Call for Action: Rezoning Application for Lot south of our neighborhood from I-L to R-H
Dear Fellow City Center West Neighbors,
This is a CALL FOR ACTION.
As you may be aware the City of Greeley has sent a couple of letters in the mail to most residents regarding a rezoning application for the parcel to the south of the neighborhood between the school and our neighborhood and just north of 8th Street. This lot is currently zoned I-L (Industrial Light) and the developer is seeking to rezone it to R-H (Residential High Density, which in other words means an apartment complex). The developer tried to do this in 2022 and residents in the neighborhood were successful in getting the City Council to deny the application. Unfortunately, city code allows the developer to resubmit the application again after a year and it appears they have chosen to do so.
As the neighborhood is now almost built up, we can already see the increase in traffic and on-street parking in our neighborhood. There is already an apartment complex being proposed on the south side of 8th Street adjacent to the Ten West apartments that will have access off 8th Street. During school days, all of 8th Street and portions of 66th Ave extending past 67th Ave are full of cars parked for student pick up and drop off. There is also another apartment complex that is being constructed at the corner of 71st Ave and 4th Street with access from 4th St Road. With the new regulations of "No Minimum Parking", developers are NOT required to provide any parking within the apartment complexes if they so choose. What this means is more dense apartments and more off street parking along the neighborhood streets creating blind spots and traffic safety concerns.
We believe that the City was correct in zoning this parcel as an I-L, because any development that will classify under an I-L will a) need to provide adequate parking, b) will mostly be some commercial enterprises that will only have vehicles entering and exiting during the day time and c) will not lead to continuous parking on the neighborhood streets at all hours during the evening hours and weekends. Additionally, surrounding entire neighborhoods with apartment complexes is bad planning that will lead to lowering of home values. The generally accepted practice is to have a transition from single family to town homes to apartments, which unfortunately we do not see happening to the south or west of the neighborhood.
The City Council has already once rejected the rezoning request and now it is time once again for the neighborhood to represent our concerns to the developer, City staff and City Council. As your Metro District Board members, we are requesting strong attendance from the neighborhood at all scheduled meetings to voice our opposition to this zoning request. Please mark your calendars for:
· July 31, 2024, 6pm, Westridge Academy, 6905 8th Street, CO
· August 13, 2024, 1:15pm, Planning Commission, City Council Chambers, 1001 11th Ave, Greeley, CO
· September 17, 2024, 6:00pm, City Council Meeting, City Council Chambers, 1001 11th Ave, Greeley, CO
Additionally, we encourage all residents to send emails to our elected Mayor and council members opposing this rezone application preferably by July 26th. Feel free to include information from this notice and/or include your own thoughts on why this rezoning is a bad idea for the neighborhood and for the City as well.
· Mayor John Gates, john.gates@greeleygov.com
· Mayor Pro Tem (representing Ward IV) Dale Hall, dale.hall@greeleygov.com
· Council Member, at large, Brett Payton, brett.payton@greeleygov.com
· Council Member, at large, Melissa McDonald, melissa.mcdonald@greeleygov.com
· City Manager, Raymond Lee, raymond.lee@greeleygov.com
It is up to each of us to determine the future of our neighborhood. Please feel free to reach out to your Metro District Board members copied on this email if you have any questions or need additional information.
Thank you for your time. We look forward to a strong attendance at these meetings.
City Center West Metro District Board