HomeMy WebLinkAboutA003 - Letter from William and Joyce Stoner with concerns about proposed development April 7, 2005 I _
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- CITY CLE9,K
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Daryl Vegge - -
5128 Schubert St.
Ames, Iowa 50014
Dear Councilman Vegge:
We are contacting you to express our views concerning the pro-
posed development of the Ringgenberg Farm which will be considered
during the course of the April 12, 2005 city council meeting.
We live at 2717 Oakwood Road across from and a little west of
the Ringgenberg Farm, and are particularly interested in the rezoning
of the northerly 21 .24 acres thereof.
The homes along the north side of Oakwood Road in the neighbor-
hood of the proposed development have been established for a number
of years. Most, if not all.:of our homes are located on large lots
which provide for a very quiet life style with lots of green space.
We believe all of the residents of our neighborhood enjoy our pre-
sent living circumstances. We further believe any development in
the area should respect the existing development and residents there-
of. We understand the need for diversity in the zoning process in
order to provide for the needs of our growing community as well as
the needs and desires of the future residents of our community.
We believe that the development of the Ringgenberg Farm can and should
provide for the needs of our growing community, and at the same time,
respect the lifestyle of the residents of the existing neighborhood.
The northerly 21.2h acres of the Ringgenberg Farm is proposed
to be rezoned to FS-RM in order to accommodate the construction of
210 residential units in 21 "big house" buildings. In our opinion,
such a proposal shows a lack of respect for the adjacent neighbor-
hood on the north side of Oakwood Road. We believe the appropriate
zoning for the area would be RL which would allow the construction
of single family low density residential units. That zoning would
provide for a transition between the established neighborhood on
the north side of Oakwood Road and the proposed new neighborhood
on the southerly 96.22 acres of the Ringgenbern Farm.
Along with that, we suggest you consider a zoning classifica-
tion over the southern part of the farm which would accomodate the
construction of the 21 'big houses" on various individual sites through-
out the entire south part of the development. Such a mix of multi-
family---single family dwelling units has been employed in other
neighborhoods in our community and in other cities, and appears to
function very well. This proposed approach to the matter would re-
spect the existing neighborhood along Oakwood Road, and at the same
time provide for the appropriate density of the overall development.
We realize this would require the developer to reconsider the
development plans, but it could provide for the development of the
Ringgenberg Farm in a manner which would gain the support of the
existing neighborhood. Perhaps the neighbors would consider being
part of a development panel which could assist in the design of the
development, and thereby assist in gaining; neighborhood support.
We would volunteer to be part of such a panel if asked, thereby be-
coming a part of the solution rather than part of the problem.
Another matter of concern to us, more as citizens of Iowa than
members of the Oakwood Road neighborhood, is the proximity of the
proposed development to I.S.U. agricultural operations. There are
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at present, issues of an agricultural nature, namely livestock odors
etc., that from time to time present themselves. At a recent meeting
of the P & Z_ Board, it was brought forth by I.S.U. that they are
attempting to expand their land holdings in the area, and plan to
construct a new dairy farm operation in the area. Since only a fence
separates the proposed development from those agricultural operations,
it is very likely that these issues will increase, especially for
those residents of the new development since the prevailing winds are
from the west and southwest.
We believe it would be prudent to require that the developer
inform prospective purchasers of lots and or homes in the develop-
ment of the existence of the agricultural operations of I.S.U., and
the attendant issues that from time to time will occur. It may be
wise to also require a covenant of some nature be placed on the deeds
to the lots within the development in order that subsequent purch-
asers of the properties are also made aware of the agricultural issues.
It would be a shame if I.S.U. (the citizens of Iowa) invested millions
of dollars in the agricultural operations in this area only to be
criticized or pressured by 500 new property owners whose goal is to
have them shut down those same operations.
We respectfully request that you respect our desires and those
of others in our neighborhood and deny the developer's request to
provide for 21 "big houses" adjacent to our neighborhood. We believe
there are other and better ways to develop the Ringgenberg Farm and
have suggested them to you. We also believe that the agricultural
operations of I.S.U. should be respected and provided for, and re-
spectfully request that .you require the developer to do so. And we
have suggested a plan whereby that could be accomplished.
Sincerely,
William B. Stoner Jr.
Joyce E. Stoner
c: Ted Tedesco, Mayor
Sharon Wirth, Councilwoman
Steve Goodhue, Councilman
Riad Mahayni, Councilman
Matthew Goodman, Councilman
Russ Cross, Councilman
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