Southmoor Gardens Neighborhood Association

Rezoning Concern Continued

Posted in: Southmoor Gardens
If you live on an acre, some of us, or you live adjacent to a home sitting on an acre, the rest of us, please read on. The future of our neighborhood is at stake! A developer is proposing 23 planned garden apartments, RP-3, on the comer of 71 stand Metcalf. The development is being called ''Katie's Row'', ''Urban Row Homes''.

Twenty three families will move in on the same space two families lived in if this developer has it's way. On the two acre site, parking will be provided for 43 garaged cars and only 14 spaces in the alley. If anyones garage is full of stuff, or someone has a party, there will be no place on site to park. All additional cars will park on neighborhood streets or in the parking lot of Queen of the Holy Rosary Church.

This very type of development has ALREADY been approved and is soon to be under construction at 78 and Conser. It can happen here!!!!!! The proposed garden apartments, the ones planned for our neighborhood, will be 2, 3 and 4 story high on the back alley side and 2 and 3 story high on the Metcalf, 71st street side. These units will be built about 23'off Metcalf and about the same off 71st. That's about the length of an old Chevy. If I'm reading the site plan correctly a full 77.2% of the garden apartment site will be hard surface. 77.2% will be roof, sidewalk, curb and pavement. Much of the 22.8% ''open space'' will be storm water detention pits. The site has 3 or 4 large storm water detention pits the developer is calling the ''park'' area. With the history of storm water problems in this neighborhood do we need to have 77.2% of what is now open space covered over with hard surfaces?

In the September 29, 2005 issue of the Overland Park Sun, page 5A, Adam Lee, staff writer for the Sun wrote extensively about the APPROVED development for 78 and Conser. These units are in the downtown area of Overland Park. The development area is open land and has office and retail areas adjacent to it. This is part of the Destination Downtown Master Plan. Adam Lee also states that areas north and west of the downtown area are included in the plan. Could this include our neighborhood? ''

The Downtown Neighborhood District is designed to encourage residential development and redevelopment that increases the density and diversity of housing in the area''. ''The City envisions the creation of a unique living environment''. ''The guidelines emphasize building orientations that engage residents with the street to create a sense of community''. ''This is derived through reduced setbacks''. YIKES!!!!!! Translation, stuff as many apartments as you can in the smallest area possible.

This APPROVED development will have 11.6 units per acre, our proposed development will have 10.95 units per acre. Any home on a large lot is now fair game!!!!! The 78 and Conser development IS ALREADY APPROVED!!!!! In no time WE could have 23 families move in where now only two live!!!! Get the Overland Park Sun and read the complete article. Then think of the open space around us with 10.95 families per acre. I live on Broadmoor, across from 3 homes each sitting on 1 acre sites, these properties are adjacent to the proposed Metcalf, 71st development and are all touching each other. What a disaster for everyone if 54,75 families start living where only 5 lived before.

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