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HomeMy WebLinkAboutA029 - Letter from Tamara Lorenz with comments about proposed zoning changes ", Q �L r NOV - 9 1999 CIl Y CLERK _ CITY Of AMES,IOWA November 8, 1999 Ames Mayor Tedesco and City Council Members Ames City Hall 515 Clark Ames, IA 50010 Dear Mayor and Council: Attached you will find a zoning comment sheet which I submitted to the Ames Planning and Housing Department. Rather than repeating the details of my comments in this letter, I will summarize by saying the zoning plan has designated the northwest corner of the block bounded to the north by Lincoln Way and to the west by S. Maple as an RH area This zoning proposal does not reflect current land use at that corner or anywhere else on S. Maple. I request that the Council disapprove the RH zoning plan. Instead, I ask the Council to approve an UCRM zoning designation for the corner in question. Sincerely, Tamara Lorenz 311 S. Maple Ames, IA 50010 attachment INPUT FOR THE NEW ZONING MAP From: Tamara Lorenz 311 S. Maple 515-281-8330 (Daytime phone #) Location of the property subject to comment: The northwest corner of the block bounded by Lincoln Way to the north, S. Maple to the west, and S. Oak to the east. Comments: When i attended a recent zoning information meeting, city staff explained the proposed designations. The presenters emphasized the zoning proposals were designed to reflect current land use. Unfortunately, part of the proposed zoning in my neighborhood facilitates a radical shift from the area's predominant land use: single family dwellings. Several lots on or near the southeast corner of the Lincoln Way and S. Maple intersection, are proposed to be zoned as RH, not UCRM. The proposed RH zoning designation will not only allow multiple storied dwellings with no limit on the number of units, it will also allow commercial development on the street level floor of such structures. The possibility of commercial development at this location was never mentioned during the public planning process. For at least the last 19 years, the two lots on this corner, and facing S. Maple, have been used as single family rental units. The next dwelling south, which faces S. Maple, is a house used as a three-plex. The structures across from these houses are all single family dwellings, as are all other structures on S. Maple, north of S. 4th The proposed zoning is clearly not reflective of the current land use and would make a devastating change to the neighborhood. With or without the commercial development option, the traffic hazards and the congestion that a multi-storied, multi-unit dwelling will create on Lincolnway and on S. Maple are manifest. Even if Ames were to change its pc!icy =nd _-!10 .. .Iditi,On21 (^ cuts i i...,. ay, h f the., � „j ,., by Guuiliviial tutu Culj :Jii Lliii.ViilVVay, f11UGi OI IIIG lii;li�l; wClilU flow onto S. Maple. I will not go into further detail here. The vulnerability of this area of my neighborhood was frequently communicated to the Ames Planning and Housing department and to the City Council during e Land Use Policy planning process. I and other representatives of my neighborhood association were repeatedly assured the final zoning proposal would reflect current use. Not only does the proposal not reflect current use, it makes a change that will completely alter the character and traffic patterns of my neighborhood. I urge you to change the RH designation for the properties in question to the UCRM designation.