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elected representatives to prevent the damage that will be caused by the subdivision if that <br />'is possible. <br />We raised the concern that the large trees on the property help to mitigate the noise and air <br />llution coming from traffic on the major highways to the north of our neighborhood. It <br />eems highly likely that a number of the trees will be removed to accommodate the new <br />construction. Your response is that the owner is free to remove the trees with or without <br />subdivision. Furthermore, you suggested that only trees in the middle of the property would <br />be removed and that trees on the edges of the property would not be impacted by the <br />construction. Although we have no expertise as lawyers, as Professors of Plant Biology at <br />the University we can assure you that the damage to the trees on the property will be real <br />and irreversible (for decades). We can state categorically that the oak trees will not <br />survive the construction process, as they suffer inordinately when soil over their roots is <br />compacted. One need only to witness the recent deaths of oaks along County Rd. B that <br />accompanied much less extensive construction than is envisioned in this proposal. <br />Furthermore, if future development retains the footprint of the existing house, a quick walk <br />around the property establishes the fact that there is no way that the majority of the many <br />large trees on this property will not have to be sacrificed, with the resulting decrease in <br />filtering of noise and pollutants from the highways. We believe that the neighbors are <br />justified in expressing concern about increased air and noise pollution around our homes. <br />With regard to concerns that this area of Roseville is woefully underserved with parks and <br />sidewalks, you acknowledge that our area of the city is under-served by parks and open space <br />and that this issue is being studied for the Parks and Recreation Master Plan. It seems <br />clear, as nothing has been done on this issue for the 20 years we have lived here, that no <br />solution is forthcoming in these tight economic times, at least not during the childhood of <br />our current children. You point out that it is not fair to ask one property owner to <br />sacrifice his right to subdivide to maintain the character of the neighborhood. We would <br />ounter that the property owner obtained this property very recently with the obvious purpose <br />changing the character of the neighborhood, and the fairness issue cuts more in the <br />erection of those who will have neither parks nor large lots to compensate for the absence <br />of parks if this and similar proposals are approved. <br />We raised the concern that there are no sidewalks in our neighborhood and that the safety of <br />pedestrians (many of whom are small children) will be compromised by increased automobile <br />traffic. You responded that even if two new single family homes were constructed, they <br />would not generate sufficient traffic to have any noticeable impact on neighborhood traffic <br />or safety. In our view, this is not an adequate response to the key issue of safety because <br />the logical extension of proposed action is that more subdivisions and more traffic will <br />follow. <br />On the question of future subdivisions, you state that "The city studied this issue <br />extensively several years ago and decided for a number of reasons, including the fact that <br />the number of lots where this could be done is relatively small, decided not to change the <br />code so as to require property owners to maintain larger then normal lots." The city may <br />have studied this issue, but it must have performed the study without input from the <br />residents of the area.- Manson Hills is exceptionally small, stretching only about a mile <br />east-west and a quarter mile north/south. How many large lots need to be subdivided to <br />destroy the character, and decrease the property values within, such a small area? Not many, <br />we would argue. As it is, the lot directly behind ours has already received approval for <br />fragmentation into four lots, and clearly more requests are coming as older residents move to <br />smaller homes. We and our neighbors will be able to claim, probably successfully, that such <br />actions have decreased the value of our properties, resulting in lower assessed values and <br />wer revenue for the city and county. <br />gain, thank you for your comments and reasonable discussion, and we ask you to prevent this <br />subdivision if at all possible. <br />z <br />