HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-20-23 Public Comment - C. Kellner - Public Comment for UDC ZoningFrom:Chris Kellner
To:Agenda
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Public Comment for UDC Zoning
Date:Tuesday, September 19, 2023 1:13:26 PM
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Hello,
I was able to attend the meeting last night and even gave a brief comment, but it didn't
encompass all of my concerns, so I'm following up with an email. My biggest concerns with
the proposed UDC are as follows:
1. Aggregating R1, R2, and R3 into the new RA is too much. RA expands on the allowance
of units of the current R3, but it seems appropriate to replace R3 with the new RA. To
allow the new RA zoning in all of the R1 and R2 areas is excessive. That would mean
that many of our smaller single family home neighborhoods, or neighborhoods that
allow two units would suddenly be open to putting in as many as eight units, changing
the population (both type and quantity) significantly. Every property that has a single-
family home on it that becomes for sale (in R1 and R2), would suddenly be looked at by
every developer instead of just folks looking for a home in which to live. Many families
are already priced out of the market for single family homes, and this would be the final
nail in the coffin for those that can still afford them. The number of families in our
neighborhood has steadily declined over the last seven or eight years. The school board
even considered a vote to close Irving school last year since it was one of two schools
that had lower attendance. Many of the newer developments that are going in where
zoning allows are not geared towards university students or families. They are luxury
units that only high income professionals could afford, and don't have enough floor
space for a family. R1 and R2 need their own combined zoning class that, at most,
allows for the current number of units as R2.
2. Parking: If you try to drive around most of the older neighborhoods south of Babcock
between Willson and 11th, you'll find that it is not possible to drive both directions due
to parking on both sides of these narrow streets. If you try to do the same thing during
the winter when there is snow on the ground, you might not even be able to drive a
wide truck down what appears to be a single lane street, let alone traffic going different
directions. The parking situation in this area is already absurd and dangerous. Trying to
walk across a residential street at an intersection when there is little visibility due to cars
parked, forces one to walk into the street just to look both ways to determine if it's even
safe to cross. Now look at the same scenario with a 2nd grader trying to do this who is
not nearly as visible as an adult, and you'll get an idea of how dangerous parking makes
our neighborhood streets. The proposal of making R1 and R2 zones and then allowing
up to 8 units on a lot, would take an already dangerous situation, and amplify that
significantly. I understand that some of the parking would have to be on the lot as part
of the plan, but it also allows a portion of the parking to be on street parking, and that's
where the issue gets worse.
3. Building codes are only as good as their enforcement. I have friends that work in
constructions and am familiar with some developers in the valley. I know that many of
them just factor in the cost of the penalty for breaking code is when they're pricing out
their development. It doesn't matter how great the new building codes are in theory if
the city doesn't have strict penalties that are enforceable. In many areas of the country,
breaking a building code means you have to go back and alter what you've done until it
meets code. Anything short of that means that developers will think that they can
throw money at a code violation and get to keep doing business. Strict adherence to
code is mandatory or else we might as well not even bother coming up with new
building codes.
There are more concerns and issues, but these are the issues that come to mind initially.
Thanks,
Chris Kellner