HomeMy WebLinkAboutEMAIL - 18-00701 & 18-00711 - 547 E 7th N - Rezone to MDR2Tawnya Grover
From:
Val Christensen
Sent:
Wednesday, January 16, 2019 10:07 AM
To:
Laura Rhien
Cc:
Jerry Merrill; Stephen Zollinger; Natalie Powell; Tawnya Grover
Subject:
RE: Rezoning by 7th and 2nd
La u ra,
Sorry for taking so long to get back with you. I read your letter and want to help where I can. As you probably know I
have had a bad injury and I am now a paraplegic. As such I am not going to the planning meetings anymore and I am not
over the planning department. I am still working with zoning though and I have a few suggestions. First I will get with
Tanya Grover and see if we can't get the letters out sooner than the day before the meeting. I am not sure what
happened there. As far as the timing of the meeting, it is always held on the first and third Thursday of each month. So,
there was no trickery there. The next P&Z meeting is on the 17th, not the 14th. The City Council meet on the first and
third Wednesdays of each month so they are meeting tonight.
The area that is between Stonebridge and the Commercial is a transition area. Typically people don't want to build their
homes next to a Walmart or other commercial store. Our Comprehensive plan identifies Medium Density as a transition
zone. This is pretty standard throughout the nation. As far as losing value because of apartments being close by, I have
personal experience. My house is 138 feet from a dormitory. When the University Courtyard Apartment were proposed
across the street from my neighborhood, all of us home owners were concerned. Some were terrified. The zone had
already been set as High Density Residential and so I suggested that instead of trying to fight it, it would make more
sense to try and get concessions on how it was built. I suggested that there be no entrances on to Harvard Street and
onto 2nd East instead. I also suggested that they buffer the East side with trees and bushes. After the complex was
built, it became very clear that the complex was a good neighbor. The house that was turned into a dormitory is
another issue altogether. It houses single women, and they are good neighbors, but the boys that try to impress them
by shouting, hot rodding and other antics are the real problem. The good news is that we don't allow single family
homes to turn into dormitories anymore. Also, dormitories are not allowed without a Conditional Use Permit and
therefore you would have another public hearing if someone wanted one of those. Also, dormitories are usually close to
campus so they shouldn't be a factor for you. The homes on my street (one closer to the apartments than me) have sold
as soon as they were put on the market, so I haven't seen the lowering of prices that many fear.
As far as traffic on 7th North goes, a new traffic light should help with that. Keith Davidson is the City Engineer and he is
a better contact for traffic questions than me. 7th North is going to be a Collector and maybe even a main Arterial.
When people build their homes facing a County street, they almost always end up on a busy street. Communities grow
and the County roads are spaced to handle the traffic. I'm sorry you feel that Carlow is constructed poorly. It meets all
of our standards. When we put these design standards together, we at the City were criticized by many in the
Community. I had people that called me a "bleeding heart liberal". No matter what we do it seems like someone is
angry about it. So I try to look at what is in the best interest of the Community as a whole. The system gives the citizens
the right to be part of the decisions made to change zoning, create codes and ordinances. I would recommend that if
your neighborhood doesn't have a home owners committee, that you create one. Take turns going to the P&Z and
Council meetings, so that you can get ahead of any changes.
Also, my door is always open and it is much easier for me to help you in person. I will take the time to help you with any
land use questions. My cell phone number is 208-716-1324. Call me anytime and I can set aside an hour to meet. Hope
this helps.
Val Christensen