Unsucessful Efforts

After all the hard work with various stakeholders we were unsucessful in site modifications for the Avenue Villas.  Please see the letter below from the City of Denver

 

June 25, 2012

Mr. Tom Gleason

Forest City Stapleton, Inc.

7320 E. 29

th Ave., #300

Denver, Co. 80238

Re: Avenue Villas in Stapleton Filing No. 22

Dear Mr. Gleason:

In response to concerns expressed by residents adjacent to the Avenue Villas project in Filing #22, I called a meeting with key City staff to collectively discuss and review these concerns. In attendance were representatives from Development Services, Public Works, Fire Department and Solid Waste. It was the consensus of the staff that the proposed Avenue Villas project by Century Communities meets applicable City codes and regulations and that an increase of four units, from 45 to 49, does not necessitate modification of existing approvals by the City.

Additionally, Greg Savage the City’s project coordinator and I met with Councilman Herndon following our meeting with staff to brief him on our findings and recommendation that no changes or modifications to the site or units would be required. The councilman concurred with our assessment. To that end, no further action will be pursued by the City specific to this development.

Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Sincerely,

Kelly R. Leid

Director of Development Services

CC: Anne Hazelton

Councilman Christopher Herndon

Rob Duncanson

Greg Savage

Eric Osmundsen

Joe Florez

Dave Peachey

Heidi Majerik

Progress

Progress regarding Avenue Villas as of June 11 2012

Several meetings with the City have been held. AVN has met with Waste Management, Zoning and Denver Fire. To some extent they share concerns about traffic, parking and density (details below). All three parties are discussing the issue with AVN, amongst each other and themselves. Fire and Zoning will be on site this week to assess project density, parking and traffic concerns. If possible please be prepared to park your vehicle on Tamarac and Ulster to illustrate traffic and density concerns. (date forthcoming and details below)

Denver Zoning Meeting Overview

On June 7, Anne met with Mr. Greg Savage, Denver Zoning and Project Development Review.

He will speak with Mr. Eric Osmondsen who previously reviewed and approved the traffic plan, but possibly will update it.

Zoning mentioned open space is required to be at 35 percent in each development. He agrees to look at the plans again because it does not seem to meet that per the project plans.

He also added that the construction has stopped for several days until some paperwork snafu can be worked out.

I discussed with Mr. Savage that this might be a good time to try to work on other changes that we would like to see.

Next step is that Mr. Osmondsen will review the plans again and see if they are compliant. He said he will then talk with Forest City. Either FC or Century will have to pay for any change in an alley.

Waste Management Meeting Overview

Mr. David Peachey of Waste Management and Anne spoke prior to the meeting with Denver Zoning meeting. He is concerned that even with the alleys open on both ends the trucks are going to have trouble making the turn unless they line up with another alley or street . Parking would need to be limited at least on the side of the alley exits in order to avoid hitting cars as the trucks try to swing into the narrow streets. We discussed some possible parking restriction ideas.

A phone call from Mr. Peachey on Friday confirmed that he had made a site visit and actually watching his crew’s garbage truck back up in an alley elsewhere in Stapleton. He was amazed they could do this. [The alleys here are only 13 feet wide; Denver code is actually 16 feet minimum. He felt that Waste Management should be forced to waste fuel and time, not to mention the safety issues, for the next 50-100 years BEFORE the project is completed is the time to act. He will try to work on our behalf.

Denver Fired Department Meeting Overview

Today, June 11, Neill and Anne met with Mr. Joseph Flores of the Denver Fire Department, again at the Webb Building. He speaks also for the Police and Paramedics. He said that the alleys are the last resort for fire-fighting or other emergency services. Public sidewalks are first choice for access. [Anne pointed out that Mr. Johnson of Century remarked that the sidewalks are private—hence not required to meet regulations (for snow removal, etc.). However, Neill mentioned that they will have an HOA that might cover snow shoveling.] Mr. Flores said that their hands may be tied because of the private sidewalk status.

