10-10-1988 - Agenda Packet City Council - regular meeting

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September 16, 1989 To the Planning Commission and the City Council of Orono: We are concerned about the proposed development and rezoning of the property located at 715 Nort, Brown Road. Our concern centers around the negative influence of so many homesites immediately adjacent to our property and the increased traffic on North Brown Roar. We believe the addition of 25 homes in the ar.:ea will decrease u"r ability to use our property and increase the risE. of injury or damage to our property, Our - horses or trespassers. We moved to Orono in 1977 and were assured several times by the City that Oronc was then, and intended to remain a rural residential community. We chose the area because of the requirement for 2 acre minimum lots. though 5 acre minimums would do more to ensure the rural environment. We have scr?n the traffic use of North Brown Road increase dramatically over the ast 10 years. We believe the addition of 25 homes will i n:=rease the traff i c to sit, i a point that we can no longer ride ovr horses or walk along Brown Road. Thus we will have no access to the park or trails. Such high density o+ hoissing will generate an additional 25 to 75 _ors per day on Brown Road. The solution, no doubt, will be to upgrade and widen the road and assess the landowners; a solution we would strongly oppose. It would generate yet more traffic and lessen our ability to enjoy our property, our horses and our neighborhood. We believe Orono must hold fast to its goals --or become another Bloomington with high density housing. We are also concerned with the plans to locate five to sip: lots adjacent to our south property line. We chose the area so we would have privacy ---at least 2 acres per homesite. Locating so many homes so close steals our priuicv and increases the risk of children, dogs, etc. trespassing and injuring our horses or themselves. Ouito frinkly, we do not need increased liability. If the property known as 715 North Brown Road is to be developed, we believe several conditions should be met with NO cost to they adjacent landowners. First, North Brown Road should be revamped to include a path safe from vehicular traffic for horsebact riding and walking. Nort�i Brown Road should also be studied for ways to reduce the number of vehicles and, increasingly important, the excess speed of the vehiLies using North Brown Road.