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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSTOCKBRIDGE P.U.D. - PRELIMINARY - 27-94 - CORRESPONDENCE - CITIZEN COMMUNICATION (5)TO: City of Fort Collins Planning Staff April 14,1994 Planning and Zoning Board Progressive Living Structures FROM: Imperial Estates Residents RE: Stockbridge Development As residents of the Imperial Estates subdivision of unincorporated Fort Collins (hereafter "we'), we respectfully submit this letter of opposition to the Planning and Zoning Board regarding the planned development, Stockbridge, that has been submitted for board approval. As this subdivision plan will directly affect our quality of life, we reserve the right to raise several concerns that we believe the builders (Progressive Living of Loveland) should consider before approval. Below you will find a brief summary of our concerns that will be further elucidated in a planned report to be distributed prior to the P and Z Board worksession on Friday May 20. The developers and their investors are considering a somewhat risky undertaking and should be compensated for their hard work by expecting reasonable returns on those investments. Any investor or shareholder would expect that out of an investment. We are also investors. We are investors in our homes and real estate and in our families' quality of life. As investors, we considered the options available during the purchase of our homes. We chose to accept a rural setting with all the inconveniences of water distribution and septic tanks, rural mail distribution and county road services. The land adjacent to our development affords the City an opportunity to preserve that rural feeling in this ever-expanding city. We are very concerned that the builders have not considered this aspect of our lives and our investments in their plans. The Stockbridge development will consider developing the 30 acre plot to the east of Imperial Estates at 5 dwelling units per acre, a value totally inconsistent with the neighboring subdivisions (Imperial Estates- —1 du/acre, Richmond- —1 du/2 acres) as well as the new subdivision to the north of Horsetooth Rd., Kingston Woods- —3du/acre. We are concerned that this incommensurate housing density will impact negatively on our way of life. In our unincorporated subdivision, we may have livestock and outbuildings that are incompatible with the proposed very high density housing. The City is attempting to make affordable housing available to every resident. The developer's reasons for such high density are to make available such housing. However, the developer expects to offer the subdivided home sites at premium rates, resulting in homes that will sell for $120-140,000, a price range that is not considered affordable by many. The high density subdividing appears to be an attempt to only get a high return on their investment. This an admirable goal, but not one that suits the residents of Imperial Estates. The developer also stated that he needed to have this high of density in order to comply with existing and proposed minimum density requirements. The P and Z Board has approved lower density housing PUD's just recently (4/4/94 - Huntington Hills at 2 du/acre) to be commensurate with existing low -density housing. It is our understanding that this 5 du/acre minimum density requirement has been rejected by both the P and Z Board and the City Council. We believe that this development (and others near it) should be considered for lower density housing. We believe that the proposed development will also impact negatively on the infrastructure currently available in the area. At this time Imperial and Richmond do not have sewer infrastructures and possess rural water supplies. In addition, this housing density will introduce potentially 150 or more new drivers and probably double that number of pedestrians along Horsetooth Rd. This part of Horsetooth is still 2-lane blacktop with no sidewalks and no left-tum lane. The current bus route along the street will also be very heavily burdened by this explosive population growth. The new development will clearly burden the existing infrastructure unless the City is willing (or the developer) to improve the situation on Horsetooth Rd. Another infrastructure problem that will be apparent in the near future will be the impact on the two local schools (Johnson Elementary and Webber Junior High) that currently serve the area. Johnson is now being adapted to accommodate the existing overcrowding. Although the school board is primarily responsible for determining school size, location and district lines, the board could not have foreseen this lot going to high -density housing as it was previously held by a church group that was planning to develop it as a place of worship. We would like to have more of a transitional zone between existing lots in Imperial Estates and proposed lots in Stockbridge. Also we would like to see larger lot sizes and more greenbelt area to be more balanced with existing neighborhoods (Imperial Estates and Richmond) as well as the new proposed subdivision of Mountain Ridge Farms. We would like to see some balanced infill to retain the character of our neighborhood. We feel that with the cooperation of the developer and the City planners Stockbridge could be made more appealing to existing neighborhoods as well as to future residents of the deveopment itself. The City of Fort Collins has become not only a cherished place to live and work, but also an inviting community. We chose to live in this neighborhood for its proximity to schools, the workplace, and the mountains, and clearly others would like to have those benefits also. We would like to see the developers and the City reconsider the plan for high -density housing in the lot east of Imperial Estates and work together to develop a plan that will smoothly transition our neighborhood into the next. Respectfully submitted, Imperial Estates Residents Contact Residents: Ed Robison 223-9372 Clayton Vilhauer 223-1104 Peter Dorhout 225-2310 PROJECT COMMENT SHEET DATE: 5 April 1994 DEPARTMENT: PROJECT: 27-94 STOCKBRIDGE PUD - Preliminary PLANNER: Steve Olt Please respond to this project by Friday, April 15,1994. No Problems ,Problems or concerns (see below) - See Ali, L7� Date: Signature: CHECK IF YOU WISH TO RECEIVE PLAT .� COPIES OF REVISIONS: SITE O UTILITY COMMUNITY PLANNING & ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES 281 NORTH COLLEGE P.O.BOX 580 FORT COLLINS, COLORADO 80522-0580 (303)221-6750 PLANNING DEPARTMENT