7A, Presbyterian Homes Redevelopment Proposal

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Meagan Beekman From: Holmes Frances H [Frances. H. Holmes @irscounsel.treas.gov] Sent: Monday, November 22, 2010 7:54 AM To: Meagan Beekman Subject: FW: Presbyterian Homes Redevelopment Plan Attachments: letter to AH_council_10_11_19_PHS.pdf FYI Original Message From: Amp3084 <amp3084 @aol.com> To: sjharpstead <sjharpstead @comcast.net david.grant <david .grant @ci.arden- hills.mn.us holdenbj24 <holdenbj24 @aol.com FranH116 <FranH116 @aol.com davemcclung <davemcclung @comcast.net> Sent: Sun, Nov 21, 2010 6:07 pm Subject: Presbyterian Homes Redevelopment Plan Dear Arden Hills City Council: We are residents of the neighborhood directly adjacent to the south border of the proposed redevelopment of the Presbyterian Homes Lake Johanna site. As a neighborhood, we were not aware of this project until a few weeks ago, just prior to the November 3, 2010 Arden Hills Planning commission meeting. At that meeting, we spoke to the Planning commission regarding the project as g p 1 did many of our neighbors. We were concerned about the density of the project, the proximity of the Brownstone townhouses to County Road D and the access road at County Road D and Wheeler and the affect on our residential neighborhood. None of the items we addressed to the Planning commission were discussed by the commission before they voted for approval of the Presbyterian Homes Plan. On November 8 we brought our concerns to the Roseville City Council who agreed to send the City g y of Arden Hills a letter expressing our concerns. They asked the representative from Presbyterian Homes, who was at the Council meeting, to meet with the residents of our neighborhood to hear our concerns. We did meet with John Mehrkens on November 15 The Presbyterian Homes listened to our concerns and offered to work on landscaping with the neighbors directly adjacent to the project on County Road D and Shorewood Drive to provide a better visual barrier. They also suggested creating a "pork chop" exit to the access road at County Road D and Wheeler. This type of exit would only allow traffic to exit to the right, that is, to the west on County Road D. They positively responded to our suggestions about explicitly looking at ways within their interior design to minimize traffic from and to Wheeler Ave. They agreed that it was worthwhile to do that. We applaud the concessions Presbyterian Homes is offering. Unfortunately, they are not adequate to alleviate the concerns of our neighborhood. Even if the County Road D driveway is changed to a right turn only exit we anticipate hundreds of additional cars each day driving north on Wheeler and Shorewood Lane in order to enter the campus at County Road D. The City of Roseville has requested in their letter to you that a traffic study be done at County Road D and Wheeler. Roseville conducted a preliminary traffic count prior to their November 8th City Council meeting and found that the traffic levels currently where high enough to warrant a traffic study. A more complete proposal for the County Road D access, that would require minimal change to the sight plan, would be use the access road to County Road D only as a one way west exit, as proposed by Presbyterian Homes and prohibit the access road as an entrance. The remainder of the road, 1