CCP 12-13-1993 - Laserfiche WebLink

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J , . To: Arden Hills City Council Members Subject: SUMMARIZATION OF RYDER BUS TERMINAL ISSUE From: Village residents in area to east of Bus Barns (those who signed the initial petition. directed to the Planning. Commission. and others. whose names you may h.aye reccln:d since, Date: 25 Jan. 1993 We would like to address the above subject. clarify our position on it and go into a little more depth, here. on the reasons why we feel that the operation of a bus terminal on the above property adversely affects our neighborhood and is no longer an appropriate use for this land. Here is a list. in order of adverse impact (gre:ncsllirst, elC.), of the things that are affecting us: 1. Eyesore - The ugly pole barns and the sea of parked buses, trucks and employee vehicles that one encounters as they approach our neighborhood is unsightly. (This is undisputed. even by the owners of the property.) According to Brian Fritsinger's Memorandum to the Planning Commission. of 22 Nov. (See the laSl two paragraphs on Pg,3). ~No formal landscaping is proposed along County Road F because of visibility/safety concerns and plant survivability." It would take an extensive and ex- pensive effot to hide this area adequately from the road. 1 a. Devalued Properties of Home Owners - Because of this unsightly west gate to our neighborhood and the other adversities. accounted below, property values in our neigh- borhod have suffered. Imagine trying to sell your house. if you lived on County Road F (Pothole . Avenue), now! We believe that potential prospects have been substantially diminished. When pro- viding CMA 's (Competitive Markel Analysis) on homes along County Road F, realtors have made the remark that. ~The price could be more if the house wasn't located on such a busy streeL~ 2 . Traffic - The excessive amount of traffic generated by the bus terminal operation is a detriment to our neighborhood and a constant annoyance and safety hazard. particularly to those who live on County Road F. This traffic creates a lot of noise and smelly air pollution. Bruce Dischinger. of Ryder, said. at the 5-Jan. Planning Commission meeting. "Removingthe terminal would reduce traffic insignificantly and could possibly lead to an increase," This is ridiculous. What he' s forgetting is the employee traffic that comes and goes, 4 times a day (arrivalond departUre in the morning. arrival and deputurein the afternoon)! And. that's for all of the buses which are used out of there. nO[ only to service District 621 but others as well. We. of course.' realize that not all of the buses and employees use County Road F. to the east of Mounds View High School. but the number is relative and it's still too much. MVHS uses only 35 buses - most only half full! If the terminal was removed from this location. we would see only that portion of those 35 buses which need to come and go from the east of the school. There would be no employee traffic, at all. and this would constitute a very significant decrease fOl us! And, it could be reduced even more. if only those buses which serve the immediate neighborhood were allowed to use County Road F, to the east of MVHS. All other buses could ingress and egress MVHS from the west without losing more than 1 minute on their run. (They would use Hwy 96, to lhe northeast and County Road 8. to the southeasL) I doubt that we have any high school bus traffic from the neighborhood - it's so close; so, we probably would only see and hear the elementary buses which serve the area. jf this idea was implemented. If there are 165 buses (See Pg, 2. #3 of B.F. 22 Nov, Memo) operating from this property. that require . 165 employees to drive them. this equals 1180 vehicle trips to and from the property. that would not take place if the terminal were notthere! 165 X 4 (employee traffic) + ( 165 - 35) X 4 = 1180. 35 is the numberof buses that serve MVHS. The proportion of buses and employees that use the east access should be factored in. to arrive at the number which directly affects our neighborhood.