12-13-1999 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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Decembers, 1999 To: Orono City Council members From: Kathie Johnston, 2335 Shadowood Drive Re: Proposed project by The Bancor Group at Willow Drive & County Road 6 Firstly, I will say I am pleased with the progress made to-date regarding this proposed project. However, I would appreciate your consideration on a few points. Perhaps some items are decided, but I would nevertheless like to register my comments. (I must qualify these comments by saying I am making them based on the preliminary draft information provided at the last Planning Commission meeting.) Proposed neighborhood exit directiy across from Shadowood Drive • This is very close to the busy intersection of Willow Drive and County Road 6, where several accidents have occurred in the past few years as cars bolt to cross 6 on Willow. We often wait to enter or exit our Shadowood Farms development during peak times of the day. Cars are backed up South of 6 past our drive, and when we do get a window of opportunity, we need to watch out for the car that might be bolting from the other side of 6 at the same time. It would be hazardous to add another source of cars directly into this mix. • Our children stand at the end of Shadowood during morning rush hour waiting for the school bus. Additional traffic in, out, and all about the corner worries me. I also fear that there would be pressure to have a single bus stop, where the kids on one side will be expected to cross Willow to the other side to either catch the bus. get dropped off, or both. • Having grand neighborhood entrances on both sides of the road might also give the impression of a large development that has sprawled across the land, not the rural picture Orono usually portrays. • Here's an idea: why not end the proposed road in a cul-de-sac instead of coming out to Willow, and for city access purposes (if required), put in a "fire entrance" instead? If trails are provided through the development so that kids can access the school fields, it might also serve as a trail-head (but I get ahead of myself). Providing such an entrance would also retain the side-orientation of the houses there so that none are backed up to Willow (something some of my neighbors would appreciate). • Other suggestions might be to move that intersection south to exit between the Cox property and their neighbors to the south, or replace it with access via the proposed Kelley Parkway. Lots • It’s hard for laypeople like me to understand the concept of an "average” of 2-acre minimum versus 2-acre minimum. The majority of the lots in the most recent design are noticeably smaller than 2 acres and a few are much larger. Some are only one-half acre. And those lots are clustered together. And they are closest to Willow Drive. If these lot sizes are acceptable to the city's zoning policies, they should at least be on the west edge of the development, with the larger open spaces closest to the existing neighbors. Although the design is probably limited by wetlands on the site, the current plan IS not convincing about their exact locations and dimensions What is being "given back to the community ”? • I believe developers are required under certain policies to make environmental improvements, provide community assets, etc., and I want to make sure this is given careful and deliberate attention. « Although the developer probably has more details on trails by now, I wanted to suggest that children be able to get from the Shadowood and Ringerswood neighborhoods to the school property and playing fields without travelling along County Road 6 • I would like to see existing vegetation being preserved. Again, maybe they also by now have more detail on plantings, landscaping, berms, etc. to make the development aesthetic. Public streets • The Shadowood development, and a great many others in Orono. was denied public streets. A large proportion of Orono residents like us pay to take care of their own streets; plowing, resurfacing, etc. Through our taxes we would also pay lor our neighbors streets - streets that we do not use or benefit from? • Public streets are wider than private streets. If there were to be an exit directly across from Shadowood. it would look odd and unbalanced. It would also create more “hardcover ”, and it’s been mentioned that storm water drainage is already a concern for this property. I thank you for taking my comments into your thoughts as you consider The Bancor Groups proposal.