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Dear City Council Members and City Staff, <br />As many of you already know from my public comment, I do not want homes to be built in the <br />Ardan Park area. I think there are other great opportunities to build townhouses and apartments <br />closer to Mounds View Boulevard with less impact to the existing neighborhoods and <br />ecosystems, Mounds View square area for example, is 3 blocks south. <br />I am not against development or redevelopment. I think the Ardan Park land would be a great <br />place to showcase nature, trees, and trails in our city. I also think we need more things for people <br />in Mounds View to do before adding more people. <br />When my husband and I purchased our home 7 years ago, we never thought Ardan Park would <br />be rezoned and developed into R3 housing, consisting of 87 townhomes and tiny homes. Most of <br />this area was listed on the 2040 Comprehensive Plan as a park reserve with a few private lots <br />marked undeveloped R1, single family homes. <br />Since hearing about the proposed development two months ago, I have attended most city <br />meetings and read the 2040 Comprehensive plan and charter. We would love to see the city of <br />Mound View consider another plan and use this area to meet park, recreation, forestry, water, <br />and greenspace goals instead of housing and population goals. I believe the Ardan land would be <br />a perfect fit for a unique destination park, or an educational nature preserve with trails that <br />connect the northside of our city, possibly going over the freeway into the land between Sysco <br />and Medtronic. This is our most desirable land and is part of less than 2% of the undeveloped <br />land left in Mounds View. <br />This community loves nature, animals, seclusion and the benefits provided by this unique <br />wetland and forest wetland buffer biome. My family loves to explore parks and hike often. Over <br />100 people walk past our house with their families and dogs every day. Many of them have <br />freely offered up ideas and inspiration for what this area could provide for the community. <br />To organize and present a realistic alternative plan to you and the city, I created a nonprofit <br />called Project Ardan Inc. Our Mission is to protect green spaces and encourage smart <br />redevelopment in Mounds View, create a healthy community through organizing, informing, and <br />encouraging civic engagement. We decided to name the nonprofit after the current Ardan <br />proposal because of the overwhelming support and awareness we have brought to the citizens of <br />Mounds View in just a few short weeks. The community response and unity has been awe- <br />inspiring! <br />I talked to over 800 people at my fundraising garage sale from June 1 st to 4th. Several of them <br />live in apartments and said they moved here because of green spaces like Ardan Park. This four - <br />day sale raised over $2500. Our nonprofit and this community are motivated to work with you to <br />help save this area for a greener future. <br />Over the last few weeks, we surveyed over 200 people in Mounds View. 98% of people are <br />against the Pulte high -density proposal, 20% of people would be interested in seeing it developed <br />into single family homes like the rest of the neighborhood if it had to be developed, and 75% of <br />