Please attend the developer's neighborhood meeting and sign this petition. (No need to donate, this free website simply asks for donations after your signing.)

December 7th at 5:30 pm Best Western Inn 5542 E Highway 34

Also, please consider writing a note about your concerns for the city council. Comments can be emailed to kerri.burchett@cityofloveland.org or to all city council members at once by emailing ccouncil@cityofloveland.org

Here are my comments to the Council:

December 1, 2017

Regarding: Boyd Lake Place Addition Project, Annexation and R3 Zoning

To: City of Loveland City Council

This land, currently zoned through the county as farmland and owned by MSP Companies, is under proposal to be annexed by the City of Loveland and zoned R3 High-Density Residential. We are deeply concerned with this issue.

The proposed project and zoning of this land would have an immensely negative effect on the traffic, safety, property values, education, and quality of life for residents in three existing neighborhoods: Boyd Lake Shores, The Lakes at Centerra, and High Plains Village as well as the surrounding areas. It would also put a large burden on the city resources already stretched thin. There is concern about a “block buster” precedent for the construction of future apartments on land south of the proposed location, which is also owned by MSP Companies. Furthermore, there is no evidence that there is a need for more high-density residences in this particular area of Loveland.

Traffic:

Congestion at Highway 34 and Boyd Lake Avenue is unmanageable and a high concern for the City’s Traffic Department. The time spent waiting at traffic lights to access this section of Loveland is considerably high. An increase in population will exacerbate this notorious issue. Also, the congestion of traffic southbound on Boyd Lake Avenue from Frank Road to Highway 34 is consistently backed up twice a day. Often, residents of High Plains Village cannot exit the roundabout at Lost Creek as the traffic is backed up through the roundabout and north almost to Frank Road. Vehicles have to sit at idle at the roundabout, where the pedestrian crossing is located, waiting for the traffic to ease. This is a concern for traffic, pedestrian safety, as well as idling vehicles. The City’s Traffic Department has already published concerns with the distractions that drivers engage in while idle at lights, such as phone use and texting. The longer drivers sit idle, the more likely it is that they will become engaged in other activities and be unprepared for the changes around them in vehicular, pedestrian, and bicycle movements. This becomes a serious safety concern.

Safety:

Increased traffic is also a major safety issue, especially with children walking to both High Plains School and Mountain View High School. These students are already at risk, increasing traffic only endangers them further. Additionally, potential students living in a high-density apartment complex will have to cross Boyd Lake Road to access High Plains School and that is currently a dangerous undertaking. The city is well aware of pedestrian concerns across Highway 34 but may not have had a chance to view the hazards of crossing Boyd Lake Avenue at Lost Creek Drive before and after school. Future residents of a high-density apartment complex wishing to access Mountain View High School will have to cross Boyd Lake Avenue at Lost Creek Drive, continue south on the east side (as there is no sidewalk on the west side of Boyd Lake Avenue) then cross back west at the intersection of Eisenhower and Boyd Lake Avenue before crossing Eisenhower, a state highway, to access their school.

Crime rate is another concern of existing residents. The fact is more residents equals more crime. Not only that, the Loveland Police Department can certainly attest to the higher rate of crime in high-density residences. High Plains Village, Boyd Lake Shores, and The Lakes at Centerra residents do not want more crime, we want less. This addition proposed by MSP will certainly bring increased crime right to our doorsteps.

Property Values:

This small 1.5 square mile section of Loveland east of Boyd Lake and north of Highway 34 contains the lion’s share of high-density residences. There are more people than amenities necessary to sustain them. This has already been a longtime concern of citizens. The density of residences will grow exponentially with this project and yet there remain few amenities. There is no easy or safe access to city parks, fresh grocery stores, or gas stations. These factors are the perfect storm in lowering home values.

Low property values injure the entire city. The increase of taxes collected from apartment complexes will be offset by the lower intake from homes whose values have been reduced.

Mixed income housing is put into great effect in no place better than this Centerra area. We do not disagree with this principle, only that our area has more than it’s share of transient rental properties.

Homeowners have a vested interest in the long-term success and safety of a community, while transient residents of apartment complexes are decidedly less concerned. With the broader view of Loveland’s community in mind, this project is at odds with the City Council’s objectives and neighborhood stability.

