HomeMy WebLinkAboutCorrespondence APPLICANT 5/14/2007
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May 14,2007
REC'D MAY 14 2007
3: 38ijVY'-
Spnngfield City CouncIl
SpnngfieId OR 97477
Dear Council Members
We have been inactIve members of the North SpnngfieId CItIzens Committee but stIll
hve In the area and contInue to be concerned about the future of our commumty
We request a delay or further consideratIOn of the development of the property located at
42d and MarcoIa Road - formerly known at the PIerce Property
We are concerned that the area IS In danger of being over-developed and rummg the
character of the area We are womed that the Increased amount of traffic would have a
negatIve Impact also
Another big box store plus the surrounding development would nearly duphcate what we
found nght across the Freeway -Ie WalMart and Jerry's Home Improvement Center
Please don't amend the Metro Plan Just to accommodate such an enterpnse We do not
want to look hke Beaverton and other metropohtan areas WIth traffic and other
mghtmares
~
~-~
Fr~~
1974 Lomond Ave
Spnngfield OR 97477
~
RECEIVED
To Spnngfield City Council
MAY 1 4 2007
I~,<f 8,-
CITY OF SPRINGFIELD
CITY RECORDER
From Greg Wagenblast
Homeowner& resident
2457 Otto St, Spfld Oregon 97477
RE The Vlllages at MarcoIa Meadows
City Councils, Mayor, & City Manger,
As a landowner who dIrectly abuts to thiS proposed land use change, I have some
concerns for our area I am not opposed to landowners haVIng the abIlIty to manage their
lands nor do I want to prevent actIvItIes that are appropnate for the situatIOn I belIeve
that the land use changes and zone that are bemg proposed for thiS 100 acre parcel are not
appropnate for the current conditIons m our Bnggs/Yolanda/Marcola Rd/Mohawk Blvd
area I am concerned about councIl mamtammg an open mmd and consldenng thIs entIre
proJects Impact to our local area which IS a portIOn of the City of Spnngfield It dId not
appear that the councll and City staffs were lookmg at the proJect obJectIvely from the
local area, but more from the blggcr picture of the CIty m general for revenue potentIal
AdditIonal tax revenue should not be dnvmg what IS permitted m our CIty, It should be
balanced WIth quahty of lIfe and personal enJoyments At your publIc heanng last week,
It appeared that dunng your closed seSSIOn the developer's consultant and city staff have
become very close and the councIl was presented WIth their Side of the proJect As you
wcre mformed by several local residents and compames m the ImmedIate area, we have
concems on Impacts to our local "commumty" With the city ofSpnngfield which have
maJor ImplIcatIOns to our famllles and busmesses
Listed below are some of my concerns
. Re-classtfymg lands to allow additIonal home SltCS wllI cause mcreased numbers
of vehicle traffic and students m our schools There IS already an area deSIgnated
for homes sites The Developer's consultant has proposed that they would hke to
mcrease the upper lImIt of homes that could be placed on I acre ofIand, resultmg
m even a higher number of vehIcles and potentIal students When you bulld a
I
home that fills the lot resultmg m no front yard and very lIttle back yard, why
don't you call them apartments? Home site development underiour current
permlttmg process IS to pack as many people mto as small an ar:ea as pOSSible,
which does not allow anyone pnvacy and the ablhty to sneeze Without theIr
neighbors heanng and saymg "god bless you"- If they are stlll frIendly I
· It appears that there are a number of homes for sale on the market and a very large
development gomg m on Mountam Gate (Potato HllI) How many new homes are
proposed for thiS area? WIth these homes, IS there a need for so many homes m
the VllIage at Marcola Meadows (VMM)? Seems that folks refer to some study
for the need of## of homes over the next several years, What study IS thIS, who
developed thiS, what proJectIons are they usmg for mflux of people, etc ??