Mr. Flores did ask about parking restrictions (to help with emergency access). We said that Mr. Gleason had said that this was never done in Stapleton.

He then left the room to see if he could meet with Mr. Osmondsen of Traffic to see what impact the alleys would have. (Unfortunately, this traffic specialist was not available, but he hopes to have him accompany him on a SITE VISIT this week) He did speak with Mr. Savage for several minutes and when he returned to the conference room, said he would do what he could to help us.

CALL TO ACTION: In order to give and idea of the project density, we would like all AVN’s to help Mr. Florez (Fire) and Mr. Osmundsen (Traffic) visualize what an additional 100+ cars will look like parked Ulster and Tamarac, and how narrow a 30 or 32 foot passage really is with cars on both sides.

We do not yet have a date established for the visit, but will email a reminder the night before. In the meantime, please be prepared to have as many of your vehicles as you can out on Tamarac and Ulster by 7 a.m. on the designated morning.

Most folks will have to drive to work so try having a friend or relative park over on Ulster and Tamarac is if it is convenient. Please park across from another vehicle so the true narrowness can be appreciated.

Please ark legally, 12 to 18 inch range from the curb.

Forest City’s Response to AVN’s Letter of Objetion

Forest City is unwilling to make ANY changes to the Century Communities devolpment!!!

Forest City response (5/25/12) to

Letter of Objection:

Filling 22 Century Communities Development

Avenue Villa Neighbors

May 15/2012

We, the Avenue Villas Neighbors (AVN), are concerned that the Avenue Villas development is out of character (per current plans) with the Stapleton precedence. A lack of communications between involved parties prompted a concerned community position on a host of issues which need to be addressed immediately.

It is our hope that Forest City, Century Communities and the Avenues Villas Neighbors reach an equitable solution, one which addresses community concerns and allows affordable and tasteful development while maintaining the business case for Century and Forest City.  AVN believes there are zero and low cost solutions available in addressing some of the neighborhood issues.

In short we are not seeking special attention but rather a solution; a reasonable adjustment that is more in line with the look and feel as well as the development precedence of the neighborhoods of Stapleton and addresses the concerns of the surrounding community.

Accordingly, Forest City/Century Communities plans should address the following primary components in a notional plan no later than 5/18/12:

1)      Density reduction; 49 units of family dwellings are far greater than the likely 36 units of Casitas previously slated for these 1.6 acres. McStain was marketing to singles and couples, not families, so the impact on the nearby park and private courtyard would have been less (per McStain literature). Casitas had courtyards which would have provided for some water absorption in addition to green space and gathering/play areas.  The Villa’s green space plan is lacking meaningful green space in the courtyard. We believe Forrest City made plans based on lower density, but has not yet amended the plans after McStain could not complete their project.

 

Forest City response:  The actual number of McStain Casitas that were part of the original plan was 45, not 36.  The Century Communities Avenue Villas (CCAV) meet the City and County of Denver impervious/pervious standards required in all residential neighborhoods at Stapleton.  In addition to the 8’ tree lawns with a variety of shade trees on the Ulster, Tamarac and E. 21^st Avenue borders of the Avenue Villas, the front yards will have planting beds with flowering shrubs, ornamental grasses, perennials and some ornamental trees that will flower in the spring.  Side yards will have evergreen trees and shrubs and flowering trees to screen utilities. And, the rear driveway patio plantings will use evergreens for year-round screening.  I believe all of this was including in the landscape plans Century Communities shared with your neighborhood group earlier this month.

2)      Traffic flow and parking mitigation; At this point, ALL traffic empties onto Tamarac, rather than being shared with Ulster.  The dead -end alleys require garbage trucks, service vehicles (and emergency vehicles) to back out, which is a tragic toddler incident is waiting to happen. Tamarac is a narrow street with no painted lines.   There is barely room for cars to pass when some are parked on each side.  The Villas have no basements, so garages will likely fill with storage rather than cars. These residents will likely need to park on the street.

