HomeMy WebLinkAboutCSU STUDENT HOUSING UNIVERSITY VILLAGE EXPANSION ADVISORY REVIEW - 20 93 - CORRESPONDENCE - CITIZEN COMMUNICATIONhelp in our district to implement city policies favoring multi -family housing that is affordable,
I hope you will let us know so that we can consistently support just policies in Fort Collins.
Thanks for your attention to this matter.
Sin rely,
Susan Kirkpatrick
cc: President Albert C. Yates
JY L
9
cc: Council FYI
Greg Bryne
Tom Peterson
1 July 1993
Susan Kirkpatrick
2312 Tanglewood Drive
Fort Collins, Colorado 80525
Mr. Bob Winokur, Councilmember
City of Fort Collins
P.O. Box 580
Fort Collins, Colorado 80522
CITY MANAGER
The proposed married student housing on CSU's bull farm property continues to be of interest
to me. I noticed you were not in attendance at the neighborhood meeting on June 30 at Ingersoll
Hall and it seems like an important project from a city-wide perspective. I would like to outline
some observations concerning this project.
1. There have been major site revisions since I went to the first neighborhood meeting
last fall. Originally the project had all of the housing units in the northwest corner of the
property. Now, the proposal shows a dispersal of the units on the property with some in the
northwest corner and others on the southeast comer. This dispersal will reduce the impact on
the adjoining single family units.
2. The university has submitted their plans for comments to the City's planning
department and the suggestions made by the city planners and by neighbors have been
accommodated by the university. Short of changing the use of the property, the university has
been very responsive to community needs.
3. From a city-wide policy perspective the land use proposed by CSU makes sense. To
reduce urban sprawl and its concomitant problems, the city policies encourage multi -family units
near employment centers (CSU), on existing transit routes, near existing water, sewer, storm
drainage and street systems. Policy -based decisionmaking in land use is valuable to avoid "spot
zoning behavior" which has legal and neighborhood impacts over the long haul.
4. The need for affordable, family housing near employment, transit, schools and other
existing infrastructure is one of your high priorities. Please make a concrete commitment to
implementation of this priority. Talk is cheap. It is action that counts in public policymaking.
5. The new president of ASCSU made a wonderful point at the meeting concerning the
need to integrate students into the community. He argued that this project would promote
integration and mutual learning. Another neighbor mentioned that married students were
excellent neighbors.
There were several people from your district in attendance- at' -the neighborhood- meeting last
night. Even though the project is not in our backyard; werecognize the -need for, projects -like
this from a city-wide perspective. I hope that our neighborhood can do its- part to support
affordable housing in our vicinity because it is in the community's best interest. If you need our