Education:

The education of our current students is of utmost concern to the Thompson School Board and city residents. Facilities needs is an oft visited matter. With the possible closure of schools on the west side Loveland because of large growth on the east side, adding more high-density residences within the High Plains School boundaries is irresponsible. High Plains School already reports class sizes averaging at 28 per grade. With hundreds of units currently approved and under development already underway in The Lakes, how can this school possibly handle more high-density housing?

Quality of Life:

This area has already undergone the turmoil of construction for the past few years with The Lakes and High Plains School. This construction greatly affected our commute, recreation, private landscaping, and access for long enough. Now that the development is moving further north, it is not time to open up our neighborhood with more dirt, noise, and traffic. With approved construction already underway north of Frank Road, two communities under construction will overload the streets, traffic lights, and neighborhoods.

Light pollution has increased significantly in this neighborhood due to High Plains School and their 24 hour lights on policy. Lighting hundreds of units and their attendant parking lots for this development will escalate the problem of bright lights.

Residents purchased homes on the edge of all three neighborhoods purposely adjacent to flat farmland. Many paid top dollar lot premiums knowing that this land would remain flat, allowing full access to views of Boyd Lake and the front range. The insurance against those views being constructed was the zoning regulation and the fact that the area was owned by more than one owner. With the annexation and rezoning of this acreage those views will be obstructed forever by incredibly tall buildings.

Many residents of surrounding neighborhoods are unhappy with the architectural designs of High Plains School and Loveland Housing Authority Apartments and don’t have faith that any new construction will be less of an eyesore.

The quality of life issue also affects the surrounding wildlife. Coyotes, birds, and other native species have a high population on this lot. The developments of High Plains Village and The Lakes at Centerra were closely guided by the High Plains Environmental Center. The covenants, codes, and restrictions of those associations along with fees imposed of residents help protect the wildlife and lakes. MSP Companies should not be able to change farmland into high-density development without the same level of concern other developers showed for this habitat.

The City Council has taken on the great responsibility to ensure a superior quality of life for Loveland residents and we appreciate that trust. Please protect our neighborhoods by rejecting more high-density housing.

City Resources:

The City resources are already stretched thin. Adding more high-density residential units to this corner of Loveland will require more police protection, traffic control, need for fire authority, additional transit and pedestrian access, as well as create an incumbrance on water, sewer, and electrical services in the area. Can these city facilities or even the Loveland Public Library and the Parks and Recreation Department handle such rapid growth?

High-density residential development is not the best use of this land. If MSP Companies truly cares about Loveland, they will consider a better community driven need.

The general health of our entire city is also at stake. There is significant research that shows apartment residents are far less likely to vote and be involved in their community

(47% of apartment residents versus 78% of single-family homeowners [See NMHC tabulations of microdata from the General Social Survey. See: Jack Goodman, “Apartment Residents As Neighbors and Citizens,” Research Notes, Washington, DC: National Multi Housing Council, June 1999.])

High-density residences have been constructed in every corner of this section of Loveland known as Centerra. There are homes for every income level already in place around High Plains School, from low-income to middle income and even a few million dollar homes all within 1.5 square miles:

• Section 8 housing on the southwest side (Loveland Housing Authority 70 units)
• 3 large apartment complexes (Eagle Ridge, Lake Vista, and Reserve totaling 624 units) as well as 2 large condominium complexes (High Plains Village, Lakeshore totaling over 300 units) on the southeast
• Townhomes, patio homes, and single-family homes to the south (High Plains Village, about 400 units)
• Townhomes, miniature homes, and higher priced single-family homes to the west and north (The Lakes at Centerra, 1200 units)
• Current construction of apartments, townhomes, and more multi-family units to the north (The Lakes) as well as to the east, (The Flats condominiums) easily totaling more than 500 units

This sum of 3,094 residential units in less than 1.5 square miles is more than enough for this area. With more development south of Highway 34 surrounding Mountain View High School currently underway, there is no need for more high-density housing around High Plains School. Future encroachments of high-density residences will drastically affect the quality of life for current residents and apply a heavy strain on city resources.

Please vote no on the annexation and zoning of MSP Companies’ Boyd Lake Place Addition.

Sincerely,

Eli and Jenay Hopkins

14 year residents of Loveland