2. HIGH-DENSITY
HOUSING
·
The City has indicated that high density is appropriate in
the downtown core, not semi-rural areas.
·
In the matter of proposed high-density housing: It is well
documented that high-density housing is traditionally built, and is most
effective in, an area where the occupants can walk or take public
transportation. This also relieves traffic congestion, and is one of
the primary reasons such units are planned.
·
High-density housing in our neighborhood is incompatible
with the scale and urban design. By virtue of the valley’s isolation,
residents must use an automobile in order to reach schools,
retail, and commercial services.
·
A high-density project would exacerbate traffic instead of
alleviating it.
·
The effects of cramming high-density housing in a small
secluded tract would drastically change the quality of life for all
inhabitants of Hidden Valley.
·
All exiting traffic from Hidden Valley must utilize La
Cumbre-Modoc and Las Positas-Modoc intersections, which are currently
impacted at level D. This is below the city standard for streets. There
are no plans for improvements for any of these intersections.
·
Veronica Springs Road (a substandard county road with
neither curbs nor sidewalks) would soon be used as a shortcut to Las
Positas to avoid Modoc gridlock. The connecting of Palermo Road to Las
Positas would also result in a shortcut, repeating the Stanley Drive
scenario in Samarkand, where cars cut through residential areas in order
to avoid impacted intersections.
·
A high-density project would also negate the city planning
for the Las Positas valley, which shows single family residential
housing.
·
A high-density project would result in the
deterioration that occurs in places that are overbuilt and overused.
3. TEACHERS’ AND
ESSENTIAL PERSONNEL NEEDS
·
We are told that this project is needed to subsidize local
teachers and essential personnel by affording them low-cost housing.
With a current and projected decline in school enrollment, it is hard to
see any legitimate need for a high-density project.
·
According to UniDev’s own survey, teachers desire single
family, detached homes with yards. This would be E3 zoning according to
city planning, the same density as the Hidden Valley neighborhood.
·
This land represents a unique opportunity to build the
type of housing that teachers want.
·
Funds from the sale of this land also represent a unique
opportunity to set up a loan program, such as those currently operating
in the Compton, Pasadena and Los Angeles school districts, enabling the
purchase of housing in other areas of the city, closer to schools.
4. COMMUNITY CONCERNS
·
A high-density plan would present serious safety concerns
for emergency services to access our area.
·
The evacuation of a school, two large senior residences
(Vale Verde and Vista Del Monte), as well as the residents of Hidden
Valley would be virtually impossible.
·
The banks and adjacent hillsides are unstable and subject
to geologic creep
·
Valle Verde recently suffered a huge cave-in along a broad
area of the creek, destroying a road.
·
A high pressure gas line crosses the Arroyo Burro Creek in
the area and may be on the school property
·
A major sewer line runs through the site, which serves the
entire valley.
·
The site is in a potential high fire hazard area.
·
The creek marks an earthquake fault, and another fault is
purported to run through the center of the property.
·
The hillsides are subject to the city’s slope density
ordinance.
·
The area is in a 100-year flood plane.
·
A high-density project at this site sets the precedent for
adjacent land to be developed at the same density, adversely affecting
other neighborhoods as well.
5. POTENTIAL CONFLICT
OF INTEREST WITH UNIDEV’S STUDY
·
UniDev’s own survey indicated that the type of housing
desired by the school staff was single family, detached homes. UniDev
stated in public meetings that they do not construct projects of just
one type of housing. This conflicts with the results of their teacher
survey.
