HomeMy WebLinkAboutHILL POND EAST SUBDIVISION PRELIMINARY - 35 92 - CORRESPONDENCE - CITIZEN COMMUNICATIONDATE: July 27, 1992 .
TO: Members of the Planning & Zoning Board
City of Fort Collins
300 LaPorte Avenue
Fort Collins, CO 80522-0580
FROM: Hill Pond Homeowners Association
c/o Western Investors Property Management
3131 South College
Fort Collins, CO 80525
RE: Proposed College Park P.U.D. - Preliminary Plan, #2-87G
L9
JUL
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The present proposal is a re -submittal of a plan our homeowners first viewed August 14,
1991. The request is for 180, four -bedroom apartment units in 16 separate buildings. It also
includes a clubhouse, office, pool, and lighted basketball and tennis courts placed at the
southern edge of the development. Further, a variance is requested that would allow more
than three unrelated adults per unit; thus the proposal is for 720 independently leased units.
These will be rented almost exclusively to CSU students. This re -submittal was presented at
a neighborhood meeting on June 10, 1992.
The Hill Pond Homeowners Association strongly opposes the College Park P.U.D. as
currently proposed. We have attended all the neighborhood meetings and along with the
Prospect/Shields Neighborhood Association have conveyed to the developer the following
neighborhood compatibility concerns which the developer has not addressed.
1. The intensity of use. the relative scale. bulk and building height to the surrounding
residential areas on the South and East.
Relatedly, the requested variance in effect turns 180 units into 720 units requiring
additional parking facilities, etc. The variance request cannot be separated from the
intensity of use proposed.
The placement of 720 individually leased bedrooms reserved exclusively for student
rentals is not compatible with the adjacent single-family homes to the East and the
homes and townhomes in Hill Pond to the South. The developer has ignored all
repeated requests to provide gradual transition from these established residential
neighborhoods by providing generous setbacks followed by one story buildings. of a
duplex or condominium nature. Simply stated, we do not think this meets the neigh-
borhood compatibility criteria for P.U.D.'s expressed in the LDGS.
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Not only does the proposed plan's scope significantly increase air and noise pollutants,
it also contributes significant safety hazards. First, Shields, already a high traffic
corridor, will be impacted by traffic from all other proposed developments such as Hill
Pond East, the Senior Center and the Research Park to mention a few. Auto traffic
seeking to enter and exit the College Park development at Stuart will back up traffic on
Shields due to the design of the entrance. The Planning Office has allowed the
developer 578 parking places; the developer has indicated a need for more. Thus,
daily traffic will be increased by upwards of 578 vehicles.
Next, the developer seeks to divert all bicycle, rollerblade and skateboard traffic onto
the Spring Creek Trail via two access lanes. This seriously shifts the primary use of
this trail from recreational uses, not only for local residents but for the city's residents
at large, to commuter uses for students. This will also drive away present wildlife
such as deer, foxes, and various water fowl and fish. Of particular danger is the
access lane at the Southwest corner running downhill from Shields to the trail. This
intersects the trail at a blind corner at the edge of an often slippery bridge which
follows a blind underpass. Present experience with bicycle stops signs at Shields and
Hill Pond road demonstrates it is unlikely that downhill traffic will heed a stop sign;
serious injuries to trail users of all ages from children to senior citizens are not just
probable but inevitable.
Hill Pond residents whose bedrooms back to the trail will suffer increased noise
pollution morning, noon and night from the increased commuter traffic. Perhaps
bicycle lanes should be provided along Shields.
3. The increased noise pollution and the irritants of bright lights due to the location of
lighted tennis and basketball courts. as well as the pool and clubhouse at the Southwest
corner near the dining rooms and bedrooms of many Hill Pond residents.
Perhaps nowhere else has the developer shown such gross insensitivity to the concerns
of Hill Pond residents as in their recalcitrant determination to place all of these
recreational facilities away from their own units and where the noise and light will spill
over only to the adjoining Hill Pond residences. Hill Pond residents have appealed to
the developer at repeated neighborhood meetings to relocate these facilities to the center
of the development or to the North adjoining the Landmark Apartments which are
rented primarily by students. Not only has the developer refused, but they added a
basketball court. Of course, Rolland Moore Park has five full basketball courts and
numerous lighted tennis courts and is only two blocks away.
We have many additional concerns, but these are admirably expressed in the letter from the
Prospect/Shields Neighborhood Association in which we participate.
In closing, we wish to point out that we do not oppose development on this parcel. Indeed,
our lives would be made easier if a proposal were made that would insure neighborhood
compatibility and not destroy the natural and recreational resources of the Spring Creek
Trail.
Also, we wish to express our gratitude for the efforts made by the Project Planner and
Planning staff to mitigate the impact of this overwhelming proposal. We regret that the
developer has not been willing to address these concerns.
Sincerely,
Dick Lane
President
Board of Directors
Hill Pond Homeowners Association