HomeMy WebLinkAbout10 - Preliminary Plat and Development Stage Planning Unit Development (PUD) Plans (2)From:Kristi Melrose
To:Ken Roberts
Subject:Preliminary Plat and Development Stage Planning Unit Development (PUD) Plans
Date:Monday, November 4, 2019 6:58:55 PM
Caution: This email originated outside our organization; please use caution.
To whom it may concern,
This email is in response to a public hearing notice we received by mail on Friday, November
1, notifying us of the plans to develop Outlot B of the Inwood 6th Addition into an apartment
complex. We strongly oppose the placement of this apartment complex. While we know and
agree that housing of all kinds are important, our opposition to the proposed location is based
on three factors:
1. When we began the building process in the summer of 2015, one of our primary concerns
was the planned development of the vacant areas surrounding the new subdivision we were
building in, particularly as our home would face one of those vacant areas straight on. We
were assured again and again that any new housing would 1) be stand-alone townhomes and
2) would only be constructed in the open areas along Inwood Avenue North and 10th Street.
The vacant areas bordering 5th Street North and Island Trail, we were told, would be
developed with businesses aimed at building a true community in this area — i.e. a gas station,
a coffee place, a gym, etc. When the development of Kwik Trip was announced, we were
excited because it was clear that Lake Elmo was doing exactly as promised. We eagerly
anticipated the announcement of which new business would be built next. Instead, we
received a proposal for the construction of a 445 unit apartment complex which will largely
bring 7 more years of construction to our neighborhood, significant traffic increases onto a
single-lane residential road, increased noise levels, an increase in illumination 24 hours a day
(in a city requiring dark sky lighting fixtures), and a rotation of residents moving in and out
every month.
2. Apartment complexes, by nature, are aesthetically unpleasant. There are valid reasons that
cities like Woodbury and Eagan develop apartment complexes in non-residential areas. No
single home resident would buy or build knowing they will have to look out their windows
onto a 35’ structure filled with people staring back at them and/or staring into the windows of
their single level or two story home. In the plans submitted, this appears to also include single
family home owners driving by or living across from apartment balconies used to hold bikes,
furniture, grills, etc. The use of cut-de-sacs, landscaped berms, landscaped medians will do
very, very little to lessen the impact of a 35’ building built across from our homes, particularly
given the number of trees that were lost on those landscaped berms due to the past two
extreme winters.
3. In doing a quick Google search, it is clear that apartment complexes typically result in a
decrease in property values for surrounding homes and neighborhoods because of the
perceived increase in crime, transient activity, noise, traffic, and an increase of on-street
parking along single-family home streets by visitors and/or residents of the apartment
complex. These perceptions may be unfair, but they are certainly long-held and will no doubt
result in difficulty maintaining the quiet neighborhood reputation we currently enjoy. There is
no doubt that these perceptions will also certainly impact our ability, and our neighbors ability,
to sell our homes with ease in the future.
We implore the city of Lake Elmo to not approve this preliminary plan. Please continue to
help stabilize and positively enhance our newly formed single-family neighborhood.
Thank you,
Don and Kristi Melrose