. I believe that allOWing hIgh densIty stocking levels of homes per acre, you are
increaSing the nsk of chlldren becoming Involved In unacceptable activItIes or
exposed to additIOnal nsks (plaYing In the road, runrung the streets, hanging out In
areas of questIOnable actIvItIes -Ie behind bUildings smoking, tagging, etc) I
believe thIS IS one of the reasons that kids are getting Into more trouble than we
dId dunng the 60's, 70's, and 80's When lot sizes were larger and homes had
actual yards that chlldren could play ball, yard games, have a SWing set, etc the
kIds stayed home and neighborhood frIends would all gather at home and rotate
from home to home where the parents could keep an eye and be engaged with the
kIds
. The residents who have been Involved with the meetings from the "Commumty
Mtg @ Bnggs MIddle School" that the consultant held thiS Winter and the
Planning CommISSIOn meeting, have been told different "Plans" from the
consultant I believe that thIS IS indicatIve of the consultant telhng people what
they want to hear rather than a defimtIve truth This IS not the way to embrace the
commumty and obtain local support for your proJect The consultant has
repetItIvely Imphed that mOVing the development to nodal development to allow
for more homes per acre IS a bleSSing He has also mentIoned many tImes that the
upper hmlt for nodal development IS 20 homes per acre thus Implymg that the
plan they are submitting could be changed to Include even more apartment style
hVIng
. Vehicle traffic concerns
o I believe that the City staff may have forgotten about the new Federal
BUilding for the USFS and BLM that IS gOing to be bUilt on the NatIOnal
Guard armory property These two agencIes employ a large number of
staff who Will be amVIng and eXiting before and after bUSiness hours as
the home owner WIll be leaVing and returning also These agencies wlll
also have folks leaVIng and returning dunng the bUSiness day as they go to
and return from the woods When you add the retail spaces traffic With
these, our roads could be pushed to capacity or beyond
o Large retail space (poten!lally Lowes or any other large vendor as such)
who would bnng In a high volume of vehicle traffic, would overload the
eXisting roadways In thiS area Folks liVing directly on the roadways or on
SIde roads that feed Into the main roads (32nd, Marcola, Mohawk blvd,
I
etc ) are currently at a high volume that make It challenging and at !lmes
plaCing folks at nsk to enter or eXIt The volumes from the high number of
I
homes and retail spaces for the maJor store and all the s~condary retaIl
spaces would make thiS even more d1flicult for the Iocal,resldents
o Access onto 1-105 from Mohawk Blvd appears to already be at capacity
and adding the volume from retail and 400+ homes Will defimtely cause
back-up Issues on thc on and off ramps, simIlar to Beltline In Eugene
(which IS why a number of us did not choose to live In Eugene) Once you
add the new federal bUIlding for USFS and BLM on the Na!lonal Guard
faCIlity, you Will add another large volume of traffic to thiS en!lre area
also
o I have trouble belIeVing or understanding the consultant's statement that
there would be no major dIfference In vehicle traffic between the onglnal
Master Plan and hiS proposed "tnp redUCing" neighborhood Vehicles and
people are gOing to travel to the retaIl stores (people Will not nde bIkes or
walk to Lowes and pack bUIlding matenals home uSing these modes of
transportatIon) Homes wllI have people making multIple tnps With
400+ homes (228 of which were not In the ongJnal Spnngfield Master
Plan) and some haVing chlldren with actIVItIes, that could mean coming
and gOing 3 or 4 tImes extra dunng a day/evemng
o I do not belIeve that ODOT has been presented the full picture of
development In the area and the ImplIcatIOn oftlus on the eXIt/entrances to
1-105 I would request that the City ofSpnngfield CIty manager dISCUSS
With ODOT about the current roadway load and determine If a recent
(Within the past year) traffic count has been completed on the ramps, 1-105
Itself, along With the CIty and County traffic studies for Mohawk Blvd and
Marcola Rd I would request that you take those studies and determine
what USFS and BLM antICipate for theIr proJected staffing at their new
bUIlding starting constructIon at the NatIOnal Guard faclhty across from
the Kingsford plant I would lIke to know what the total traffic count IS
proJected for these roadways With out the new VMM and then what It
would be With the VMM and how the roadway Widths, traffic volume and
intersectIon controls Will be able to handle such Increases
o I would also hke to remind the Council that there IS also a new hOUSing
development being buIlt In the Ambleslde area
. Campus Industnalland would be benefiCIal for future development by compames
moving Into the CIty, bnnglng famIly wage Jobs Campus Industnal would employ
small companies With small groups of employees WIth less traffic Impacts to the
local area
. Schools are another maJor concern of mine from thIS development Under
campus IndustnaI, no homes would be bullt that would Increase the potentIal
number of students In the eXisting schools In the area Our schools at Yolanda
and Bnggs are at capacIty Yolanda has large numbers of students per teacher
and the rooms are crowded as It IS I would encourage the CIty Councllors to VISit
the school and Sit In some of the classrooms dunng school day to see school
