), the quickest way to get there is to come through Parkwood East. "When you live in an area like this (with many children), you tend to drive a bit more cautiously. But these people don't live here. The problem, as I see it, will be increased traffic through our neighborhood and increased speeds." Ackerson added that his visitors and an almost com- plete disregard of stop signs, conditions he believes will only get worse. "There is a three-way stop at the end of my street, and people going through it at night never stop," he said. "I almost got sideswiped one day recently. I stopped, pulled out and another car just went right on through What if it was a child (and not a car)? I would really hate to see that happen" City traffic engineers, aware of the stress that the two developments are going to have on the Drake -Tim- berline intersection, are fine-tuning plans for a $2.9 million project to upgrade the intersection and widen Timberline from two to four lanes from Vermont Drive near Fort Collins High School to north of the John- son Farm development. "We're finishing the bid package now and plan to take this to the City Council for financing in January," said Matt Baker, street over - sizing program manager. Baker said the project will opment-related fees. Howev- er, council still must approve the use of those fees to fi- nance the project Baker said bids will be let in February and construction likely will start in the spring. Comple- tion of the project should be some time next fall, he said. Since Rigden Farm al- ready is being developed, most of the residents' con- cerns now are focused on the Johnson Farm project. They realize that the rezon- ing requests have yet to be approved and view that as a last chance to question the project and the process. What bothers Parkwood resident Gayle Hemenway most about Johnson Farm is how the city appears to be eager to see the develop- ment happen. "The process sort of un- dermines our new City Plan," Hemenway said. "The city's structure plan is sup- posed to give us some pre- dictability about develop- ment, yet here's something on the structure plan zoned Parcel C AL N a o � @ o c U = y E Parkwood East o F neighborhood Parcel A Parcel B Drake Road Rigden Farm development oloradoan staff The proposed development plan for the 55-acre Johnson Farm site on the northwest corner of Drake and Timberline roads calls for rezoning the property Into three parcels. The Fort Collins City Council is scheduled to review the rezoning request Jan. 2 and Jan. 16. ■ Parcel A -- About 18.5 acres, would be rezoned low density, mixed use, allowing for 93 to 148 homes. ■ Parcel B -- about 29.6 acres, would be rezoned medium density, mixed use, allowing 355 to 533 housing units (condominiums, townhomes and/or apartments). ■ Parcel C -- about 7.2 acres, would be rezoned employment, allowing 81,675 to 94,089 square feet of commercial uses. Three acres of the project would be set aside as parks and open space. See PARKWOOD/Page B4 Source: City of Fort Collins