Forest City response: The alley design meets the standards established by the City and County of Denver.

3)      Hydrological concerns; many resident have experienced ground and surface drainage issues.  This huge area of rooftops and hard-scapes will add to drainage concerns and additionally prohibit percolation into the Villa Avenues area soils. Furthermore, there does not appear to be much room for vegetation (trees, shrubs, etc…) which would assist in mitigating both run off and percolation

Forest City response:  The CCVA meet drainage requirements of the City and County of Denver as outlined in the F22 drainage plan sent to your group earlier.   (See Forest City response to item #1 above in regard to landscape plans.).

4)      Architectural designs and diversity guidelines in the spirit of Stapleton; Most of the houses face inward, the artist rendition on the Century website is misleading (except for the 7 units that face the park).  No other 42 homes will face a street; we believe (per Century Community provided architectural plans) a 6-foot privacy fence will surround them. There are only two elevations which are nearly identical so diversity of design is lacking.

Forest City response:  As explained in our earlier communication with Avenue Villa Neighbors in our email of 5/18/12) multi-family residential development typically does not have multiple elevations.  The CCAV have two elevations and four different color schemes. The fence, which must comply with standards set for all residential neighborhoods at Stapleton, has open latticework on the top eighteen inches.

5)      The lack of green space within current site plan will result in adjacent park overcrowding. Our park has one slide, one baby swing and two regular swings.  It is already overcrowded.  Adding 50 families will make it unsafe for children to play there. Again this concern is shared amongst the residents of the courtyard homes on Ulster.

As a Denver neighborhood, the parks at Stapleton are open to use by all residents and neighbors.  Stapleton’s parks and open space design is based on having all homes within ¼ miles of parks and open space.  F22 has even closer access with all homes being within 1/8 miles, including the new park at E. 21^st   Avenue and Ulster to the south, Greenway Park to the north, and Fred Thomas Park to the west.

We respectfully request, as soon as possible, copies of current flood and drainage reports, traffic studies, fire and safety plans, PUD plans for common ground maintenance to include snow removal and storage. A courier will be dispatched to pick up copies.

Forest City response:  With the exception of common ground maintenance plans, all documents requested were made available electronically to Avenue Villa Neighbors during the week of May 14^th.  Those documents had been given to all builders in F22 as part of the due diligence when they purchased their lots.  As with other multi-family development at Stapleton, common area maintenance will be the responsibility of a sub-association funded through fees paid by the owners of CCAV homeowners.

We are all volunteers with busy work and home schedules. If you have any questions please contact Neill Quinlan. 303-771-1200, opq@aol.com, during the workday.

Sincerely,

Avenue Villa Neighbors Committee Chairs

 

Forest City responses provided by Tom Gleason, vice president-public relations

AVN Response of First Round of Questions

READ THIS Link to Document with Pictures of Forest City  Suggested Comparables–>Response to questions from Avenue Villas Assoc 051812final_AVN_to_FC

Forest City Response to Questions about Century Communities Avenue Villas in Filing 22

1. Is there a higher or equal density set of units in Stapleton     in the same class of structures (price point, similar street, lot size, etc.)? If so please provide their location.

FC Response:

Yes.  The Century Communities Avenue Villas (CCAV) in your neighborhood will have a density of 26 dwelling units per acre (dua). Other similar or higher densities for existing multi-family residential development at Stapleton include:

AVN is responding on 5/21/12 to Mr. Gleason’s letter of 5/18/12 with clarification and examples regarding his response.

We have assessed the Forest City supplied comparable properties.  AVN feels that these comparable sites have set the precedence which the Century Community plan should follow.