conditIons Bnggs Middle school IS the same way, With kids dqubled up shanng
lockers and haVing Idrge classes (students per teacher) We wonder why our
educatIonal system IS haVing problems, we need to work at redUCing our teacher
to student ratIo I understand that the Spnngfield School Dlstnct proVIded a letter
indicating that they would not have problems accepting a volume of new students
to the schools I would request that the CIty CouncIl inVIte the school dlstnct
admlmstratIOn to the next meeting to have them make a presentatIOn on how they
are gOing to accept all of the potentIal new students from the vanous hOUSing
developments around town (Potato hill/Mountain Gate, the new site south of
Mountain Gate, the area south of Douglas Grade School, and now the VMM
area) Where are all of these potentIal students gOing to go, are there other
schools beSIdes Yolanda and Bnggs that have lots of room and teacher/student
ratIO that IS low?? Even It that IS the case, remember that that would result m
boundary changes The bond that was voted on recently was to assist with the
current schools and keep our kids safe wIth eXlstmg systems Where are they
gomg to buIld a new school? Are all of these developments gomg to all be
charged a development fee that would pay for a new grade, middle, and high
school ??? As you overload schools with mcreased student populatIon and low
adult supervIsIOn (teachers), you mcrease the potentIal for conflicts, smokmg,
drugs, gangs, students left behmd, and other problems as have occurred In thc
past It IS m the Interest of the school dlstnct to accept new students from all of
these developments because of the additIOnal funding to the school dlstnct When
looking at the bottom line, extra $$ would result In most any organizatIOn
supplYing a posItIve acceptance letter for a developer I would request that the
city council have a open pubhc diSCUSSIOn and forum for the cItIzens of
Spnngfield, School Dlstnct, and City Council on how our schools and
development wIthin our CIty can work together m a coordinated effort to provide
the safest and best servIces to our students
. Parks or open space, whIch I have two concerns about
o WIllamalane Park - ThIs IS currently an open space grass field With a
couple trees I belIeve that the developer has discussed developing thIS
open space WIth WIllamaIane (who I Will also vOIce my concerns With) It
should remain an open space There IS great value In leaVing some areas
as "open space" and not develoPing everythmg as parks With playground
eqUIpment Open space IS of great value to WildlIfe, water qualIty,
aesthetIc, and human use There are a number of people who use thIS area
as open space to walk/run theIr dogs, whICh IS a necessIty for those With
postage sIze lots and no yard I don't belIeve that a developer should be
able to deSign a new development and assume that they Will utIhze open
space as part of the reheffor the lack of yard space In the development If
the CIty approves the new zorung and lot Sizes, the developer should
Inelude their own park space on the 1 OOacre property With the homes I do
not want an Influx of higher traffic volume on our dead-end road system at
the open space/park Our current parking SituatIOn WIth the eXistIng use of
the area at tImes IS hmltIng Our road system IS already forgotten about by
the City for cleamng and maintenance, and With Increased volume, will It
be remembered then?? As volume of users to the area mcrease, the nsk
for property cnmes and safety IS also a concern There have been several
tImes polIce services have been called where local resIdents have had to
argue that YES we are Wlthm the CIty of SpnngfieId, even though you
have to travel thru County service areas to get back Into our small cIty
development Are we gOing to have to argue more Ifthe property cnme or
safety Issues Increase??
o My other concern With parks - 1 have hstened to the developers consultant
at 2 different meetings indicate that the Bnggs and Yolanda school
grounds are open space/play grounds/fields/lawns that the new residents
WIll be able to utIlIze I belIeve that thiS IS false, and the Increased number
of homes In the city may reqUIre schools to buIld additIOnal bUIldings If
they can get the $$ for students which may then result m some of these
open space around the eXlstmg school bemg removed from fields and have
foundahons and walls standmg on them If you allow the re-zone for more
homes and mcreased stockmg levels, I would request that zomng
conditIOns would reqUIre a hIgher level of open space and parks
(playgrounds, etc ) wlthm the housmg development area
. I am concerned also about the storm dramage - with campus mdustnal, there
would be areas that potentially could remam open and allow natural filtratIOn of
ramfall With thIS type of development, there Will be a large volume of asphalt,
roofs, and very lIttle yards resultmg m high volume of storm water runoff My
concern would be on how the zomng WIll allow the maJonty of the area to be
Impermeable surfaces mcreasmg the volume to drams currently runrung at full
capacIty m vanous portIOns of the cIty (at a mllllmum along Mam Street) With
more open space and abIlIty to filter, you might reduce some of your loadmg to
the system ThIS 100 acre parcells a great wetland area for water and WildlIfe
dunng the wmter We currently have a portIOn of this water make It onto our
