The immediate issue at hand is a proposed 8 new home development plus the “preservation” of 4 existing homes on Kurtz Street, one of which will be expanded for low income housing. Each of the 8 new homes will have Junior Accessory Dwelling Units (JADUs), for a total of 20 dwellings on a 2.152 acre site bounded by Kurtz, Hunsaker, and Whaley Streets. Assuming 4-6 people in each 4 bedroom home, plus 1-2 people in each JADU, that’s 56-88 people living on the site which currently has 5 total residences on the parcel. Because the developer is providing one low income housing unit, they are allowed a 20% “bonus density” of two more market units to be constructed, or 12 units on the total site. The EIGHT junior accessory dwelling units are not included in the density calculations, which results in a total of 20 dwelling units, for an actual project density of one unit per 4,687 square feet on the total 2.152 acre (93,741 square foot) site.

The portion of the parcel fronting to Kurtz Street is 0.54 acres, or 23,522 SF. This portion is zoned RS, with 6,000 SF minimum lot sizes. The remaining 1.61 acres, or 70,132 SF, is zoned RE-B with estate 10,000 SF minimum lot sizes. The proposed development density of one unit per 4,687 SF is more than double density of the existing estate zoning of one dwelling unit per 10,000 SF.

The additional traffic generated by this high-density development will endanger children walking to and from school along Hunsaker Street, which does not have sidewalks. The height of the proposed homes and lot sizes are out of scale with existing development, the proposed project is NOT in conformance with existing zoning, surrounding development, or the rural nature of the neighborhood. The developer states in their documentation that their project “compliments the site surroundings” and “respects the neighborhood character” as well as “integrates with the existing neighborhood lot pattern”. These are untrue statements and the RPFM disagrees. The project requires waivers for overall lot size, width, coverage and setbacks, as well as undergrounding of public utilities on public streets and street frontage improvements.

So, is there any reason to have a zoning code if a developer can simply have the requirements waived? Does the inclusion of one affordable housing unit justify this high density development? Is there any reason why Fire Mountain residents should sacrifice our quality of life so the Lightfoot Group can destroy our neighborhood for profit?