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HomeMy WebLinkAboutA034 - Letter from Sue Weiss and Petition of those desiring east side of Howard Avenue remain Residential-Low Density p�tS I -0-7 00 tP A Input for the New Zoning Map L JAN 7 2 Sue Weiss(and the signatures of the attached petition) _ CITY CLERK 215 Howard Ave. CITY Of VES, IOWA Ames,Iowa 50014 292-5332 Property we would like to comment about: East Side of Howard Ave. The west side of Howard Ave.will remain Residential-Low Density in the new zoning plan. The majority of these houses on the west side are owner-occupied, single family homes. We would like the east side of Howard Ave. to be maintained as Residential-Medium Density,instead of being changed to Residential-High Density. We realize that the line needs to be drawn somewhere,but having one side of a street High Density and the other side Low Density doesn't make sense. A better transition would be keeping both sides of Campus Ave. High Density,the east side of Howard Ave. Medium density and the west side of Howard Ave. Low Density. If the east side is rezoned as Residential-High Density,the existing houses on that side could be torn down and apartment buildings put up in their place. We are against this happening because of the following issues: 1) Commitment to a Residential Neighborhood. While some would still consider our neighborhood a "transitional neighborhood",we are deeply committed to reclaiming it as a residential family neighborhood. A drive on Howard Ave. and West Street will show the extent of that commitment. Several of us have worked extensively to remodel older homes with the intention of raising a family here. Thousands of dollars and hours of work would be wasted if the neighborhood were to start a slide downward. 2) Westward Spiral Downward. Hyland Ave. and Campus Ave.have seen an apartment building boom in the last few years. Understandably,university students desire apartments close to campus,and several hundred units have been built on those streets to accommodate them. With just the half-block addition of the east side of Howard Ave.to the Residential-High Density area,it's likely a"domino effect" would occur. Although our side is currently residential,putting apartment buildings right across our street would change the nature of our neighborhood. However,a westward spiral downward can be halted if the east side of Howard remains Medium Density. 3) Lack of Affordable Housing in Ames. The houses in our neighborhood are affordable--a rare commodity in Ames. Several of the homes on the east side of Howard could potentially become single family homes again if the zoning designation remains Medium Density. During the last few years, several families in our neighborhood have reclaimed former rental houses as owner-occupied, single family dwellings. We would like to continue that trend. 4) No Need for Change. The houses currently on the east side are houses,not apartment buildings. Keeping this side of the street as Medium Density would keep the residential feel to the neighborhood. 5) Lack of Parking. Howard Ave. and West Street have alternate side of the street parking that is maximized by university students. When classes are in session,it is very hard to find a parking place on either street, day or night. If apartment buildings were built across the street,there would be no place for visitors or guests to park(even assuming the landlord would provide adequate parking for his tenants as prescribed by code). 6) Increase in Traffic. If apartment buildings were built across the street from us there would be an increase in traffic in our residential neighborhood. There are several families who have small children in our neighborhood and an increase in traffic would make it less safe for them. 4 Dated: January 6, 2000 We, the undersigned, respectfully request that the east side of Howard Ave. be maintained as Residential-Medium Density in the new zoning map. Name Address Phone Number l o/.-) S� 2. a3 s�� 4. n ag —31Yq 6. /c OO _ 7. Q� fz�.oA�Sl t 3 - St, a9a- 8. 3zq we,-} S-+. Zy2- szq 9. 3Z22 5-- 292—(g66A 10, �z 3 ZcIZ-Z � " 3�s 12, 13. 14, 15, DtbC I�ACICO)13 30 1 S- StEq _0%'I 2,- 164)7 ft,&A- 'S' I a '&"-iq' ;;2- -�1/� 17. 19, 20, �Ltz �ili�G,d� 29� - z6� 21.