Although there are some with dua in the high $200’s, none of the comparable has 49 units clustered so tightly on one large block. In fact, the most are 36 units spread over areas larger the Century Communities site. The “dua” ratio in NOT indicative of clustering or architectural attributes.  The observations (and pictures) below further support AVN’s density and architectural diversity concerns for the following reasons:

• None of the comparable areas has more than 36 units
• The comparable areas have 6 (or less) complex’s where repeating elevations exist
  • Avenue Villas has 14 complexes 2 elevations , totaling 49 units in one  “super –cluster”
  • Most are significantly priced higher
    • The exception being the New Town site
  • A vast majority (over 90%) of the comparable units are street facing.
    • When units do not face each other the courtyards and are estimated 30-40 feet wide.
  • Most have significant amounts of brick work or stucco where the complexes are not street facing
  • Most of the comparable units are on major arterial roads
  • In areas where density is higher (per dua) the architecture is varied so that the site does not appear homogenous

AVN would also like to address the comment made by Tom Gleason at the SUN meeting 5/17/2012.  He stated 45 casitas were planned. While this may be true the Casitas could fit that many units b/c some of the units were solely garden level, whereas other units were upper floor studios. Meaning more units could fit into the same building footprint, equaling more green space.

• Ø The Trimark Mansion homes in the 2800 block of Ulster north of Aviator Pool  (25 dua)

AVN is responding on 5/21/12 to Mr. Gleason’s letter of 5/18/12 with clarification and examples regarding his response.

• Site Overview:  Street facing ~4-plex layouts
• Architecture: ~4-plex layouts with mixed elevations of similar themes
• Quantity/Density: Lower than Avenue Villas (26 dua) and spread out over a larger area, broken up non- clustered
• Street: Streets uncongested; units have additional off street parking plus two car garages.
• Price: Estimated $300

ALL PICTURES ARE FORTHCOMING , PLEASE SEE EMAIL WITH ATTACHMENT IN INTERIM IF YOU DO HAVE THE EMAIL CONTACT AVN

Aviator Trimark Mansions 1

Aviator Trimark Mansions 2 (Additional Off-street Parking)

Aviator Trimark Mansions 3 (Additional Off-street Parking)

• Ø McStain row homes on south side of E.29^th Avenue east of Founders Green (27 dua)

AVN is responding on 5/21/12 to Mr. Gleason’s letter of 5/18/12 with clarification and examples regarding his response.

• Site Overview: Street facing Row Homes
• Architecture: Similar Architecture varied colors
• Quantity/Density:  5 units per complex , and 6 complexes total, 30 units total
• Street: 29^th is a major arterial road
• Price: Estimated $300-$400

29^th McStain Row Homes 1

29^th McStain Row Homes 2

(Major Arterial Road)

• Ø McStain row homes in the 8700 block of 25^th Avenue near the Puddle Jumper pool (28 dua)

AVN is responding on 5/21/12 to Mr. Gleason’s letter of 5/18/12 with clarification and examples regarding his response.

• Site Overview: Brick rows and  ~4 -plexs non-densely clustered, street facing
• Architecture: Diverse units brick Rows Homes and  ~4 –plexs with brick siding and railing
• Quantity/Density: Higher than Avenue Villas  per  dua  (26 dua) but not clustered together as densely, and widely diverse elevations
• Street: Uncongested, slightly wider to accommodate pool users
• Price: Estimated $300-$500+

Puddle Jumper1

Puddle Jumper 2

Puddle Jumper 3

• Ø McStain row homes at 8703-39 and 8903-39 29^th Place (26 dua)
• Ø AVN is responding on 5/21/12 to Mr. Gleason’s letter of 5/18/12 with clarification and examples regarding his response.
  • Site Overview: Some identical but diverse units, identical units are not clustered in more than 2 pairs. When units are facing each other the courtyards are 20-30 feet apart . End facing and street facing
  • Architecture: Brick Row Homes and Tuscany  style
  • Quantity/Density:  Some identical but diverse units, identical units are not clustered in more than 1 pair. Typically 6 units per complex 2 complexes total 12 of same elevation with 6 complex totaling 36 units.
  • Street: Congested.
  • Price: Estimated $400-$500

McStain Rows 1

McStain Rows 2

McStain Rows 3

McStain Rows 4

(Streets congested note two cycles for scale)

McStain Rows 4 (Note diversity of site)

• Ø McStain row homes on east and west sides of Xenia Street north between 33thand 35^th (26 dua)

AVN is responding on 5/21/12 to Mr. Gleason’s letter of 5/18/12 with clarification and examples regarding his response.