property dunng the wmter season wIth the high water levels and floodmg that
occurs Dunng large storm events our storm dram age system for our street m the
WIllamalanc park backs up and floods the area for pen ods WIth the asphalt,
bUlldmgs, and roofs collectmg water and runlllng It offlmmedla!ely, the storm
dramage system Will have to have a higher capacity of flow that IS capable of
reactmg qUIckly to thiS mflux of water from 100acres
I appreciate your hme and consIderatIOn on these and all of the concerns of you eXlstmg
City of Spnngfield reSidents that have submItted our concerns verbally and wntten I
would encourage you to spend some tllne m our local area With m the CIty, along With the
2 local schools here m the "backyard" of the VMM I would be happy to discuss any
concerns or additIOnal mformatlOn they you might have or want I hope that you wlll
consider my requests and explore and make happen the publIc meetmg WIth the
Spnngfield School Dlstnct on Impacts With thiS VMM development and all the
current/future development coordmatlOn as to how It Impacts our local school system I
am very concerned about our local area and am begJnrung to evaluate what the future
holds for me resldmg m or out of the City lImits of Spnngfield
Thank you for your hme and conslderahon,
c;reg wagenbLast
Greg Wagenblast
Homeowner & ReSident
2457 Otto Street Spnngfield, Oregon 97477
SOWA Amy
From
Sent
To
SubJect
dave ralston [chess714@msn com]
Monday, May 14, 2007 1055 AM
SOWA Amy
FW RE Former Pierce Property
RECEIVED
MAY 1 4 2007
10 S-Io tt.-
CITY OF SPRINGFIELD
CITY RECORDER
>From StuBurgel@aol com
>To chess714@msn com
>Sub]ect RE Former P~erce Property
>Date Wed, 9 May 2007 IS 18 57 EDT
>
>
>Dave Ralston, Sprlngfleld, Oregon Clty Councl1or
> May 9, 2007
>
>RE Marcola Road, Spr1ngf1eld, Or Real Property Zon1ng & Perm1tted Use
>Conslderatlons
>
> I was extremely dlsapPolnted to hear that the Clty
>Councl1 18 conslderlng a zone & permltted use change that would allow
>for a maJor retaller & several hundred multl-faml1y unlts on the
>sub]ect sl.te
>
> A few short years ago we dec1ded [ Wh1le I was on the
>counc1l] after months, or years of study, that 1n the best 1nterest
>of the commun1ty the subJect land should be used for Campus 1ndustr1al
>that would provlde faml1y was Jobs [ not mlnlmum wage retal.l ] 1ll a
>central locatlon so as, 1ll part reduce travel from home to work
>
> How can such a complete reversal of lOglC take place
>wlthl.n such a short tlme frame ??? Campus lndustrlal 18 st!.ll very
>v~able ~f marketed properly What we don't need are several hundred
>more mult~-fam~ly rental unlts that attract a more translt populat~on,
>far more auto trlps per day, a hlstor~cally h~gher crlme rate, a
>greater demand on publ~c serv~ces I e
>pollce, and a lower rate of revenue generat~on for the c~ty Also, ~s
>there a log~cal need for an add~tlonal level of redundant reta~l that
>would have a much h~gher potent~al for fa~lure due to a populat~on
>base that lS lnadequate to serve an excess of s~m~lar type serv~ces
>and products, as currently eXlsts ??
>
> It should always be remembered that even the nlcest
>appear~ng developers, and development concepts are solely dr~ven by
>the deslre for flnanc~al ga~n, and not by the deslre to serve beneflt
>to the commun~tles future Havlng been a prev~ous councll
>representat~ve of the subJect ward 4, I am fully aware of the many
>negatlve lssues that would be generated by the proposed development
>concept The Mohawk overpass ~s near~ng grldlock at present and an
>add~tlonal h~gh denslty development would surely accelerate that
>lssue
>
> There are not many deslgn concepts that ultlrnately
>have as h~gh a level of negatlve lmpact on any communlty as does a
>large box concept that fa1ls, and goes dark The end result 18 usually
>It'S occupancy by a large used goods retal1er 1 e second hand store
>We certa1nly have seen that event take place throughout the Eugene /
>Spr1ngf1eld area over the years, w1th the added benef1t of graff1t1,
>deterlorated landscaplng, vandallsm & etc
>
>
Dave, I request that the plannlng commlsslon, c~ty
I
>councll, Clty staff and ~ 11C meetlng mlnutes, notes, com( ~nts and
>recommendatlons, relevant to the zonlng & permltted uses, that were
>attached to the subJect property durlng the Plerce Trust ownershlp, be
>made avallable to me ASAP, for reVlew
>
> I thank you slncerely for your attentlon to thlS
>matter, and would ask that you share my concerns wlth your fellow Clty
>councllors Mayor & Clty Manager
>
>Stu Burge
>830 McKenZle Crest Dr
>Spr~ngf~eld, Or 97477
>hone 747-3360
>
>
>
>************************************** See what's free at
>http //www aol com
2
George D. Davis
2482 North 32nd Street
Sprmgfield, OR 97477
May 8, 2007
SId Lelken, Mayor and
SpnngfieId City Council
City Hall, 225 5th Street
Spnngfield, OR 97477
RE Marcola Meadows ProJect
Dear Mayor Leiken and Councilors
I regret I was unable to attend either heanng on the Marcola Meadows proJect but have
followed reportIng on the development With some concerns
I belIeve It IS In the best Interest for the City of SpnngfieId to retaIn the Pierce property In
the campus Industnal zone This zone IS scarce In Spnngfield, and tlus property has the
potential to prOVide many Jobs at a lIVIng wage A Lowe's box store does not fit the
cntena for tlus area any better than the Home Depoe yovy~sal that was defeated a short
time ago
SIncerely,
0" q/ /~
George D DaVIS
RECEW~D
MAY 0 9 ZOO?
