2007-03-14 CC - Laserfiche WebLink

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January 26 2007 Planning and Zoning Commission! City Council Members My name is Kevin Malani and I live at 7354 Old Mill Road in Centerville. I am writing this letter with the support of many other residence in the immediate area. This letter is in response to the proposal by Jeff and Laura Hanzal to build a single-family home in the lot directly across the street from my property and south of their residence at 7381 Old Mill Road. We are very concerned with the Hanzals proposal because it includes a variance to the existing code for development in the area. They are requesting for a variance to allow for the new construction to be 15 ft from the easement instead of the required 35 feet. This ultimately would allow for this new construction to sit approximately 20 feet closer to the street than any other residence in the development. In reviewing their proposal we are asking that their request be denied. To support our views we have listed our concerns. Our first concern is with having a non-confonning home in the area. For good reason, city codes usually require basic unifonnity in residential developments so that other homeowners can walk out their front doors and view the entire block without difficulty. If granted this 20 foot variance, residence both south and north of this new construction would be looking at the side or back of this house. Also, this new construction will almost certainly have some type of walkway built from the front door as well as some type of landscaping in the front. These logical additions to the new home would ultimately bring the appearance of the home even closer to the street. In addition, if the city decided to use the easement for a sidewalk (or some other use) the house would be less than 15 feet from it. We strongly believe that a home given such a large variance would change the landscape to the degree that the esthetic appearance of the area would be greatly affected in a negative way. Our second concern is with security in the neighborhood. Police rely on the unifonnity of home being the same distance from the street when patrolling an area; especially at night. The proposed new construction would block the view of officers patrolling in either direction. Additionally, it would be easier for a criminal to hide behind a house that protrudes out 20 feet. Granting this variance would reduce the visibility of the officers patrolling the neighborhood while giving criminals an advantage. Granting this variance would infringe upon the security of our neighborhood.