• Site Overview: Street facing on spacious one -way boulevard.
• Architecture: Identical units varied in color and slight layout , mostly brick
• Quantity/Density: 6 units per complex, 6 complexes 36 homes total
• Street: Large 1 way boulevard
• Price: Estimated $400 – $600

Xenia Rows 1

Xenia Rows 2

Xenia Rows 3

• Ø New Town Row Homes at 25^th Court and Uinta (27.2 dua along 25^th Court and 34.4 dua along Uinta)
• Ø AVN is responding on 5/21/12 to Mr. Gleason’s letter of 5/18/12 with clarification and examples regarding his response.
  • Site Overview: Street facing tall modern units
  • Architecture: Identical units varying in color
  • Quantity/Density:  X units per complex. X complexes planned:  Total estimated 30 homes
  • Street: Unknown because units under construction ,Units  back up to sizable Denver Studios parking lot
  • Price: Stated $100s
  • NOTE: These are planned for the FIQH on Trenton

New Town 1

New Town 2

1. Is there a traffic study for the proposed Century Communities project? If not please where we should address such a request.

Response:

The CCAV lots that were formerly owned by McStain were part of the Filing 22 traffic impact study done in 2007.  The builders in Filing 22 received copies of that study as part of the due diligence process and it was available to anyone purchasing a home in that filing.  An electronic copy of that report is attached.

AVN is responding on 5/21/12 to Mr. Gleason’s letter of 5/18/12 with clarification and examples regarding his response.

Roadway widths and rights-of-way proposed within Filing 22 are consistent with those of other residential areas of the Stapleton; however please note that Tamarac is 2 feet narrower than Ulster:

• 22 nd Place: 36’ (flowline-to-flowline [FL-FL]) street in a 64’ right-of-way

• 21 st Avenue: 32’ FL-FL street in a 60’ right-of-way

• Ulster Street: 32’ FL-FL street in a 60’ right-of-way (64’ right-of-way at northern end)

• Tamarac Street: 30’ FL-FL street in a 60’ right-of-way

• Trenton Street: 30’ FL-FL street in a 60’ right-of-way

• 22 nd Avenue: 36’ FL-FL street in a 64’ right-of-way

3. What is the reason that the alleys only egress onto Tamarac? They have dual egress on 22^nd Place and 20 St alleys. Are the hydrants adequate for that number of dwellings and for the layout? Can a fire truck fit down those alleys and then back out?

Response:

The design of the alley system conforms to standards of the City and County of Denver and is based on the relationship with adjacent streets and alleys. The fire hydrants conform to City of Denver standards and that information is available in the Filing 22 water line plan, which was  provided to builders as part of their due diligence package.  (An electronic copy is attached).  In all but very rare cases, Denver Fire does not need access to alleys because it prefers to fight fires from the street.

AVN is responding on 5/21/12 to Mr. Gleason’s letter of 5/18/12 with clarification and examples regarding his response.

AVN feels alley egress onto both Ulster and Tamarac is a non-negotiable item. In fact, it is the only non-negotiable concern. Everything else is up for discussion.  Forest City agreed to discuss with Denver and will provide AVN status no later than Friday May 25th

4. Was there a consideration of off-street parking on Tamarac? If not, too whom should we address a parking study request

Response:

Parking requirements at Stapleton must conform to the same City standards that apply in neighborhoods throughout Denver, which allows parking on public streets.  All of the CCAV homes have two car garages, as do the single family homes in your neighborhood.

5. Were the Century Communities homes factored into that traffic study?

Response:

See response to #2 above.