.2 30! <<-
CITY OF SPRINGFIELD
CITY RECORDER
2482 North 32nd Street
Spnngfield, OR 97477
May 8, 2007
Mayor Sid Lelken and
Spnngfield City Council
City Hall
225 5th Street
Spnngfield, OR 97477
RE MARCOLA MEADOWS PROJECT
Dear Mayor Lelken and City Councilors
I was present at a meeting a short while ago when the Council considered and
rejected a proposal from Home Depoe to bUild on the Pierce property I am
rather concerned that we are once again facing the prospect of a box store,
Lowe's home Improvement center, for this same property One must ask
whether there have been any substantial changes In the character of the area to
warrant such a turnaround
Unfortunately the number of people attending your recent heanng was not great
However, I believe the majonty of voters In the area and In Spnngfield In general
would oppose any Marcola Meadows project that Includes a box store I do not
believe a home Improvement center IS an appropnate anchor for the proposed
"dense neighborhood" I
Thank you for the opportunity to express my views
Sincerely,
fla?l/ c/ f)adw
Anita L DaVIS
RECE~VED
MAY 0 9 2007
;{ 30 f W'-
CITY OF SPRINGFIELD
CITY RECORDER
,
Page 1 of 1
KARP Gary
From
Sent
To
Cc
SubJect
SOWA Amy
Thursday, May 10, 2007 9 46 AM
SMITH Susan, GOODWIN Len, KARP Gary, KO KeVin, LEAHY Joe (HL), MOTT Gregory
GRIMALDI GinO
Council follow-up 05107107 Final
On behalf of GinO, I am sending the follow-up from Monday night's counCil meetings
Thanks,
Amy
SusIe/Len Litloatlon - Go forward with the proposed settlement agreement
Gary Karp Amendments to Metro Plan - Council moved to hold the record open for written testimony until 5 OOpm on
Monday, May 14 If any new Information comes In dUring that week, by either the applicant or the people who were opposed,
people could comment on that new information the follOWing week (May 21) There could be a one week period after that for
the applicant to prOVide rebuttal but not receive any additional information (May 29) The final public meeting and deCISion
would be scheduled for the June 18 counCil meeting
Councilor Lundberg said she would like staff to follow-up With the school district regarding their letter stating that the school
district could absorb the additional students this development would add Would they be moving kids? Were the new schools
being bUilt part of the reason they believe they could absorb the extra students? She would like clarification regarding how they
would absorb these students
Susie Stormwater and Wastewater User Fees - Go forward With the SIX percent Increase for local wastewater user fees
KeVin/Joe Leahy CDBG Fundlno - Council moved to approve CDBG Funding for Wynant's In accordance With Option 1 C
With the addition that the City Manager make the final deCISion after reviewing Wynant's bUSiness plan and determine the
amount of funding awarded, not to exceed $90,000, With appropriate conditions on the property regarding restrictions for Adult
BUSinesses (Joe Leahy to draft appropriate language) KeVin, review past agreements With conditions for examples
Councilor Plsh,Onerl asked to be notified If the amount awarded was less than $90,000
Councilor Ballew asked that a portfolio of what the City could offer bUSinesses that want to locate In downtown, be put
together Include such things as financial inCentives, loans, CDBG or other sources of money
Council would also like staff to draft criteria for private bUSinesses to receive CDBG funds In the future
KeVin Relief Nurserv - Council accepted the offer for the Relief Nursery to buy the properly on 42nd Street
Greg BM37 Claim - Council approved opting out of thiS claim Please notify Bill Kloos
Am} SOl\'Q
elll' of Sp' /Ilgfie/d
225 Fifth So eel
Sprlngfie/d, OR 97477
(541) 726-3700 phone
(541) 726-2363fax
5/1 0/2007