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HomeMy WebLinkAboutLAURIE SUBDIVISION PUD - PRELIMINARY - 44-89C - CORRESPONDENCE - CITIZEN COMMUNICATIONMark W. Schuhheiss Attorney at Law First Tower Building 215 W. Oak Street, Suite 602 Fort Collins, CO 80521 (303) 482-2125 September 14, 1990 Sherry Albertson —Clark City Planner P.O. Box 580 Fort Collins, Co. 80522 Re: Musselwhite project Dear Ms. Albertson —Clark: I thought it might be helpful for you to have a copy of the letter sent by the president of our Association to Dr. Musselwhite setting forth our concerns regarding the irrigation ditch. Si cerely, Mark W. Schultheiss Director, Applewood Homeowners' Association Ll Applewood Homeowner's Association 5306 Fossil Creek Drive Fort Collins, CO 80526 Phone 226-2641 Dr. William Musslewhite 1038 Ptarmigan Circle Loveland, CO 80538 Dear Bill: i% our telephone conversaCion last week I shared with you the concerns of Applewood Homeowners' Association about the fate of the irrigation lateral which serves us as you develop your property on the west side of Shields Street. On reflection, I thought it best to write you and repeat those concerns. First, the irrigation lateral should be put in an underground pipeline. An open ditch through a residential area presents safety hazards and unappealing esthetics to the residents and almost insurmountable maintenance problems for the ditch users. Because residents view the ditch as a safety hazard for young children and water does not run through it continually, we fear that they will tend to dispose of grass clippings and other lawn refuse by dumping them in the irrigation ditch. This will interfere with the flow of water and lead to conflicts with neighbors when ditch users return this refuse to the homeowners' lawns. As you know from watching Larimer County farmers in the springtime, burning is one of the few effective ways to control vegetation in irrigation channels. Homeowners will surely be unhappy when they find us burning ditches near their expensive homes and landscaping. We want to avoid having frequent conflicts with residents by having water flow through a pi_pli_ne instead of a surface channel. Second, there must be a written, recorded easement for the pipeline. A properly designed and installed irrigation pipeline can be expected to function many decades with no repairs. However, the pipeline easement must include provisions for access and delineate responsibility for restoration of surface and landscaping in the unlikely event that repairs are needed. In addition, the easement agreement must allow users access to valves, gates and other mechanisms and access to the entire pipeline route to inspect for necessary maintenance. Finally, in order for an irrigation pipeline to work as intended, it must be designed and installed carefully. Any irrigation pipeline which replaces the existing ditch must be designed and. installed by a competent, reputable, experienced firm. The Applewood Homeowners' Association Board of Directors must have the opportunity to review and approve the plans before installation begins and to moniter installation. During the spring of 1990, H&S Irrigation of LaSalle, CO (phone 356-7842) designed and installed irrigation pipeline to serve Applewood. We would be happy to work with this firm again. An additional complication. Applewood is not the only area served by this irrigation lateral. Residents of the area just north of Applewood also receive water through this ditch. Any agreement which excludes these users would undoubtedly be invalid. I do not know all of the water users in that area, but here are the names of three regular users: Eldon & Ella Mae Savage 5220 Apple Drive Phone 226-1120 Robert Underhill 5020 Crest Road Ph: 226-2573 Sincerely, E. Wayne Anderson 5242 Fossil Crk Dr Ph: 223-6464 Kenneth F. Klopfenstein, President Applewood Homeowners' Association x.c. Applewood Homeowners' Association Board of Directors Savage Underhill Anderson