6. What will the structure layout look like? For example should we expect that all the homes will be parallel will they have layout diversity, i.e. some units facing east west others facing north south, will the courtyards be enclosed by the row homes or open to the Tarmac and Ulster. Realize that obtain plans and elevations form Century may answer most of this question.

Response:

Documents previously provided.

AVN is responding on 5/21/12 to Mr. Gleason’s letter of 5/18/12 with clarification

Please review the Forest City comparable sites above for how this quantity density, orientation and similar architecture unprecedented in Stapleton.  It is a primary concern of the AVN and its members

7. What is the architectural diversity of the units? Most if not all builders in Stapleton are required to have multiple elevations.

Response:

As with all single family and multi-family residential development at Stapleton, the CCAV were required to go through a design review process.  While single family homes typically have multiple elevations, multi-family homes typically do not.  The CCAV feature two different elevations with four different color schemes.

AVN is responding on 5/21/12 to Mr. Gleason’s letter of 5/18/12 with clarification and examples regarding his response.

AVN and its members are not as concerned with the frontal elevation variation. The concern is that the plan has all the end units facing the street and the end elevations.

Elevation A side is ~99% siding with very few (4) windows and a sliding glass door.  Elevation A Enhanced is ~90 siding with a low brick veneer and 6 foot privacy fence. Similarly Elevation B is has only 2 windows and one sliding glass door surrounded entirely by siding. Elevation B Enhanced has is 90% siding with a low brick veneer and 6 foot privacy fence. The side of the complexes is the primary views for 12 of the 14 units.

8. Is there a model home or any other units from Century Communities in Stapleton, i.e. is this first project in Stapleton?

Response:

Century Communities does not currently have a model home at Stapleton. However, they are currently constructing the “Boulevard Rows” on the east side of Central Park Blvd. south of Xanthia Way. They plan to have a model home and sales office at the Avenue Villas. If you are interested in visiting their other model homes you can locate them by visiting the Century Communities website (www.centurycommunities.com).

9.  Why was signage place up only two days prior to excavation activities? In short the residents in the area are critical of the project b/c there has been almost no information disseminated for the development.

Response:

Information about the Century Community Avenue Villas was made available to the public in January of this year on the Forest City Stapleton website (www.stapletondenver.com), as well as in the Home Guide Map (January 2012) that is available to the public throughout Stapleton.  Posting of site signage is typically done once a builder is under contract, has completed design review and has a rendering available for the sign.  The Century Community Avenue Villas has and will continue  following this normal procedure.

10. Is Forrest City and Century willing to have a meeting this Saturday evening with our committee leadership?

Response:

Forest City believes written communication such as this email (and the documents attached) is more effective than a meeting to convey factual information to you and your neighbors and to ensure everyone has the same understanding.  That way, residents do not have to rely on “second hand information” in the event they are unable to attend a meeting.

AVN is responding on 5/21/12 to Mr. Gleason’s letter of 5/18/12 with clarification

Forest City, Tom Gleason held a meeting on Friday May 18 with AVN committee members and Century Communities Rob Johnson. The meeting minutes are posted at https://saveourstapleton.wordpress.com/

No further meetings are planned at this point. AVN is awaiting response to our official Letter of Objection (link below) which was supplied to FC and CC on Tues May 15 2012. We were told we will receive a response NLT Friday May 25^th.  Based on those responses it is likely that further meetings will be requested.

https://saveourstapleton.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/avn-ltr-of-objection.pdf

Forest City agreed to formally disposition our Letter of Objection and will supply a response no later than May25th 2012

Please feel free to forward this email and attached documents to all members of your group.

Tom Gleason

Vice President-Public Relations

Forest City Stapleton, Inc.

May 18, 2012

Meeting Overview with Mr. Gleason and Mr. Johnson from 5/18/12

Item of note: There was to be a meeting on Sunday, May 20, 2012 with Forest City and Century Communities, but that has been cancelled until those two parties can meet to discuss and get back to us by Friday, May 25, 2012.

