06-19-2017 Planning Commission Packet

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_ Jeremy Barnhart From: Linda Kelley Freivalds <lindafordkelley@gmail.com> Sent: Friday, June 09, 2017 3:04 PM To: Jeremy Barnhart Cc: Kirk Sherman Subject: 2520 Shadywood Road Project- Clarification Jeremy, My husband, John, and I sent a letter to you on March 14, 2017 stating that we had met with Alex Ugorets and reviewed the preliminary plans for the proposed apartments/condos. At that time,based on the information available, we expressed concern that the project be condos, not apartments, but otherwise had no strong objections. Subsequent to that date, we attended a meeting for the neighborhood at the Freshwater Business Center and reviewed the drawings provided by Westwood regarding the height of the building and the landscaping. Since that time we have walked our land and that of our neighbors(Codutes and Shermans) and are very concerned about the project and the detrimental effects it will have on the neighborhood. Three items concern us greatly: • Building height: The height of the building will dominate the view for all homes on Old Beach Road and forever alter the character of the neighborhood. • Tree buffer: The treed areas on the drawings do not appear to be realistic. Much of the land behind the Freshwater is wetlands. We have planted trees in our marsh area and are aware that there limited types of trees that will flourish in that environment and to expect a tall buffer of trees, as suggested by the exhibits, is something that would be achieved only with many years of growth. • Traffic: The traffic on CR 19 is already heavy and backs up past our home daily. With a speed limit of 40 mph, the addition of up to 100 additional cars attempting to enter and exit the Freshwater parking area will only increase the backup and the occurrence of accidents. Based on the above, at a minimum, we withdraw all support for the project and request that the City of Orono not approve the required variances to enable this to proceed.