HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-18-22 Public Comment - M. Kaveney - Canyon Gate #22264- Project Summary concerns, bus stop and park and ride lotFrom:Marcia Kaveney
To:Ross Knapper; Susana Montana
Cc:Mitchell Overton; Agenda
Subject:Canyon Gate #22264- Project Summary concerns, bus stop and park and ride lot
Date:Tuesday, October 18, 2022 12:24:52 PM
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To staff working on Canyon Gate Preliminary Plat 22264:
Please note the following concerns I have in response to the Project Summary. Please alsonote the additional goals added at the end of this letter for a bus stop and park and ride to help
alleviate the anticipated traffic congestion.
#2 Floodplain. Correction. I live in the neighborhood where the city is doing mitigation work.The city is not actually mitigating the flooding from Bridger Creek, but rather they are only
mitigating for its potential erosion of Boylan Rd. Flood water runoff will still be directedthrough Legends II after their work as it was originally designed intended to and willstill move towards Canyon Gate. The city is spending $100,000 to mitigate for the creek's migration towards Boylan Rd.
and hundreds of staff hours when the whole problem could have been avoided with moreleeway given to creek movement and natural stream beds changes.
#5 Vegetation. HomeBase misleads city staff here. Please note that the Canyon Gate hasmore than "some" trees. At present I have counted over 110 Cottonwood trees with adiameter of 8" or greater. There are also 3 very large Cottonwood trees- with 5 ft, 4 ft, and 2
ft diameters and numerous smaller cottonwoods. There are two main groves with grassy areasand moist soils beneath the canopy layer. There are also numerous small groves of aspen,
alder, chokecherries, and juniper on the property and mature Spruces near the farmhouse. These groves currently provide habitat for many bird species such as eagles, hawks, and owls,
swallows and other smaller bird species. HomeBase is missing a tremendous opportunity toenhance and designate one or two "natural parks" that need no watering or mowing.
*Did HomeBase complete a critical plant survey ? If not, how did they determine there are no
critical species on site?
#6. Wildlife. Even though bears, deer, moose, and coyotes "are found to be undesirable withthe city boundaries" they don't read the "rules" and they travel through this location and
surrounding neighborhoods frequently. Until the Story Hills are developed and Bridger Creekdries up, the Canyon Gate parcel will always lie between two heavily travelled wildlife
habitats.
We can expect the human/wildlife interactions to continue here and should design newdevelopments accordingly. Current corridors could be kept in place as natural open space
with limited paths and not as parkland. If the only green space on the property has pathways,there will undoubtedly be more human/wildlife interactions that might go poorly.
7. Correction. The property is currently occupied not only with pasture grass but over 100
mature trees and shrubs contained in many small and two large groves. I have attached photosof the groves so you can see for yourselves this is not just a pasture.
11. Streets.
HomeBase is proposing hundreds of units in an area without the possibility of a grid streetsystem. Unless going hiking, skiing, or golfing, all car trips will lead to the intersection of
Story Mill and Bridger Drive-(with the exception of cutting through to Birdie Drive). CanyonGate should therefore be asked to utilize all streets that are immediately available to them to
move traffic in and out of their subdivision- including Weeping Rock Lane. They do notmention it in their summary, but please note that an undue burden will placed on the very
small local street- Maiden Spirit.
I also think HomeBase should be required to pursue the Northview access via their property.At the time of this writing and to my knowledge as Legends II board member at large,
HomeBase has refused to attend a meeting to discuss this easement. Access to Northviewwould alleviate much strain on the small local streets.
If the Northview access is not required, then extra precautions should be taken to not
overwhelm Maiden Spirit and Spirit Crossing with traffic from the R5 lots. City staff couldrecommend/require a wide speed bump before exiting the property onto Maiden Spirit and
Boylan Road at Spirit Crossing -such as exist on North 20th St.
14. Parks.Cash-in-lieu of parks should not be accepted especially at the current rate and the current land
value. (The Village Downtown paid $275,000 almost 20 years ago which did not go into theparks department but was used in the library fund!). I understand that the formula for cash-in-
lieu comes from a state directive and therefore not easily changed. However, with land valuesas they are, and a parcel as large as this one, it would be unconscionable to accept cash-in-lieu
of parks - a land giveaway that the city could never gain back. The amount suggested byCanyon Gate won't even pay for a 1/3 acre lot in today's market let alone 2.5 acres. *That land
could be set aside for a small elementary school in the future.
The Canyon Gate parcel is contained within the Bridger CreekLands Association ofNeighbors (BCAN). Each HOA within BCAN has it's own playing field(s) and smaller
gathering areas. Canyon Gate should at the very least provide their residents with their ownplaying field in addition to their proposed playground. (see #15). They should also maintain
their own open space rather than designating the majority as public park for the city tomaintain. Trails are not to be considered for parks -(Chapter 38.24.110)
15. Neighborhood Center Plan. Their neighborhood center is oddly located near the
commercial district along a path. Their plan would funnel their 450 units of residents to theLegends II city park. This park already serves over 300 units and is very busy with sports
teams already in the spring and fall. Story Mill park is not easily accessible for families withsmall children and it is often crowded as a destination park.
17. Misc. c. incorrect. Bear and Moose may not be desired but bears are regular spring and
fall visitors and their presence needs to be acknowledged.
19. Goal N-4. Preserving the cottonwood groves as Natural Parks would support the sense ofPlace. This development, as proposed, ignores the existence of farmland and trees and focuses
instead on connecting to the Story Mill and Stockyard area to which it is not directly adjacent-they are each a quarter mile away on the other side of Bridger View. However, it is adjacent
to developed land that has preserved its sense of agricultural and rural roots.
Goal DCD.-3, DCD-3.1. Include a Bus stop. This is the largest final parcel in the district tobe developed and there should be a bus stop if it's truly supporting multi-modal transportation.Billings Clinic at 50 acres has 2. Canyon Gate at 24 acres could supply at least one- forresidents to get in and out of town as well as for the ski bus in the winter. Otherwise the
addition of 450 units and the related car trips will add a great deal of congestion to the limitedstreets. The closest current bus stop that I know of and use is a mile away at the Fairgrounds.
Goal R.2.9. Long Term and Lasting Impact. Perhaps Canyon Gate should leave spacefor a future school (instead of cash-in-lieu of parks) since it is the largest undevelopedparcel in the area and the developer plans to double the neighborhood population. Hawthorne
Elementary, the nearest school, is already completely full and sends their overflow to Whittier.
EPO 2, EPO 2.3-Development is responsive to natural features. In this case keep the maintree groves which currently act as wind breaks, temperature moderators, and visual barriers.
Work with the landscape rather than grade the entire site. Identify and preserve wildlifecorridors.
EPO 3.3, EPO 3.4. Use native plantings- keep the mature trees and shrubs intact.
M1.5. This would be a key area for a park and ride parking area within Canyon Gate since
it sits at the edge of town.
M1.8. Include a space for a bus shelter as this is approximately the end of the line forStreamline.
Thank you for reading,Marcia Kaveney