Chris and Anne met with Tom Gleason (Forest City, “FC”) and Rob Johnson (Century Communities) for about an hour on Friday morning. (This meeting had been confirmed only the day before.)

The first topic was how much support we, the Avenue Villa Neighbors [“AVN”], have.  Chris said probably 100, based on the 75 signatures that we have from those block canvassers who have turned in their petition forms.  (Thank you so much!)

We re-iterated that we want to come to a solution and are aware that compromise will be needed. We do not want to alienate these new homeowners.  We believe that most if not all neighbors knew that something LIKE row homes were planned, rather than single family homes.  We do not want negative media that likely would only make Stapleton look bad, including us, for appearing to not welcome diversity, as they are on a different price point.

For those not at the SUN meeting last night (Parks, 26^th street and AVN—“Filing 22”– were given floor time), Mr. Gleason stated that the allotted number of McStain Casitas (one of the possibilities before they went bankrupt) was 45 units.  Anne had calculated a maximum of 36 based on the 71,000 square feet of non-concreted space, or 1.63 acres.  However, Mr. Gleason said that the parcel is actually 1.908 acres, since the current alleys are included, apparently.  The density of AV units is 26 dwellings units per acre [“dua”], or 49 Avenue Villas.  We did point out that the built space of the much smaller floor plans for Casitas was far smaller than for the larger AV units, leaving more room for green space.  They did point out that Casitas were only an option, and are no more.

Per the “Reply to Questions” email that you will/have received from Forrest City, there is one 27 dua, one 28, and one 27.2 already in Stapleton.  Two others are 26 dua and one is 25.  We did point out that these high-density homes are almost all facing a park or the 29^th Avenue park-like corridor to mitigate the feel of crowding, and several are in the $600K+ range.  They do not seem comparable to the $200K+ Century homes. However, they are correct that we are NOT the absolute highest density.

We talked about the fact that these are the only homes that face inward without some green or courtyard space.  They replied that this is part of the diversity plan.  We reminded them of the “Front Porch” theme for Stapleton and how important it is to be able to look across your street (or courtyard) and connect with neighbors. We noted that people sitting on the front porch of an AV would be only a few feet from the neighbor across the sidewalk, and could probably watch their neighbor’s TV. (They will actually be able to stand on their property’s front sidewalk and touch the other person if they are on their front sidewalk.)  More information was provided with a larger-scale drawing of the plans, and indeed there is actually only 8 feet between front porches. It would seem very awkward to sit on your porch.  The reply is that Chris and Anne may not want to buy these homes, but Rob expects other people will.

We discussed how treacherous these East-West sidewalks will become in winter with no sunshine ever hitting them.  We asked whether these units will all be a flat walk-out to the porches, since they are slab-on-grade.  Rob said some may need to be elevated depending on the grade.  We inquired whether, if/when there were stairs, the 30-inch set-back from stairs to sidewalk will be obeyed.  Mr. Johnson said that these are not public sidewalks and do not have to adhere to these zoning requirements.

Mr. Johnson added that they feel that their landscaping will make the homes attractive.  (The detail plans do show at least that there will be a 9-foot foot grass boulevard with trees [“tree lawn”]  plus 4-foot sidewalks along Ulster and Tamarac.)

As to the traffic issues, initially they said that the blind-end alleys were up to Denver.  By the end of the meeting, Mr. Gleason agreed to look into opening the alleys so that traffic would empty onto both Ulster and Tamarac.  (Their traffic study was done in mid-2000’s, when Casitas were slated to be there. We pointed out that the Century project will have more residents and more cars than the one-person or couples that Casitas were marketed to. They stated that the traffic studies would not change appreciably between 45 and 49 units.)

The on-street parking issue was discussed.  They said that parking permits or other limitations or rules would be unprecedented and would be a nightmare.  People in AV have two car garages and should not be subject to more rules than the rest of us.  Trying to enforce any parking limits would reduce sales of the homes.

Groundwater run-off was mentioned but did not bring any reply from them.

