09-26-2007 Council Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

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ability of the land. My concern about water drainage is the explanation given by St. Jude Medical's architect that if there were significant run off and the drainage pond overflows, it would run eastward down the hill and into the wetland areas behind the Lillihei campus. This is not a great idea for the wetlands. 923.020 General Requirements, Section N: Setbacks This section of the code states "No building within the project shall be nearer to another building than one -half the sum of the building heights of the two buildings." If this requirement applies to not on the property, I think the proposed plan just meets this requirement. If this requirement applies to buildings on the property, my understanding of the plans are to build two 4 -story buildings on the property. The distance between the PHASE ONE and PHASE TWO buildings does not appear to meet this requirement. Again, in my opinion, this is because of their desire to fully maximize the development of the property, basically leaving no space untouched by development. Water Pressure As a resident of Cobblestone Village, I know the City of Little Canada has had issues with water pressure in the past. It appears that St. Jude Medical has come up with a solution for low water pressure in PHASE ONE build out; the architect told me that there is insufficient pressure to get water to the 4th floor of the PHASE ONE building so they are installing a water pump. If there is insufficient water pressure for PHASE ONE, what guarantee do we have there will be sufficient water pressure for PHASE TWO building? Traffic Congestion This was a frequent discussion point with everyone involved and I have not heard of a specific solution. In PHASE ONE, it is estimated 450 to 600 employees will be housed in the building. The area may be able to handle this amount of increased traffic without significant hardship. However, without any changes to the turn lanes and new bridge over Highway 36, there will be significant hardship with the completion of PHASE TWO. Proximity to Cobblestone Village Three of Cobblestone Village's buildings (six families) will be in close proximity to the PHASE TWO build out of the property. Eight months out of the year, I expect to fully see into St. Jude Medical (once the trees lose their leaves). I have asked the architect about the reflection of the sun from the plate glass windows in the design. While the architect stated that they will not use a mirror type glass which is highly reflective, they did acknowledge there would be some reflection. Cobblestone Village is south of the proposed PHASE TWO building and it is quite possible that the sun will reflect back at our homes. I did not see a study done of this reflection on the existing trees between the properties. Right now St. Jude Medical is going to leverage the existing trees between Cobblestone Village and the property. With the PHASE TWO building proposed to be setback 40 feet from the property line, it will be within 15 feet of the trees. It is possible the heat of the sun reflecting off the windows will damage the trees and even further lessen privacy between the two properties. It is too early to tell (since there are no buildings on the property yet) how this development will impact the value of our homes in Cobblestone Village. Given the proximity to our home and how it will change how we use our outdoor space, it may have a negative impact on the value. 2