We discussed that we neighbors were not given a chance to review the plans before construction started.  Mr. Gleason pointed out that development is not done by negotiation.  The plans for our homes would not have been divulged before ours were built, either.

We discussed the impacts on parks.  The FC plan has been to have a park within ¼ mile of all residents.  The Greenway Park and Fred Thomas Park fulfill their plan.  We did mention that parents with a stroller or a small child are unlikely to walk that far to get to a playground and will simply use the one at the end of the block.  They did not seem to disagree that this was likely.

Alternatives such as re-orienting the homes to face the street (as it is only the 7 units on the south side, facing the park, that do this per plans now) we shown.  This would involve changing the driveways to have a Roman Numeral Two (II) plan with two North-South alleys “T’ing” into the existing East-West alleys on each end.  This would have provided a central green space without sidewalks.  The (not-yet-built) N-S driveways could be widened to provide parking behind the garages.  (Two homes, facing this long narrow “mew” in the center of the development on each end, would not have the wider driveways for extra parking.) This was rejected because it would involve going back to the drawing boards, and Mr. Johnson said it would make the project not viable.   Mr. Gleason said it was an innovative idea and perhaps we should be involved in other planning (although he was being humorous).

At the conclusion of the meeting, Mr. Gleason said that he would prefer to keep communications in writing, rather than have meetings. Mr. Johnson agreed.  FC’s “Reply” will be sent first and then, after they discuss possible solutions, including a CONSIDERATION of removing one or two units to provide small green spaces in each of the non-street facing sections, they will reply to this and our Letter of Objection.  (This may be four units total for the entire project, to at least bring it back to the 45-Casitas number.)

We are optimistic that at least the alleys will be opened on each end to reduce some congestion on Tamarac.

PLAN:

We will cancel the Sunday evening meeting planned for 5/27, as neither of these gentlemen can attend.  If neighbors wish to meet informally to discuss further, please do so and forward your comments to us to pass on, or appoint a reasoned leader to communicate with them.

The ball is in their court and we will wait to see what their offer is. This will be relayed by email after they respond by 5/25, close of business.

Thanks to all the AVN’s who have put so much time into helping promote and clarify our position.

Chris

Anne

Update from SUN meeting 5/17/2012

Thank you everyone for your help and support so far! Material will be released as soon as possible and hopefully update emails will go out to notify everyone.

Thank you to the neighbors that showed up to the very long and crowded SUN meeting at the Central Park Rec Center last night, May 17, 2012. It was difficult to sit through with our pressing questions, but the forum was set a long time ago to discuss parks. A majority of those that showed up were there for this parks forum. As much as some of us wanted to make our questions be known right away it would have had a negative effect for our cause had we interrupted the flow of the meeting. We need all of Stapleton behind our issues with Filing 22.

With that said Chris had managed to get a tentative meeting with Tom Gleason of Forest City and a representative from Century Communities before the SUN meeting last night. However that meeting appeared to be pushed back or was going to be canceled all together per communications that Chris received. Until that is that the parks forum was opened up after the 2 + hours of presentations to a question & answer period to the crowd. Fortunately the moderator for the evening was the current president of the SUN board, Andrew Schurger, who announced that there was a pressing question from our neighborhood for Filing 22. At that point Chris was able to tie in our cause to the forum on the parks and how part of what we want is to create more courtyard space within Filing 22. Then after briefly outlining our concerns Chris was then able to have Tom Gleason of Forest City commit to a meeting this morning in front of the entire audience in the room. Way to go Chris!

Chris and Anne were able to meet this morning for about an hour and a half with Tom Gleason and Rob Johnson of Century Communities. Details of that meeting are about to be posted next.

 

Avenue Villas Development

Forrest City, in conjunction with Century Builders is moving forward on a high density (possibly the highest) housing development in Stapleton’s Filing 22. We are concerned about the plan’s density, traffic impacts, hydrological, lack of greenspace, architectural diversity, lack of communication and consistency with the establish Stapleton precedence of community oriented devolpment which brought all us of here.